Networking vendors roll out software migration, VPN security products

Computerworld - Networking vendors are announcing new software migration products, as well as new security products and customer wins for network-based security services.
Marimba Inc. in Mountain View, Calif., will announce today Version 2.0 of its Windows Migration software to help companies upgrade all desktops and servers in a company to the Windows operating system.
The new features in Windows Migration 2.0 include a Web-based user interface and enhancements to make it easier for network managers to track software inventory and plan the provisioning of a new operating system or update applications, said Bruce Campbell, senior product marketing manager at Marimba.
Jim Levesque, systems programmer at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, said he now uses an earlier version of Marimba software for asset management and to push out software, and he's looking forward to Version 2.0 for automation of the Windows migrations. The Marimba tool will check system requirements and install software as required.
"It will make the transition from Win 9x and Win NT to Win 2000 a lot easier for us," he said. "It will also make it easier for us to move to XP instead of waiting several years like we have for the 2000 migration."
Levesque said the only problem he has encountered with Marimba is that he can't install the product in a server in one domain and control resources in another domain, a problem the company has promised to work out.
Version 2.0 is shipping now, but pricing wasn't disclosed.
In the security area, Nokia Corp. in Mountain View, Calif., is launching the Secure Access System, which consists of three hardware devices that will ship next month, according to Dan MacDonald, vice president of product management and marketing. Pricing starts as low as $110 per connection for 500 connections, and up to $220 per connection for smaller systems with 50 connections, he said.
The Secure Access System builds upon previous security products from Nokia, and sales will rely partly on an installed base of customers globally, MacDonald said. The new hardware allows a user to set up Secure Sockets Layer virtual private networking (VPN) atop Nokia's widely used IP security platform.
The IP 120 is a desktop or wall-mounted device with three 10/100 Ethernet ports. The IP 350 and IP 380 are rack-mounted designs, each with four 10/100 Ethernet ports. All are designed to provide user access to applications for intranets and extranets and simplify management by allowing administration at the server, with no need to deploy remote client software.
Enterasys Networks Inc.