Cisco, Microsoft Reveal Long-Awaited Network Access Control Plans

Cisco and Microsoft released closely held details about their twoyearold partnership to deliver integrated controls that prevent malwareinfested computers from connecting into networks. Cisco's Network Admission Control or NAC technology will work with the Microsoft Network Access Protection or NAP capabilities available with the upcoming Windows Vista and Longhorn operating systems.

The result should be a breakthrough in integrated IT security when the whole package arrives in the second half of next year the target date for Longhorn's release. But the need for

HP To Provide Integration Services For Cisco Systems Wireless Products

HP will provide systems integration services for a new range of Cisco Systems wireless products according to an announcement by the firms Tuesday.

The development which centers on the implementation of Cisco's Unified Wireless Network Family is the latest in the firms' long history of partnering together. "This is a strategic effort from both companies to create a wireless foundation that enables a host of new applications" said Brian Brouillette vice president Technology Services HP Services in a statement.

The new applications to

Verizon To Offer Windows Live Services To Broadband Subscribers

Verizon Communications Inc. on Tuesday said it will offer to broadband subscribers a cobranded suite of Windows Live services from Microsoft.

The agreement an expansion of the existing partnership between the two companies will cover customers of Verizon's DSL and FiOS Internet services. The Windows Live products will be accessible through a cobranded Live.com homepage and will include a browser toolbar email instant messaging and security tools.

Verizon which has partnered with Microsoft since is working with the software maker to develop

Cisco Makes Data Center Play With Stake In Nuova

Cisco Systems has created a new subsidiary by taking a majority stake in Nuova Systems a Santa Clara Calif.based startup founded by former Cisco executives.

Cisco announced the move late Thursday. Nuova technology will complement Cisco's datacenter product portfolio which includes Catalyst switches MDS storage switches SFS server networking switches and application acceleration offerings.

San Jose Calif.based Cisco has committed technology plus $ million in funding to Nuova gaining an percent ownership share of the company. Nuova's founders include former

EarthLink Unveils Small Office Broadband

Internet service provider EarthLink Inc. on Thursday launched a smalloffice broadband service that does not require local phone service.

Instead the Small Office DSL Plus service uses a line set aside for data service. The benefits include support for Internet phone systems that do not support DSL lines sharing data and telephone service the Atlantabased company said. In addition the service comes with installation and hardware at no additional cost after rebate.

"This service takes away the added expense of a local

Linksys Small-Business Wi-Fi Grows Up

Small businesses will get some of the wireless LAN bells and whistles enterprises already have as Cisco Systems' Linksys division expands its product lineup on Monday.
 
A new router access point and CardBus adapter will use a draft version of the .n standard for high speed as a slew of consumer wireless gear does already. But more importantly Linksys is building security and management features into the products to help businesses with fewer than employees keep their wireless networks safe.

Cisco Patches Security Software Glitch

Cisco Systems released a security update meant to close three vulnerabilities in one of its network monitoring products.
 
The San Jose Calif.based company released an advisory to its customers warning of the flaws in its CSMARS (Cisco Security Monitoring Analysis and Response System) and is offering clients a patch update that promises to close the loopholes.

The issues are related to the software's interaction with thirdparty applications and revolve around the program's CLI (command line interface) the company said.

Foundry Networks Makes a Power-over-Ethernet Grab

Foundry Networks on July will try to raise the bar on voiceoverIPready network switches when it debuts its third generation of chassis switches built for VOIP and wireless traffic.
 
Foundry is claiming the highest Power over Ethernet density in its new FastIron SX and FastIron SX and slot switches.

The FastIron SX provides up to Gigabit Ethernet POE ports with a redundant power supply.

As VOIP gains mainstream status and enterprises engage in either

Cell Phones Join Emergency Broadcast Network

If you feel out of touch with the all the emergency alerts issued by the government get ready to join the loop. Your mobile phone is now going to be part of the Emergency Broadcast System.
 
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) part of the Department of Homeland Security is demonstrating today a new system for warnings to be sent as text messages to cell phones satellite radio devices cable TV stations Web sites and PDAs in addition to traditional

Battle lines drawn over Net neutrality

As the U.S. Congress argues the pros and cons of network neutrality many companies doing business on the Internet say their very futures may be at stake.
 
Net neutrality supporters want new laws prohibiting Internet providers from blocking or degrading traffic from their competitors&; networks. If providers are allowed to give preferential treatment to some Web traffic businesses using competing tools will find themselves in the slow lane said Dave Greves owner of Denverbased Faction Media an advertising agency that

Intel's $600 Million Clearwire Investment Shows Its WiMax Commitment

Intel has made another huge investment in the nextgeneration wireless technology WiMax. Intel Capital the chip maker's venture capital investment arm invested $ million in financial funding to the wireless broadband company Clearwire Corp. to accelerate its development and deployment of mobile WiMax networks. The investment comes just a week after Intel announced plans for a chipset that has fixed and mobile WiMax capabilities and another one combining WiFi and WiMax.
 
Intel Capital's contribution is part of a $ million investment

Intel Faces ILM Challenge

Despite efforts from vendors such as EMC Corp. to drive information lifecycle management (ILM) to the next level some organizations are still wrestling with the realities of the technology according to execs at the Storage World Conference this week.

The idea behind ILM of course is that users can quickly shift their data between different storage media based on its importance. But in order to move all this data around to various levels of storage it must first be classified no easy

Intel, NDS team on WiMAX TV multicast

Intel Corp. and Europebased digital pay TV company NDS Group plc have announced a trial system to demonstrate the TV and video services for fixed WiMAX technology.

Using the WiMAX IEEE . standard and the soon to be ratified IEEE .e Intel and NDS will also collaborate on industry and market development activities. The companies will engage in demonstrations to service providers and the industry to show how WiMAX can offer more than broadband access with payTV services.

The preWiMAX implementation takes place

Nokia-Siemens Merger Creates World's No. Four Networks Maker

Nokia and Siemens have agreed to combine the bulk of their telecom equipment businesses to create one of the biggest players in the industry sending shares in both firms higher.

The units in the venture "Nokia Siemens Networks" had sales of . billion euros ($ billion) last year which would make it the second biggest mobile equipment player and third in fixed infrastructure the companies said on Monday.

Siemens shares jumped . percent to . euros by GMT while Nokia was up

Cisco Program Aims To Help Partners Manage Cash Flow

Cisco Capital the financing arm of the San Jose Calif.based networking giant Monday unveiled a program that helps its partners maintain the cash flow necessary to complete costly longterm projects.

Deployment of Cisco's Unified Communication solutions the next generation of the vendor's VoIP platform that includes upgrades to its entire VoIP lineup can be a complex and time consuming process. Not only can it take up to four months for a partner to get a solution up and running for the