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Interview: Extreme Networks' Mark Canepa


Mark Canepa

Extreme has announced Universal Port software, which provides a framework to configure switches in response to network conditions. What's the IT benefit?

It's all about making life easy for IT. The software lets the switch and network platform do a lot of the work that would otherwise be done manually. You lower costs because you need fewer system admins, there's less room for pilot error, and new capabilities can be augmented automatically.

You put the code for your new Handset Provisioning Module, which automates provisioning IP phones, in the public domain. How's the response?

We just did this last month, so it takes time to get the uptake. The advantage is that you generate a lot of enthusiasm and excitement. And our hope is people will begin to look at other peripherals. If you can do this with a handset, why not a laptop, a video camera, or servers and storage? Anything that plugs into the network can be managed in a more sophisticated way. It will become part of the development of an ecosystem.

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