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LDAP was originally created to be a trimmed-down, lower-overhead version of another directory protocol -- the international X.500 standard -- and is considered to be an easy key to the […]

IPSec is a security protocol set by the IETF for securing the transmission of data across IP networks. It operates at the network layer of the Open System Interconnection standard, […]

Let's say that you're building an Internet application service; customers interact with it by submitting information. Your servers process the data and return results to the customers. What's the best […]

Provides information on the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), a networking protocol that allows users to have easy access to corporate information. Names of companies that use this networking protocol; Why these companies use this service; Functions and features of protocol; Details on support of LDAP by computer vendors. INSETS: Seeking a master view;Not lightweight.

The author reflects on the difficulty encounter in mobile interoperability, due to different network protocols and varying generations of cellular technologies in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. He mentioned that users who travel within a single country has a good interoperability among different operator's network, while users going out from a country to another country or continent, will experience an inconsistent or no network coverage based on the Global System for Mobile Communications. INSET: GLOBAL SOURCING & PRICING STRATEGIES.

Interviews Scott Hull, a content networking architect, regarding content delivery networking. Definition of content delivery networking; Technologies involved in content networking; Information on secure sockets layer.

Reports on the JXTA open source code unveiled by Sun Microsystems Inc. to provide a framework for peer-to-peer applications and protocols over the Internet. Issues on security and manageability involving peer-to-peer applications; Applications of the peer-to-peer protocols.

The promise of Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) users tapping in to multiple directories from a single desktop application is starting to look real. The LDAP specification is moving forward, […]

A group hoping to bring speedier data-handling capabilities to networks based on Internet protocols will hold its first technical meetings next week. The MultiProtocol Label Switching (MPLS) Forum (www.mplsforum.org), which […]

WebDAV protocol would standardize posting of documents on the Web A distributed authoring and versioning protocol for Web documents that was recently approved by a steering group of the Internet […]

The Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) provides a series of commands that the mail client software and server use to trade information. It's a method for end users to access […]

E-mail standard gains steam thanks to remote-access abilitiesBy Roberta Fusaro the internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) is a mechanism for getting information about your E-mail, or the messages themselves, from […]

The map to IMAP1986 -- IMAP conceived at Stanford University. 1987 -- IMAP2 defined. Client and server updated. Implemented on Unix server. 1988 -- First IMAP request for comments published […]

Dutch customers who buy anything over the Internet from golf clubs to Windows 98 are finding a new payment option on their screens this month. They can choose to pay […]

Secure Multipurpose Mail Extensions (S/MIME) is an E-mail security protocol. It was designed to prevent the interception and forgery of E-mail by using encryption and digital signatures. S/MIME builds security […]

A common technical standard for 56k bit/sec. modems won't be implemented any time soon because the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has put off a vote on a standard until January. […]

The next generation of E-mail packages will be a boon for users, but it could mean some changes for administrators. The Internet Message Access Protocol 4 (IMAP4) is expected to […]

The article focuses on the impact of Microsoft Corp.'s constant patch releases to Information Technology (IT) processors and fixers. It reports that the increasing volume of patches released has led some companies to create systems for prioritizing vulnerabilities to make sure the most critical ones are fixed first. According to Lou Michael, director of Network and Infrastructure Services in Arlington County, the company's patch schedule has allowed them to plan for themselves and to set expectations for their customers as well as added structure and formality to their patching process.

The article reports on why companies allow users of Skype and other consumer-focused peer-to-peer voice-over-IP networks to bring the tools to work. Skype Ltd.'s software offers good voice quality and offers conference calls for free. Skype and other programs such as Microsoft Live Messenger and Yahoo Messenger With Voice allow for a combined instant messaging and file-transfer with voice and videoconferencing. Skype has traditionally offered the best voice quality and was the first to offer value-added services to connect the callers to the telephone network.

This article discusses emerging information technology (IT) standards that have an impact on computer security, data protection, and computer network security in enterprises. The Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology (COBIT) is gaining acceptance as good practice for control of data, systems, and related risk. ISO 27001 is entitled "Information Security Management—Specification With Guidance for Use. The book series "IT Infrastructure Library" is designed to help technology-usage costs. The Statement on Auditing Standards Number 70 came from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. INSET: Future Of NIST.

The article reports on the network-based monitoring systems, which will detect and block outbound traffic containing sensitive data. The problem is not just the content within e-mail messages, but the explosion of alternative communication mechanisms that employees are using, including instant messaging, blogs, File Transfer Protocol transfer, Web mail and message boards. Network-based content monitoring and control tools take a broad-brush approach, examining all crosses the network unlike security tools that protect specific applications such as e-mail or instant messaging. INSET: Block That Swap.

After the iSCSI protocol was ratified as an Internet Engineering Task Force standard, early adopters say Internet Protocol-based storage-area networks (SAN) are not only ready for production deployments but also offer an alternative to Fiber Channel for low-end and midrange storage. Performance and reliability of iSCSl arrays have improved, and iSCSI SAN are significantly less expensive to set up and manage than Fibre Channel SAN. The high costs of traditional SAN have restricted the technology to mostly first- and second-tier data center applications. Now storage administrators are setting their sights on iSCSI as an alternative for some second-tier applications. And a second wave of storage consolidations is already under way. Administrators are replacing direct-attached storage used in departmental servers with local, iSCSI SAN. The strongest growth is coming from large companies, which have huge numbers of departmental servers that can benefit from consolidating storage. INSET: IP SAN SPECS AND STANDARDS.

This article discusses WiMax, an informal term that covers two emerging broadband wireless standards for metropolitan-area networking. WiMax promises alternate routes to land lines for disaster discovery and relief from the price and service tyranny of the incumbent local-exchange carriers. It has a compelling high-speed mobile component and describes by some as a high-quality broadband that mirrors connectivity experience in the office. There are two corresponding WiMax standards: (1) IEEE 802.16-2004 for fixed point-to-point and point-to-multipoint wireless access, and (2) IEEE 802.16e, for mobile wireless access from laptops and handheld. INSET: QoS Advantage.

The article reports that Dade County, Florida, has more than 40 Web services in production that are used to integrate data to build citizen-facing applications, like those for online fee payment and access to building-inspection reports. In November, Dado County rolled out the first release of a call center application built to provide answers to common questions through Web services interfaces to criminal justice, waste management and public works back-end systems, said Carmen Suarez, systems support manager at the county's enterprise technology services department. Dade County is one of a growing number of organizations that have successfully lassoed Web services as a way to link dissimilar systems more quickly and cost-effectively than they could with traditional, hard-coded integration. Now, many are attempting to address the architectural changes required to exploit Web services to develop flexible applications that can be changed as business requirements evolve. Web services emerged in the midst of the IT recession during the early 2000s as a way to integrate systems using standards--Simple Object Access Protocol, Web Services Description Language and the Universal Description, Discovery and Integration specification--along with key XML technology. INSET: Management Matters.

This article points out that while the 802.11i wireless LAN security standard is a step forward, Wi-Fi LANs still are not impervious to attacks. It will take time for vendors to migrate their products to 802.lli, approved in June, and for IT organizations to adopt them. And the Wi-Fi Alliance would not even start interoperability testing of 802.lli products until next month. More important, 802.lli represents just the finishing touch to a series of steps in wireless security standards development. Much of it has already been available for about 18 months in an 802.11i subset called Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA). And while standards-based security technology plays a big part in protecting enterprises, the issues reach beyond a signed set of technical specs. And some administrators lack confidence in their ability to properly implement the various pieces of WLAN security, particularly since new attacks regularly make headlines.

The article discusses the concerns among some security experts that denial-of-service (DoS) attacks could be launched against core routers and switches which were raised upon the disclosure in April 2004 of two serious flaws in widely used Internet technologies. One of the vulnerabilities involves Cisco Systems' implementation of the Simple Network Management Protocol in its Internetworking Operating System. The flaw could allow remote attackers to cause vulnerable systems to repeatedly restart when processing specific SNMP requests, eventually leading to DoS conditions. According to Amit Yoran, director of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's National Cyber Security Division, the flaw is particularly dangerous because it affects a wide range of Cisco's routers and switches and is very easy to exploit. Meanwhile, a US-CERT advisory warned of a critical flaw in the Internet's core Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). The flaw allows remote attackers to create DoS conditions against TCP connections, with sustained attacks capable of disrupting portions of the Internet, the advisory stated. The flaw was disclosed by Great Britain's National Infrastructure Security Co-ordination Centre and involved a long-known weakness in TCP that allows attackers to constantly reset routers by guessing a unique 32-bit number needed for the process.

Reports on the plan of Cisco Systems Inc. to issue a warning about a security threat to its user authentication technology for wireless local area networks. Vulnerability of Cisco's Lightweight Extensible Authentication Protocol (LEAP) algorithm to dictionary attacks; Services offered by Cisco; Decision of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver to use virtual private network technology instead of LEAP.

Reports on the potential application of Wi-Fi hot spot technology as an essential amenity for companies in attracting business. Issues on the charges to customers using the service; Wi-Fi pilot project of McDonald's Corp.; Predicted growth of public wireless local area network hot spots worldwide.

Reports on the recommendation status granted to version 1.2 of the Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP), according to the World Wide Web Consortium. Background on conflicts in the implementation of SOAP by vendors of Web services tools; Comparison between versions 1.1 and 1.2 of SOAP; Concerns over the adoption of SOAP 1.2 by vendors.

Discusses the application of Internet Protocol security (IPsec) for client/server information technology infrastructure. Application of IPsec for virtual private network; Implications of the proliferation of Web-based technology; Computer devices affected by the application of Secure Sockets Layer protocol.

Provides information on Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) virtual private networks (VPN). Capabilities of SSL VPN; Comparison between SSL VPN and Internet Protocol Security-based VPN; Disadvantages of using SSL VPN.

Forecasts the proliferation of integrated Internet Protocol-based videoconferencing systems as corporations upgrade infrastructures for Internet Protocol telephony as of March 2003. Factors which contribute to the popularity of Internet Protocol-based systems; Convergence between videoconferencing technology and traditional Web conferencing systems; Networks used by enterprise users to ensure the quality of service.

Reports that the Internet Engineering Task Force's Internet Protocol storage steering group formally ratified the iSCSI computer network protocol in the U.S. Impact of the ratification of the protocol on storage vendors; Applications of the iSCSI; Users of the protocol.

Provides information on route control servers for computer networks as of October 2002. Prices in the use of route control servers; Problems in the use of the Border Gateway Protocol; Features of several route control servers offered by vendors.

Focuses on the potential information technology security problems in the wireless local area network (LAN) used by U.S. airline operators. Application of LAN for airport security; Information on the Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) protocol; Guidelines on security protection in an airport setting.

Discusses the efforts of Internet users to unlock information formerly trapped in legacy systems and share it across their entire information technology infrastructures. Business enterprises that have undertaken projects they believe will make them Web services-ready in the future; Creation of a next-generation data warehouse that uses Simple Object Access Protocol as a transport envelope; Application of Common Object Request Broker Architecture.

Focuses on the role of Internet Protocol (IP) telephony on data divide in the U.S. Efforts of private branch exchange (PBX) vendors on IP telephony development; Components of the traditional PBX system; Structure of IP telephony configuration.

Comments on the proliferation of wireless computer networks using the 802.11 standards. Security threat to wireless networks; Importance of strict policies for securing wireless access points; Application of the Media Access Control layer filtering software.

Reports that information technology executives from different organizations are forging ahead with Wi-Fi technology or 802.11b despite widespread concerns over the security of wireless local area networks (LAN). Their reasons for forging ahead with Wi-Fi technology; Examples of organizations that have considered Wi-Fi technology; Uses of wireless LAN.

Reports on the pilot test by a consortium of financial services firms in the United States of an Internet Protocol network that will allow the firms to settle stock trades in a single day. Benefits of the network for the firms; Concerns regarding the project; Plans for the launch of the network.

Reports that brokerage house Edward Jones & Co. is deploying a storage-over-Internet Protocol (IP) network. Cost effectiveness of IP deployment; Discussion on the return on investment of the deployment; Limitation of the Fibre Channel over IP.

Reports that Microsoft Corp. has built support for the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) into its Windows XP operating system. Implications of the move by Microsoft to the growth of SIP usage; Benefits of SIP to users; Partnership between Reuters Group PLC and Microsoft to develop an instant-messaging service based on SIP for the financial community; Efforts to implement SIP in telecommunication devices.

Reports on the limitations of wireless carrier networks due to lack of speed and reliability required by corporate applications. Potential of wireless local area networks; Capabilities of the 802.11b standard; Features of the 802.11a standard; Categories of cellular carrier services; Data rates supported by third-generation wireless communication technology.

Presents information on IPv6, the standard for Internet Protocols (IP). Disadvantage of network address translation (NAT); Factors that will drive the adoption of IPv6 by companies; Header design of IPv6.

Focuses on Wireless Application Protocol (WAP). What WAP can offer; WAP standard; Number of mobile telephones to be in use and will access the Internet.

Reports that costs savings are the powerful allure of Internet Protocol (IP)-based private networks. Need for a mature industry, performance and safeguards in virtual private networks (VPN); Benefits for Black & Veatch and FormFactor Inc. company of using VPNs.

Reports on the plans of Cisco Systems Incorporated, to license its Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and Domain Name Server (DNS) technology. Features of the systems; Comments from Bill Horst, network manager at the United States General Service Administration in Boston; Information on the CiscoAssure Policy Networking scheme. INSET: Putting it together.

Focuses on the support the Internet Message Access Protocol 4 (IMAP4) is receiving from e-mail clients while stating that information system (IS) managers are having a hard time putting them to work. Detailed information on the problems; Comments from Ken Baumann, a network administrator at Marquette Medical Systems.

Reports on National Semiconductor Corp.'s use of the Netscape Enterprise server for secure documents based on the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP). Creation of a central mechanism for authenticating users to intranet sites; Storage of employee information; Employee access to corporate white page information.

Reports on the lack of user response to the Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP) that will enable routers in packet computer networks to reserve bandwidth paths. Users' choice of Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) because of RSVP's lack of standard; RSVP as a way for packet-based network to preserve their investments; Support for RSVP.