1. 802.11n: The ‘n’ stands for now
2. 2 Unified communications: Getting warmer
3. Data protection: It’s the data, stupid
4. Green IT: A new world view
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1. 802.11n: The ‘n’ stands for now
It's been a long time coming, but 802.11n is finally here. And that means wireless LANs now are a viable replacement for wired LANs.
Without delving too deeply into the past, we all remember the war-driving horror stories: buggy Wired Equivalent Privacy implementations, 802.11b technology that promised 10Mbps but barely delivered 5Mbps, 802.11g technology that promised 50Mbps but barely delivered 20Mbps, and prolonged standards battles over 802.11n.
Yes, Wi-Fi technology has been a tad disappointing. On the other hand, we have come to expect and appreciate wireless networks in our homes, coffee shops, airports and hotels. And employees, particularly younger ones, impatiently await the wireless workplace.
In Network World's groundbreaking test of 802.11n access points and controllers, 802.11n technology delivered impressive data rates of 250Mbps per access point. In addition, it delivered solid performance numbers on latency and jitter, which means it can support such real-time applications as voice and video. The systems we tested had a variety of enterprise-level features, such as Power over Ethernet; dynamic radio-frequency control; QoS; and such security functions as intrusion prevention and detection, Wi-Fi Protected Access 2, and stateful firewalls.
Nevertheless, no matter how you decide to roll it out, 802.11n is ready for the enterprise.
2. Unified communications: Getting warmer
Unified communications is one of those technologies that's seemingly forever been on the verge of exploding but has never really become hot.
Maybe the reason is that the term "unified communications" means different things to different people. To the telecom manager, it means replacing the tried-and-true PBX with an IP-PBX from a traditional telephony hardware vendor or from an open source start-up - or maybe even jumping to a software-based platform from Microsoft.
To the desktop user, it means switching to an IP-based phone and taking advantage of a variety of such UC-based productivity applications as audio- and videoconferencing, instant messaging and presence, integrated voice and e-mail.
To BlackBerry-toting mobile workers, UC means being able to use the mobile devices to perform all the business functions associated with an office phone. They want calls made to their desktop phones to bounce to their mobile phones. They want to dial into the office and have their e-mails and voice mails read to them. They want all their devices to sync up seamlessly.
The good news is that all these features are available today from vendors including Alcatel-Lucent, Avaya, Cisco, IBM, Microsoft, Nortel and Siemens.
UC technology isn't setting the world on fire, but it is spreading inexorably across enterprise networks. Nemertes Research recently found that just 16% of the 120 companies it surveyed are doing nothing with UC. More than one-third (36%) are in an initial planning phase; 28% have a limited deployment of specific applications that make up the technology, or a full deployment to a limited number of people; and 19% have developed their strategies and are implementing the technology companywide.
What are the drivers of UC? Years ago, the decision was all about saving money and about moves, adds and changes. Last April, when Gartner asked early adopters to list the three biggest benefits of deploying UC, the top answers were employee collaboration, employee productivity and communication for distributed sites. Lower total cost of ownership came in last.
3. Data protection: It’s the data, stupidIn today's world of mobile workers, teleworkers, thumb drives, BlackBerries and social-networking sites, IT executives can't worry about devices - they need to focus on protecting data wherever it is.
The obvious place to start - considering that an estimated 5,000 laptops are stolen or lost each year - is the laptop hard drive: It needs encryption. (Read a column about the Drive of shame.)
Software vendors and such open source projects as TrueCrypt offer whole disk encryption across all operating systems, and Microsoft offers disk encryption in Vista, so IT executives have no excuse for not encrypting laptop data. In addition, such hardware vendors as Fujitsu, Hitachi and Seagate Technology offer hardware-based disk encryption.
Another trouble spot is e-mail. A variety of e-mail encryption methods are available, but all of them run into the same problem - they require the recipient of the encrypted e-mail to go to a secure server and enter some form of identification before they can gain access to the decrypted e-mail. For most people, this is a nuisance that rises to the level of a deal-breaker.
Another way to approach e-mail security is through data-loss prevention. DLP tools scan outgoing e-mails for such information as Social Security numbers, sensitive keywords or other possible breaches. Then they flag the offending e-mail. Companies dictate how offending e-mails are handled: They can be returned to the sender, bounced to an IT manager or encrypted.
DLP products, however, can be difficult to get right. That's because companies have to hammer out policies for determining which types of data need watching, what happens when an e-mail is flagged, and whether the individual user should be required to decide whether to encrypt specific e-mails or types of e-mails. For example, the CIO might not appreciate it when he sends an e-mail to the CFO and it gets flagged, bounced back or held up.
Other potential problem areas - everything from thumb drives to smartphones - abound. Nevertheless, vendors today are offering encrypted USB drives and business phones with encryption features. IT executives need to make data security a requirement every step of the way.
Can you afford to be green? Can you afford not to? Those are the questions IT executives face as they grapple with the notion of environmentally friendly computing in the midst of a crushing global economic downturn.
For many companies, going green simply means cutting data-center power expenses. By now, the basic principles of doing that are pretty well understood - consolidate servers, set up hot and cold aisles, optimize airflow, raise the ambient temperature a few degrees.
Such changes can save money, but green IT doesn't stop at the data-center door, and companies can't just pass the buck to facilities managers. IT departments can and should undertake a number of green initiatives - which won't break the bank, either.
First, persuade your company to measure its carbon footprint. This seems like an obvious place to start, but you can't address the issue in a logical, analytical manner if you don't have a starting point.
Once you have a sense of that footprint's size, you can set goals for reducing it by an achievable amount - say, 5% or 10% over a certain period of time. There are a number of actions you can take, including these:
• Power down unused servers or desktops.
• Use energy efficiency as a purchasing criterion when you replace older equipment, including network gear, servers and UPS.
• Adopt recycling and reuse programs.
• Think about alternative sources of energy.
• Encourage videoconferencing to reduce air travel.
• Cut back on ground travel.
• Pressure vendors to demonstrate that they have green strategies.
Finally, don't be fooled by "green-washing." These days, every vendor claims to be green. Be sure to verify those claims.
BY Neal Weinberg
Source：Network World
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