Review: Warding Off WAN Gridlock By Michael J. DeMaria
You can never have too much throughput, but there's no reason your critical latency-sensitive applications should be at the mercy of bandwidth hogs. We tested dedicated traffic shapers and found that Packeteer's offering keeps traffic flowing smoothly.
Cheap and Available By Dave Molta
If you're looking for security and reliability in a widespread technology that won't drain your budget, look no further than point-to-point wireless. It's ready and waiting for you.
Review: The Point-to-Point of Wireless Bridging By Dave Molta and Cornell Robinson III
Desperately seeking ROI? We tested six enterpriseclass fixed-access systems running at 5 GHz, where bandwidth is plentiful. Proxim's QuickBridge 60 eked out our Editor's Choice with its good performance and range, ease of installation and strong management capabilities.
Workshops
Workshop: Web Infrastructure: Relieve Web Performance Anxiety By Michael J. DeMaria
Don't let Web infrastructure problems jeopardize your business. Here's a guide to benchmarking your Web site's end-to-end performance to ensure optimum reliability.
Interactive Buyer's Guide: VPN Servers
Network security is critical. We highlight over 30 features in today's VPN servers to help you safeguard your network from intruders.
Sneak Previews
Cisco Updates Do-All Switch Line By Peter Morrissey
Cisco's Catalyst 4500 switches can act as Layer 2 switches or feature-rich routers. We tested the 4507R and found that it delivers wire-speed performance and redundancy.
Duel Band By Design By Alireza Dehghanpur
Netgear's PC Card combines 802.11a and 802.11b, so you can use both specs in your WLAN without compromising performance.
3Com Embeds Firewall in PC NICs By Mike Fratto
Now even NICs have firewalls! Secure Computing and 3Com have developed a PC Card with an embedded firewall. Its packet-filtering capabilities check host traffic with little impact on the server.
Departments
Career Coach
This Week: Learning the legal aspects of telecommunications--is it worth it? Plus, an old programmer ponders which languages to focus on to get back into programming.
Letters
"It doesn't matter if people are kicking in the front door or sneaking in the back--either way, they get in." ~Michel Labelle
Centerfold: Making the Vall on VoIP By Kelley Jackson Higgans
An unforeseen disaster prompted Lexent to move to VoIP (voice over IP) before the scheduled changeover. But the move proved a blessing in disguise.
Last Mile
In this edition:
Top 11 Most Pathetic Helpdesk Calls
The End is Near (Just Kidding)
Stupid Computer Tricks
Quick Takes
This week, we look at:
Alcatel e-Reflexes and WebSoftphone
Symark Software PowerBroker 3.0
Stalker Software CommuniGate Pro Groupware
SurfControl E-Mail Filter 4.5
BuzzCut: Office 11 Flappings By Michael J. DeMaria
The latest and loudest Microsoft Office rumblings? Version 11 is designed to run only on Windows 2000 SP3 and XP. Tough luck, Windows 98 and NT users..
Security Watch: No Trespassing By Robert Moskowitz
"WEP warns potential intruders your wireless network is private property and they will suffer the consequences if they cross the line."
The Inside Story: Check Out Our Pipes By Jim Hutchinson
"When heavy rain or snow kicked up in the Boston area, the microwave link would flake out. Ah, the good ol' days."
BuzzCut: A Modest Proposal By Lori MacVittie
It's frustrating to see Web sites designed to work only with Microsoft Internet Explorer. But a "solution" is at hand.
BuzzCut: 3 GHz, Hyperthreading and You By Randall C. Kennedy
IT organizations should make hyperthreading mandatory on all new desktop PC purchases of 3 GHz or above.
REPORTS
Analyize In-Line NAC strategies and products.
ANALYTICS Plan and design your enterprise blade server deployments
InformationWeek U.S. IT Salary Survey 2008
Salaries for business technology professionals are falling. Here's what you need to know in order to make good hiring decisions and personal career choices. Download Today