LAN/WAN Topic Center

LAN/WAN news, reviews, analysis and more

7 steps to securing Java

Java, the popular OS-independent platform and programming language, runs on just about every kind of electronic device imaginable, including computers, cell phones, printers, TVs, DVDs, home security systems, automated teller machines, navigation systems, games and medical devices.
Read more...

Silver Peak announces virtual appliance for offsite replication

Silver Peak Systems announced a new virtual application designed to dramatically speed up data duplication for disaster recovery without the purchase of additional hardware.

AT&T smashes distance record for 400Gbps data connection

Researchers from AT&T Labs will present the results of a record-setting fiber-optic transmission experiment next week at the Optical Fiber Communication Conference/National Fiber Optic Engineers Conference in Anaheim.

How Arista Networks got out in front of the SDN craze

n this installment of the IDG Enterprise CEO Interview Series, Arista Networks CEO Jayshree Ullal spoke with Chief Content Officer John Gallant about the reality and hype around SDN, and why the data center requires a different network than your father's general-purpose Cisco net. She also explored how her work at Cisco shaped Arista's strategy, and shared insights on how Arista's partnerships with VMware and Cloudera are making it easier to move to cloud and embrace big data, respectively.

HP, telcos look to sell LANs on pay-per-use basis

Hewlett-Packard will allow enterprises to pay for managed LAN offerings based on usage, in much the same way they pay for cloud services, through a partnership with telecom service providers.

Motorola streamlines Wi-Fi access with social networking accounts

Motorola Solutions has unveiled a pair of quasi-cloud services that make it simpler for IT groups to set up secure connections for guest Wi-Fi users, including those with personally-owned devices, on corporate or retail wireless LANs.

Cisco to buy network tool maker Cariden

Cisco is planning to acquire network planning tools vendor Cariden Technologies for $141 million, in its third announced acquisition this month.

Extreme joins Cisco, Brocade, Huawei at 100G

Extreme Networks this week unveiled 100G and 40G Ethernet modules as well as SDN application support for its BlackDiamond X8 core switch.

Alcatel-Lucent far underbids Cisco for California State Univ network refresh

The $100 million price differential between the Alcatel-Lucent and Cisco proposals to refresh California State University's 23-campus network that we wrote about earlier this week was based on an identical number of switches and routers in various configurations.

InfiniBand: The production software-defined networking (SDN)

Software-defined networking (SDN) is emerging as an alternative to proprietary data center networks, a way to separate the control plane from the data plane in data center switches and routers. With SDN, network control is implemented in software and can be executed from a server, which reduces network complexity and provides a common interface that is an alternative to vendors' proprietary and expensive options.

How to keep your network in tip-top health

Using any one of the six netword management suites in this review will help diagnose and cure network ills

What Separates Business Routers From Consumer Routers?

If you're in the market for a new router for your small business, you might be tempted by the flashy features, high speeds, and low cost of consumer-oriented routers. The latest models, based on the IEEE 802.11ac standard, look particularly attractive.

Fast-forwarding firewall faceoff

Next-generation firewalls claim to identify application-layer attacks and enforce application-specific policies while delivering top-notch performance, even with advanced security features turned on. Insider (registration required)

Three-stream Wi-Fi hits the mark

The rapid adoption of 802.11n has become a significant milestone in the history of wireless LANs. The MIMO-based technologies used in most 802.11n systems provide enough throughput, reliability, and rate vs. range performance to effectively remove the last major barriers to the broad adoption of WLANs in the enterprise.

Not-so-magic monitor, tiny routers and a kick-ass gaming headset

Shaw reviews MIMO MagicTouch 10-inch touchscreen USB monitor, 150Mbps Wireless N Nano Router, GameCom 780 USB headset.

IPv6: Dual-stack strategy starts at the perimeter

We are in an awkward point in the history of the Internet. IPv4 address depletion has occurred yet we expect to use IPv4 for the next 15 to 20 years. Organizations see two paths to choose between in the years ahead.

2012 Outlook: The end of everything?

Gibbs reviews last year's predictions and sees that the end could be nigh ...

Cisco WAAS shows pizzazz

The latest release of Cisco's WAN optimization product line -- Wide Area Application Services (WAAS) 4.4 -- proves that the company famous for routing packets can also shape, optimize and accelerate them.

How To Lock Down Your Wireless Network

If you operate a wireless network for your home or business, it's important to ward it against opportunistic hackers seeking to steal your data or hijack your Wi-Fi for their own nefarious purposes. We spoke to Steven Andrés, CTO of security consulting firm Special Ops Security, to learn about the best ways to lock down your Wi-Fi. To get started, you'll need to log in to your router's administrative console by typing the router's IP address into your Web browser's address bar. Most routers use a common address like 192.168.1.1, though alternatives like 192.168.0.1 and 192.168.2.1 are also common. Check the manual that came with your router to determine the correct IP address; if you've lost your manual, you can usually find the appropriate IP address on the manufacturer's website.

How to have real risk management

Akamai Technologies CSO Andy Ellis talks about some of the things organizations need to consider in order to better manage risk.