On the Mark: Keep city traffic flowing

Computerworld - You know IP-based information is everywhere, even at stoplights, since traffic engineers get real-time data on vehicle flow from loop detectors and video feeds from cameras. But does such data need to be secured? Casey Potenzone, CIO at Uniloc USA Inc. in Irvine, Calif., argues that it does. He says cities are beginning to merge their IP data traffic, including information from intersections, onto single metropolitan networks.

IT secures other data, but that stoplight flow is ignored. He claims that could be a problem if hackers decide to mess with a city's traffic, as depicted in the film Live Free or Die Hard. Since most urban areas won't have Bruce Willis to save the day, Potenzone contends that they'll need to put a StrongPoint appliance at critical intersections. Unveiled last week, the appliance links to a StrongPoint server in a data center and encrypts all communications between the intersection and authorized personnel in the data center. Pricing for the field-hardened appliance starts at $2,500. Server software starts at $5,000 to manage up to 25 appliances. "Nobody says no to security," Potenzone says. Or, as Willis character John McClane says, "Welcome to the party, pal."

Vertica DB Tuned For Analytics

At first, relational databases handled lots of transactional information, and so relational database creators developed systems that were "write- centric," making them efficient and fast at storing data, says Andy Palmer, co-founder of Vertica Systems Inc. in Andover, Mass. Today, databases are used for more than transactional purposes. There's analytics, for one. According to Palmer, analytic applications need "read-centric" databases that store data differently. And that's just what the Vertica Analytic Database does, he claims.

In Version 2.0, which will ship this month, Vertica is also tuned to take advantage of modern microprocessors and servers, Palmer says. He cites Vertica's exploitation of the Level 2 cache in Intel chips, along with the copious memory and clustering technology in today's computer systems. The update adds new compression algorithms and will include support for many new analytic and management tools, including Cognos, Tableau, Golden Gate and Toad. Currently, the system can handle hundreds of terabytes of data, but, says Palmer, "we anticipate getting to petabytes in short order." Pricing is based on the amount stored.

Andy Palmer

Vignette Web Tools Update Gets Personal

Companies whose Web sites are based on Portal, Content Management or other software from Austin-based Vignette Corp. have a slew of new tools to choose from. Kirsten Knipp, senior product marketing manager, claims that the new software will give Web site visitors a more personal experience. For example, the Vignette Recommendations module analyzes a person's behavior on a site, compares it to the proclivities of users with similar profiles and makes recommendations of content accordingly. Although designed for Vignette software, Knipp says, the module can be integrated with content management and portal software from competitors as well. The company will also release an updated analytics module that shows Web site owners the most effective "touch points," in Knipp's words, for getting site visitors to buy a product, download a white paper, complete an online form -- whatever the goal. In addition, Vignette will update its Rich Media Services tool so that business users will be able to manipulate digital assets, such as an image's size or color, without having to contact IT to make the change. Pricing information is unavailable.

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