Cisco boosts connectivity
Cisco is expected to announce new hardware modules for its Integrated Services Router line that add network management and monitoring, as well as connectivity options, such as cable broadband, DSL and metro Ethernet.
Stories by Phil Hochmuth
Cisco strengthens IOS code with VOIP, security
As customary with Cisco IOS releases, the newest one has an extensive range of features tucked into the code, with enhancements that could help users bolster their VOIP and security implementations.
Open-source networking doesn't require a guru
Open source router company Vyatta debuted earlier this year with a Red Hat-style alternative to Cisco and Juniper offerings: the Open Flexible Router, an open source-based WAN router and firewall stack, freely downloadable, with service and support offerings available for purchase. Since then the company has generated buzz in the network industry, while releasing products such as a pre-installed appliance-like version on Dell servers. Vyatta CEO Kelly Herrell and chief strategy officer Dave Roberts recently told Phil Hochmuth what Vyatta is, and is not, and what it hopes to become. (The following is an edited transcript.)
Study: Ethernet switch sales jump in third quarter
The Ethernet switch market surged in the third quarter, with US$4.3 billion in worldwide revenue -- a 16 percent jump from both the previous quarter and the comparable period last year, a new Dell'Oro Group report says.
Nortel reinforces gear with stackable switches, VOIP
Nortel is looking to help small-to-medium business users by introducing an array of new stackable switches and by adding additional big-business phone features to its small-office IP PBX product.
Fujitsu launches 10G stackable switch
Fujitsu this week introduced a new stackable 10G Ethernet switch, targeted at connecting clustered servers for supercomputer and grid computing applications.
Why doesn't HP break off its ProCurve business?
For the No. 2 vendor in the LAN switch market behind Cisco, making network gear isn't close to being a full-time gig. Yet HP's ProCurve business over the last several quarters has crept up to the second spot -- albeit, a fairly distant second -- behind Cisco in worldwide LAN switch market share, according to Synergy Research Group. HP has surpassed 3Com, Nortel, Extreme and Foundry.
HP's ProCurve exec talks business directions
Hewlett-Packard's ProCurve LAN switch business is second only to Cisco in revenue and port shipments, outperforming venerable competitors such as 3Com, Nortel, Extreme Networks and Foundry Networks. John McHugh, vice president and general manager of ProCurve Networking by HP, recently spoke with Phil Hochmuth about where ProCurve stands inside the larger HP organization, and other issues facing the group. The following is an edited version of their conversation.
Wasn't Dell supposed to dominate the LAN market by now?
Three years ago, Cisco CEO John Chambers frequently mentioned Dell as an emerging competitor. "Our next generation of competition is going to come from below," he said, citing Dell among several low-cost network companies emerging in the market at the time. "It will be interesting to compete with them."
How much can a LAN switch protect your network?
Call it NAC (Cisco's Network Admission Control) or, well, NAC (network access control), or even NAP (Microsoft's Network Access Protection). Any way you refer to it, these schemes for shutting out unwanted users at the LAN switch port level are among the most buzzed about network technologies.
Voltaire upgrade aims at high-speed server clusters
Voltaire this week announced a component for its Grid Director switches that the company says will help users with clusters of InfiniBand-connected servers connect more easily to a 10G Ethernet-based LAN. The mixed-media InfiniBand-10G Ethernet line cards also are less expensive than tying together separate InfiniBand and 10G Ethernet switches, Voltaire says.
Are Cisco switches really so expensive?
Cisco is the dominant LAN switch vendor, both in the amount of ports it ships worldwide, and its revenue for switch ports sold. One common industry assumption is that Cisco gear is high-priced, but worth the investment for the company's quality support and advanced features. Another assumption is that Cisco switches are just plain overpriced.
Will Wi-Fi kill wired Ethernet at the LAN edge?
The line is blurring between wireless LAN and Ethernet switch gear that connects end users, as vendors such as Cisco, Nortel, 3Com and others have worked to link these products into a supposedly seamless access system.
What's the biggest, fastest LAN switch?
This isn't a trick question, but one with a lot of tricky answers depending on how you define "big" and "fast."
Raptor chases out Cisco in the LAN core
Network technologists at L.A.Care Health Plan had several conflicting ideas for its new LAN backbone: boost core LAN bandwidth to 10Gbps; segment the network into multiple departments; keep the infrastructure a flat Layer 2 topology; and spend as little as possible on new gear.