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Networking & Mgmt Channel

News and Analysis

AppSense Unveils Smartphone Encryption

DataLocker, which will enable smartphone users to encrypt sensitive information in personal cloud services like Dropbox, is the first product to come out of the new research arm created by virtualization technology provider AppSense. Intended to create new computing technologies geared at both end users and IT, the focus of AppSense Labs will be "to research technologies that include cloud, mobile and data, and to build prototype products that bring a consumer experience to IT," the company says.

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Architectures

Assessment: Brocade Network Subscription

Network Subscription is an acquisition model that lets companies pay for network ports when they are used. As monthly demand changes, the port count and costs rise and fall. This is a good model for companies with large differences between normal and peak usage, though subscribers pay more over time compared with a capital purchase. It is not a fit for companies with small variations in demand. Network Subscription doesn't include Fibre Channel ports. .

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Reviews & Workshops

5 Basic Switch Settings You Must Know

There are five configurations a network administrator should apply to a newly provisioned switch or router. Although application of these configurations may seem like common sense, 90% of devices I see are missing at least one of these settings, and about 75% are missing two or more. Use this checklist as an action item to verify your existing devices have these settings, at minimum, and integrate these in to any templates or provisioning documents you use. You'll appreciate the results of the consistency this adds to your network management and monitoring.

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Blogs

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Cisco And Deloitte Wrong: Good Practices More Impactful Than Vendor Choice

February 21, 2012 02:57 PM
Posted by Mike Fratto

Cisco is fighting back against the notion that a multi-vendor network can simplify operations and reduce TCO. The networking giant commissioned a report by Deloitte that finds operation costs will increase over the life of the equipment in a network that uses equipment from disparate vendors. The fact is, one vendor vs. multiple vendors is the wrong fight. Sound management practices and smart production selection will have a bigger impact on your IT costs than the number of vendors you use.

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Tags: Cisco, HP, IBM, Juniper, Deliotte, networking, single-vendor, multi-vendor

Channel: Data Center, Networking & Mgmt, Next Gen Network

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Aruba Networks Swings Big At BYOD And More With ClearPass

February 21, 2012 09:00 AM
Posted by Lee H. Badman

Gone are the days of simply providing good signal in the WLAN environment. Guest requirements, the new reality of the BYOD--or bring your own device--model and increasing reliance on the wireless network as a critical resource combine to make life complicated for us in the business of enterprise wireless networking. Aruba Networks is ready to answer the back-end challenges of contemporary wireless with its new ClearPass framework, and the impressive array of features is not limited to use by Aruba customers.

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Tags: WLAN, wireless, Aruba Networks, ClearPass framework, Cisco, Avenda, authorization, authentication, Amigopod, guest services, BYOD, RADIUS, eCloudPath Xpress Connect for 802.1x supplicant config, MDM, training, Aruba Certified Solutions Professional (ACSP), CWNE,

Channel: Wireless, Security, Networking & Mgmt, Next Gen Network

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Emulex and Mellanox Drive Down 10 Gig Cost

February 14, 2012 12:15 PM
Posted by Howard Marks

While we've grown to believe that technologies follow steady geometric price decreases with confidence-inspiring names like Moore's or Kryder's Laws, the truth is market forces aren't as predictable as the word "law" would imply. Those of us who follow the Ethernet market are used to an occasional vendor making a dramatic price move for its own reasons. Most recently, Emulex and Mellanox are making moves to make 10-Gbps Ethernet cheaper.

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Tags: Ethernet, Emulex, Mellanox, 10Gbps Ethernet, NICs, Cisco Nexus, Dell/Force10, Intel, ConnectX EN dual-port card, multiprotocol ASIC, InfiniBand, FCoE, 10Gbase-T NIC, NIC/iSCSI, Cat6A cable, top-of-rack switch, optics, twinax, Broadcom

Channel: Data Center, Networking & Mgmt, Next Gen Network

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Centrify's New MDM Strategy Priced To Move

February 14, 2012 11:51 AM
Posted by Lee H. Badman

The mobile device management space is relatively new, but is already showing signs of being a study in same-old, same-old. How much can you really do with Apple's API for iDevices, after all? Judging by the current players, you'd think that all MDM solutions require a stand-alone management server and yet another console to administer. Though many MDM vendors put different faces on the same basic functionality, Centrify promises a unique methodology, at a price you won't believe.

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Tags: Centrify, mobile device management, MDM, API for iDevices, cross-platform security, control, auditing, Microsoft Active Directory, Apple OS X, Ubuntu Linux, Active Sync, Apple Push Notification Service, lightweight cloud proxy server, free

Channel: Networking & Mgmt, Next Gen Network, Wireless

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Riverbed's Granite Virtualizes Branch Office Storage

February 10, 2012 09:00 AM
Posted by Howard Marks

When Riverbed and others brought WAN acceleration to the market around the turn of the century, many of us hoped that with WAN acceleration we could pull the servers, and the headaches they cause, from branch offices. Unfortunately, many organizations found reasons to keep servers in the branches. Riverbed's new Granite appliance allows organizations to keep servers in their branch offices while eliminating many of the headaches through what Riverbed's calling Edge Virtual Server Infrastructure.

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Tags: Riverbed, WAN acceleration, servers, branch offices, Granite appliance, Edge Virtual Server Infrastructure, cache, Steelhead, iSCSI, storage, StorSimple, TwinStrata, cloud, data center, LUNs, VMware,

Channel: Private Cloud, WAN Security, Networking & Mgmt, Next Gen Network, Servers & Storage, Virtualization, Cloud Computing, Public Cloud, WAN & App Acceleration

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DocuSign Does Android

February 09, 2012 09:00 AM
Posted by Lee H. Badman

One of the great promises of the mobile device explosion is increased productivity. But productivity is in the eye of the beholder, and many mobile users still haven't caught on to the notion that you can sign documents digitally, with a legally binding signature, from a mobile device. Whether the goal is paperwork reduction or expedience, DocuSign combines the power of digital ink and a slick, cloud-enabled document-handling framework to put an end to the likes of scanning and faxing. And now, those of us with Android devices can use DocuSign, too.

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Tags: mobile, device, productivity, sign, documents, digitally, legally-binding signature, DocuSign. cloud, Apple iOS, iPad, Android, Cartavi, real-estate document management platform, Salesforce.com, PCI DSS,

Channel: Security, Networking & Mgmt, Next Gen Network, Private Cloud, Cloud Computing, Public Cloud, Wireless

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