Foundry Networks launched its largest Ethernet switch to date at the recent Interop show in Las Vegas — the BigIron RX32, a 32-slot, 5.1 terabit-per-second Ethernet switch aimed at high-end datacentres and campus LAN backbones. Foundry also announced new software which turns Foundry Layer 4-7 switches into antispam and application firewall devices.
Ethernet switch vendors who offer combined or unified LAN and WLAN gear say the ultimate goal is to get wired and wireless network technologies to appear as a single network access layer. However, switch vendors and industry experts say this is still a way off — both in terms of the technology, and the demand for unified gear from users.
The future of Avaya’s and Nortel’s respective VoIP businesses is in software, as well as strong partnerships with enterprise-class application vendors, the chief executives of both companies said this month.
IP telephony is working its way into all types of enterprises, with product and deployment plans varying as widely as the companies using the technology.
Louis D’Ambrosio became top guy at Avaya last July, making him only the company’s second CEO since 2000, when it was spun off from Lucent’s legacy business telephony arm — a group which created the first cellphone and packet PBX. At the recent VoiceCon show, D’Ambrosio spoke about the changes and challenges facing the company.
Oil giant Shell is planning a global VoIP rollout with tens of thousands of IP phones that will ultimately run off of a mostly Microsoft-based server platform.
Network professionals always need to have an eye on what Cisco is up to. Here are five key developments Cisco will be spearheading in the year ahead.
Siemens and Salesforce.com announced an integration deal this week that will let users integrate hosted <a href="http://www.networkworld.com/topics/crm.html">CRM</a> software with <a href="http://www.networkworld.com/topics/voip.html">VoIP</a> applications.
Cisco has introduced VPN technology that could help businesses with fast growing branch-office deployments set up and maintain secure WAN links quicker.
Cisco this week launched network access-client software that gives users a single-logon interface for attaching to wired, wireless or remote-access networks.
Enterprise network professionals can expect changes in how Cisco sells the software that runs its routers and switches over the next few years, the company’s CEO told reporters at Cisco’s Networkers customer conference earlier this month.
Where do you start in terms of locking down the network in such an open and frenetic place as a hospital?
Why is Gigabit Ethernet spending being wasted in the enterprise? Is it because of a lack of applications that require 1,000Mbit/s?
It's easy to lose track of something in the world's biggest building — even a jumbo jet engine.
Vyatta, an open-source router company, released the first beta version of its WAN router code late last month, with the aim of becoming networking's equivalent of Linux or Firefox.