This week on Network World Fusion, 02/23/03

1) Showtime for Linux

1) Best products of the year

2) Vendors bring on the VoIP gear

3) RSA show to highlight new security approaches

4) Wireless Wizards: Personal firewalls

5) Nutter’s Help Desk: Choosing a VPN solution

6) Technology Update: AVDL integrates application security

7) D.C. builds high-speed network

8) Internet EDI: Blending old and new

9) Broadwing/Corvis union: Year One

10) Demo’s outlook is bright

11) Planets not aligned for Microsoft e-business suite

12) Vendors automate patch management

13) Cingular, AT&T Wireless face hurdles

14) Cisco tackles MPLS management

15) Vendors remain a step behind spam

16) Web services components coming

17) Cisco powers up Catalyst line

Editor’s Note: The annual RSA Conference is one of the highlights of the year for security professionals. We’ll have you covered with breaking news from the show, of course. But this year, Fusion will also offer unique insites on the show from Rodney Thayer, a member of our Lab Alliance (he co-authored our recent test of intrusion-prevention tools) who has helped develop implementations of IPsec, SSL (TLS) and digital certificate systems. And once the show ends, Thayer will continue to write about key security issues in his new Adventures in Security Weblog. Look for his comments starting Tuesday at https://www.nwfusion.com/weblogs/adventures/index.htmlagaffin@nww.com

     — Adam Gaffin, executive editor,

1) Best products of the year

In our annual Best Products section, we showcase the best of the best from our 2003 product tests; the favorite products of our testers and your peers; testing tips from our experts; testing equipment must-haves; and much more.

DocFinder: 9884

https://www.nwfusion.com/best/2004/

2) Vendors bring on the VoIP gear

In the next few weeks IP telephony vendors will launch a parade of new gear and applications aimed at making corporate employees more productive via converged voice, data and video applications.

DocFinder: 9880

https://www.nwfusion.com/news/2004/0223sipfest.html

3) RSA show to highlight new security approaches

The 10,000 people expected to attend the RSA Conference 2004 this week in San Francisco will be treated to new approaches to the age-old security problems of fixing vulnerabilities and verifying user identities.

DocFinder: 9881

https://www.nwfusion.com/news/2004/0223rsashow.html

4) Wireless Wizards: Personal firewalls

The Wizards help a user decide whether he should install personal firewalls on computers connected to his wireless network.

DocFinder: 9898

https://www.nwfusion.com/columnists/2004/0223wizards.html

5) Nutter’s Help Desk: Choosing a VPN solution

Ron Nutter helps a user who has to figure out how to unify a collection of remote offices that each seem to have their own ways of connecting to the Internet.

DocFinder: 9897

https://www.nwfusion.com/columnists/2004/0223nutter.html

6) Technology Update: AVDL integrates application security

Proposed by leading application security vendors and users, Application Vulnerability Description Language creates a rich and effective set of consistent XML schema definitions to describe application security properties and vulnerabilities.

DocFinder: 9885

https://www.nwfusion.com/news/tech/2004/0223techupdate.html

7) D.C. builds high-speed network

Faced with emergencies from terrorism threats to ice storms, Washington, D.C., is spending $93 million to build a high-speed, citywide public safety network that industry observers say is one of the most advanced of its kind.

DocFinder: 9886

https://www.nwfusion.com/news/2004/0223dcnet.html

8) Internet EDI: Blending old and new

Companies are looking to move some or all of their EDI transactions to the Internet because the technology costs less than VANs and is relatively simple to implement. While VAN-based EDI traffic is roughly flat, Internet EDI transactions are growing at an annual rate of 50% to 60%.

DocFinder: 9887

https://www.nwfusion.com/news/2004/0223as2.html

9) Broadwing/Corvis union: Year One

Broadwing has no debt, one of the newest national networks and only a small portion of its revenue stems from traditional voice services. Yet as with most service providers, the company’s long -term success is not set in stone.

DocFinder: 9888

https://www.nwfusion.com/news/2004/0223broadwing.html

10) Demo’s outlook is bright

If a show like Demo and its enthusiastic crowds can give start-ups the adrenaline they need, then that’s a good thing for the industry,

DocFinder: 9889

https://www.nwfusion.com/news/2004/0223demo.html

11) Planets not aligned for Microsoft e-business suite

End users: Microsoft Jupiter e-business suite was too much.

DocFinder: 9890

https://www.nwfusion.com/news/2004/0223jupiter.html

12) Vendors automate patch management

With viruses such as the Blaster worm, Sircam and Code Red costing companies billions of dollars in damage, server and desktop management vendors are looking to take advantage of an expected surge in demand for patch-management products.

DocFinder: 9891

https://www.nwfusion.com/news/2004/0223alteris.html

13) Cingular, AT&T Wireless face hurdles

Wireless giant it will be, but the combination of Cingular and AT&T Wireless will need to improve customer service and articulate – then execute – a clear network integration plan before it will truly frighten competitors, experts say.

DocFinder: 9892

https://www.nwfusion.com/news/2004/0223attwireless.html

14) Cisco tackles MPLS management

Cisco recently unveiled software designed to help service providers better manage Multi-protocol Label Switching networks built with Cisco products.

DocFinder: 9893

https://www.nwfusion.com/edge/news/2004/0223cisco.html

15) Vendors remain a step behind spam

Despite a new federal law, junk e-mail shows no signs of slowing, which means anti-spam vendors must constantly update their products to keep pace and preserve any hope of distinguishing themselves in an overcrowded market.

DocFinder: 9894

https://www.nwfusion.com/news/2004/0223spam.html

16) Web services components coming

Corporate users are looking for hardware and software they say is critical to building scalable infrastructure to support the secure integration of data and applications using Web services.

DocFinder: 9895

https://www.nwfusion.com/news/2004/0223soa.html

17) Cisco powers up Catalyst line

Cisco last week announced new products that could help users roll out larger amounts of powered Ethernet ports, reducing the cost of deploying devices such as IP phones and Wi-Fi access points.

DocFinder: 9896

https://www.nwfusion.com/news/2004/0223catalyst.html