Friday, May 29, 2009

Wi-Fi Lexicon

(Click on the title above to access the paper.)

Beyond 802.11 Standards

A Wi-Fi Lexicon for the Rest of Us
By Joanie Wexler, Joanie M. Wexler & Associates; Devin Akin, CWNP; and Paul DeBeasi, Burton Group

Abstract:

Every industry has its own vernacular, and the Wi-Fi environment is no different. Many Wi-Fi terms are easily researchable because they have a common meaning from vendor to vendor, context to context. Definitions for these terms often can be found in the formal IEEE 802.11 series of standards as well as in detailed reference guides such as The Official CWNP Dictionary of Wireless Terms and Acronyms.

Beyond the standards, however, most vendors attempt to differentiate themselves with complementary features and products. Some of these enhancements have become common enough that de facto names for them have cropped up in everyday language. In addition to having generic names, these functions might also have any number of brand names assigned to them by Wi-Fi vendor marketing departments.

  • THE VOCABULARY PROBLEM: Having inconsistent terms for the same functions can be confusing and can make it difficult to conduct apples-to-apples vendor and product comparisons.
  • THE SOLUTION: A lexicon of terms that starts on the next page is an attempt to ease this confusion by documenting and defining some common Wi-Fi functions that may be important to you but are not necessarily required by 802.11 technical standards. Different vendors might refer to them by different brand names.
  • THE CAVEAT: We have elected to omit vendor-specific brand names, because many do not have a one-for-one mapping and thus might generate outbursts of protest from vendor marketing departments. For example, some vendors combine a number of RF management and performance optimization tools under an umbrella name and don’t create separate names for each individual feature. Others give separate monikers to every feature, making their features list appear longer. Still other vendors claim that certain features are not needed because their system designs inherently solve the problem at hand.

Hopefully, the lexicon - written in as simple English as possible - will ease the task of accurately comparing capabilities across the disparate vendors and systems in the Wi-Fi market. If the capabilities listed are important to you, ask your vendors whether they support them and if so, what brand name (if any) they use to describe them.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Total Economic Impact of Net Monitoring and Management

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Abstract: Total Economic Impact of Net Monitoring and Management
The Total Economic Impact™ Of NetQoS Performance Center
By Forrester Consulting for NetQoS

Based on information collected in interviews with a current NetQoS Performance Center customer, Forrester found that organizations can realize benefits in the form of productivity savings through improved efficiency and problem resolution, infrastructure savings through avoiding the need for bandwidth upgrade, and lower costs through avoidance of cost outlays for an alternate solution using probe-based technology.

The financial analysis provided in this study illustrates the potential way an organization can evaluate the value proposition of the NetQoS Performance Center. Based on information collected in the in-depth customer interviews, Forrester calculated a three-year risk-adjusted ROI of 266% for the interviewed organization with a payback period of less than three months. All final estimates are risk-adjusted to incorporate potential uncertainty in the calculation of costs and benefits.

Based on these findings, companies looking to implement the NetQoS Performance Center can see gains around the benefits of improved efficiency in network management and problem resolution, productivity savings, and cost avoidance. Using the TEI framework, many companies may find the potential for a compelling business case to make such an investment.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Using a WebEx Node to Enhance Web Conferencing

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Abstract: The Cisco WebEx Node for the Cisco ASR 1000 Series Delivers the Best Aspects of On-Premises and On-Demand Web Conferencing
By Cisco Systems

The Cisco WebEx™ Node for the Cisco® ASR 1000 Series, a shared port adapter for the Cisco ASR 1000, can help large enterprises reduce WebEx WAN bandwidth usage by up to 80 percent. The adapter is easy to install and functions transparently as a part of the WebEx Collaboration Cloud. This results in reduced WAN costs and reduced firewall/proxy load.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Business Case for VoIP Readiness Network Assessment

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Abstract: Business Case for VoIP Readiness Network Assessment
By Fluke Networks

Over the past several years as enterprises have been deploying voice over IP (VoIP) with more frequency, many have learned the hard way that the first step in the VoIP lifecycle process should be a complete assessment of network readiness. Too often, IT organizations fall into the stereotype of “let’s put it on the network and see what happens.”

As convergence grows, the “let’s see what happens” approach with VoIP will almost certainly not be successful. While it is a data application at the core, VoIP does not act like traditional data applications. In addition, for most enterprises, VoIP will be the highest profile application on the infrastructure, meaning – if the phones do not work, everyone will know.

With early VoIP deployments many enterprises had major issues with initial rollouts. One key reason was a lack of pre-deployment assessment. When there were initial problems, there was “finger-pointing” between the enterprise, VoIP equipment vendors and service providers.

Today, most VoIP equipment vendors, who took most of the blame for poor performance, are now requiring network assessments even before they will sell or service the IP PBX and phone systems. While this is a good first step, many enterprises still do not perform comprehensive assessments.

This white paper will reinforce why readiness assessments are key for successful VoIP deployments. Pre-deployment assessments are the first step in a successful VoIP deployment, which also must include monitoring, management and optimization.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

All about MiFi

In case you haven't heard yet, there's a VERY cool new gadget/service that Verizon just introduced and Sprint will soom be introducing called "MiFi." The naming seems to come from this being a personal ("my") version of of WiFi.

As described, the MiFi "mobile hotspot" consists of a cellular modem and a "micro" WiFi router that supports up to five devices.

The Verizon version has been announced, and information is available at:
http://b2b.vzw.com/broadband/mobilehotspot.html

The Sprint version sould be announced soon.

I've written a couple of newsletters that will post next week on Network World's WAN newsletter that give an overview of the product/service and also propose some cool uses. In the meantime, I'm waiting for an evaluation unit to give it a try myself.

One of my initial questions about MiFi, and the answers from Verizon, was:

Q: The pricing seems to be the same as the current data service for the 5 GB service, correct?

A: The difference in the data pricing is in the overage charge and the allowance on the $39.99 plan. The $39.99 plan now gives you 250 MB instead of 50 MB with 10 cents per MB for overage versus 25 cents per MB for overage. The $59.99 plan give you the same 5 GB of service but now charges you 5 cents per MB for overage versus 25 cents per MB.

Some questions that I'm interested in learning more about are:

1) What are the major differences between the Verizon and Sprint services? In what ways are these significant?

2) I am assuming, but do not have confirmation, that the five devices may communicate with each other locally and that there is no usage charge for that communication.

I'm sure there will be more to come.

If you would like to do some further readign about this product, I've also found interesting information at the following sites:
http://www.fiercewireless.com/press-releases/take-your-wi-fi-hotspot-road-new-verizon-wireless-mifi-2200-intelligent-mobile-hots-0
http://www.xchangemag.com/hotnews/verizon-does-mi-fi-rhymes-with-wi-fi.html
http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/sprint-follows-verizon-mifi-game/2009-05-13
http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/13/verizon-mifi-2200-review/

Looking forward to your comments and further discussion!

steve

MPLS VPNs: The Foundation for Emerging Apps - 2009 MPLS VPNs State-of-the-Market Report

(Click on the title above to access the paper.)

Abstract: MPLS VPNs: The Foundation for Emerging Apps
2009 MPLS VPNs State-of-the-Market Report
By the Webtorials Editorial/Analyst Division

Collaborative applications ranging from unified messaging to high-end telepresence are finding their way onto MPLS VPNs. Use of these applications is being partially fueled by the expectations set by mobile and social networks, which allow dynamic communications and file sharing and are spilling over from the consumer market to the business environment. In addition, enterprises have an economic need to find less expensive and more streamlined ways to build customer and business partner relationships and streamline productivity. This said, the broadband networks with the required bandwidth, QoS, performance management and privacy capabilities are available to support them. MPLS VPNs, in particular, offer strong support for intranet collaboration because of their bandwidth and low-latency characteristics, including QoS packet prioritization and the ability to route directly from site to site. In addition, MPLS VPNs offer inherent privacy using VRF partitioning. A host of network-based security service add-ons are available for other layers of protection against malware, spyware and DoS attacks that might come from MPLS VPN gateway connections to the public Internet.

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Enterprise Options for Fixed Mobile Convergence and Mobile UC

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Abstract: Enterprise Options for Fixed Mobile Convergence and Mobile UC

By Michael F. Finneran, dBrn Associates, Inc.


One of the most exciting developments to come about from the new generation of wireless communications technologies is the idea of fixed-mobile convergence. Fixed-mobile convergence or FMC describes the ability to integrate cellular and private network services allowing calls to be transparently handed off between them. While FMC is often portrayed as a mechanism to hand off calls between Wi-Fi-based wireless LANs and cellular services, in reality the “fixed” element in FMC can be any private network, wired or wireless.


It is no secret that mobile cellular telephone service has revolutionized the way that people communicate. Millions of consumers have chosen to do without wired telephone service for their personal use, and for many business people, their cellular number has become their primary number. For enterprise users who must rely on both a wired office phone and cellular service, the ultimate combination would be a service that would allow them to be reached on a single number regardless of where they were located, passed calls transparently between cellular and any other wired or wireless networks with no interruption in the connection, and extended all of the functionality of the wired environment to the mobile.


Many have assumed that providing this type of service would require that the cellular carriers fully embrace the concept and integrate non-cellular technologies with their services. In particular, the cellular carriers would have to treat those other networks like additional cells and handoff calls to/from them in the same way they pass calls between base stations within their own networks. The larger US cellular carriers have not embraced FMC for enterprise customers, though the smaller national carriers, Sprint and T-Mobile , have introduced FMC services in some form. In the meantime, manufacturers of business telephone equipment and equipment adjuncts have developed a number of solutions that deliver many of the capabilities of FMC in spite of the cellular carriers’ reluctance.


In this paper we will provide a structure for understanding and evaluating the various enterprise- and carrier-based FMC solutions that have been introduced. We will begin by looking at the overall benefits that can be derived from an FMC solution, and then describe and categorize the various FMC products and services. In each case we will examine the configuration and operation of the solution, and identify the benefits it can provide. The goal is not to “sell” any particular implementation, but rather to provide enterprise users with a background and a level of understanding they can use in evaluating solutions that fit their particular needs.

Friday, May 15, 2009

Getting 802.11n Ready for Voice and other Real-time Applications

(Click on the title above to access the paper.)

In each of these conversations, a panel of industry experts is interviewed by Robin Layland and Joanie Wexler concerning a key area for 802.11n deployment. As a part of our “11n Friday” series, this concludes the series of five weekly conversations.


For today’s conversation, please join panelists
- Luc Roy, Vice President of Wireless Strategy, Enterasys–Siemens
- Mark Cowtan, Director of Marketing, Trapeze Networks
as they discuss:
“Real-time applications require predictable throughput and low latency. Panelists discuss how to tune the RF environment for voice, location, video and other real-time applications.”

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Performance First - Managing Network and Application Availability and Performance

(Click on the title above to access the paper.)

Abstract: Performance First

Managing Network and Application Availability and Performance
By NetQoS

Over the last two decades, IT organizations have spent billions of dollars implementing fault management tools and processes to maximize network availability. While availability management is critical, infrastructure reliability has improved to the point at which 99.9 percent availability is commonplace. Given these improvements in infrastructure availability, companies are focusing more attention on performance management. By measuring how networked applications and services perform under normal circumstances, understanding how infrastructure and application changes impact performance, and isolating the sources of above-normal latency, IT organizations can ensure problems are resolved quickly, mitigate risk from planned and unplanned changes, and take measured steps to optimize application performance. In this whitepaper, you will learn why this shift is taking place and how a new management model, what NetQoS calls Performance First™, will empower you to advance to the next level in managing your network for application performance.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Full duplex versus simplex

What can be done to make it easier for you to provide feedback?

Are there tools that you can suggest to each other to make it easier to be notified of new posts?

What is your favorite tool for receiving RSS feeds?

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

The Business Case for Better Network Planning and Management

(Click on the title above to access the paper.)

Abstract: The Business Case for Better Network Planning and Management
By Jim Metzler, Webtorials Editorial/Analyst Division, on behalf of Packet Design

IT organizations are caught in a vice. On one side of the vice is the fact that the business value of the network increases daily in large part because on an ever-increasing basis organizations run their key business processes (i.e., sales, manufacturing, customer service) on the network. If the network is either not available or is not performing well, those key business processes are impacted. This results in customer dissatisfaction, lost revenue, higher costs and in some instance, the reduction in the market capitalization of the company.

On the other side of the vice is the fact that networks are becoming increasingly complex. For example, factors such as the need to access multiple data centers and the wide scale implementation of IP Telephony have caused most IT organizations to move away from having a simple hub-and-spoke network to having a meshed network. There is no doubt that a meshed network is more appropriate for the prevailing traffic patterns than is a hub and spoke network. There is also no doubt that a meshed network is notably more complex to plan and manage than is a hub and spoke network.

The bottom line is that just as networks are becoming more central to business operations, the planning and management of those networks is becoming increasingly complex. The goal of this brief is to demonstrate the business value that route analytics provides relative to the planning and management of large, complex meshed networks.

Monday, May 11, 2009

VOIP / IP Telephony: Buy or Lease

(Click on the title above to access the paper.)

Abstract: VOIP / IP Telephony: Buy or Lease
By Gary Audin, Delphi, Inc.

Communications technology is following the path of IT. Call servers/managers, phone and trunk gateways and IP phones are not expected to remain in use much beyond five years. Communications technology life has been shortened considerably. The question for the CIO and CFO becomes, “Should we buy or lease the rapidly changing VoIP/IP Telephony (IPT) communications technologies?”

Technologists often respond: “We have the cash, so why lease? It will cost us money to lease that we can save by buying the IT technologies.” This can make sense from a technical point of view. But this is not necessarily the view of the CFO.

The CFO has to ensure that there is cash is when needed and is not tied up in a technology purchase that cannot be changed. The CIO/communications manager likewise needs to maintain the flexibility to react to changes in technology and the demands of his or her user group. The CIO may be able to acquire more Unified Communications technology if the first year budget is not too great. Leasing can reduce the first year cost thereby increasing the UC functions implemented at an earlier date.

Avoiding interest and financing charges can be very attractive. Putting money in a bank pays interest to the enterprise, whereas leasing costs the enterprise interest. Cash, however, is not really free money to spend. It is a limited enterprise asset that can be applied to many areas of the enterprise, and thus there is an opportunity cost associated with it. The CFO may have better, more profitable uses for the cash on hand than buying communications technology.
Arranging financing can take time when an enterprise wants to take advantage of a business opportunity or business climate change that requires fast action. No cash on hand, then no opportunity and no flexibility to respond to the changes.

In addition, there can be tax advantages to leasing that are not available when the communications technology is purchased. Leasing is also beneficial because of the residual value of the technology—i.e., what the lessor (the provider) can expect to recover from the sale of the technology at the end of the lease period. The residual value will contribute to a reduced lease cost. Further, the residual value of the communications products will reduce the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for the enterprise.

The communications technologist may think that “keeping the technology for four years makes purchase more sensible.” Communications technology continues to improve, making earlier systems and devices obsolete sooner. Emerging communications technologies are constantly being offered.

Furthermore, a major shift is occurring in communications towards greener operations. Owning older equipment that consumes more electrical power will result in higher operating costs than the new, more energy-efficient products. Leasing allows the technologist to replace the power hungry equipment with less costly-to-power systems. Replacing the equipment can reduce the power consumption by as mush as 25% according to the “EPA Report to Congress on Server and Data Center Energy Efficiency” released in August, 2007. The energy savings will more than pay the interest charges on the lease.

Friday, May 8, 2009

Managing Your Airspace for Optimal Performance

(Click on the title above to access the paper.)

In each of these conversations, a panel of industry experts is interviewed by Robin Layland and Joanie Wexler concerning a key area for 802.11n deployment. As a part of our "11n Friday" series, this is the fourth of these five weekly conversations.

For today’s conversation, please join panelists:
- Chris Kozup, Senior Manager for Mobility Solutions, Cisco
- Bruce Miller, Vice President of Product Marketing, Xirrus
- Kevin Goulet, Senior Director of Marketing, Motorola
as they discuss:
"802.11n has the bandwidth potential to support the gamut of enterprise multimedia applications. But given that the RF medium is shared, not switched, and inherently prone to interference, how do you control your airspace to ensure consistent, high-quality performance? Panelists discuss how to apply RF management tools and Wi-Fi QoS mechanisms and also recommend configurations and settings to help you get the most out of 802.11n."

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Virtualization Beyond the Data Center

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Abstract: Virtualization Beyond the Data Center: Increase network infrastructure utilization and efficiency to reduce operational costs

By Cisco Systems

The concept of virtualization has gotten renewed attention with the advent of server virtualization in the data center, enabling organizations to simplify management and optimize performance of vast computing and networking infrastructures. Server virtualization, part of the Cisco Unified Computing System, leads to significant cost savings, helping organizations address space, power, cooling, and budget constraints.

The current global economic climate presents an opportune time to fully utilize the benefits of virtualization technologies beyond the data center to achieve greater cost savings through increasing network utilization and efficiency. Network virtualization simplifies how IT departments manage entire campus networks. It offers management and cost benefits for increasingly complex, consolidated networks. Fortunately, the technologies for virtualizing network services throughout the campus network are mature and well understood.
Modern campus network architectures support many services, scalable to hundreds of nodes and thousands of users. Administrators need to segment the campus networks for security and traffic management reasons, and traditional switching solutions are insufficient to meet these needs.

Successful network virtualization solutions use proven technologies to reduce management complexity and service rollout time while increasing operational control and service flexibility. Organizations deploy network virtualization solutions to facilitate efforts to comply with industry and government regulations, maintain security, and reduce total cost of ownership as organizations consolidate multiple networks (data, voice, video, physical and logical security, wireless, and building automation) into a single IP infrastructure.

Network virtualization solutions extend the benefits of virtualization technologies throughout campus and distributed networks, reaching every endpoint and managing every user.

This paper spans the following topics:
- The business need for network virtualization
- Definition of network virtualization
- Overview of Cisco campus network virtualization solutions and their business
- Industry scenarios that illustrate Cisco network virtualization solutions

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

How to Choose the Right Power Meter Light Source: Top 4 Questions to Ask a PMLS Vendor

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Abstract: How to Choose the Right Power Meter Light Source: Top 4 Questions to Ask a PMLS Vendor

By Fluke Networks

A power meter light source (PMLS) test set tends to be viewed as a basic device for testing power and loss over fiber links. Such a simple verification device is likely to be considered a must-have tool for any network technician or installer responsible for first-line datacom cabling verification and troubleshooting - and rightly so. However, this basic functionality should not translate into low value or quality indifference, especially considering the majority of optical fiber deployments that require testing support the backbone and high-speed data center links. These communication links make up the most mission-critical portion of the network. Furthermore, these links likely must be able to support the higher-speed network technologies like 1-Gb per second, 10-Gb per second Ethernet, or the high-speed fiber channel. Such high-speed applications demand a relatively small loss limit for the end-to-end link. A measurement error as small as 0.25 dB represents 10% of the channel loss limit, underlying the importance of quality and precision, even in basic functionality PMLS test sets.

With such a wide variety of PMLS manufacturers to choose from, it can be overwhelming to decide which instrument is right for you. To assist in navigating the research process, here are four questions you should ask yourself - and the vendor - when deciding which PMLS you should purchase.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Business Continuity in Epidemic/Pandemic Conditions

(Click on the title above to access the paper.)

The April 2009 H1N1 influenza outbreak should serve as a much-needed wakeup call concerning the need for Business Continuity plans to address epidemics and pandemics. As the H1N1 flu outbreak was unfolding, Webtorials conducted a survey to determine both the extent to which organizations have a plan in place to address Business Continuity during a severe medical emergency and, if such a plan exists, the extent to which key business functions would survive.

The key findings showed that:
- The Business Continuity plans for medical epidemic/pandemic are either minimal or non-existent for over half of the respondents.
- The current economic conditions have resulted in a decrease in the ability to plan/implement/support Business Continuity in the event of an epidemic/pandemic.
- The current H1N1 outbreak will have a moderate impact on prompting companies to update/review their business continuity plans.

Business Continuity and disaster recovery are areas that are easily overlooked until the calamity strikes, and by then it’s too late.

Friday, May 1, 2009

Creating a Highly Available 802.11n Environment

(Click on the title above to access the paper.)

The conversation on "Creating a Highly Available 802.11n Environment," a part of the “2009 802.11n Challenge,” is available at Webtorials.

In each of these conversations, a panel of industry experts is interviewed by Robin Layland and Joanie Wexler concerning a key area for 802.11n deployment. As a part of our "11n Friday" series, this is the third of these five weekly conversations.

For today’s conversation, please join panelists:
- Mark Cowtan, Director of Marketing, Trapeze Networks
- Kevin Goulet, Senior Director of Marketing, Motorola
as they discuss:
"With 802.11n’s high throughput, Wi-Fi has become a candidate for replacing wired Ethernet in the local-area access network. This makes it even more important that Wi-Fi networks support very high availability. What has the industry done to ensure Ethernet-like availability in 802.11n Wi-Fi systems? Panelists also make some HA configuration recommendations."