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F E A T U R E

A Start-Up is Born

December 1, 2002
By Ron Anderson

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	In this article
	Introduction
	A Different Kind of Test Bed
	Executive Summary
	Diagram of NWC Inc. Lab

Network Computing Launches NWC Inc.
Green Bay, Wis. (Press Release) 12/1/2002 - Network Computing, the leading provider of critical testing-based analysis of technologies, products and markets, with a focus on reliability/scalability, integration, business justification and vendor viability, today announced the formation of NWC Inc., a new business that will deliver, via a sophisticated Web-based storefront, hybrid communications devices that will connect to everything and communicate at Gigabit Ethernet speeds from anywhere on the planet.

"We haven't yet announced product details," says Rob Preston, chairman and CEO of NWC Inc., "but we've been gratified and overwhelmed by the unanimous positive reaction from the analysts we've pre-briefed."

NWC Inc., with headquarters in Green Bay and manufacturing facilities in Syracuse, N.Y., will leverage Network Computing's existing customer base and technology know-how but will function as a separate operating company.

"Not only will we offer the best gearhead widgets on the market," says Lori MacVittie, NWC Inc.'s chief technology officer, "but we'll provide the very best customer support by leveraging technology to help deliver services even before customers realize they need them."

NWC Inc. received seed money from Network Computing to start operations, including $760,000 to build out its IT infrastructure, and selected products from APC, Avocent, Cisco, Compaq, IBM, Microsoft, NSS and others as key building blocks.

Additional information about NWC Inc. can be found at inc.networkcomputing.com/.

This press release contains a number of forward-looking statements that may or may not be accurate due to the uncertainty inherent in trying to predict the future.

Press contact:
Ron Anderson
NWC Inc.
randerson@nwc.com

We get hundreds of press releases like this every month at Network Computing, so we couldn't resist announcing our new lab in Green Bay using the same kind of hyperbole. In our case, the company, NWC Inc., is fictional (its products sound great, though, right?). But the IT infrastructure we've been building for this unique application-testing environment is very real. We think our hard work will pay off in helping you and your company make smart application-purchasing decisions.

Network Computing has always tried to make its testing as real-world as possible. With five distributed labs, some collocated on business and university sites, we can build cross-lab tests and do testing on live networks. For example, executive editor Bruce Boardman has performed extensive network-management testing at Syracuse University. However, with the ugly things we do to our test beds, using someone else's network isn't always feasible. In those cases, we set aside equipment for a particular review, configure switches, provision servers with operating systems and applications software, design test beds that include multiple "client" machines or dedicated test equipment, and develop test protocols that we test and deploy. Then that equipment is wiped clean and we start all over again with the next review. This process usually works very well. Over the years we've learned the tricks of the trade when it comes to provisioning equipment with minimal muss or fuss-- critical when deadlines are tight.