Welcome to This Week on NW Fusion, featuring breaking news, info, and tips from Network World Fusion, the most comprehensive enterprise networking resource on the Internet. See below for the week's biggest stories and check out our other e-mail newsletters at http://www.nwfusion.com/focus
————————————– 1) Users still bullish on Web services ————————————– We catch up with the companies profiled in last year’s Web Services Early Adopters series (http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2002/0415webservices.html) to see if they’re reaping the benefits promised. Two out of three give an enthusiastic thumb’s up. DocFinder: 5944 http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2003/0519revisited.html
1) $20-billion federal contract has telcos salivating
2) High-profile identify thefts force govt., industry to take action
3) Test: VoIP analysis tools
4) New tools quantify VoIP call quality
5) Nutter’s Help Desk: Wireless connectivity problems
6) Network World Radio: A look at Skype
7) Gearblog: Gibbs talks back on SBC port blocking
8) Network Life: Home net security guide
9) Technology Update: 802.11i secures wireless LANs
10) Careers: New leaders make their mark
11) Call mining gets a boost
12) Force10 switch targets data center
13) Uniting carriers against ‘Net attacks
14) Going fault-tolerant for less
15) Taking the best of tape and disk
16) Case study: Paper maker documents key IT security issues
17) Dell touts database servers
18) New software: Management features key to SSL VPN pack
19) BrainShare shift: NetWare to Linux
20) Extreme’s new switch to hook up IP phones, Wi-Fi gear
21) IBM, Symantec takes on spammers
22) Microsoft builds toward management vision
23) Software tackles spyware, virus threats
24) Start-up offers high-capacity wireless-LAN gear
25) Customization comes to low-end CRM software
26) Physics project relying on giant computing grid
1) $20-billion federal contract has telcos salivating
The U.S. government is expected to release in April an RFP for a 10-year, $20 billion telecom services buy that is thought to be the largest pending network deal in the world.
DocFinder: 5773
https://www.nwfusion.com/news/2005/032805-contract.html?tw
2) High-profile identify thefts force govt., industry to take action
The recent rash of identity thefts has businesses and government agencies exploring new options for locking down resources and setting policies to prevent easy pilfering.
DocFinder: 5774
https://www.nwfusion.com/news/2005/032805-identity-theft.html?tw
3) Test: VoIP analysis tools
In this Clear Choice Test, we evaluated a burgeoning class of new products, collectively called VoIP analysis tools. These wares help the VoIP network manager proactively monitor and troubleshoot the IP telephony environment to ensure call continuity.
DocFinder: 5775
https://www.nwfusion.com/reviews/2005/032805voipest.html?tw
4) New tools quantify VoIP call quality
Management applications measure packet loss, jitter and latency to zero in on problems plaguing converged networks.
DocFinder: 5776
https://www.nwfusion.com/research/2005/032805voip.html?tw
5) Nutter’s Help Desk: Wireless connectivity problems
Ron Nutter helps a user figure out why his office PCs often can’t talk to the laser printer.
DocFinder: 5777
https://www.nwfusion.com/columnists/2005/032805nutter.html?tw
6) Network World Radio: A look at Skype
Skype’s free calling Internet-based calling application is a hot commodity. The company claims 31 million people are using Skype to make free calls to one another and 160,000 new people are coming on board each day. Joining to discuss the phenomenon is Niklas Zennstrom, Skype’s CEO and co-founder. Listen in
DocFinder: 5778
https://www.nwfusion.com/research/0328radio.html?tw
7) Gearblog: Gibbs talks back on SBC port blocking
Mark Gibbs answers a critic of his criticism of SBC for suddenly shutting off port-25 access and tackles all the other sorts of issues you’d expect him to in a blog called Gearblog.
DocFinder: 5779
https://www.nwfusion.com/weblogs/gearblog/?tw
8) Network Life: Home net security guide
Our quarterly guide to the connected home is out: Keeping home nets free from viruses, bugs, spyware and worms isn’t easy. The latest edition of Network Life offers strategies on securing your home network; 10 ways to stop spyware; tests of a WLAN security system and a WLAN extender; and much more.
DocFinder: 5780
https://www.networklifemag.com/?tw
9) Technology Update: 802.11i secures wireless LANs
802.11i improves on WEP by using completely new encryption algorithms and key-derivation techniques. This wireless security standard, finalized in 2004, makes it possible to safeguard over-the-air communications at Layer 2.
DocFinder: 5781
https://www.nwfusion.com/news/tech/2005/032805techupdate.html?tw
10) Careers: New leaders make their mark
CIOs ease transition by getting lay of land before tackling staffing structure and process improvements.
DocFinder: 5782
https://www.nwfusion.com/careers/2005/032805man.html?tw
11) Call mining gets a boost
Call-mining technology combines speech recognition, speech analysis and data-mining capabilities to make it easy for companies to find specific information in audio archives and spot service gaps, sales opportunities and emerging customer trends.
DocFinder: 5783
https://www.nwfusion.com/news/2005/032805audio.html?tw
12) Force10 switch targets data center
Force10 Networks this week will release its first fixed-configuration switch aimed at data center customers looking for a high-capacity box for linking a server rack to a 10G backbone.
DocFinder: 5784
https://www.nwfusion.com/news/2005/032805-force10.html?tw
13) Uniting carriers against ‘Net attacks
Arbor Networks says it is attempting to make it easier for service providers to share information about Internet threats through a new program called the Fingerprint Sharing Initiative.
DocFinder: 5785
https://www.nwfusion.com/news/2005/032805-arbor-fingerprinting.html?tw
14) Going fault-tolerant for less
For some IT managers, it might come as a surprise that Intel-based, fault-tolerant systems running Windows or Linux provide the same – or better – performance than bigger, more costly boxes.
DocFinder: 5786
https://www.nwfusion.com/news/2005/032805ecintelft.html?tw
15) Taking the best of tape and disk
Virtual tape – or tape emulation – combines traditional backup methodology with inexpensive disk drive technology to create a disk-based library that acts as a tape library.
DocFinder: 5787
https://www.nwfusion.com/news/2005/032805specialfocus.html?tw
16) Case study: Paper maker documents key IT security issues
James Cupps, a former network engineer and information security officer for the U.S. Navy, is now on his second tour of duty with Sappi Fine Paper North America, a division of a $4.7 billion South African manufacturing company. Cupps, the North American division’s information security officer and Sappi’s global security lead, recently shared his thoughts with Network World Executive News Editor Bob Brown.
DocFinder: 5788
https://www.nwfusion.com/news/2005/032805yourtakecupps.html?tw
17) Dell touts database servers
Dell last week expanded its high-end server options with the introduction of two new four-way servers designed to support powerful database applications.
DocFinder: 5789
https://www.nwfusion.com/news/2005/032805dell.html?tw
18) New software: Management features key to SSL VPN pack
Permeo Technologies this week is introducing software that it says makes managing SSL-based VPNs simpler
DocFinder: 5790
https://www.nwfusion.com/news/2005/032805permeo.html?tw
19) BrainShare shift: NetWare to Linux
Novell last week tried to give customers even more reason to buy into its open-source-oriented strategy, which is designed to meld the best of Linux and NetWare services. The company announced that its GroupWise messaging and collaboration system will come bundled with SuSE Linux, and its ZENworks systems management offering will be able to control Windows workstations from Linux servers.
DocFinder: 5791
https://www.nwfusion.com/news/2005/032805-brainshare.html?tw
20) Extreme’s new switch to hook up IP phones, Wi-Fi gear
Extreme Networks this week is expected to launch a LAN edge switch designed to simplify deployments of wireless LAN access points and IP phones, using an emerging standard protocol for device discovery.
DocFinder: 5792
https://www.nwfusion.com/news/2005/032805extreme.html?tw
21) IBM, Symantec takes on spammers
IBM, Symantec take multipronged approach to fighting spam
DocFinder: 5793
https://www.nwfusion.com/news/2005/032805ibm.html?tw
22) Microsoft builds toward management vision
The goal of the plan, which the vendor calls its Dynamic Systems Initiative, is to provide corporate users with a range of assessment, configuration, monitoring, management and development tools that will let Microsoft’s software communicate its status to the network to improve the security, uptime and general maintenance of Microsoft environments.
DocFinder: 5794
https://www.nwfusion.com/news/2005/032805mspatch.html?tw
23) Software tackles spyware, virus threats
Start-up GreenBorder Technologies last week debuted software aimed at preventing spyware and virus contamination from the Internet for users of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser and Outlook e-mail.
DocFinder: 5795
https://www.nwfusion.com/news/2005/032805green.html?tw
24) Start-up offers high-capacity wireless-LAN gear
A start-up this week is unveiling a super wireless LAN access point that can offer greater capacity and more coverage than conventional access points.
DocFinder: 5796
https://www.nwfusion.com/news/2005/032805xirrus.html?tw
25) Customization comes to low-end CRM software
NetSuite last week took the wraps off a set of capabilities it dubbed NetFlex, aimed at making NetSuite’s ERP CRM/e-commerce applications bundle a flexible, standards-compliant platform that can adapt to custom business needs. The move parallels rival Salesforce.com’s preview of a package due in June, called Multiforce, which will let users add new features and applications to run within their Salesforce.com system.
DocFinder: 5797
https://www.nwfusion.com/news/2005/032805crmflex.html?tw
26) Physics project relying on giant computing grid
If the Large Hadron Collider at famed Geneva laboratory CERN is to yield miraculous discoveries in particle physics, it also might require a small miracle in grid computing.
DocFinder: 5798
