The 12th Annual Well-Connected Awards By the Editors of Network Computing
In our annual awards special, we present the winning products and services in 48 categories within eight information
technology markets -- security, network and systems management, enterprise applications, wireless, messaging and
collaboration, network infrastructure, application infrastructure and storage and servers. From this pool, we pick the most
outstanding product of the year.
Market Analysis: Web Application Firewalls By Jeffery Rubin and Ravind Budhiraja
As more organizations move applications to the Web, they must defend an increasingly tangled environment full of security holes. A relatively new breed of security watchdog, Web application firewalls use deep-packet inspection to reveal the inner workings of Web applications, block attacks and harden your network.
Review: Web Application Firewalls By Jeffery Rubin and Ravind Budhiraja
Web application firewalls block stealth attacks at Layer 7. We put four of these appliances to the test. While all performed admirably, one handily outgunned its rivals thanks in part to an intuitive interface and comprehensive policy development. Find out which one garnered our Editor's Choice award.
Review: Wide Area File Services By Don MacVittie
With wide area file services, your remote users can access a central data center as if it were local. We tested three applications that speed data to wherever your users are. Our Editor's Choice impressed us with its solid reporting and performance.
Workshops
Centerfold: Multimedia Rocks Virgin Entertainment Group's WAN By Kelly Jackson Higgins
After a close call with its VoIP traffic at its Times Square location, Virgin is now upgrading the 3 Mbps MultiProtocol Label Switching (MPLS) WAN link at headquarters to 10 Mbps and preparing to add more bandwidth-heavy applications to its MPLS WAN.
Netformx DesignXpert 9.0 By Sean Doherty
Is a picture of your network worth a thousand words? Most definitely, if Netformx DesignXpert draws it.
F5 BIG-IP 1500 Load Balance Appliance By Sean Doherty
It's not cheap, but this load balancing appliance with global traffic management capabilities is easy to use and has the extras you'll want.
Panopticon Explorer .Net By Edward Hand
Using treemaps, Panopticon lets analysts roll data up to see varying levels of detail.
Geek Chic
FeedDemon 2.0 By Barbara Krasnoff
The second version of this popular application offers an assortment of options in a variety of styles for serious RSS and blog readers.
ProShow Gold By J. W. Olsen
Don't let ProShow's simplicity fool you. With no artistic experience, you can create compelling slideshows.
Departments
Last Mile: Smiles Everyone, Smiles (Or Else) By Andrew Conry-Murray and Tom LaSusa In this edition we shudder at the Top 11 worst ways to motivate your IT staff. Also: IT ailments diagnosed and more.
Columns
The Art of IT: Virtual Reality Art Wittmann Virtualization technology by itself is necessary but not sufficient to develop new uses for pools of processors.
Air Time: Wi-Fi and Commoditization Dave Molta There are times when commodity technology impedes progress and establishes an ugly legacy with complex challenges. Wi-Fi is the latest example.
BuzzCuts
Will Intel Macs Entice? By Richard Hoffman
The hype continues for Apple's new Intel-based Macintosh machines, but the question for the enterprise is, "Should you care?"
IT Compensation Inches Back Up By Rich Karpinski
According to the National IT Salary Survey of more than 10,425 IT professionals, the average IT manager made $99,000 and the average staffer $73,000. Find out how your pay compares.
Wireless: Resistance Is Futile By Dave Molta Despite concerns over security, wireless standards and investment protection, IT is being forced to address the increasing demands for wireless services.
Will Red Hat Dunk With JBoss? By Lori MacVittie
As Red Hat prepares to acquire JBoss, the company says it has no immediate plans to change anything. Once the deal is completed, we shall see.
BuzzBlog: Best Buy Gone Bad; Crime Fighting Pen By Andrew Conry-Murray
A judge orders electronics retailer Best Buy to stop using Windows maintenance software from Winternals. Also, Uniball touts high-security ink to help prevent ID fraud.
REPORTS
Analyize In-Line NAC strategies and products.
ANALYTICS Plan and design your enterprise blade server deployments
2009 IT Salary Survey: Meager Raises, Solid Prospects
Though raises are notably smaller than a year ago, and job security’s shrinking, IT careers are looking safer than many others in this economic downturn. Get all the findings in InformationWeek's 2009 IT Salary Survey. Available FREE for a limited time.
REPORTS
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