Networking and communication

Carrier MPLS support for VoIP

Achieving QoS for reliable voice transmissions can be the biggest challenge of deploying VoIP. Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) might be the answer! Continue Reading

By

• Robbie Harrell

Wi-Fi interference

In this research report, undertook the challenge to quantify the problem of interference in wireless LANs and defined a methodology for evaluating the effects of interference on WLANs. Continue Reading

By

• Craig Mathias

Microsoft outlines software-centric VoIP, UC

Microsoft unveils its vision of a software-based VoIP system to enable unified communications. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew R. Hickey, Senior News Writer

Cisco, IBM announce new unified communications platform

Cisco and IBM today announced a new unified communications platform that will allow users to access collaboration applications and tie together the capabilities of both companies' solutions. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew R. Hickey

Nortel switch release focuses on unified communications

Nortel today released two new switch series aimed at unified communications deployments. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew R. Hickey, Senior News Writer

VoIP security - problems inherited from data networking

VoIP security problems present a challenge for voice and network staff because IP telephony brings with it not only the security problems of data networks but also new, added threats specific to VoIP. In this tip, learn about the data network security threats that your voice staff must confront, how to secure both your call servers and endpoints, and how best to divide this work between voice and data personnel. Continue Reading

By

• Gary Audin, Delphi Inc.

Unified Communications to dominate VoiceCon

Unified Communications will again be a major focus of VoiceCon Spring. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew R. Hickey, Senior News Writer

Buzz builds around data reduction for primary storage

Analysts predict that in-band compression offerings from StoreWiz, newly updated this week, are the first step toward a new wave of primary storage deduplication products. Continue Reading

By

• Beth Pariseau, Senior News Writer

Expert: NAC not a network security cure-all

According to an expert at Black Hat DC, NAC success demands careful planning and a good understanding of the company network; otherwise, implementations can quickly go awry. Continue Reading

By

• Robert Westervelt, TechTarget

NetApp stokes midrange fires with new array

The FAS 3040 is a scaled down version of the 64-bit 3070 architecture; NetApp officials say more moves downmarket will follow. Continue Reading

By

• Beth Pariseau, Senior News Writer

Black Hat RFID controversy has bloggers up in arms

This week in Security Blog Log: Infosec pros slam HID Corp., the firm that tried to quash a Black Hat presentation on flaws in its RFID technology, calling HID the latest champion of security through obscurity. Continue Reading

RFID cloning presentation moves forward despite legal threats

Chris Paget, director of research and development at IOActive spoke mainly about the science behind RFID tags and readers and the inherent security issues of the technology. Continue Reading

By

• Dennis Fisher

RFID dispute: Vendors still hostile toward full disclosure

Many vendors still believe that security by obscurity is still the best policy and make it a priority to silence vulnerability researchers. Continue Reading

Can setting up a VPN help you get around blocked VoIP ports?

Can setting up a VPN help you get around blocked VoIP ports? Continue Reading

By

• SearchVoIP Staff

Black Hat presenter nixes RFID cloning demo under pressure

A demonstration of a device that could easily clone radio frequency identification (RFID) badges, was pulled from a conference presentation under pressure from a chip maker. Continue Reading

By

• Robert Westervelt, TechTarget

Outsourced VoIP helps devastated company recover

Outsourced VoIP helped a Berkeley company keep up business as usual after a fire destroyed its offices. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew R. Hickey, Senior News Writer

HP announces iSCSI VTL for SMBs

HP's new iSCSI VTL devices include automated backup capabilities for users with fewer than four servers. Continue Reading

By

• Beth Pariseau, Senior News Writer

Top 10 VoIP search terms

The top ten VoIP search terms and definitions. Keep tabs on the most popular VoIP terms – updated regularly. Continue Reading

By

• Leigha Cardwell, TechTarget

IP PBX: Ten reasons to switch

Should you throw out the old PBX and replace it with a new IP PBX? This tip from WindowsNetworking.com provides ten compelling reasons to do so. Continue Reading

By

• Nick Galea

Gartner: Quad-core slowed 2006 server sales

New Gartner data suggests that quad-core servers are not exciting users. Continue Reading

By

• Bridget Botelho, Editorial Director, News

Cisco routers threatened by drive-by pharming

Millions of Cisco routers in circulation could be compromised by a newly-discovered attack technique Symantec calls drive-by pharming, the networking giant warned in an advisory. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Brenner

All about automation

Automating your IT operations is a trick that creates obvious benefits. In this article, we explain how data center automation can help an entire enterprise. Continue Reading

By

• Audrey Rasmussen

What is presence?

Presence technology makes it possible to locate and identify a computing device wherever it might be, as soon as the user connects to the network. Continue Reading

By

• TechTarget ANZ staff

News Wrap 2.0

We've just discovered a great new application for technology that can save you an incredible amount of time, money and heartache. Continue Reading

By

• Simon Sharwood

VoIP complexities stall implementation for SMBs

VoIP sales in the SMB market are predicted to lead revenue in the next several years, but most SMBs are confused by the number of different solutions. Continue Reading

By

• Kate Dostart, Associate Editor

Cisco VoIP managment guide: Required management tasks

Comprehensive VoIP management includes the basic network management tasks, but also includes monitoring services such as dial tone delivery, call success rates, telephony delays and impairments, as well as call quality. VoIP telephony management is categorized here. Continue Reading

By

• SearchNetworking Staff

Download SAN Guide Chapter 3: Switches (PDF)

You asked for it, so here it is -- a printable version of our SAN All-In-One Guide. Download Chapter 3: Switches in .pdf format now. Continue Reading

Skype makes more enterprise inroads

Skype has teamed with FaceTime Communications to give companies more control over Skype use within the enterprise. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew R. Hickey, Senior News Writer

VoIP helps ensure disaster recovery

VoIP bolsters your disaster recovery plans and should be at the core of any well-planned disaster recovery strategy. Continue Reading

By

• Zeus Kerravala, ZK Research

VoIP helps ensure disaster recovery

VoIP bolsters your disaster recovery plans and should be at the core of any well-planned disaster recovery strategy. Continue Reading

By

• Zeus Kerravala, ZK Research

Cisco VoIP managment guide: Required management tasks

Comprehensive VoIP management includes the basic network management tasks, but also includes monitoring services such as dial tone delivery, call success rates, telephony delays and impairments, as well as call quality. VoIP telephony management is categorized here. Continue Reading

Cisco VoIP management guide: VoIP management lifecycle

VoIP lifecycle management enables enterprises to safely pursue large production deployments. The management lifecycle includes the following four elements. Continue Reading

Cisco VoIP management guide: Cisco requires proactive management

Managing Cisco VoIP solutions means network managers must rely on credible, experienced vendors to some extent. Fortunately, many vendors have emerged as trusted, viable partners that can offer an end-to-end management solution for Cisco VoIP environments. With the selection of vendors provided network managers should feel confident in successfully deploying and experiencing the value and benefits of IP telephony. Continue Reading

Cisco VoIP management guide: Enterprise VoIP management solutions

Enterprise VoIP management solutions require two considerations: the scale of production environment and the need to extend support resources with a systems integrator or service provider. Continue Reading

Cisco management guide: Selecting a VoIP solution

Selecting a VoIP solution means deciding on independent VoIP tools or a VoIP solution suite of integrated products. Continue Reading

Cisco VoIP management guide: Recommendations and summary

Enterprises now have solid choices of management solutions for their Cisco VoIP deployment. The short list for any enterprise should include Prognosis, Infovista, or Cisco. Continue Reading

Cisco management guide: Selecting a VoIP solution

Selecting a VoIP solution means deciding on independent VoIP tools or a VoIP solution suite of integrated products. Continue Reading

By

• SearchVoIP Staff

Cisco VoIP management guide: Recommendations and summary

Enterprises now have solid choices of management solutions for their Cisco VoIP deployment. The short list for any enterprise should include Prognosis, Infovista, or Cisco. Continue Reading

By

• SearchVoIP Staff

VoIP capabilities save hotel money, keep guests connected

"Rip and replace" were three words the Seaport Hotel in Boston didn't want to hear when considering VoIP capabilities. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew R. Hickey, Senior News Writer

EMC plans array-based encryption via PowerPath

EMC's next security move will be array-based encryption through PowerPath by 2008, according to internal documents obtained by SearchStorage. Continue Reading

By

• Beth Pariseau, Senior News Writer

Download SAN Guide Chapter 1: Management (PDF)

You asked for it, so here it is -- a printable version of our SAN All-In-One Guide. Download Chapter 1: Management in .pdf format now. Continue Reading

VoIP security, unified communications need questioned

VoIP security issues and questions about the business need for unified communications have stalled adoption of both technologies. Continue Reading

By

• Kate Dostart

VoIP security, unified communications need questioned

VoIP security issues and questions about the business need for unified communications have stalled adoption of both technologies, according to CompTIA's recent survey. Continue Reading

By

• Kate Dostart, Associate Editor

Gates to outline Microsoft's new strategy for secure computing

Bill Gates is back at RSA. At this year's conference, Gates plans to speak about the evolution of authentication, network policies and data protection, signaling a change in his vision of a "Digital Decade." Continue Reading

By

• Dennis Fisher

What is the advantage of having unified storage?

There is debate about that. Many customers may prefer to have just one storage system, avoiding specialized storage systems, like NAS for file-based access or a complicated block-based storage system... Continue Reading

Will all storage systems be unified storage in the future?

I don't think that "all" storage systems will be unified... Continue Reading

HP fills in gaps with product updates

HP announced updates to several of its products, but analysts are wondering what its ultimate strategy will be for storage virtualisation. Continue Reading

By

• Beth Pariseau, Senior News Writer

Open source - What voice managers need to know

Open source technology can make sense for VoIP deployments, and can be used in a hybrid approach with existing proprietary hardware or software. Learn more in this tip. Continue Reading

By

• Tom Lancaster

What is an E&M line? What is the difference between a 2 wire and 4 wire E&M?

What is an E&M line? What is the difference between a 2 wire and 4 wire E&M? Continue Reading

By

• SearchVoIP Staff

Managed VoIP -- 10 tips for a smooth migration

Migrating to managed VoIP doesn't have to be a headache. Here, Verizon Business offers 10 top tips to ensure you get what you need. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew R. Hickey, Senior News Writer

VoIP call features give users more bang for their buck

2006 saw an increase in the popularity of VoIP and encouraged many competing service providers to offer features such as voicemail and Caller ID as standard in their best-selling service plans. Continue Reading

By

• Kate Dostart, Associate Editor

Hybrid drives hit NAS boxes

DNF will be making hybrid drives available in all of its storage products, but it doesn't recommend them for IP SANs. Continue Reading

By

• Beth Pariseau, Senior News Writer

Managed VoIP -- 10 tips for a smooth migration

Migrating to managed VoIP doesn't have to be a headache. Here, Verizon Business offers 10 top tips to ensure you get what you need. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew R. Hickey

Brocade unveils McData integration roadmap

McData's directors and FICON routers will remain separate product lines for now; McData's SAN management software will replace Brocade's Fabric Manager. Continue Reading

By

• Beth Pariseau, Senior News Writer

VoIP case studies: What you need to know

Case studies are the next best thing to being there. Learn how others overcame the expected and the unexpected challenges of a VoIP migration in our case studies series. Continue Reading

By

• SearchVoIP.com editors

Network visualization, automation: At odds?

Visualization is a powerful tool. But in the context of network management, the prevalence of graphs may indicate that your network management system (NMS) is not ready to meet the requirements of autonomic network performance. Why so? Loki Jorgenson explains in this tip. Continue Reading

By

• Loki Jorgenson

Network-based attacks

The second tip in our series, "How to assess and mitigate information security threats." Continue Reading

VoIP security monitoring gets proactive

VoIP security and traffic monitoring have become imperatives, but it can still be tricky on a converged VoIP and data network. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew R. Hickey, Senior News Writer

iSCSI SANs grow in midmarket, enterprise

Because transporting "SCSI over IP" leverages ubiquitous Ethernet networks, that translates to lower cost, easier maintenance and simpler management, which makes SAN deployment more attractive for SMEs. Continue Reading

RSVP ready to manage VoIP, video traffic

Though its 10 year past was riddled with failures, RSVP is fast returning as one of the best tools for managing QoS for VoIP and video. Continue Reading

By

• Subha Dhesikan

Cisco fixes IOS flaws

Attackers could exploit three Cisco IOS flaws to cause a denial of service or launch malicious code. The networking giant has released fixes. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Brenner

Can Caller ID on VoIP calls be customized?

Can I create the CID, name, area code and phone number that will display when I place a call via VoIP? Who do you like for VoIP service? Continue Reading

By

• SearchVoIP Staff

What considerations do I need to make when setting up a VoIP system to our remote office?

What considerations do I need to make when setting up a VoIP system to our remote office? Continue Reading

By

• SearchVoIP Staff

WAN/WAFS platform specifications

Product snapshots highlighting key specifications for a cross section of WAFS and WAN optimisation products intended for small, medium, and large organisations. Continue Reading

Reasons why enterprise networking and security roles must stay separate

Enterprise network managers are responsible for configuring and managing network devices, but should they be accountable for tasks that are typically handled by the information security team? Contributor Shon Harris examines why networking and information security tasks should not be shared. Continue Reading

By

• Shon Harris , Logical Security

VoIP security testing fundamentals

VoIP security testing fundamentals are discussed in this guide -- how to test a VoIP system, what tools to use, how to use fuzzing to test VoIP security. Continue Reading

By

• SearchVoIP ANZ Staff

EqualLogic CEO says IPO on the way

EqualLogic's CEO talks about the company's plans to go public, its intent to add 10 GigE to its products and why he thinks not all iSCSI products are created equal. Continue Reading

By

• Beth Pariseau, Senior News Writer

Routing: Five common, easily avoided errors

Router configuration errors don''t have to take down your network. Learn five common routing mistakes -- and how to avoid them -- in this tip. Continue Reading

By

• Tom Lancaster

Core Security offers powerful testing tool

We highly recommend Core Impact 6.0 to security engineers to verify the vulnerability of their networks. Continue Reading

By

• Mike Poor, Contributing Writer

WiMax clearing path to mainstream

A number of industry moves have made WiMax almost ready for the mainstream. But there's good news and bad news to consider before making the move. Continue Reading

Network configuration management key to VoIP success

While companies spend millions on upgrading infrastructure for VoIP, little attention is given to solving the largest source of downtime – configuration-related outages due to human error. Continue Reading

By

• Zeus Kerravala, senior vice president, Yankee Group

Network configuration management key to VoIP success

While companies spend millions on upgrading infrastructure for VoIP, little attention is given to solving the largest source of downtime – configuration-related outages due to human error. A well-defined change management process built around a configuration management system can virtually eliminate the "self-inflicted" errors, which currently account for about 60% of all network outages. Continue Reading

By

• Zeus Kerravala, ZK Research

Convergence, interoperability key in disaster planning

Convergence and interoperability are major factors in ensuring communications continuity in a disaster. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew R. Hickey, Senior News Writer

What is the difference between InfiniBand, SAS and iSCSI and where does each technology fit?

InfiniBand is an interface; just like Fibre Channel (FC) or Ethernet. As an interface, InfiniBand carries different protocols... Continue Reading

What is the difference between virtualization switches and virtual SANs?

The word "virtualization" is thrown around so much that it's hard to always know what it means... Continue Reading

How are switches changing the way SANs are designed and managed?

There is more granularity in the device options today, allowing for more versatile device configuration... Continue Reading

Storage area network FAQ audiocast

Don't have time to dig into the FAQ text now? Download the storage area network audiocast in MP3 format and listen in the car, at the gym -- wherever you want. Continue Reading

Why don't we have clustered FC block storage?

Is it odd that the industry has made such serious strides toward incorporating clustering concepts in both file-based storage and IP -based storage, but not Fibre Channel storage? Continue Reading

Top 10 mobile tips of 2006

Review of the popular mobile technical tips of 2006 from our stable of mobile experts; Lisa Phifer, Craig Mathias, Daniel Taylor, Kevin Beaver and Robbie Harrell. Continue Reading

Skype Trojan: Much ado about nothing?

This week in Security Blog Log: A Trojan horse has captured headlines by targeting Skype users. But some believe the threat is being blown out of proportion. Continue Reading

Top client security tips of 2006

A network user without the proper know-how is a ticking time bomb when it comes to security. Check out our top five client hardening tips of 2006 to get a head start on protecting yourself from potentially dangerous users. Continue Reading

Top network security tips of 2006

The top Windows networking security tips of 2006 cover a range of topics, including network isolation, open source Windows security tools, VPN security and more. Continue Reading

VoIP hacking exposed in new book

VoIP hacking is a reality, and in a new book, two VoIP security experts outline the tools and tricks to avoid a system-crushing hack. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew R. Hickey, Senior News Writer

Cisco WLAN design best practices

Wireless LAN (WLAN) technology has built-in security features, but a one-size-fits-all approach won't ensure adequate security for your organization. This tip provides best practices for designing your security architecture, including user community considerations, controller architecture and access point placement Continue Reading

By

• Robbie Harrell

WLAN interference and clogged pipes -- happy holidays!

WLAN interference caused by decorations and slowed traffic due to online shopping are just some of the network woes of the holidays. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew R. Hickey

What are the fundamentals of ATM and ISDN?

Lisa Phifer explains the fundamentals of ATM and ISDN and why they are used. Continue Reading

By

• Lisa Phifer, Core Competence

Enterprises are open to Asterisk

Organisations have become so comfortable with VoIP and standards that open-source technologies like Asterisk are being given serious consideration over big iron PBX platforms. Learn all about Asterisk here. Continue Reading

By

• Leigha Cardwell-Bloss

Top 10 VoIP tips of 2006

Echo and latency issues top the list in 2006, as seen in our top 10 list of most popular tips. If you have missed any of these tips, now is the time to catch up before the end of the year. Continue Reading

Hosted VoIP eliminates cost, complexity

Hosted VoIP is being adopted at increasing rates as more and more companies look to avoid the excess costs and complexities of on-premise solutions. Continue Reading

By

• Kate Dostart, Associate Editor

VoIP management tools: Calculating ROI

Before purchasing management tools for VoIP, you may need to calculate the return on investment (ROI) to justify the cost of those tools. In this tip, Gary Audin explains how to calculate ROI and provides specific checklists for calculating the ROI for VoIP management tools. Continue Reading

By

• Gary Audin, Delphi Inc.

Hosted VoIP eliminates cost, complexity

Hosted VoIP is being adopted at increasing rates as more and more companies look to avoid the excess costs and complexities of on-premise solutions. Continue Reading

By

• Kate Dostart

Swindon is broadband capital

Swindon is still the broadband capital of Britain, research on coverage has revealed. Continue Reading

By

• Tash Shifrin

Storage Decisions Session Downloads: Engineering Track (LV 2006)

Managers need to engineer the most flexible and complete storage network. This track looks at SAN and NAS issues, distance demands, remote offices and how to build out systems. Continue Reading

SIP desktop phone blends functionality, style

VoIP desktop phones are no longer the clunky hunks of plastic that take up space on your desk. Siemens yesterday launched a new family of SIP phones that are as slick as they are functional. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew R. Hickey, Senior News Writer

Hitachi, BlueArc announce OEM partnership

What had been rumored to be an acquisition has turned out to be an OEM deal, but HDS has also made an investment in BlueArc, indicating an acquisition could be the next step. Continue Reading

By

• Beth Pariseau, Senior News Writer

Storage Decisions in the wild, wild west

Dedupe, iSCSI, backup, virtualisation and cowboys in Stetson hats -- Storage Decisions Las Vegas 2006 had it all. Continue Reading

By

• SearchStorage.com Staff

Dell, Microsoft tout joint NAS product

The new NX1950 product is vastly more expensive than its counterparts from HP and NetApp, but it scales higher, supports clusters and has redundant controllers. Continue Reading

By

• Beth Pariseau, Senior News Writer

Access your ISA and Exchange Server from outside the office

Learn how to configure your Linksys router so that you can access your ISA and Exchange Server from outside the office in this expert response by Lisa Phifer. Continue Reading

By

• Lisa Phifer, Core Competence

Symantec blames piracy for Veritas licensing snafu

Weekly compilation of storage news: Symantec says that software counterfeiting is throwing a wrench in tech support ; FRCP rules take effect. Continue Reading

By

• SearchStorage.com Editors

Video conferencing brings desktop VoIP, app sharing

Voice, video and Web conferencing vendor Genesys adds desktop VoIP and enhanced application sharing to its collaboration lineup. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew R. Hickey, Senior News Writer