Your guide to the must-see keynotes, events, demonstrations and sessions at the annual networking show.
IT budgets are up again this year, but only by 6% according to IDC. So while executives plan to spend, they still have to be careful about just where their dollars are going. This year’s NetWorld+Interop offers a real-world look at many of the most tempting technologies.
Wireless, collaboration technologies, VoIP and the increasing Webification of business applications are all placing new demands on corporate networks. The plus side is that there is no shortage of innovation when it comes to addressing these growing network needs. The downside is that sometimes it’s hard to know which of those technologies is right for you.
“There are new application demands and I think a lot of companies are finding that their infrastructures are not capable of delivering so they’re having to re-evaluate and in some cases re-architect their infrastructures. In doing so, they have to make the right decisions the first time,” says Steve Wylie, N+I director of content. “N+I becomes the safe place to make those decisions in context because they can see new technologies as part of a working system.”
In addition to the Interop eNet, which will give users a look at VoIP, anti-spam appliances and performance-monitoring tools in action, attendees will have access to more information than they have had in the past. The event will include more free educational seminars than ever before on everything from security to network performance to open source. There will be the usual expert-led seminars, tutorials and workshops. And 375 exhibitors are expected to crowd the show floor, a 10% jump from last year.
Also: ILabs hones in on SIP, secure client access and open source
Wylie and N+I General Manager Lenny Heymann say more than 17,500 people are expected to attend this year’s show, an almost 10% increase from the 16,000 who showed up last year. So if you’re among those heading to N+I’s new digs at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, keep this planner on hand. We’ve pulled out some of the highlights to help you get the most out of the show.
Monday, May 2
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.: SSL VPN Day
As business becomes increasingly virtual and remote access becomes the norm, it is critical to make sure those tapping into your network are legitimate. But how best to provide secure remote access?
IPSec has been the answer for most companies that want for ironclad security. But what about evolving SSL VPN technology? With SSL VPNs, network managers don’t have the headache of having to install software on remote devices because users tap into the network via a Web browser and an SSL connection.
Join Joel Snyder, a Network World Test Alliance partner and a senior partner at Opus One, for this intensive daylong workshop that will give the lowdown on all SSL VPNs can offer. The workshop will provide the nitty-gritty on how SSL VPNs work, what features are common to SSL VPN products, how different products affect application access and how best to evaluate them. Attendees will find out how to determine whether the technology is the best fit for their organization.
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.: Network Forensics Day
There’s no murder mystery here. But for network managers, the detective work during this daylong session likely will be just as exciting. Bill Alderson, executive network analyst at the Pine Mountain Group, and Marshall Manhoff, senior technical manager for AOL’s network analysis group and out-of-band access team, lead the event that gives attendees a firsthand look at how to solve the mysteries of network and application underperformance. They will guide attendees through troubled, complex, multi-vendor network environments and show how to pinpoint and fix these problems, as well as how to prevent them.
Tuesday, May 3
2 to 2:45 p.m.: Assembling and Running a Test Lab Inside Your Company
Network managers under pressure to put products through its paces before deploying them on a live network should make room for this session. Joel Snyder and VPN Consortium Director Paul Hoffman will share tips for how to avoid kinks when running your own test lab. They’ll offer advice on how to save your time and your company’s money. Everything from patch cords and power strips to automation scripts and open source test tools contribute to a good lab. Hoffman and Snyder will share their experiences from two decades of hard-core testing.
9 a.m.: John Chambers, president and CEO Cisco, Keynote
John Chambers, president and CEO of Cisco Systems, will open Interop with this keynote address in which he will talk about how to unleash the power of your network to drive productivity, collaboration and innovation. Business processes have moved from production-based systems to transaction-based systems to interactive systems. With the growing focus on interaction, the need for highly secure networks is mounting. Chambers “will address the critical role that IT plays in enabling secure, high-value interactions between people and machines in the real-time world of today,” the company says. Chambers will talk about Cisco’s architectural approach to security and how an “Intelligent Information Network sets the foundation for organizations to move with speed and flexibility for competitive advantage on a global scale.”
9 to 10 a.m.: Testing Endpoint Security Options
This is the first of several sessions that will give attendees a detailed look at the results of testing done in Network World labs. Network World Lab Alliance members Mandy Andress, president of ArcSec Technologies, and Rodney Thayer , principal investigator with security research firm Canola & Jones, are testing endpoint security devices that include everything from personal firewalls to host intrusion-prevention systems to policy enforcement products. Their first round of tests focused on proactive products that identify and block malicious traffic. Now they’re testing endpoint policy enforcement products. This session will take attendees under the covers of the testing and provide perspective on the endpoint security market.
10:15 to 11:15 a.m.: Is the End of Unsolicited E-mail in Sight, or will SPIM, SPAM and SPIT Spin Entirely Out of Control?
There’s no shortage of innovation when it comes to fighting the proliferation of spam. During the past year or so, network managers have had a growing pool of anti-spam product choices. But the onslaught of unsolicited e-mail continues, and spammers are branching out into instant messaging, short messaging services and IP telephony. Phillip Hallam-Baker, principal scientist at VeriSign, and John Veizades, product manager at Mirapoint, lead this session in which they will try to answer the question, “Can you get a handle on spam?”
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.: Leveraging Infrastructure Data for Performance Management
Infrastructure management tools provide tons of information to track system availability and troubleshoot problems. Ever thought of putting the data to wider use? In this session Wilson MacDonald, vice president of product management at Concord Communications; Bob Quillin, vice president of marketing and product management at Network Physics; and Joel Trammell, CEO and co-founder of NetQoS will discuss how network managers can use infrastructure measurement data to keep tabs on network performance metrics such as application response time.
2 to 3:15 p.m.: VoWi-Fi – Revolution in the Making
These days, network managers are getting increasingly comfortable with VoIP and Wi-Fi technologies. But what about combining the two? VoIP over Wi-Fi (VoWi-Fi) stands to be the next big thing as businesses look for ways to integrate disparate wireless voice and data systems. Keith Shaw, senior editor of product testing at Network World, will moderate this panel discussion with David Newman , president of Network Test and a Network World Test Alliance member; Joel Vincent, director of product marketing at Meru Networks; and Ben Guderian, director of market strategy and industry relations at SpectraLink. The panel will address issues such as when cost-effective cellular/VoWi-Fi phones will be available, what users can expect from service providers when it comes to VoWi-Fi and how VoWi-Fi might lead to the end of the tethered desktop phone.
2 to 3:15 p.m.: Performance Enhanced ROI: Choosing Between Application and Network-Centric Solutions
When looking for ways to boost the performance of your network, you can come at it from two angles: the network angle and the application angle. But which is better? Application-centric approaches boost specific applications, but are limited in scope. Network-centric tools might not provide as much application performance improvement as an application-based tool, but they can be applied to any application that traverses the network. Join Johna Till Johnson , president and chief research officer at Nemertes Research, Network World columnist and author of Network World’s Data Center newsletter; Lynn Nye, president of APM Advisors; and Peter Sevcik, president NetForecast, as they discuss how to decide which approach – or whether a combination of the two – is best for you.
3:30 to 4:30 p.m.: Overcoming the Barriers to Regulatory Compliance
Complying with new federal regulations regarding data management and retention is putting a strain on all IT shops. Analysts say that regulatory compliance will cost companies more than they spent in advance of Y2K. Don Kleinschnitz, vice president of Symantec’s Secure Enterprise Administration product delivery, will lead this session that will outline what the issues are when it comes to regulatory compliance and how network managers can deal with them.
Wednesday, May 4
5p.m.: Network World Survivor, Las Vegas
If you’re a reality TV buff, you won’t want to miss this. Network World Editorial Director John Gallant will lead this take-off on CBS’s popular reality series. Gallant will be joined by an all-star cast of Network World columnists and test experts who will decide which technology companies and products will survive to play a role in the enterprise IT environment of tomorrow.
Join Paul McNamara, Network World associate news editor and author of the ‘Net Buzz column; McNamara’s back page mate, Mark Gibbs, author of Network World’s BackSpin and Gearhead columns; Johna Till Johnson; and Network World Lab Alliance stalwarts Joel Snyder, founder of Opus One, and David Newman, president of Network Test. They – and you as an audience member – will decide which providers and technologies have what it takes to keep up with the fast-changing IT landscape and who is too slow, too weak and too worried about the installed base to survive the major changes ahead.
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.: Workshop: Running IT as a Business
Tired of having IT looked at as a cost center? This workshop, led by James Metzler, vice president of Ashton, Metzler & Associates, will provide tips on how to get IT better connected with the customers it serves and the business it supports. This highly-interactive workshop will show network managers how IT can be the foundation of business success and then lay out a framework for running IT as a business. The workshop will draw on real-world experiences of its attendees.
10:15 to 11:15 a.m.: Improving Application Performance: User case studies
Getting your network to perform at a top-notch level is your mission every day. But often the performance tools at hand don’t work as well as promised. During this session, David Dulfer, director of global internet services at Motorola; Mark Garton, disaster recovery/business continuity team leader at O’Reilly Auto Parts; and Irving Tyler, CIO at Quaker Chemical, talk about problems they’ve faced with performance issues and the processes and technologies they’ve used to overcome them.
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.: Optimizing Your Network for Convergence: Lessons Learned from IT Executives
Are you thinking about deploying VoIP or undertaking a broader convergence project? Your first step should be taking a good, hard look at your network. What does your network support today and how much capacity is available for new applications? Mike Banic, vice president of marketing at Peribit Networks; Hal Clark, senior business product manager at Avaya; and Irving Tyler, CIO at Quaker Chemical, will help you avoid the pitfalls of having a network that’s not up to the task or having one that’s over-provisioned. They’ll show you how to conduct a baseline assessment, suggest who should do it and explain how the results can help you get your network ready for convergence.
2 to 3 p.m.: Testing Voice over WLAN Gear
In this second session of the Network World testing track, David Newman, a Network World Test Alliance partner and president of Network Test; and Tom Alexander, CTO of test gear maker VeriWave, will give attendees an inside view of how they conducted the tests and the results they got. The tests looked at how well wireless access points and switches from Aruba Wireless Networks, Cisco, Chantry Networks and Colubris Networks handled voice traffic. Newman and Alexander also will discuss the underlying importance of correlating application-layer and data link-layer test results to get a complete picture of wireless LAN gear performance.
3:30 to 5 p.m.: Booth Crawl
Just the thing for network managers looking to relax: the booth crawl is a low-key opportunity to see what’s on the show floor, while enjoying beer, food and other libations. The Best of Interop Awards also will be handed out during this time.
Thursday, May 5
9 to 10 a.m.: Testing Anti-Spam Products
In this final session of the Network World Testing Track, Joel Snyder, Network World Lab Alliance partner and a senior partner at Opus One, will offer an in-depth look at his nearly exhaustive tests of anti-spam products. In his second round of groundbreaking tests , Snyder evaluated 35 software, appliance and service offerings.
After all that testing, Snyder has tons of data – not to mention plenty of scars. In this session, Snyder will detail the best way to test anti-spam products, including how to accurately gauge spam catch rates and how to determine false positives when checking out the performance of these products.
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.: Workshop: Optimizing End-to-End Application Performance
Getting the most out of applications isn’t as easy as it used to be now that network managers are faced with complex, multi-tiered application environments that include typical servers and databases, as well as Web-based delivery systems. Today, end users are far-flung and tap into applications with a range of end-user devices. At the same time, the performance of Web-based applications is becoming increasingly important to the overall success of business. Alistair Croll, chief strategy officer at Web performance monitoring firm Coradiant, leads this daylong workshop that takes a look at what can hang up application delivery and presents strategies for getting the best performance out of these network-based systems.
10:15 to 11:15 a.m.: Managing Wireless LANs: New Options for the Enterprise
You’ve deployed a wireless LAN, but now how to manage it? Craig Mathias, principal with the Farpoint Group, chairs this panel discussion. Rich Mironov, vice president of marketing at Air Magnet; Masood Garahi, CTO at Roving Planet; and Keerti Melkote, vice president of marketing and product management at Aruba Wireless Networks, will discuss planning, provisioning, monitoring and controlling WLANs. The trend these days is to integrate wireless and wireline management tools. Panel members will talk about WLAN approaches and discuss how the integration of wireless and wireline management packages will affect deployments.
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.: Consolidating My Data and Creating the “Serverless” Office
New appliances and technology are letting IT managers do more with their current networks. With network capabilities boosted, there is the opportunity to reduce or even eliminate the server infrastructure in many remote offices and instead deliver data and applications from a centrally managed location. Zakie Mashiah, CTO Expand Networks; Steve McCanne, CTO of Riverbed Technology; Michael Rolnick, partner at ComVentures; and Amit Singh, CTO at Peribit Networks, talk about different architectural approaches to server consolidation and how new, improved WANs can deliver all the performance you need to distributed locations.
