SMB IT | Curtis Franklin | May 2007

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May 2007

May 31, 2007 | Comments: (0)

Thursday. So close to the weekend. Yet so far.

* Google and Salesforce.com to announce deal next Tuesday. Not too many specifics yet, but the duo is obviously aiming at Microsoft's hosted version of its CRM and ERP systems. Possible treasure chest for SMBs willing to do a little exploring. (Source: InfoWorld)

* Neat gadget for road penguins. The TurboLinux Wizpy should be selling next month. 2GB-4GB multimedia player for about $280 that also has a PC-bootable version of Linux installed. Should let you really screw up those kiosk machines at FedexKinkos. (Source: InfoWorld)

* Lenovo does new muscled ultraportables. The new ThinkPad X61 and X61s have a new wireless system with embedded pop-up antenna that's supposed to increase wireless performance up to 30% (presumably they're talking about range), and they also have a new rated battery life of up to 12 HOURS! Just hope the batteries don't go nuclear on your lap. (Source: InformationWeek)

* More Penguin power with Fedora 7. Red Hat gets Fedora 7 off the ground--definitely a viable desktop SMB OS, especially for small dev houses. Big news here is that Red Hat is actually a little less involved, instead opening the programming chain to the open source development community. Should mean more innovation and speedier releases. Also probably means an offshoot or two if history is any indicator. (Source: ComputerWorld)

Posted by Oliver Rist on May 31, 2007 10:45 AM

May 29, 2007 | Comments: (0)

SMB Tech News Today; 5/29

Sometimes I really hate golf. I mean, just hate it. Ruins a perfectly good three-day weekend.

* The Penguin People fire back at Microsoft. In response to Microsoft hinting that it will be looking at patent litigation against Linux users soon (and Novell suddenly clamming up on the subject), BusinessWeek just pubbed an op-ed piece by Linux Foundation Executive Director Jim Zemlin firing back at Microsoft. Zemlin reminds Redmond that Linux isn't with out huge patent pile of its own--and an enthusiastic community to stand behind it. We could wind up watching a real nerd war this year. Just make sure your SMB apps don't get caught in the middle. (Source: BusinessWeek)

* NY thinks Google-DoubleClick merger is hinky. Sure it's worth $3.1 billion, but before he clears it, Spitzer wants Google to come clean on exactly how it runs the usage-tracking part of its advert business. Now that's going to make the Googlers cranky. (Source: ZDNet)

* Avaya on the block? According to the NYT, Avaya has engaged Credit Suisse to manage the sale of part or all of the company. Possible buyers would be both Cisco and Nortel--which could really bite for customers of its SMB product lines. (Source: CNet)

* Toshiba snuggles up to AMD. Toshiba announced it was entering into a purchasing agreement with AMD for mobile CPUs. Looks like one or more lines of Toshiba notebooks will be running these CPUs, which means we might be looking at a new line of value machines for the SMB set...? (Source: PC Mag)

Posted by Oliver Rist on May 29, 2007 05:00 AM

May 25, 2007 | Comments: (0)

SMB Tech News Today; 5/25

Out of the badlands and back to work.

* NetSuite goes handheld. The company's ERP, CRM and e-commerce apps are now available via handheld mobile devices via partnerships with Antenna Software, Explore Mobile, and iEnterprises. (Source: NetworkWorld)

* Last bit of Interop news is pyromania. I'm ticked I missed this. A company that builds disaster-proof enclosures demoed their ability to protect hard drives from harm by setting an enclosure on fire in the parking lot then retrieving data off the disk after the flames died down. Cool series of photos. (Source: InformationWeek)

* FaceBook gets snaps for Web app extensions. Lots of talk on Web apps built around platforms, but FaceBook just unveiled one that really works. Built on straight HTML and scripting (PHP, etc.) extensions, the new platform will let SMBs build data gathering and other service apps around the FaceBook portal. (Source: BetaNews)

* Online shopping still growing. Loads of security SNAFUs aren't slowing down etailing growth according to a new study sponsored by RightNow.com. Worth reading if that's your SMB. (Source: RightNow.com)

Posted by Oliver Rist on May 25, 2007 10:08 AM

May 24, 2007 | Comments: (0)

SMB Tech News Today; INTEROP Day 4

I'm out of here in a few hours, and I'm one of the few press nerds who stayed this long. As a result, they're aren't many brand-spanking-new today press announcements this late in the show. So here are a few more SMB news bits from earlier this week.

* Netgear into SMB hardware spewage, too. I blogged on how D-Link was spewing out new SMB hardware, but they're not the only ones. Netgear is pumping out new products, too. They've got a new ProSafe Wireless Switch (OEM partner is rumored to be Trapeze who do this REALLY well), they hyper-COOL ReadyNAS that Negear got off its Infrant acquisition (this thing is fast, does 1-3TB and can be setup by almost anyone, tho probably not Sasquatch Venezia) and they announced a partnership with Avaya to provide a custom end-to-end VoIP bundle to SMB customers via their reseller channel. Not to mention some new stackable gigabit switches, updated WiFi access points and some other goodies.

* Samsung does SMB voice comm appliance. The family is the OfficeServ line and has both 7100 & 7200 model numbers. Basic specs for both are complete voice-in-a-box. VoIP and/or POTS, wired or wireless handsets, voicemail, PBX functions and even some unified messaging features like syncing vmail with users' Outlook inboxes. To be available near the end of Summer 2007. Price is apparently TBD.

* Raritan shows off new KVM super-box. These guys make some of the best keyboard/video/mouse (KVM) controllers in the biz. The new Dominion KX II does KVM over IP, has a new browser config/mgmt UI, a slick new virtual KVM desktop and supports things like remote USB on managed end points. Way cool, and they're even offering a trade-in discount program for existing Raritan customers.

* Wedge does SMB security appliance. It's called the BeSecure NDP-2040NX. Does gigabit-level networking, scans for AV and AM, does deep packet inspection, handles mucho protocols, etc. Real sweet little box with a price that's nice, tho most likely more for the MB set.

Posted by Oliver Rist on May 24, 2007 09:46 AM

May 23, 2007 | Comments: (0)

Non-Interop Review: Netgear ProSafe SSL VPN Concentrator 25

By Paul Venezia (with much more important editing done by Oliver Rist, who is better looking anyway)

Is it possible that a sub-$500 SSL VPN concentrator is worth the price? NetGear's ProSafe SSL VPN Concentrator 25 (code named, the SSL312) certainly appears to be. The staid appearance of the SSL312 is par for the course with NetGear pseudo-enterprise hardware, sporting two 10/100 Ethernet interfaces, a few status lights, and a power connection. On the plus side, there's no wall wart or in-line power converter; but on the downside, there seems to be a very lax attitude regarding updates and support.

The SSL312 was easy to configure, requiring that you set up a system on the 192.168.1.0/24 network plugged into the SSL312, then hit it with a Web browser to do the basic configuration. This amounts to assigning at least one IP address and default route and configuring user and group parameters, which can be either local or bound to a RADIUS server, Microsoft Active Directory, an NT domain, or a generic LDAP server.

In most instances, the SSL312 will be deployed behind a firewall with TCP port 443 forwarded to a single IP address, and VPN connections bouncing into the network from that same point. Alternatively, it's possible to configure the SSL312 to act as a router, routing VPN connections between the two interfaces. This last scenario would be applicable if the SSL312 is placed on a DMZ, with the second interface linked to the internal network. This is a security quandary, however, as neither solution is really as secure as it could be. From there, the SSL312 is pretty much ready to go.

Aside from basic 256-bit AES SSL VPN capabilities, there are a bevy of other remote access methods supported by the SSL312. Various network resources can be advertised to authenticated users based on policies. That means RDP, SSL, and VNC connections can be had for the click of a mouse without requiring a tunnel, although these services require the use of ActiveX and Internet Explorer on a Windows system. Portals can be created and modified to match specific groups of users, allowing custom tailored pages per user group, each advertising a specific set of remote access functions. There's also a Web-based CIFS browser that permits file copies from the internal network to the client via the browser, which is certainly a nice feature for teleworkers.

The SSL312 is built on Linux, which makes it a relatively responsible network device, with an NTP and syslog client, though no SNMP stack. Certificates can be imported, or self-signed certs generated from within the UI, as well.

I configured the unit and updated to the latest firmware in about 20 minutes, as I was traveling the next morning. With my trusty MacBook Pro in hand, far from the lab, I fired up Safari (since the SSL312 doesn't support FireFox on any platform) and connected to the portal. I installed the Mac OS client and started up the tunnel only to find that it “Just Doesn't Work” on an Intel-based Mac. That prompted petulant cries to Oliver, who called Netgear, which promptly zapped over a code update that handled the problem. By the time you read this, Intel-based MacBooks should have no trouble and Vista clients should be fully supported as well. If you bump into an SSL312 that doesn't handle all these, drop petulant comments in the area below and we'll force Oliver to do some real work.

Aside from this hiccup, it seems that the Netgear SSL312 is a solid solution at a decent price--though we could wish for more than 25 clients even with a $500 sticker price.

Posted by Oliver Rist on May 23, 2007 03:48 PM

May 23, 2007 | Comments: (0)

SMB Tech News Today; INTEROP Day 3

Tired. Fuzzy. Down $350 at the slots. But still walkin'!

SMB Interop News Today:

* VoIPShield Systems debuts voice security suite. Have to see how much of this is really voice-specific, but the suite claims to include components for things like VoIP NAC, VoIP IPS, and even VoIP anti-spam. Aimed at enterprises, but good for SMBers who have a consulting or VAR business around VoIP.

* Apani shows off EpiCenter 3.0. Big upgrade to the company's security suite. This is at least an MB-oriented product going up to enterprises, but they've gone to a lot of trouble to make it easier to use for IT generalists. New features include better policy-based management, AD and LDAP integration, and a big-time reporting upgrade among other things.

* Unlimi-Tech has a couple of large file transfer systems out. This is a mite confusing, but here goes. Seems Unlimi-Tech makes one software package called FileCatalyst 2.0 which manages large file transfers across the globe sans FTP or email attachment headaches. But they're also showcasing Files2U, which seems to be the same thing offered...as a service. Real nice for small businesses with big file transfer needs.

* Reflex Security does gigabit IPS. These guys are taking the wrappers off a gigabit-capable IPS appliance that uses quad-core Xeons but still manages a $28K street price. MB-level definitely, but handy for companies who really need to watch the network.

Posted by Oliver Rist on May 23, 2007 08:10 AM

May 22, 2007 | Comments: (0)

Interop: Alcatel-Lucent Super Card, I WANT One of These

Got this by glomming onto one of Brian's interviews--hey, I'm slimy that way.

Alcatel-Lucent has gone and come out with the Swiss Army knife of PC Card modems. It's called the OmniAccess 3500 Nonstop Laptop Guardian, and it's a standard Type II PC Card with a lot of stuff jammed in there. Short list:

* CPU
* Between 256MB and 1GB of combo Flash and RAM
* Its own power source
* a 3G broadband wireless modem
* a GPS
* Hardware crypto acceleration

Better yet, the geeks at Bell Labs (this is the first product invented entirely in the old Lucent labs and then owned and marketed by Alcatel's enterprise group) actually put real thought into combining these features for best effect. Examples:

(1) It allows for direct device monitoring and remote help even if the notebook is off because the OmniAccess has its own power supply and network connection.

(2) Has its own VPN certificates and encryption keys. This means that (a) the OmniAccess can force users to VPN into the corporate network whenever they access the Internet--means your users are ALWAYS behind your firewall and monitoring devices. It also means (b) that it can encrypt and authenticate data on the notebook's hard drive. If the box gets lost, you can wipe the keys remotely--again, because the OmniAcc has its own 3G card and power source.

(3) The GPS can be used on its own or as a lojack to recover the notebook if it gets lost (and the thief leaves the card installed).

(4) They're using the installed RAM for things like convenient backup and patching. Since most incremental backups are only about 40MB a day, the card get grab these during working hours and then update a remote backup server at night--all by itself. Same with patching. The card can download your patches while visions of sugar plums are bouncing off your head and then install those patches the next time you boot up.

Alcatel-Lucent is saying that they've opened the APIs for this thing to academic institutions and are getting good feedback. Lots of stuff being done on things like downloading emails onto the card while the computer is off and then doing a fast import when it's turned on -- or even allowing access via the new SideShow windows on the outside of some of the newer Vista notebooks.

Downsides? No Mac support as yet and none planned unless loads of Apple users start female canining. Vista is the next OS in the queue with Linux possible very quickly after that because the OmniAccess already runs on an embedded Penguin kernel.

Other downside is cost. Alcatel-Lucent's trying to keep this down, but they're going to be largely at the mercy of the various evil empires; out of the gate that's Verizon since the intial OmniAcc versions will run only EVDO rev A. Means you'll need to pay the monthly for an EVDO data plan, a service charge of probably $15/mo on top of that and then some kind of charge for the hardware (TBD).

Then again, for companies worried about road warrior reliability and data security among mucho other nifties, that doesn't sound like too much to ask.

The OmniAccess 3500 Nonstop Laptop Guardian is going into late beta now; Brian's going to get a chance to review the thing later this summer and the evil empires should be offering it for sale sometime in the Fall.

View high-rez image of the OmniAccess 3500 (1.6MB)

Posted by Oliver Rist on May 22, 2007 01:17 PM

May 22, 2007 | Comments: (0)

SMB Tech News Today; INTEROP Day 2

A little hung over but significantly richer due to some success at Voce Communication's Texas Hold 'em Tournament done with Barracuda Networks and NetIQ. Just keeping you up-to-date.

SMB Interop News

* Xirrus and DiVitas show interoperability. As we previewed in our recent DiVitas hands-on review, that company is now showing their MMC stuff in real life. They're running on Xirrus, the main Interop WiFi provider, and doing seamless roaming between that network and T-Mobile's data/voice network. See? We weren't making it up.

* Bluesocket shows new software. Just because DiVitas and Xirrus are kicking booty, don't forget about the rest of the WLAN landscape. BlueSocket just released new management software for their BlueSecure Controllers. Better security, better roaming and even some endpoint scanning built-in.

* Zoho shows off Notebook app. No press kit to link to as yet...BUT: For those SMBers into the Web 2.0 trend, Zoho's new Notebook app is cool. Looks like a OneNote clone at first glance, but also adds loads of Web features -- online collab, whiteboarding, even the ability to aggregate content or create content directly from Notebook. Worth checking out for sheer glitziness.

* Loads of stuff from D-Link. They're just spewing new hardware out of their booth. Stuff includes, "first-to-market wireless Smart switching, fully-managed IPv6 switching, iSCSI storage arrays, TAA compliancy, security, and next-generation telephony for small business." Not sure what all of that means, but it does include a sexy new Internet video portal and a sweet little small biz VoIP phone system.

Posted by Oliver Rist on May 22, 2007 09:33 AM

May 21, 2007 | Comments: (0)

Interop: Two-Factor Coolness from Positive Networks

Purty cool for the SMB set. Positive Networks is a managed VPN provider. On that front they're launching a new reseller program that's aimed directly at SMB tech providers. But to make it sexy, they introed a new two-factor authentication feature.

Using your cell phone.

It's neat. Instead of having users carry a smart token, Positive's new PhoneFactor deal waits for an auth request (and not just using Positive's VPN service; this works with any VPN platform). When it gets the request, it clicks back to a server managed by Positive that matches the user request with a supplied phone number. The phone number gets called and a keyed response is required to make sure you're on your phone.

Typically, this is a single key, which makes for the two-factor label. But if you like, you can implement a PIN number per user, actually extending the process to three-factor. It's also not a cell phone-only platform. Positive says some of their early users are aiming them at desktop phones, thus making sure that users at remote sites are at their desk when the VPN is accessed.

Best news: It's free. For the average SMB it's a no-cost. For enterprises that want to manage the whole thing themselves, there will be premium enterprise modules.

I'm sure the thing is hackable via cell phone spoofing or something equally sophisticated, but it would be a highly involved process. Overall, for day-to-day SMB use, I think it's highly usable provided it works as advertised.

Regarding Positive Networks' new channel program, the company introduced it specifically to attract smaller technology providers. Especially those who are short on staff and looking for ways to add more billable hours with little additional work overhead. The program has three partner levels, but the nice thing there is that it's not looking to qualify potential partners based on some expensive certification process. That's mainly because Positive will continue to provide level 1 support, thus making deep knowledge on the reseller's part unnecessary.

Instead, what they're looking for is a customer base and target that consistently ask for or require VPN service--and are willing to pay for it. That's a MUCH more attractive partner filter for smaller technology partners. For more specifics on the new program, check here.

Posted by Oliver Rist on May 21, 2007 04:29 PM

May 21, 2007 | Comments: (0)

Interop NOC Splunk Day

Brian and Cathy are partaking of Padre's real estate generosity as well as me--hey he's rich and it's a big house. That's cool on the one hand because Brian makes fancy coffee every morning. That's uncool on the other hand because Cathy tortures me every morning--before I'm really ready. Hey, she's sweet but she really is the incarnation of evil.

Today, however, all three of them were dressed identically in black t-shirts with 'Splunk' one one side and an almost-witty sentence on the other. You might think 'Splunk' refers to the sound Cathy's shoe makes when it rebounds off my skull, but it's actually a tres-cool IT log aggregator. (The semi-witty sayings on B&C's shirts didn't do anything for me, but I later saw a cute one: "Splunk: Taking the SH out of IT.")

What is Splunk, really? Don't think "knowledgebase for IT." The site looks like that, but it's actually a log manager. This thing takes all your logs--and I mean ALL your logs--and indexes them. But not just for keyword searching, it also aligns them temporally and with a graphic representation so you can see and track trends and then drill down to specific log entries right off the graphic.

There's a free version and an enterprise jobbie, so check 'em out.

Posted by Oliver Rist on May 21, 2007 04:12 PM

May 21, 2007 | Comments: (0)

SMB Tech News Today; INTEROP Day 1

Just coming off of TWO WEEKS of blissful vacation and I'm thrust headlong into the chaotic bloodsport that is Spring Interop (no longer with the "Networld+" appendage...only for the last three years...shows you how aware I am). Today the show floor is stll being built by various vendor engineers and some friends of mine: Brian Chee our Geeks in Paradise lab director and my generous Vegas landlord, Padre aka The Tech Stop aka Father Ballecer.

So presently I'm wading through carnage caused by dozens of SEs given free reign to setup the latest equipment, management software and geek toys. Pallet crates all over the floor, little golf carts laden with tools, cables and various shiny boxes loaded with eth ports, bubble wrap wisping around on air conditioned slip streams like tumbleweeds in a nerd desert. Some geeks are positioning webcams on the cat walks to zoom in on the best booth babes, others are kidnapping an opposing team's routers and sending ransom notes as trouble tickets and still more are playing with nerd toys like Padre's bunnies (below; weenie scammed FOUR of these things; I can't even get ONE! They're utterly useless but stuffed with geek toys and APIs, like RFID, 802.11x, SNMP, RSS, lights the sync, ears that rotate according to scripted directions, way more. Data center toys worth hours of wasted time). Oh yeah, and all of them are building a hugely complex network interconnecting hundreds of vendors' latest wares--and they're doing it in a week. All this against the backdrop of girls, gambling and debauchery that is Vegas. Yeah, I've got a headache, but it's okay.

View Padre's Bunny Army

So the show floor may be closed, but that's not stopping vendors from making loads of announcements and bombarding my inbox with them. So here goes from the SMB perspective:

* 3Com announces new SMB security platform. Called the X family, they're actually for both enterprises and SMBs, apparently. Combination smart IPS with firewall, VPN and content filtering built-in. Nothing to make the nether regions tingle, but good for competition.

* SecureWave does Sanctuary 4.2. Latest iteration of their endpoint security client. Does custom reports, script & macro protection, pasword lockout & recovery and offline temp permissions. Hey, this is the year of security so check it out.

* But watch out for NAP & TCG. Microsoft's pushing its Network Access Protection endpoint security HARD. Using Interop to announce that: "they will provide customers and partners interoperability of TCG's Trusted Network Connect (TNC) architecture and Microsoft Network Access Protection (NAP)". In other words, NAP's coming to networks near you.

* Netreo does traffic management as SaaS. This is cool for SMBs who want more sophisticated traffic flow analysis, but don't want to pay for additional infrastructure or software clients. Netreo's OmniCenter Flow does all the analysis, but in a SaaS delivery model. Sign up, simplified software setup and go.

* Critical Links is unveiling its Office-in-a-Box appliance. Not well named, but it's a well-featured edge appliance for SMBs. Official name is edgeBOX, and it does the whole firewall/edge router thing, but combines it with VoIP gateway and PBX thing. All in one box for the SMB set.

More news as the day goes on...

Posted by Oliver Rist on May 21, 2007 09:08 AM

May 02, 2007 | Comments: (0)

InfoWorld LIVE! #13: Quest & New PCI Security Standards

Unlucky 13 turned out fairly lucky for us. Scott didn't go streaking through the studio like last time, and Tim Burke and Mike Dillon from Quest showed up to talk about PCI security standards. That's the Payment Card Industry security standard, and it refers to new security measures arising around e-tailers and brick and mortar shops. Folks who want to process credit cards eitehr entirely or partially using the Internet will need to pay attention to these new guidelines. If you're in that business, listen in because that world is changing fast.

You can download this week's episode by clicking on this link: Listen!

Posted by Oliver Rist on May 2, 2007 01:41 PM

May 02, 2007 | Comments: (0)

SMB Tech News Today; 5/2

* More SMB declarations from IBM. IBM's CEO, Sam Palmisano, said in a keynote speech that he expects Big Blue's SMB business to become its biggest industry focus in the next few years. 'Course IBM defines SMB as "1000 employees and down" so I don't think SOHO businesses will see to much action off this for a while. (Source: InfoWorld)

* T.J. Maxx SNAFU to top out at $4.5 billion. Security expert IPLocks says T.J. Maxx's problems will amount to $100 per compromised record. Sucks for T.J., but hopefully a message to beef up security. (Source: InformationWeek)

* Verizon offers VoIP assessment service. So it's for their MPLS customers (mostly larger bizzes, but some SMBers there) and it allows them to better quantify their voice quality. For the prices they charge, Verizon ought to do that themselves. (Source: NetworkWorld)

* Next big bets for VCs. The business school mind set is that venture capitalists are bouncing back from the post-bubble depression. With the Googlers and similar companies dropping a couple of billion every few months, they seem to feel better about their ability to cash out--at least for certain segments like SaaS. Gotta love greed. (Source: Knowledge@Wharton)

Posted by Oliver Rist on May 2, 2007 10:32 AM

May 01, 2007 | Comments: (0)

SMB Tech News Today; 5/1

* Nokia adds security appliances. Two new models, including low-end job aimed at SMBs. Not just better speeds and feeds, but improved protection against smart malware threats, too. (Source: InfoWorld)

* IT salary survey. Just in case you need some more metrics on what to pay your geek staffer. Or consultant. Or that high school kid who runs your network. (Source: InformationWeek)

* Google to unveil "iGoogle" brand. Man, I hope this is a hoax, otherwise it's sad, sadder, tears-launching-themselves-in-suicidal-frenzy--from-my-ducts SAD. Oh yeah, and it refers to their personalized home page. Still sad. (Source: BetaNews)

* Boston hotel offers thin clients to guests. If you're a constant road warrior, then mayhap this offering from the Seaport Hotel near Boston might appeal: In-room thin clients running Windows XP with hi=speed Internet access. So as long as they've got USB support and you make good use of stuff like online storage, you might be able to travel without any notebook at all. (Source: ComputerWorld)

Posted by Oliver Rist on May 1, 2007 09:07 AM

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