Network hardware
Network hardware products such as routers, switches, hubs, appliances and gateways form the vital infrastructure for successful enterprise IT. We look at the latest trends in technologies in building LANs, WANS and Ethernet networking.
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E-Zine
13 Oct 2023
CW EMEA: Prepare for AI explosion
In this month’s CW EMEA, we look at generative artificial intelligence, which Accenture claims is the next big thing in enterprise IT. The IT services giant says GenAI will transform 40% of all working hours – and it is putting its money where its mouth is with plans to invest $3bn in AI and create 40,000 AI-focused roles. Part of the huge investment has already been assigned to the creation of an AI and generative AI lab in Brussels focused on the public sector in Europe. We also look at a Deutsche Telekom-led consortium’s demo of multi-supplier non-real-time RAN optimisation, how last month’s Ryder Cup tested out technology to improve how fans digitally consume the event, and find out how Zurich Insurance has cut the time it takes to complete development of ServiceNow applications. Read the issue now. Continue Reading
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News
01 Jun 2023
DE-CIX switches on Internet Exchange in Finland
Comms tech provider celebrates 10 years of partnership with Internet Exchange operator and home to leading carrier and datacentre neutral interconnection ecosystem Continue Reading
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News
09 Jun 2011
Visa predicts 20 million contactless payment cards in UK by 2012
Visa Europe expects the number of contactless cards being used in the UK to reach 20 million by the end of 2011. Continue Reading
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News
08 Jun 2011
TfL makes real-time information available for ‘Boris Bikes’ apps
Transport for London (TfL) has made real-time information available on its "Boris Bikes" scheme for developers seeking to create mobile apps. Continue Reading
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News
07 Jun 2011
Skype suffers second outage as users locked out
Some Skype users have been unable to sign into accounts after the service suffered a second outage in as many weeks. Continue Reading
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News
27 May 2011
UK government announces next wave of rural broadband deployment
Consumers and businesses in Wiltshire, Norfolk, Devon and Somerset are to benefit from the next phase of the UK government's drive to roll out superfast broadband connections to rural areas. Continue Reading
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News
27 May 2011
Skype users locked out as internet telephony service works on fix
Skype was forced to issue a workaround for users unable to sign into their accounts while the internet telephony service worked on a permanent fix. Continue Reading
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News
25 May 2011
BT and Everything Everywhere trial 800MHz 4G LTE broadband in Newquay
BT and mobile operator Everything Everywhere are seeking 200 volunteers in South Newquay, Cornwall to trial a joint high-speed 4G broadband initiative. Continue Reading
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Feature
19 May 2011
Buyer's Guide: HP's Intelligent Resilient Framework (IRF) put to the test
In the world of datacentres and large-scale enterprise networks there has always been some form of perceived trade-off between performance and resilience. Building in resilience is absolutely essential of course, but it has historically affected service and application ability when brought to play. Continue Reading
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News
13 May 2011
Analysis: What does Microsoft's Skype acquisition mean for businesses?
Microsoft's planned acquisition of internet telephony services firm Skype for $8.5bn has caused quite a stir in the consumer world, but what will it mean for business? Continue Reading
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News
12 May 2011
Government urges councils to accelerate superfast broadband roll-out
The government is calling on local authorities to accelerate broadband roll-out to help it deliver superfast broadband services to 90% of homes and business by 2015. Continue Reading
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News
03 May 2011
Cloud computing: How to avoid a network bottleneck
Cloud computing can put a huge load on a business's network. Organisations need to ensure network access from the user's browser on the local area network (LAN), to a cloud-based datacentre across on the public internet are fit for purpose. Continue Reading
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News
15 Apr 2011
Computer Weekly marks the end of an era as a new one begins
The first issue of Computer Weekly magazine in 1966 marked the start of an era in the UK IT industry - the first ever weekly technology publication. This is the story of how it all began. Continue Reading
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News
13 Apr 2011
Building an Olympics network
Preparation is clearly the key to Olympic success, as players on 27 July 2012 will see years of finely honed practice condensed into one gruelling fortnight Continue Reading
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News
11 Apr 2011
Manageability issues impede adoption of virtualisation
Virtual infrastructure management challenges are hindering the adoption of virtualisation within businesses, according to research. Continue Reading
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Photo Story
04 Apr 2011
How pay-as-you-behave technology could transform car insurance
New IT systems can help calculate unique insurance premiums based on driver behaviour Continue Reading
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News
01 Apr 2011
Community networks to be part of Devon and Somerset broadband projects
Devon and Somerset county council has issued requests for tenders worth... Continue Reading
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News
01 Apr 2011
Samsung and Visa team up for mobile NFC payments
Samsung and Visa have formed a partnership to provide mobile payments in time for the 2012 London Olympic games. Continue Reading
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News
30 Mar 2011
All for one fibre, one fibre for all, says ECTA
Countries should separate the provision of new fibre networks from their operation, executives from telcos struggling to enter new national markets told the European Commission and major banks on Tuesday. Continue Reading
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News
11 Mar 2011
Rural broadband fund triggers technology tussle
News that the government may be giving serious thought to a "last mile first" approach when it comes to spending public money on broadband projects emerged this week to a cautious response from industry. Continue Reading
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News
07 Mar 2011
Intel launches second generation Core vPro processor
Intel says new chip will increase the speed of business applications by 60% Continue Reading
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News
04 Mar 2011
Azure propels Southampton's Windows Phone 7 balloon above the clouds
Microsoft Azure is helping Southampton University to reach above the clouds in a first-of-its-kind experiment to probe the stratosphere using an unmanned vehicle. Continue Reading
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News
28 Feb 2011
UPDATE: Stolen network equipment causes Vodafone UK network outage
The theft of specialist equipment has prevented thousands of users from accessing the Vodafone network. Continue Reading
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News
25 Feb 2011
Huawei asks US to investigate it for threats to national interest
Huawei, the Chinese telecoms equipment maker, has called for the US government to make a formal investigation of the company to lay to rest allegations that it represents a threat to US national interests. Continue Reading
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News
25 Feb 2011
Intel rolls out high speed cable 'Thunderbolt'
Intel has rolled out a high-speed PC connection technology named Thunderbolt, in collaboration with Apple. Continue Reading
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News
22 Feb 2011
Middle East governments stepping up internet control, study shows
The internet has proved to be a powerful tool for rallying social and political change, but Middle East governments have also recognised their capability to disrupt communications Continue Reading
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News
04 Feb 2011
Vodafone protests Egyptian government propaganda on network
Vodafone has described the Egyptian authorities' use of its network to send pro-government texts as unacceptable. Continue Reading
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News
03 Feb 2011
Every IPv4 address is now allocated and could run out within weeks
It's official: the IPv4-based internet is full, or at least it will be within a few weeks Continue Reading
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News
03 Feb 2011
Broadband boosts BT profits to £531m
An early return to positive cash flow at Global Services helped BT to produce earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation 7% higher on sales that fell 3% Continue Reading
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News
02 Feb 2011
O2 to apply for e-money licence to support NFC payments
O2 will apply for an e-money licence this year, signalling its commitment to support contactless payments in the UK in the near future. Continue Reading
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News
01 Feb 2011
Interactive crime map site experiencing problems as millions log on
An interactive crime map has been launched to allow people to monitor criminal activity in their area. Continue Reading
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News
31 Jan 2011
Vodafone restores services to Egypt after mobile shutdown
Mobile operator, Vodafone, has restored mobile phone services in Egypt after a 24-hour shutdown. Continue Reading
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News
28 Jan 2011
Tesco rolls out in-store mobile phone network
Supermarket Tesco is rolling out a converged fixed and mobile voice network across its stores based on GSM technology. Cliff Saran finds out how the rollout is progressing. Continue Reading
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News
27 Jan 2011
Sky buys The Cloud
BSkyB has confirmed plans to acquire UK Wi-Fi network provider The Cloud. The deal allows the broadcaster access to 5,000 public wireless hotspots Continue Reading
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News
27 Jan 2011
Zuckerberg's Facebook page hacked
The personal page of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was hacked and an unauthorised update was placed on it Continue Reading
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News
26 Jan 2011
Virgin supplies London schools with 10Mbps fibre optic broadband
Virgin Media's business division is to supply a managed fibre optic network to London's Grid for Learning that will replace a broadband network supplied by Symmetrix, a Capita company. Continue Reading
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News
24 Jan 2011
Bluwan's FTTA promises cheap high-speed comms
Start-up French wireless comms company Bluwan has previewed microwave technology that promises to slash the cost of providing high-speed broadband to rural areas to between 2% and 5% of traditional microwave and fibre networks. Continue Reading
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News
24 Jan 2011
McDonald's to roll out contactless payments in 1,200 UK stores
Fast-food restaurant chain, McDonald's, will roll out contactless payments in all of its 1,200 UK stores by the end of October Continue Reading
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News
21 Jan 2011
Rackspace launches system administrator app
Rackspace has launched an app that allows a CIO or system administrator to dial up or take down servers and storage moment by moment. Continue Reading
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News
20 Jan 2011
Iran gets access to Google Earth, Picasa and Chrome
Google has announced that Iranians are to be able to download Google Earth, Picasa and Chrome, available for the first time following the easing of US export controls. Continue Reading
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News
17 Jan 2011
Babcock outsources next-gen network to C&W Worldwide
UK-based global engineering firm Babcock has hired Cable&Wireless Worldwide as its sole telecoms supplier for the next three years to consolidate Babcock's legacy network estate and connect its 250 UK and international sites Continue Reading
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News
14 Jan 2011
Vodafone Australia sacks employees over data leak
Vodafone Australia has sacked several people after four million customer records were exposed in a privacy leak Continue Reading
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News
14 Jan 2011
Government wants hard evidence before changing fibre tax
The government wants concrete evidence that the business rates tax on lit fibres - the so-called fibre tax - unduly hampers network investment before it considers reviewing the system Continue Reading
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News
11 Jan 2011
Cambridge village competes with South Korea on broadband speeds
Residents of Broughton have become among the first UK consumers to get access to 1Gbps broadband speeds Continue Reading
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News
11 Jan 2011
BT to develop Goonhilly satellite site for deep space comms programme
After closing the Goonhilly visitor's centre in March 2010, BT has announced it is planning to invest in the historic telecommunications satellite site. Continue Reading
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News
06 Jan 2011
Ofcom frees spectrum for better data, internet access
From Thursday UK mobile network operators will be allowed to offer data services over their 2G networks, giving consumers better indoor and outdoor access... Continue Reading
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News
06 Jan 2011
Most people who sell their old mobiles don't clear personal data
Just over three quarters of the UK population have sold on old mobile phones, but only 31% wiped all personal information before selling, a survey has revealed. Continue Reading
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News
06 Jan 2011
CES 2011: Steve Ballmer heralds new era of technology
Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer highlighted that the next version of Windows will be the first to run on ARM processors in his keynote address at the opening of the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Continue Reading
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News
05 Jan 2011
BCS CEO David Clarke talks about the future of the IT industry
David Clarke, CEO of the chartered institute of computing the BCS, talks to Computer Weekly about being awarded an MBE, the future of the IT profession and tackling a membership revolt against his leadership last year. Continue Reading
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Photo Story
10 Nov 2010
Unified Comms for the smaller business
Bob Tarzey from Quocirca looks at how smaller businesses can benefit from deploying unified communications Continue Reading
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News
28 Jul 2010
Pacnet, Pacific Fibre, to light up cable competition
Pacnet and Pacfic Fibre will team to construct a new trans-pacific cable, which will operate at 5.1 terabits per second. Continue Reading
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News
21 Jul 2010
Why the ACCC thinks carrier Ethernet is important
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has indicated it may include Ethernet services in its list of Domestic Transmission Capacity Services. Richard Chirgwin analyses the implications of the move. Continue Reading
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News
21 Jul 2010
Using 3G as a backup WAN
3G data services are often advanced as a cheap way to provide a disaster recovery service for your WAN. But experts say you need to do more than just cut from one link to another to create a functional connection. Continue Reading
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Photo Story
15 Jul 2010
David Beckham talks to fans around the world via Cisco telepresence
England footballing superstar David Beckham teamed up with Yahoo to talk to fans around the world using telepresence technology at Cisco's London office. Continue Reading
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News
21 Jun 2010
Telstra/NBN FAQ
Richard Chirgwin analyses the proposed deal between the federal government and Telstra, explaining how it will work, what it will mean for your broadband connection and the impact on competition. Continue Reading
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Photo Story
30 Mar 2010
Photos: CERN - A tour of the large hadron collider
This month is the 20th anniversary of the Web, which was invented by Tim Berners-Lee at Cern in March 1989. Continue Reading
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Photo Story
21 Jan 2010
Photos: How technology is helping Haiti
This photo story shows how the UN Foundation and it's partners are setting up telecommunications to help the people of Haiti stay connected with the rest of the world. Continue Reading
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News
23 Nov 2009
CBI: Eight things you didn’t know about digital communications
Interesting facts from the CBI report, The shape of business – the next 10 years Continue Reading
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Photo Story
12 Nov 2009
What goes on inside Orange UK's network management centre?
OrangeNMC captions Picture gallery (Pix in Pix from Journalist/OrangeNMC) Inside Orange UK's network control centre Orange UK, which is... Continue Reading
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Photo Story
16 Sep 2009
Photos: Technology websites before they were famous
IT companies were well represented in the list of the first 100 internet domain names registered and they were also early adopters of a web presence. Continue Reading
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Photo Story
09 Jul 2009
Photos: True Picture of your Mobile 3G Coverage
Ofcom have capitulated to critics and published maps of providers coverage for their 3G products. Continue Reading
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Photo Story
16 Jun 2009
What does Digital Britain mean for you?
The Digital Britain report was unveiled. We look at what the key points are and how does the report affect you? Continue Reading
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Photo Story
06 Feb 2009
Photos: Top Ten Tech Power Twitterers
Twitter is full of great people to follow, but there are so many people, how do you know who to follow, so your timeline isn’t filled with random tweets that don’t help you? Continue Reading
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Feature
19 Nov 2007
Wi-Fi linked to childhood autism
A study published this week in the Australasian Journal of Clinical Environmental Medicine warns that wireless communication technology may be responsible for accelerating the rise in autism among children. Continue Reading
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Feature
06 Nov 2007
Managed VoIP keeps regatta's communications afloat
The world's largest rowing regatta utilises managed VoIP to ease its year-round communications needs -- and for a temporary system during its celebrated two-day event. Continue Reading
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News
06 Nov 2007
Adaptec reports losses
Adaptec's revenue was down year over year, as well as sequentially; DataDirect says the InfiniBand business is booming. Continue Reading
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News
06 Nov 2007
Users leaving Fibre Channel for iSCSI Sans find pros, cons
Users who recently updated aging Fibre Channel equipment with new iSCSI San products have found ease of use can be a double-edged sword. Continue Reading
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News
01 Nov 2007
ISCSI storage gets performance makeover
Suppliers, including Ibrix, Mellanox, Alacritech and EqualLogic, are offering juiced-up new iSCSI configurations, while 3PAR, CipherMax and NeoScale boost data security products. Continue Reading
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News
30 Oct 2007
EMC's Tucci vows to keep up with new features
EMC CEO says storage giant is widening its technology net to match innovations of smaller competitors. Continue Reading
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News
29 Oct 2007
Unified communications platform gets SMB twist
While unified communications has eluded the SMB market, Siemens has released an all-in-one UC appliance specifically for the SMB. Continue Reading
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News
21 Oct 2007
VoIP certification credentials
Many certifications touch on voice over IP topics tangentially, but numerous credentials now focus a fairly substantial portion of their coverage on this subject matter. In this certification survey, we take a look at available certifications, distinguishing between those credentials for which VoIP is a primary topic and those for which it is secondary. Continue Reading
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Feature
10 Oct 2007
Checklist for purchasing hardware-based encryption
Encryption appliances sit inline on a network and use specially designed electronics to encrypt data at line speeds, essentially eliminating the performance penalty imposed by encryption software running on a general server. While software-based encryption is typically handled as a specific event or process (e.g., encrypting data during a backup process), appliance-based encryption normally can handle any quantity of data in flight. Continue Reading
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News
10 Oct 2007
Unified communications new priority for HP
Unified communications is a confusing area with a number of vendors in the mix. HP has launched new services to help ease companies into unified communications and help them determine which integrated tools will best fit their business goals. Continue Reading
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News
07 Oct 2007
IP telephony adoption rising, quality sagging
IP telephony adoption continues to grow, but service quality is lagging behind, according to a user survey from Psytechnics. Continue Reading
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Feature
07 Oct 2007
IP PBX eases VoIP transition for gas company
An IP PBX with Sip helped one gas company upgrade to a new phone system while also jumping into VoIP. Continue Reading
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Feature
01 Oct 2007
How to select the right IP PBX
Selecting the right IP PBX system for your company can be complicated. Here are some important things to consider when purchasing an IP PBX. Continue Reading
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News
16 Sep 2007
Communications-as-a-service taking hold
Communications-as-a-service is taking hold worldwide as a viable hosted IP telephony system. Continue Reading
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News
09 Sep 2007
Virtual appliance lets users convert DAS to iSCSI San
LeftHand Networks has released an edition of its SaniQ iSCSI San software that will convert locally attached disc to networked storage. Continue Reading
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Feature
06 Sep 2007
Understanding VoWLAN
Like VoIP, VoWLAN contributes to cost efficiency. Because calls can be routed over the data network internally or over the Internet externally, mobile telephony costs can be eliminated or decreased significantly. In the long term, VoWLAN deployment is a significant step toward interoperability and seamless mobile connectivity between private WLANs and public wireless and cellular networks. Continue Reading
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News
31 Aug 2007
Suncorp reveals five-year VoIP plan
Financial services group Suncorp explains its plans to IP-enable its operations to Adam Turner. Continue Reading
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News
26 Aug 2007
IBM back in iSCSI SAN fray
IBM is looking to take on HP's MSA and EMC's AX150, as well as EqualLogic and LeftHand, with a new iSCSI SAN product OEMed from LSI. Continue Reading
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News
23 Aug 2007
Nokia Intellisync boosts device management
Nokia Intellisync has released updates to its Mobile Suite to enhance remote device support, loss and theft protection, and management capabilities. Continue Reading
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Feature
12 Aug 2007
VoIP models and services: Complete guide
With clear, concise explanations of existing VoIP business models and deployment methodologies, this guide will enable you to weigh the pros and cons of each based on your needs. Continue Reading
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News
09 Aug 2007
NAS appliance purchase considerations
NAS appliances are frequently touted for bringing convenience and simplicity to network storage. Appliances include their own dedicated disks for storage and RAID, and most NAS appliances can be upgraded with more or larger disks for additional storage space. However, NAS appliances do pose some disadvantages. Consequently, the choice of NAS appliance requires careful evaluation. Now that you've reviewed the essential issues involved in any NAS product, this guide focuses on specific considerations for dedicated NAS appliances. You'll also find a series of specifications to help make on-the-spot product comparisons between vendors. Continue Reading
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News
09 Aug 2007
VoIP vulnerability threatens data
VoIP vulnerabilities have now reached a level of sophistication that allows hackers to steal, view or delete data. Continue Reading
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News
08 Aug 2007
NAS appliance specifications
NAS appliances are noted for their convenience, offering dedicated internal storage that is relatively straightforward to identify and manage. The biggest issue for NAS appliances is avoiding network bottlenecks and supporting expansion without having to proliferate additional appliances across the network. The product snapshots in this chapter highlight key specifications for a cross section of major NAS appliance products. Continue Reading
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News
08 Aug 2007
Wi-Fi simplicity edging out Wi-Fi security
Experts say the standards are available to lock down Wi-Fi, but many network and security managers are taking an easier approach. Continue Reading
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News
07 Aug 2007
Application-aware storage promises intelligence and automation
Storage professionals overbuy both performance and capacity in an effort to forestall potential storage problems. Tiered storage was one way to address this problem -- matching storage resources and costs with the value of data. Today, storage is poised to build on this notion with application-aware storage, using business policies to bring autonomy and intelligence to enterprise storage. Still, there is a great deal of confusion surrounding this technology, its capabilities and its deployment. Continue Reading
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Feature
07 Aug 2007
How to cheat at VoIP Security
Securing a VoIP infrastructure requires planning, analysis, and detailed knowledge about the specifics of the implementation you choose to use. Continue Reading
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News
25 Jul 2007
EMC reports Clariion surge, data archiving slump
EMC's revenues are up this quarter, attributed in part to a big boost in Clariion sales, but CEO Joe Tucci is critical of the company's execution in data archiving. Continue Reading
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News
25 Jul 2007
Cisco issues warning for wireless LAN controller flaws
Cisco Systems is warning customers of flaws in its wireless LAN controllers that initially crippled a wireless network at Duke University. Continue Reading
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News
23 Jul 2007
LeftHand refreshes iSCSI SAN software
Version 7.0 of LeftHand's iSCSI SAN software contains dozens of new features, including support for four-way replication and brushed-up thin provisioning. Continue Reading
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News
22 Jul 2007
Black Hat Las Vegas 2007: Special news coverage
SearchSecurity.com covers all the controversy at this year's show with news, features, podcasts, interviews, exploits and more direct from Las Vegas. Continue Reading
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News
09 Jul 2007
Unified messaging system updates company's voicemail
Installing a new unified messaging system helped one company in its daily struggles with an outdated voicemail system. Continue Reading
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Feature
03 Jul 2007
Data migration product specifications
Part of the Tiered Storage Buying guide focusing on product specifications for data migration tools. Continue Reading
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News
01 Jul 2007
VoIP measurement boosts customer service efficiency
iSelect Technology Manager Jason Egbers says the company's new VoIP measurement tools have helped it improve contact center operations. Continue Reading
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News
25 Jun 2007
Instant messaging usage increase highlights need for policies
A Burton Group report suggests that all companies should have an IM usage policy, even if they haven't deployed IM yet Continue Reading
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News
25 Jun 2007
Meet Mr. Asterisk
Adam Turner meets the creator of the Asterisk open source IP PBX and explores the future of the software, which is making major enterprise inroads. Continue Reading
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News
21 Jun 2007
HP users mull blade storage
HP's "blade everything" strategy is starting to emerge in storage. Users at the HP Technology Forum this week mulled the possibilities for the technology. Continue Reading
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News
17 Jun 2007
Burton Group Catalyst Conference San Francisco 2007
SearchSecurity.com brings you the latest news, interviews, podcasts and more from the Burton Group Catalyst Conference 2007 in San Francisco. Continue Reading
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News
17 Jun 2007
VoIP security testing fundamentals
Testing your VoIP security system against all the threats that exist on the network can be a full time job. This guide documents how a VoIP system can be tested and suggest some of the available tools to use -- with a focus on fuzzing tools and methods. Continue Reading
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Feature
08 Jun 2007
Deploying VoIP: Five things every CIO should know
Navigating the complexity of a VoIP deployment can be overwhelming and it may seem like you need a technical degree to understand it. Here are five tips to help steer through the fog of a VoIP migration. Continue Reading