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Looks at a problem with Internet protocols (IP). Problem with a group of Class CIP network addresses that start with the number 192; History of the 192 group; Problems with the addresses; Possibility that the proliferation of the addresses could overload core routers; Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) a possible way to alleviate pressure on core routers; Other ways to deal with the 192 group. INSET: CIDR addresses by the numbers, by W.D..

Takes a look at the efforts of Microsoft Corp. and Novell Inc. to eliminate proprietary barriers to creating directory-independent programs. The release of Active Directory Services Interface (ADSI) in the form of a development kit for Win32 programmers from Microsoft; Novell's making Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) available for NDS; Discussion of the divergent paths taken.

Features the Bandwidth Allocation Control Protocol (BACP), a new protocol developed by eight data communications vendors. Seamless access to high-bandwidth applications on the Internet and corporate networks; Extension to the MultiLink Point-to-Point Protocol (MP) specification; Ability to simplify the management and configuration of multiple links in a dial-up connection.

Discusses Internet protocol (IP) switching. The need for a standard protocol; What the goals of IP switching are; Moving from a packet-switched network to a circuit-switched one; Mayor players like 3Com Corp., Cisco Systems, Bay Networks and Ipsilon; Products from each for IP switching. INSET: Four approaches to IP switching.

Reports on the introduction of the Internet Engineering Task Force-backed Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) at the Voice on the Net conference. Comparison with the set of protocols encompassed by the International Telecommunications Union's H.323 standard for multimedia communications over IP networks; Vendors building SIP support into their voice-over IP devices.

Takes a look at the use of extensible markup language (XML) in business enterprise management computer networks. Plans of Microsoft Corp., Cisco Systems Inc. and Tivoli Systems Inc. to deliver Common Information Model (CIM)-compatible software; CIM as the specification for encoding from the Distributed Management Task Force; Use of XML to integrate management data from disparate sources; Advantages over non-CIM/XML systems.

Reports that AT&T Corp. and Global Crossing Ltd. have projects to upgrade their backbone Internet protocol networks to 10G-bps transmission speeds. Details on the upgrades; Expected benefits from the upgrades; Reasons for upgrading the networks.

Features Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, ranked third in the Fast-Track 100 Enterprise Networking Innovators list. Virtual private network technologies; Multiple T-1 lines; Large network-attached storage over fiber; Frame relay; High-bandwidth national Internet Protocol network called BluesNet.

Evaluates User Registration Tool (URT) 1.2, directory enable network (DEN) software from Cisco Systems Inc. that allows users to have a temporary log-on Internet Protocol (IP) address. Features and capabilities; Pros and cons; Performance and price; Target market; Recommendations. INSET: `Labs'-Eye View,' by Pankaj Chowdhry..

Relates the efforts of Frontier Corp. to improve its voice-over-Internet Protocol (VOIP) services. Advanced telephony features including links to Web and IP applications; Frontier plans for an advanced intelligent network platform to tie its circuit-switched voice to its all IP network; Planned availability of the service.

Considers the relationship America Online Inc. (AOL) with open-source. AOL release of code relating to AOL Instant Messaging (AIM) electronic mail messaging software under GNU Public License (GPL) so other developers could integrate AIM; AOL pulling back its TiK client and TOC protocol; Implications for AOL and open-source licensing for the Internet.

Reviews the Explorer Gigabit protocol analyzer by Shotimi Systems Inc. Features; Costs; Product Tests. INSET: Labs'-Eye View, by Peter Coffee..

Reviews QoSMaster, software from IPHighway Inc. that offers quality of service guarantees on Internet Protocol (IP) packet transmissions using the Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP). Features and capabilities; System requirements; Pricing; Installation and configuration; Performance; Recommendations; Contact information.

Reviews Netscape Directory Server 4.0, an update to Netscape Communications Corp.'s lightweight directory access protocol (LDAP) server that aids in the development of extranets for electronic commerce. Performance improvements; Capabilities; Pricing; Platforms it supports; Recommendations; Contact information.

Focuses on public-key infrastructure (PKI) digital certificate authentication applications. Computer security vendors like GTE CyberTrust, VeriSign Inc., Check Point Software Technologies Inc. and Xcert International Inc. which are offering PKI applications; How the rise in virtual private networks and the growing acceptance of the Internet Protocol (IP) Security standard have impacted PKI systems; The role that PKI systems play in business-to-business electronic commerce.

Looks back at some of the major events in network computing for 1998. The importance of bandwidth and performance; The roles played by Gigabit Ethernet and Layer 3 switching; Virtual private networks and the increasing acceptance of the Internet Protocol (IP) Security (IPSec) encryption standard; New releases of network operating systems like Solaris 7 and NetWare 5; The growing acceptance of the Linux operating system; Delays in the release of Windows 2000; Other events.

Informs that the Open Group has adopted IBM's Distributed Relational Database Architecture (DRDA) as a standard interoperability protocol for databases and applications. What the endorsement of the Open Group means for DRDA; Companies that support DRDA in 1998; Efforts to natively incorporate DRDA into database, decision support and enterprise resource planning applications; How DRDA is expected to evolve. INSET: Oracle Sites Slow to Adopt Version 8.

Evaluates the MultiVOIP MVP200, a product from MultiTech Systems Inc. that connects to a telephone private branch exchange (PBX) to offer voice capabilities over an Internet Protocol (IP) network. Installation and configuration; Management features; Pricing; Performance; Configurations which work the best; Recommendations; Contact information.

Reviews Meta IP 4.0, an enterprise version of Metainfo Inc.'s Internet Protocol (IP) management product which features support for Dynamic Domain Name Server (DDNS), lightweight directory access protocol (LDAP) and Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS). Pricing; Performance; How it compares to NetID 4.0 from Bay Networks Inc.; Support for User-to-Address Mapping (UAM); Installation and configuration; Recommendations; Contact information.

Looks at Internet Protocol (IP) telephony as of July of 1998. Potential savings over traditional telephone services; The immaturity of most IP telephony products; Problems which arise because the Internet was not designed for voice traffic; What is necessary for companies to use IP telephony; Call quality issues; Scalability questions.

Announces that Check Point Software Technologies Inc. and Symantec Corp. are leading the charge on a protocol that could provide a standard method for integrating firewalls with anti-virus software and content monitoring systems. Details about the protocol development; Companies that are evaluating CVP (Content Vectoring Protocol); The CVP as needing work.

Examines the Open Buying on the Internet (OBI) protocol, spearheaded by American Express Co., to ensure real-time business-to-business transactions on the Internet. When an OBI specification is expected; OBI as the Secure Electronic Transmission (SET) of the Internet; Companies supporting OBI; How it works; Its use of Internet and electronic data interchange technology; Plans for the future of OBI.

Discusses the selection of standards for Internet messaging and electronic mail (E-mail). The benefits of having one a standardized exchange of data between competing manufacturers; Protocols such as Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3), Internet Messaging Access Protocol (IMAP) and Network News Transport Protocol (NNTP); Support of the different standards from around the computer industry. INSET: Reference corner: Messaging..

Looks at the joint development efforts of rivals Microsoft Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc. in crating the Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) hybrid protocol for tunneling traffic over the Internet. Advantages of using tunneling to circumvent incompatibilities between corporate local area networks (LAN) and Internet service providers (ISP); Expected availability of L2TP.

Evaluates Netscape Communications Corp.'s Collabra Server 3.0. The changes to the Network News Transport Protocol (NNTP); The features of the system. INSET: Collabra Server 3.0..

Focuses on directory-enabled applications, which offer a strong incentive for corporate information technology (IT) managers to migrate toward global directories. Novell Inc.'s Novell Directory Services (NDS) with support for Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), and Netscape Communications Corp.'s LDAP-based directories for Windows NT and Unix; Advantages of directory-enabled applications; Microsoft Corp.'s Active Directory. INSET: Why LDAP is essential to taking directories..., by Mark....

Reports on IBM's new networking products. Focus on concentrating multiprotocol wide area traffic carrying two-way video across ATM links and extending the distance over which high-speed data transfers can take place; What the new products are designed to do; New building block development strategy.

Tells that Internet service provider PSINet Inc. will announce at the September 1996 NetWorld+Interop show a turnkey intranet service known as PSI Intranet. Intended to give companies a secure Internet Protocol (IP) channel over public lines.

Reports on the Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol for the Internet being championed by Microsoft Corp. Remote access to corporate local area networks; Internet virtual private networks; Support from hardware vendors. INSET: Save your dime..

Reports on the increasing popularity of the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) driven by support from Novell Inc., Banyan Systems and Netscape Communications Corp. Announcement of the LADP-based Netscape Directory Server; Advantages and limitations of LADP; Software companies that are developing LADP-based software.

Reports that AT&T Wireless Services Inc. and Ameritech Cellular Services Inc. have formed an agreement to link their Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD)) networks. Benefits of the agreement to subscribers; Cities in the United States under the CDPD services span; Contact information.

Reports on the performance of Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD) networks in the United States as of January 29, 1996. Expansion plans of major telecommunication firms; Availability of third-party CDPD products; Addition of cellular sites in various cities; Formation of visiting agreements by CDPD carriers.

Looks at RadioMail Corporation selling RadioMail Message Center Services to Cellular Digital Packet Data. Release of RadioMail Remote Control Service; Other cites made.

Reports on the Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD) networks' pacts made by companies geared towards it in the CDPD Solutions Showcase in San Francisco. IBM Internet Connection Kit from IBM Wireless of Raleigh, North Carolina; Version 5.0 of Retix's Mobile Data Intermediate System; More.

Reports that public utilities in the United States are deploying cellular digital packet data (CDPD) network system as the centerpiece of their customer service dispatch operations. Overview on Newark, New Jersey-based Public Service Electric & Gas' installation; Features of the CDPD system; CDPD installation at the Virginia Natural Gas.

Reports on the Platform for Internet Content Selection, a set of protocols developed by a consortium of Internet product and service providers. Provision for users of a standard method for categorizing, rating and filtering World Wide Web and other Internet content; Distribution of protocols in 1995; Comments of Albert Vezza of the MIT Computer Science Lab.

Introduces the WinSock 2.0 software. Features; Capabilities; Applications; Product support. INSETS: For more info, dial..;Ticket to ride..

Reports on the popularity of simple mail transfer protocol (SMTP) among corporate information technology (IT) managers. Features; Improvement of security for SMTP backbones; Simplicity of SMTP-based backbones.

Reports on the advancement of standards by two computer industry groups to assuage users' fears of potential incompatibilities among document-management systems. Open Document Management Application Program Interface's (ODMA) release of Version 1.0 of its dynamic link library interface; Specifications set by Shamrock Document Management Consortium.

Features the adoption of the Point-to-Point Protocol by vendors of routers. Objective of reducing interoperability problems between remote users and corporate local area networks (LAN); Replacement of the Serial Line Internet Protocol; Strength of built-in negotiation scheme.

Reports on the wire protocol standard developed by the SQL Access Group for database access over different networks. Interpretation of network to database low-level messages; Work on a protocol-independent code; Elimination of gateways.

Reports on problems faced by potential users of the Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP) in installing Unix server for the World-Wide Web (WWW). Upgrading requirements of Unix clones; Server implementations; Gateways providing HTTP clients with access to information; Clients; Availability of WWW addons and specifications.

Features the Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP) in the Internet. Role in the World-Wide Web (WWW) information sharing network; Background on HTTP's establishment; Range of internal and external services provided; Client and server tasks; Available platforms.

Reports on Digital Equipment Corp.'s Tuxedo OLTP (on-line transaction processing) product. Implementation of the Tuxedo transaction monitor for DEC's alpha workstations and servers running the OSF/1 version of Unix; Support for multiple databases and multiple networking protocols.

Reports on network operating system support for remote access from Microsoft Corp. and Apple Computer. Microsoft Remote Access Service (RAS); AppleTalk Remote Access (ARA) from Apple; Features and functions; Administrative utilities; Security protocols.

Features computer companies' introduction of asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) products at InterOp. Fore Systems Inc.'s ForeRunner ASX-100 SwitchCluster; IBM Corp.'s proposal for a creation of a working group for developing specifications for managing ATM networks; Network Systems Corp.'s plan of integrating ATM technology into its Data eXchange Extended (DXE) router for wide-area connectivity.

Discusses the Signaling System Seven (SS7) Internet Gateway Architecture proposal, which defines the access signaling protocol (ASP) to allow remote access servers to talk to gateways which can translate Internet Protocol (IP) into SS7, the advanced calling system of the public switched telephone network (PSTN). Where SS7 is used; Where products based on the proposal are likely to surface first; Moving from PSTN to voice-over-IP-based networks.

Evaluates IPserver/NT 3.1, a software package from Network Telesystems Inc. for managing Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and name servers. Protocol and naming servers included; Pricing; How it compares to services in Windows NT 4.0 from Microsoft Corp.; Performance; Recommendations; Contact information.

Notes that virtual private network (VPN) vendors are supporting the Internet Protocol (IP) Security (IPSec) standard for interoperability between VPNs. Interoperability problems which have occurred as of May of 1998; How they will affect VPN deployment; Companies which are working together to repair IPSec problems; Outlook for IPSec 1.1, the upgrade to the standard.

Looks at Extensible Markup Language (XML) and the Information and Content Exchange (ICE) protocol as possible methods to automate the data transfer process on the Internet. Sharing data between sites; XML's use of document-type definitions or metadata markups; What ICE provides for electronic commerce sites; Using existing hypertext markup language (HTML) metadata tags to help Web businesses; Limitations of HTML. INSET: Making sense of the Web's alphabet soup.