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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 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.

Looks at developments concerning Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), a client/server protocol for accessing directory data. Cost-savings benefit of LDAP; Federal National Mortgage Association's testing of LDAP capabilities of Netscape's Directory Server and a similar offering from WorldTalk; Industry analyst's warning concerning LDAP.

Focuses on messaging software vendors' plans concerning the usability of directories based on Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) across computer networks. Retrieval of electronic-mail addresses across LDAP directories; Efforts by the Network Applications Consortium to promote interoperability among networked applications.

Reports on the expansion of application programming interface standard at the Open Document Management API. Features allowing user access to multivendor environments; Improvement of interoperability between desktop applications and document management systems. INSET: ODMA extensions..

Reports that the Internet Engineering Task Force is refining Internet Protocol 6.0. Impact on corporate TCP/IP networks, intranets and Internet use; Inclusion of ample space for network node addresses; Concerns on running out of address space. INSET: IPV6 will increase reliability..

Focuses on the interoperability agreements signed by wireless communication service providers in the United States. Importance of the agreement to the implementation of Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD); Comments of officials of service providers who signed the agreement.

Reports that there are only few Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD) users. Availability of CDPD in 73 markets; Implications for users; Interoperability agreement between some carriers to allow easier surfing for users.

Reports on the benefits of using Remote Monitoring (Rmon) computer network protocol tools. Design of the current standard Rmon system; Development of the upgraded Rmon version 2.0; Design and compatibility of Rmon 2.0; Axon Network Inc.'s partnership with companies to adopt its current Rmon tools and prepare for Rmon 2.0 capabilites.

Reports on the computer industry's adoption of the IPX and TCP/IP networking protocols for corporate administration. Facility of information transport; Mechanics of application with Local Area Networks (LAN); Economics of protocol limitation. INSET: Signs of support (industry adoption of protocols)..

Discusses how Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) has managed to alleviate fears of exhaustion of the 32-bit address space within the Internet Protocol (IP). Inclusion of CIDR in IP version 4 (IPV4); Entry of numerous addressable devices over the Internet; Call for common protocol running over several physical networks; Migration toward additional IP. INSET: Future IPs..

Reports on Sun Microsystems Inc.'s release of SolarNet, a networking software and administration tool aimed at the installation of TCP/IP on corporate networks. Features; Pricing; Customer implications.

Reports on enhancements to the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) standard. Manager-to-manaGer Management Information Base; Scalability; Performance; Security problems; Support; Limitations.

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.

The article focuses on the adoption of some open-source tools by Twitter. Chris Aniszczyk, head of open-source computing in Twitter, mentions that nearly 6000 messages per second were being processed by Twitter and has recorded 143,000 messages during the movie airing in Japan. It says that Twitter has started using Scalding for writing big data jobs, Netty for the creation of high-performing protocol servers, and Apache Mesos, a cluster manager.

The author reflects on the things he is comfortable offshoring with as well as the things that he would simply refuse to offshore. He mentions that their company decided India as their offshore location for the management of security patches since in India they can get three security engineers for the cost of one in the U.S. He also notes on making a rule in their firewall infrastructure allowing the outbound post office protocol (POP) and Internet message access protocol (IMAP) connections.