Networking and communication

Slow response times from client/server PC's running IFS applications

How do you find out the culprit of a network delays when you see little bandwidth being used? Read this Q&A to see what our network administrating expert, Lindi Horton, has to say. Continue Reading

By

• Lindi Horton, ServiceMesh

Effective wireless security is available, but holes exist

Specialist vendors offer products that allow even small businesses to run a secure wireless network without paying a high price, but that doesn't mean companies are using it. Continue Reading

By

• Krissi Danielsson, Contributor

Managed and hosted VoIP: muddling through

For companies looking for an alternative to a premise-based phone system, there are plenty available, and they come in all shapes and sizes. Get a clearer understanding of exactly what's available so you can ask the right questions to get the managed or hosted service your firm needs. Continue Reading

By

• Zeus Kerravala, ZK Research

Static routing for Cisco users [Day Two: The good and bad of static routing]

What is static routing good for? And what are its shortcomings? Read on to discover how and when to use this technique. Continue Reading

By

• SearchNetworking Staff

Managed and hosted VoIP: muddling through

Managed and Centrex and hosted, oh my! For companies looking for an alternative to a premise-based phone system, there are plenty available, and they come in all shapes and sizes. Get a clearer understanding of exactly what's available so you can ask the right questions to get the managed or hosted service your organization needs. Continue Reading

By

• Zeus Kerravala, ZK Research

Wireless connections with ad hoc networks

Ad hoc wireless networking in Windows Vista with the IPv6 protocol has its risks, but it also has several built-in security mechanisms. In this tip, Brien Posey explains how these security features help counteract some risks of wireless networks. Continue Reading

By

• Brien Posey

Virtual SAN product specifications

Product snapshots that highlight key specifications for a cross-section of VSAN platforms selected based on input from industry analysts and SearchStorage.com editors. Continue Reading

How can a small business achieve high quality VoIP?

As a small trader, I must be able to communicate with my trading partners who are often in other countries. We use IP telephony to keep costs down. Can you suggest how I can have high quality VoIP calls that will exceed PSTN call quality? Continue Reading

By

• SearchVoIP Staff

Why do VoIP calls remain active after the phone call is ended?

For our small business needs, we use a Linksys PAP for our IP telephony service. Sometimes though, we noticed that the call will remain active after we have ended the call and hung up. How do we configure the ATA or gateway to avoid this problem? Continue Reading

By

• SearchVoIP Staff

Why is UDP used more in VoIP than TCP?

If UDP is unreliable, why is it used more in VoIP rather than TCP? Continue Reading

By

• SearchVoIP Staff

What is the difference between VoIP, CTI and IP telephony?

What is the difference between VoIP, CTI (Computer Telephony Integration) and IP telephony? Continue Reading

By

• SearchVoIP Staff

Can VoIP work on a GPRS-enabled mobile phone?

Is it possible to use VoIP on GPRS-enabled mobile phones? Continue Reading

By

• SearchVoIP Staff

When should a VoIP system be analyzed and with what tools?

We have recently implemented a VoIP network with separate VLANs and QoS. It all seemed to be working fine when it first went in, but recently, certain people have been complaining about sound breakup whilst talking to customers on the phone. Continue Reading

By

• SearchVoIP Staff

VoIP news briefs: Verizon Business, TheInfoPro and Ovum

Verizon Business introduces a new management portal; TheInfoPro looks at the rate of VoIP adoption; and Ovum warns of VoIP security threats. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew R. Hickey, Senior News Writer

Is the SANS Top 20 still useful?

This week in Security Blog Log: Some experts ponder whether the SANS Institute's Top 20 vulnerability list is as valuable than it once was. Others weigh in on the VoIP threat. Continue Reading

How is average repair time determined for both a TDM PBX and a VoIP system?

I am trying to find some statistics on average time to repair or troubleshoot VoIP and TDM PBX. We heard PBX takes 30 minutes versus VoIP at 4.5 hours -- is this true? Continue Reading

By

• SearchVoIP Staff

How can VoIP be integrated into an existing PBX system?

I am trying to integrate VoIP into my existing PBX system. I have a Talkswitch 48CVA which supports both PSTN and VoIP lines. My main phone number is a landline which forwards calls to my VoIP line when my status is busy or I do not answer. Continue Reading

By

• SearchVoIP Staff

SANS: VoIP, zero-day threats surge

Digital miscreants are using VoIP and a growing pile of zero-day flaws to launch a ferocious wave of targeted, financially-motivated attacks, according to the SANS Institute. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Brenner

IM, Skype, P2P open security holes: Survey

IM, Skype, Web conferencing and other real-time applications are a major concern to IT, but end users seem to shrug off the risks, a new survey has found. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew R. Hickey, Senior News Writer

VoIP security safeguards -- they may be there already

Protecting your VoIP system may be easier than you think, especially since many of the necessary tools are already there. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew R. Hickey, Senior News Writer

Review: Arbor Networks' Peakflow X 3.6

Hot Pick: Peakflow isn't cheap and requires an intimate understanding of data flows, applications and network infrastructure. But the investment will pay dividends. Continue Reading

By

• Sandra K. Miller, Contributing Writer

Review: Network Intelligence's enVision

enVision offers excellent value and is highly configurable, though typically that means you have to put a lot into it to get the most out of it. Continue Reading

By

• Brent Huston, Contributing Writer

VoIP convergence: Managing staffing issues

Companies making the transition to IP telephony must find a way to converge their voice and data networks -- and the employees who work on them. Continue Reading

By

• Amy Kucharik, TechTarget

Juniper Networks' enterprise router takes aim at Cisco branches

Juniper's new branch office J-Series routers provide all-in-one security, VoIP, WAN acceleration box to rival Cisco's ISR router. Continue Reading

By

• Amanda Mitchell, News Editor

VoIP convergence: Managing staffing issues

Companies making the transition to IP telephony must find a way to converge their voice and data networks -- and the employees who work on them. Continue Reading

By

• Amy Kucharik, TechTarget

What is a seamless router?

In this expert response, Sudhanshu Gupta gives us a quick history lesson in routing when he answers the question "what is meant by the term 'seamless router'?" Continue Reading

By

• Sudhanshu Gupta

Production databases find a home on IP SANs

Dow Chemical will be cutting costs with a NetApp system; AirClic goes with EqualLogic's newest SAS array after evaluating both NetApp and EMC. Continue Reading

By

• Beth Pariseau, Senior News Writer

E-vaulting's many faces can confuse IT efforts

E-vaulting is the process that describes how enterprise IT departments ship backup tapes and replicate data to remote disk arrays and VTLs. E-vaulting is not a new concept, but more recently it has grown to mean remote backups and replication for SMBs/SMEs using third-party services. This article examines e-vaulting, highlights the major considerations and roadblocks in implementation, examines the impact of e-vaulting on real-life users and looks ahead at future e-vaulting trends. Continue Reading

Five years until FAN's a hit: Brocade Australia

File Area Networks (FANs) will take around five years to become a ubiquitous piece of enterprise storage infrastructure, according to Graham Schultz, Brocade's Country Manager for Australia. Continue Reading

By

• Simon Sharwood

Internode covers Coorong with solar-powered broadband

Internode has blended super-fast ADSL2+ broadband with solar-powered microwave towers to deliver virtually total broadband coverage across South Australia's largest local government region. Continue Reading

By

• Voice&Data Staff

Net neutrality: All or nothing, or somewhere in between?

The notion of net neutrality can hinder VoIP QoS guarantees and thus has incited a contentious debate. Continue Reading

By

• Leigha Cardwell-Bloss, Site Editor

Wireless network security testing

The abundance of wireless devices is making wireless networks -- both authorised and unauthorised -- more common. Attack your own wireless networks to find vulnerabilities before malicious hackers do. Security testing expert Kevin Beaver covers the tools and techniques you'll need to find and exploit insecure wireless networks. Continue Reading

By

• Kevin Beaver, Principle Logic, LLC

Cisco launches mega videoconferencing system

Cisco Systems Inc. has talked about TelePresence and demonstrated it, and now it's finally something enterprises can buy, but at six figures it's a high price to pay. Continue Reading

By

• Amanda Mitchell

Video, audio are network drains

Network misuse is rampant, according to a recent survey. Employees using the corporate network for recreation or high-bandwidth business can put a strain on network resources, but network engineers can combat that with filtering and monitoring. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew R. Hickey

How does the service provider differentiate between data and VoIP as data?

For our mobile devices in trucks, we use GSM/GPRS communication. Our customers are paying for a certain data amount -- depending on the service package to which they subscribe. We use a modem in our device, which can do both data and voice. But as I understand it, with VoIP, everything becomes data. So, is it cheaper for the user if they use VoIP? How will operators handle this from a business model perspective? Will they expand the data amount packages or will they need to differentiate between 'regular' data and VoIP data? And a technical question: how much VoIP data am I consuming if I have a one minute voice conversation? Continue Reading

By

• SearchVoIP Staff

What storage managers are buying and why, page 5

What storage managers are buying and why Continue Reading

What storage managers are buying and why, page 4

What storage managers are buying and why Continue Reading

Comparing VoIP vendors

For many companies, the tough decision isn't whether to use IP telephony or not -- it's which vendor to choose. We've collected some of Carrie Higbie's tips and tricks for vendor selection, garnered from her "Ask-the-Expert" section. Carrie regularly answers your questions on the topic of "Preparing your network for VoIP." We've included links to her answers about comparing VoIP vendors for further information. Continue Reading

Comparing VoIP vendors

For many companies, the tough decision isn't whether to use IP telephony or not -- it's which vendor to choose. We've collected some of Carrie Higbie's tips and tricks for vendor selection, garnered from her 'Ask-the-Expert' section. Carrie regularly answers your questions on the topic of 'Preparing your network for VoIP.' We've included links to her answers about comparing VoIP vendors for further information. Continue Reading

By

• Carrie Goetz, StrategITcom LLC

EMC plays catch-up with Clariion

Clariion arrays now have support for both Fibre Channel and iSCSI in one box, as well as other features that competitors have been using against EMC for some time. Continue Reading

By

• Beth Pariseau, Senior News Writer

Xiotech, Pillar scale down, support iSCSI

Xiotech, Pillar introduce entry-level iSCSI arrays; Overland loses Dell deal; EMC and IBM report earnings. Continue Reading

By

• SearchStorage.com Editors

Nokia E62 thin mobile productivity device

In this product review, John Shepler weighs in on Nokia's new E62 mobile device for Cingular Wireless. Continue Reading

Cisco ramps up unified communications tools

Cisco last week released a host of new products to enhance its suite of unified communications tools, including an IP phone that's easier for end users to accept. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew R. Hickey, News Writer

Creating a WPA2 compliant network

Our expert, Lisa Phifer, goes through the basic principles of creating a WPA2 compliant network. Continue Reading

By

• Lisa Phifer, Core Competence

High-gain antennas and the near field effect

In this response, Lisa Phifer explains the use of a high-gain antenna and what the near field effect is. Continue Reading

By

• Lisa Phifer, Core Competence

Wireless connection in the wilderness

Lisa Phifer explains how to connect office buildings wirelessly where laying cable is not an option due to trees and rocky terrain. Continue Reading

By

• Lisa Phifer, Core Competence

Flaw found in Toshiba wireless device driver

Attackers could exploit a flaw in the Toshiba Bluetooth wireless device driver to cause a denial of service or launch malicious code on victims' machines. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Brenner

Does Spanning Tree Protocol have an adverse effect on VoIP?

Do you know if Spanning Tree has an adverse effect upon VoIP? If so, what is the best way to provide LAN-based switch redundancy to VoIP gateways? Continue Reading

By

• SearchVoIP Staff

Briefs: VoIP management; mobile E911; and Windows 2003 support

Qovia releases its new VoIP management system; 911 Enable made E911 mobile and Codima announced support for Windows 2003 server. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew R. Hickey, News Writer

Minimum and maximum Ethernet frame sizes

In this Q&A, Lindi Horton answers the question "What is the minimum and maximum size of an Ethernet frame that carries an IP packet which in turn carries an ICMP packet?" Continue Reading

By

• Lindi Horton, ServiceMesh

Tiered storage becoming tried and true

Tiered storage matches the value of data with the performance (and expense) of storage. Ideally, tiered storage can save money, while easing the access demands to any single storage tier. While tiered storage has clearly brought storage costs and performance into focus, it has yet to reach its full potential in the enterprise. Continue Reading

Link and port aggregation information

Need some clarification on link and port aggregation? Here, our expert, Lindi Horton, provides us with just that in this Q&A. Continue Reading

By

• Lindi Horton, ServiceMesh

Troubleshooting your network

In this Q&A, our expert, Lindi Horton, helps with troubleshooting a network that has problems staying up in the evening. Continue Reading

By

• Lindi Horton, ServiceMesh

Cisco, Cognio team up on Wi-Fi interference detection

Cisco and Cognio have partnered to troubleshoot and diagnose problems on the Wi-Fi network. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew R. Hickey

The most commonly used network operating system

In this Q&A, Lindi Horton answers the question "What network operating system is more currently and commonly used?" Continue Reading

By

• Lindi Horton, ServiceMesh

3Com rolls out unified SMB switch

3Com hit the market today with an all-in-one unified switch for SMBs. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew R. Hickey

Cisco, Cognio team up on Wi-Fi interference detection

Cisco and Cognio have partnered to troubleshoot and diagnose problems on the Wi-Fi network. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew R. Hickey

How to prevent former employees and administrators from accessing your server

What do you do if you have ex-employees or even ex-administrators accessing your server remotely? How do you prevent them from doing this? Our expert, Lindi Horton, can tell you how. Continue Reading

By

• Lindi Horton, ServiceMesh

Column: The myths and realities of VoIP security

Security is often cited as one of the primary reasons organizations have not deployed VoIP. The biggest VoIP security threat is not making headlines. Zeus Kerravala, Yankee Group analyst, cuts through the hype so network managers can maximize the reliability of their voice network. Continue Reading

By

• Zeus Kerravala, ZK Research

Voice over IP Fundamentals: Chapter 9, 'Billing and Mediation Services'

Voice over IP Fundamentals: Chapter 9, 'Billing and Mediation Services' Continue Reading

Open source router on par with Cisco, users say

To avoid paying top dollar for Cisco routers, two users say Vyatta's Open Flexible Router is a viable alternative to the proprietary norm, with pluses and minuses, of course. Continue Reading

By

• Jack Loftus

IP telephony unites New Orleans nonprofit after Katrina

Hurricane Katrina nearly disbanded the Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans, until the nonprofit rolled out a hosted voice solution Continue Reading

By

• Andrew R. Hickey, News Writer

Cisco bulks up data center switching

Cisco Systems Inc. today made significant announcements in its data center switching line: an 8-port, 10 GigE module; a blade switch for Fujitsu Siemens; and a Web-based script-sharing community. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew R. Hickey

Cisco bulks up data center switching

Cisco Systems Inc. today made significant announcements in its data center switching line: an 8-port, 10 GigE module; a blade switch for Fujitsu Siemens; and a Web-based script-sharing community. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew R. Hickey

Reporter's notebook: Hidden gems of Interop

The Interop conference in New York this week featured the usual suspects talking about their newest offerings and the industry at large. Continue Reading

By

• Susan Fogarty

NAC, VPNs and behavior analysis in the Interop spotlight

Security for the enterprise network was emphasised at Interop New York as vendors rolled out and upgraded NAC, VPN, network behavior analysis, and other threat protection products. Continue Reading

By

• Amanda Mitchell

VoIP user experience tested

Most VoIP monitoring is focused on quality of service, but one new company is taking a different tack and looking at the quality of experience. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew R. Hickey

Three ways to create clustered storage, page 2

Clustered storage systems run on storage servers, NAS gateways and hosts. Here's how to determine which clustered file-system architecture is best for your needs and storage environment. Continue Reading

Set up an ad hoc WiFi network

What if you wanted to do pretty much everything you can do on a network, but didn't have a router? You can set up an ad hoc network, in which you can connect on a peer-to-peer basis with other computers and PDAs. You don't need any extra software; the capability to do this is built right in XP. Continue Reading

By

• Rahul Shah

Calling network management vendors: It's time to get on board with VoIP

Despite the hype, full-scale VoIP deployments are hard to find. According to our research at Yankee Group, over 80% of U.S. enterprises have VoIP deployed somewhere in their organization in some shape or form. This includes departmental trials and development environments. These kinds of statistics combined with a frenzy of media and vendor hype would leave one with the impression that we're right around the corner from ubiquitous VoIP and if you haven't deployed it yet, you're a luddite and you're putting your business at risk. However, digging a little deeper into our research we discover that a mere 6% of U.S. enterprises have VoIP running throughout their organization and caution is more the norm than the exception Continue Reading

By

• Zeus Kerravala, ZK Research

Dell and EMC: Five more years

Dell leans on EMC for support in the face of an SEC investigation and possible delisting from NASDAQ. Continue Reading

By

• Alex Barrett, News Director, Datacenter Media Group

Is there a generic blueprint for an IP-based call center?

Is there a generic blueprint for an IP-based call center? Where could I find one? Continue Reading

By

• SearchVoIP Staff

VoIP still a confusing area for SMBs

A study released at today's VON conference in Boston suggests that SMBs -- despite their growing use of VoIP -- are still confused about VoIP technology. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew R. Hickey, News Writer

Fast Guide: VoIP encryption

A guide to encryption within VoIP networks Continue Reading

VoIP startup untethers would-be mobile workers from wireline office phones

VoIP startup DiVitas Networks has voice-over-WiFi-to-cellular technology in the works that gives endusers access to enterprise apps and puts dual-mode handset management in the hands of network administrators. Continue Reading

By

• Amanda Mitchell, News Editor

VoIP startup untethers would-be mobile workers from wireline office phones

VoIP startup DiVitas Networks has voice-over-WiFi-to-cellular technology in the works that gives endusers access to enterprise apps and puts dual-mode handset management in the hands of network administrators. Continue Reading

By

• Amanda Mitchell

ControlGuard targets rogue devices

ControlGuard Access Manager is an effective tool for controlling what devices users can add to their workstations and how they are used. Continue Reading

By

• Harris Weisman, Contributing Writer

VoIP outsourcing: Save money and gain flexibility

VoIP outsourcing is the way to go for organisations looking to deploy voice services quickly and flexibly without a major investment in skills and upkeep. Continue Reading

By

• Amanda Mitchell, News Editor

VoIP outsourcing: Save money and gain flexibility

VoIP outsourcing is the way to go for organizations looking to deploy voice services quickly and flexibly without a major investment in skills and upkeep. Continue Reading

By

• Amanda Mitchell

Cisco accelerates the branch

Cisco rolls WAN optimization, application acceleration and Wide Area File Services (WAFS) in a single branch box to complement its Application Control Engine (ACE) data center optimization product. Continue Reading

By

• Amanda Mitchell

Instant messaging boom brings security concerns

Instant messaging (IM) has made significant inroads to the enterprise, but using public IM applications may open up security holes in the network Continue Reading

By

• Andrew Hickey

Revamped Cisco WAFS worth the wait, users say

Months late, Cisco has finally released a combined Wan optimisation and WAFS product, while startups like Riverbed have been snapping up the customers. But some Cisco beta testers say it has been worth the wait. Continue Reading

By

• Beth Pariseau, Senior News Writer

Protecting wireless networks: Step 3

Security testing expert Kevin Beaver covers the tools and techniques needed to find and exploit insecure wireless networks. Continue Reading

Protecting wireless networks: Step 2

Security testing expert Kevin Beaver covers the tools and techniques you'll need to find and exploit insecure wireless networks. Continue Reading

Wireless network security testing

Attack your own wireless networks to find vulnerabilities before malicious hackers do. Continue Reading

Migrating to MPLS

As more organizations begin to take advantage of MPLS' offerings, network engineers must learn how to prepare their current networks for transition. This tip explains basic MPLS implementations and shows you some common configurations for MPLS VPNs. It also provides a sample configuration and routing considerations to keep in mind. Continue Reading

By

• Doug Downer

Instant messaging boom brings security concerns

Instant messaging (IM) has made significant inroads to the enterprise, but using public IM applications may open up security holes in the network. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew R. Hickey

Interoperability issues for a 6500 Cisco switch and a 3Comm 7700

In this response, Sudhanshu Gupta talks about the interoperability issues that go along with a 6500 Cisco switch and a 3Comm 7700. Continue Reading

By

• Sudhanshu Gupta

Connecting ISDN PRI to a VPN via a Cisco AS5350

Sudhanshu Gupta examines how to connect an ISDN PRI to a VPN using a Cisco AS5350. Continue Reading

By

• Sudhanshu Gupta

Routing phone calls to a POTS

Sudhanshu Gupta explains how to route all phone calls to a POTS, in this Q&A. Continue Reading

By

• Sudhanshu Gupta

Configuring managed and unmanaged switches

In this Q&A, Sudhanshu Gupta answers which cable to use with managed and unmanaged switches. Continue Reading

By

• Sudhanshu Gupta

VoIP outsourcing: Save money while gaining flexibility

VoIP outsourcing is the way to go for firms looking to deploy voice services quickly and flexibly without a major investment in skills and upkeep. Continue Reading

By

• Amanda Mitchell, News Editor

AT&T breach affects 19,000 customers

Online outlaws hacked into an AT&T computer system and stole credit card data on thousands of customers. AT&T has offered to pay for credit monitoring services for those affected. Continue Reading

By

• Bill Brenner

Riverbed update offers users more bandwidth, better reporting

Riverbed announced a package of hardware and software updates, which some customers say they've been waiting for. Continue Reading

By

• Beth Pariseau, Senior News Writer

ProCurve rolls out three new switch series

ProCurve Networking by HP has added three new series of switches to its lineup. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew R. Hickey

3PAR adds midrange array for secondary sites

3PAR has introduced a smaller version of its InServ Storage Server, which it describes as a product-line extension into its existing customer base. Continue Reading

By

• Jo Maitland, TechTarget

Duplex mismatch

This article helps networking engineers understand the issues behind duplex mismatch, one of the most troublesome problems in today's Ethernet networks. Learn why duplex mismatch occurs and how you can prevent it with autonegotiation and hard coding. Continue Reading

By

• SearchNetworking ANZ Staff

Column: VoIP applications fuel the next wave of VoIP innovation

The first phase of VoIP is nearing the end and corporations will soon find a variety of third-party desktop applications that run on VoIP. Has VoIP improved the day-to-day for end users? Continue Reading

By

• Zeus Kerravala, ZK Research

Briefs: VoiceCon in the news

This week at VoiceCon we saw everything from managed VoIP services to IP phones made to make mobile workers right at home, wherever they are. Continue Reading

By

• Amanda Mitchell, News Editor

Secure network against illegal users

Lisa Phifer gives advice on how to handle illegal users on a network. Continue Reading

By

• Lisa Phifer, Core Competence