- Scientists: 'Buzz' to break optical bottlenecks
- Sun speeds networking for multi-core chips
- A random, unplanned network
- 'WiFiber' challenges optic cables
- 802.11n expected to be approved next week
- Cisco snaps up Sheer to bolster network management
- Cisco's new unit aims for network intelligence
- Cisco adds intelligent network unit
- Like Apple, IT shops are switching - to faster switches
- Cisco adds Sipura to bolster VoIP
December 20, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Scientists: 'Buzz' to break optical bottlenecks
That buzzing you hear in your paranoid ears may one day be augmented by a new technique aimed at eliminating bottlenecks in fiber-optic networks.
According to Scientific American, scientists from Duke University and the Institute of Optics at University of Rochester have demonstrated in Science that data encoded on a laser beam can be transferred to sound waves momentarily before returning back into light waves, potentially eliminating packet buffering bottleneck issues in optical networks.
Two laser beams of differing frequencies pointed at each other along a glass fiber create acoustic vibrations, the researchers found. These vibrations, aka phonons, can retain encoded information for 12 billionths of a second, after which a third laser transfers the data back into light.
The acoustic hitch will allow optical networks to temporarily store data in the event that two packets hit a router simultaneously.
Crackpot or not, the technology will not be ready commercially for years, as scientists experiment to elongate storage times and reduce the laser power necessary to produce the phonons and transfer encoded data back into light waves.
Experiments are likely to focus on the material makeup of communication fibers that could best capitalize on the research findings.
One possible solution would be to use chalcogenide, the stuff currently being put to use in the development of phase-change memory technologies.
The second, according to the Scientific American article, would be to fill hollow optical fibers with a gas such as Xenon, thereby reducing laser-power requirements and increasing phonon lifespan.
Additional resources
12 crackpot tech ideas that could transform the enterprise
These technologies straddle the divide between harebrained and brilliant as they promise to shake the pillars of tomorrow's enterprise
Posted by Jason Snyder on December 20, 2007 02:11 PM
February 21, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Sun speeds networking for multi-core chips
As the microprocessor industry has shifted focus away from raw megahertz in favor of multiple cores and symmetric multiprocessing (SMP), developers and IT managers have struggled to adapt to the new computing paradigm. Adding more cores is all well and good, but until the other components of the IT environment directly support multithreading, some of the touted performance gains remain largely hypothetical.
No company understands SMP as well as Sun Microsystems, having invested heavily in the technology since the 1990s. Sun's current UltraSparc T1 chips are the most multithreaded processor designs in the mainstream server market. Now Sun has turned its eye toward bringing network hardware up to speed with its new chip designs.
The Sun Multithreaded 10 Gig E Networking Technology, announced today, is the first networking hardware optimized specifically for parallel threaded environments, according to Sun spokespeople. By comparison, most current network hardware was designed to work with single-core, single-threaded processors, which creates a bottleneck in multi-core hardware. Sun's new design should benefit network-intensive applications, such as server virtualization or storage networking over iSCSI, running on multi-core x86 and Sparc processors.
The new network interfaces are available now, starting at $498 per port.
Posted by Neil McAllister on February 21, 2007 01:03 PM
March 02, 2006 | Comments: (0)
While the notion of municipal Wi-Fi networks is still nascent -- though increasingly moving toward the status of inevitability -- the city of Cambridge, MA, is building a mesh network that would enable residents to access the Internet from bus stops or city parks.
From the Technology Review article:
The project is based on an experimental system called Roofnet, an unplanned, multiroute mesh network developed at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. A mesh network is a series of radio transmitters and receivers randomly dispersed over an area. To get data from one part of the mesh to another, the network must figure out the best route between them, which can change depending on network traffic, data rates, and even the weather.
Roofnet, the story points out, has already been operating for about three years in a limited area around MIT, and "the original idea was to exploit the benefits of a random, unplanned network."
Similar to the municipal Wi-Fi networks emerging in cities such as Philadelphia and San Francisco, Cambridge's mesh network brings a special focus on providing Internet access to the low-income residents otherwise on the 'have-not' side of the digital divide.
N.B. Cambridge's mesh network is based on protocols developed at MIT, the owner of Technology Review.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on March 2, 2006 10:01 AM
February 23, 2006 | Comments: (0)
'WiFiber' challenges optic cables
Just as 3G cell cards begin to challenge WiFi for speed and NTT DoCoMo hit 2.5Gbps in a 4G trial, wireless networking has set its sights on fiber.
MIT Technology Review reports a wireless service from GigaBeam dubbed "WiFiber" is one-upping WiMax to rival fiber optic networks in some applications with speed of more than one gigabit per second.
Wireless networking in the gigabit per second range is an advance but fiber is still faster, as readers of the story pointed out and the Technology Review website corrected.
Gigabeam said its point-to-point wireless technology could be a strong contender where digging to lay fiber-optic trenches was too expensive or not feasible.
LightPointe and Proxim Wireless provide similar services, but GigaBeam's technology uses at terahertz frequencies to overcome limits on data transmission from poor weather.
Posted by Mike Barton on February 23, 2006 12:14 PM
January 13, 2006 | Comments: (0)
802.11n expected to be approved next week
Mobile Pipeline is reporting that the long awaited 802.11n wireless standard could be approved as soon as next week. 802.11n is a next-generation Wi-Fi standard that could push data speeds to as fast as 240 Mbps and offer increased range.
InfoWorld's Ephraim Schwartz in November wrote about the battle lines being drawn between wireless chip vendors who are tiring of the long wait for ratification of 802.11n. He wrote:
Vendors looking to increase ever-eroding margins on commodity 802.11a, b, and g gear have been pushing for higher speeds and a faster ratification of 802.11n. Tired of the wait, Airgo Networks designed its own 802.11n-like chip set to be used first by Netgear in its RangeMax 240 router, announced last week, which has a maximum performance of 240Mbps.
You can read the full story here.
The 802.11n proposal is being finalized this week and is expected to be sent to the IEEE meeting, taking place in Hawaii starting on January 16. The spec would need a 75 percent majority vote for approval.
Network World wrote about the expected vote on 802.11n earlier this month.
Posted by Cathleen Moore on January 13, 2006 02:25 PM
July 26, 2005 | Comments: (0)
Cisco snaps up Sheer to bolster network management
Cisco Systems, always on the lookout for hot, new companies, said it has agreed to acquire Sheer Networks, which makes software designed to help service providers and large enterprises manage complex networks.
Sheer Networks makes a product called Sheer DNA, or Dynamic Network Abstraction, which creates a real-time, virtual representation of an actual network. This is supposed to make it easier to manage complex networks that include multiple domains and equipment from multiple vendors, IDG News Service reported.
"We are continuously investing in our business to meet our customers' needs and the Sheer Networks acquisition will strengthen our ability to provide innovative and effective network management solutions," Cliff Meltzer, senior vice president for Cisco's Network Management Technology Group, said in a statement.
"Our blueprint for Cisco network management includes a common services platform on which applications are delivered and the ability to support management applications from Cisco and other vendors," Meltzer added. "Sheer has a similar philosophy and parallel architecture which will accelerate our delivery of Cisco's next generation management platform and advanced applications to our Service Provider customers."
Cisco will pay about $97 million in cash and assumed options for the privately held company, which is based in San Jose, Calif. The price my increase by up to $25 million if Sheer Networks reaches certain development and product milestones, Cisco said.
The acquisition will flesh out Cisco's network management offerings for service providers and large businesses, Cisco said. It plans to build on Sheer Net-works' technology to develop device, network and service-level management appli-cations that work with multi-vendor networks, it said.
Sheer Networks' staff will become part of Cisco's Network Management Technology Group. The company was founded in 1999 and has 100 employees in San Jose and in Petach Tikva, Israel.
Posted by Jack McCarthy on July 26, 2005 04:40 PM
June 23, 2005 | Comments: (0)
Cisco's new unit aims for network intelligence
Cisco's new Application Oriented Network or AON business unit is designed to add more intelligence to the network and boosts a host of technical relationships, such as IBM and SAP.
It is also, according to Zeus Kerravala, analyst at Yankee Group, a difficult concept to grasp.
"I think it was a hard concept to grasp and to explain because some of the attendees seemed not to understand it," he said.
While that may be a problem, Kerravala remains high on the concept. "At the same time, I thought it was one of the more innovative things I've seen from a networking company in a long time," he said.
AON is a network-embedded intelligent message routing system that integrates application message-level communication, visibility, and security into the fabric of the network.
Cisco's new AON business unit will roll out its first products later this year. Initial offerings will be a branch-office router and a blade that can be used with Cisco switches. Eventually, the company will add a standalone AON device and a branch-office router that connects to SAP applications, according to Cisco officials.
Kerravala believes IT managers will see some big benefits from adding intelligence to the network.
"Companies have a difficult time getting their application developers to understand the network better and vice versa," he said.
"With this, that doesn't have to happen, so I think it solves a lot of problems. Cisco is putting some intelligence into the network, so it can understand what it is doing, where it is from, etc. I mean we've tried this with load balancing and whatever, but this I think is a real step forward," he said.
Also pleased with Cisco's direction is CXO Systems, which is partnering with the networking giant to integrate its visibility dashboard for real-time business and risk intelligence into AON. The dashboard allows senior-level executives who require business and IT information to have access to real-time data in the enterprise, according to Malcolm Frank, CEO of CXO.
"Our collaborative efforts will help organizations decrease risk and ensure superior performance by ensuring senior managers, such as the Chief Information Officer (CIO), Chief Security Officer (CSO), and the Chief Risk Officer (CRO), are acting on real-time data," said Frank.
Posted by Bob Francis on June 23, 2005 03:02 PM
June 21, 2005 | Comments: (0)
Cisco adds intelligent network unit
Cisco embarks on a new business direction today as it details its first move into the messaging middleware business with its Application-Oriented Network (AON) business unit.
At its Networkers conference in Las Vegas the company announced the formation of its Application-Oriented Network (AON) business unit and a number of technical relationships, most notably IBM, and products that are intended to add more intelligence to the network. This added intelligence will better equip the network to understand business application communications in order to support more effective business decisions, according to company officials.
"AON is a new technology direction for Cisco as well as a new product offering," said Stephen Cho, senior director for product management in Cisco's AON business unit.
The AON group will roll out its first products later this year. The initial offerings will be a blade that can be used with Cisco switches and a branch office router. Eventually, the company will add a standalone AON device and a branch office router that connects to SAP applications, said Cho. The AON products will be about the size of a hardback book, he said. Pricing on the products will be announced later this summer, he added.
Read more about the new Cisco direction here.
Posted by Bob Francis on June 21, 2005 10:38 AM
June 07, 2005 | Comments: (0)
Like Apple, IT shops are switching - to faster switches
Apple is not the only company making a big switch. The transition to GigE and 10GbE is definately on in IT shops, according to a new report by In-Stat.
The Layer 2/3 managed Ethernet switch market grew 23.5 percent by revenues and 23.8 percent in port shipments from 2003 to 2004, according to the report.
According to In-Stat, Fast Ethernet continued to represent the greatest overall number of ports shipped, but the transition to newer generations of switch technology is definitely on. GigE is now a mainstream switching technology and 10GbE grew exponentially in 2004.
"Strong worldwide economic growth, declining ASPs, and pent-up demand for networking equipment purchases after several years of IT budget cut-backs all contributed to above-average performance by the market," said In-Stat analyst Sam Lucero in a release.
The report also found that Cisco continued to lead the L2/3 managed Ethernet switch market in both port shipments and revenue in 2004, followed by HP, 3Com, and Nortel. In the unmanaged Ethernet switch market, D-Link led the market, followed by Linksys and Netgear.
According to the report, the L2/3 managed Ethernet switch market will grow more slowly this year. For more information on the report, click here.
Posted by Bob Francis on June 7, 2005 08:32 AM
April 27, 2005 | Comments: (0)
Cisco adds Sipura to bolster VoIP
Just in time for the largest networking show of the year, Networld+Interop (now just Interop), Juniper Networks and Cisco have made large acquisitions.
Juniper Networks yesterday said it plans to acquire Peribit Networks and Redline Networks.
The two acquisitions give Juniper additional products in the network application delivery and performance market.
"Juniper Networks is capitalizing on its leadership position to redefine the networking market," said Scott Kriens, chairman and CEO of Juniper, in a statement. "The addition of application acceleration technologies to Juniper Networks' best-in-class routing and security solutions is a natural extension of our traffic processing strategy. We are raising the bar on what users can and should expect from the network," he said.
Peribit develops WAN optimization appliances to provide increased WAN capacity, faster application performance, prioritized application delivery and system wide visibility of network and application performance. Peribit has over 900 enterprise customers worldwide, according to the company.
Redline designs network solutions that maximize the performance, flexibility and scalability of web-enabled enterprise data centers and public web sites. Redline has over 350 enterprise customers, according to the company.
Cisco, for its part, yesterday announced plans to acquire VoIP vendor Sipura Technology, which it plans to integrate into its Linksys Group division.
Cisco will fork over about $68 million in cash and options for Sipura, which makes analog terminal adapters (ATAs), which allow users to connect conventional phones to a broadband service to use VoIP.
Posted by Bob Francis on April 27, 2005 09:43 AM
April 26, 2005 | Comments: (0)
Juniper adds to network portfolio
Just in time for the largest networking show of the year, Networld+Interop (now just Interop), Juniper Networks has announced plans to acquire Peribit Networks and Redline Networks.
The two acquisitions give Juniper additional products in the network application delivery and performance market.
"Juniper Networks is capitalizing on its leadership position to redefine the networking market," said Scott Kriens, chairman and CEO of Juniper, in a statement. "The addition of application acceleration technologies to Juniper Networks' best-in-class routing and security solutions is a natural extension of our traffic processing strategy. We are raising the bar on what users can and should expect from the network," he said.
Peribit develops WAN optimization appliances to provide increased WAN capacity, faster application performance, prioritized application delivery and system wide visibility of network and application performance. Peribit has over 900 enterprise customers worldwide, according to the company.
Redline designs network solutions that maximize the performance, flexibility and scalability of web-enabled enterprise data centers and public web sites. Redline has over 350 enterprise customers, according to the company.
Posted by Bob Francis on April 26, 2005 03:32 PM
TOP STORIES
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
- Remote Access: Maintain Security and Decrease the Burden on IT
- Beyond AntiVirus: Symantec Endpoint Protection
- What Every Enterprise Needs to Know About VDI
- Solution for Open Virtualization Provides Server Consolidation
- Help Simplify Virtualization
- A Guide to Rich Internet Application (RIA) Security
