America: N+I: Product palooza at N+I
By Phil Hochmuth, Tim Greene and Denise Dubie, Network World
Enterasys has shown software for its Matrix N Series switches that lets corporations enforce switch-based authentication and network security policies without replacing wiring closet switches or WLAN access points. Matrix N Series switches with the new software will let customers enforce polices at the network aggregation layer, meaning they can use third-party products at the edge that do not support switch-based security.
Enterasys has announced Dragon Intrusion Detection System (IDS) software module for its NetSite Atlas switch management platform. The N Series upgrades are free for customers with support contracts, and will be standard on all new N Series products. The Dragon IDS NetSite module starts at $16,000 for supporting about 250 users.
Extreme was also launching a revised version of its ExtremeWare XOS modular switch software, which is based on Linux. Announced in December 2003, along with its BlackDiamond 10K switch, the software lets users stop and start network protocols and services without taking the device offline.
A new feature in ExtremeWare XOS will let users cluster ports across the 10K - even across different modules - to create virtual switches. The virtual switches can be managed as individual devices and used for different functions, such as load balancing, routing or security.
Foundry has launched products that add IPv6 support to its Big-Iron "Mucho Grande" switch line, which includes the BigIron MG8 backbone switch for corporations. The modules include two- and four-port 10G Ethernet blades ($35,000 and $50,000, respectively), and 40-port Gigabit blades ($45,000 with 10/100/1000M bit/sec ports or $50,000 with fiber ports). Foundry also is announcing a 60-port 10/100/100 blade with IPv6 support for $45,000.
America: SAPPHIRE: SAP's Kagermann: Making life easier for users
By John Blau, IDG News Service (Düsseldorf Bureau)
Hennig Kagermann, chairman and chief executive officer of German business software vendor SAP AG, used the company's Sapphire international customer conference last week in New Orleans to announce a key software development partnership with Micro
soft Corp. and plenty more. (...)
IDGNS: Some say SAP will benefit the most from the deal with Microsoft to deepen the integration between the companies' two platforms. Would you agree that SAP is the big winner?
Kagermann: No, the customer is - as you would expect me to say - but this is really the case. We have many customers who use Microsoft products. The large ones, in particular, want interoperability between our two platforms. They will be happy to see us invest in this interoperability.
IDGNS: Aren't you a bit concerned that by agreeing to a deeper integration of the two platforms, you could be opening the door for Microsoft to move even more aggressively into your space, espe-cially in the mid-market?
Kagermann: No, the move helps both sides. If we didn't make our systems more interoperable, it could be that customers would have to pick a winner (or go with only one vendor). (...) The deal makes it easier for each of us to (remain successfully competitive) where we are.
IDGNS: But isn't the mid-market an area where SAP and Microsoft are directly butting heads - where cooperation between the two companies ends and competition really begins?
Kagermann: This is true: Microsoft offers business solutions in the mid-market, where we also are. Although we are competing in this area, the competition is about ap-plications, not platforms. I don't think companies in this market would buy both solutions; they can't afford both. Most would go for either the Microsoft or the SAP solution.
IDGNS: So you really want to make it easier for customers to choose among applications, say Microsoft's Office and mySAP CRM (customer relationship management). This sounds a bit like a Lego approach, doesn't it?
Kagermann: Yes, some customers may want to pick Office together with several of our applica-tions. This integration is beneficial for us.
IDGNS: Is it really? While such integration may help your customers link to products from different vendors more easily, aren't you concerned about losing your ability
to lock them in with such openness?
Kagermann: We don't want to lock in our customers. This isn't a good strategy. Customers fear being locked in. I see this when SAP reaches a certain level of "share of wallet." This triggers a response at the board level, where members begin to discuss whether their company is becoming too dependent on SAP. They have two choices: either they take on another vendor; or they demand that their key supplier be open and flexible enough to provide choice. I believe SAP is strong enough to provide such openness and flexibility.
IDGNS: Now that you have established a fairly detailed road map with Microsoft for integrating your platforms, how about IBM Corp.? Do you have a similar plan in mind for WebSphere?
Kagermann: We already have some integration with WebSphere. The retail partnership we announced with IBM at Sapphire would not be possible without some interoperability between NetWeaver and WebSphere. This integration may not be as broad as the integration with Microsoft, but that doesn't mean IBM can't broaden it. We aren't excluding IBM; we are willing to negotiate. But it's their choice. With Microsoft and SAP, the two companies are doing more integration because both want more. IBM doesn't appear to want more.
IDGNS: Why not?
Kagermann: Maybe IBM believes that the two companies are bigger competitors because the solutions of each are Java-supported. There are some areas where I be-lieve greater interconnectivity is possible but IBM doesn't see a market.
America: Web services security draft released
By Paul Krill, InfoWorld
The Web Services Interoperability Organization (WS-I) on Tuesday announced availability of the WS-I Basic Security Profile Working Group Draft, an early version of what is intended to be a guide for use of standards in the development of interoperable Web services.
Feedback is sought on the proposal. WS-I plans to finalize the security profile by late-summer or early-fall.
The profile focuses on interoperability and addresses transport security, SOAP messaging security, and other security considerations for the WS-I Basic Profile 1.0 and 1.1, Attachments Profile 1.0, and Simple SOAP Binding Profile 1.0. The security profile references specifications such as OASIS Web Services Security 1.0.
Additionally, the profile focuses on interoperability characteristics of HTTP over TLS (Transport Layer Security) and Web Services Security: SOAP Message Security. X.509 certificate technology also is incorporated into the profile. Plans call for adding Kerberos technology. SAML and XRML technologies also may be featured.
The draft can be reviewed at http://www.ws-i.org. WS-I includes members such as IBM Corp., Microsoft Corp., SAP AG, and Sun Microsystems Inc.
America: Notebooks ramping up for PCI Express
By Ephraim Schwartz, InfoWorld (US online)
Nvidia Corp., a leading designer of graphics chips, announced Monday that it has wide-spread support from the major manufacturers of notebooks for its proposed MXM graphics standard for add-on modules that will be using Intel's new PCI Express bus. PCI Express is the new higher performance Intel expansion bus ar-chitecture for servers, desktops, and notebooks as well as for communications devices such as edge servers. (...) PC Express, using serial technology, has at least twice the performance.
Notebooks based on the new bus technology should start appearing this fall, according to Bill Henry, director of mobile product management at Nvidia.
Most of the major Taiwanese ODMs (Original Design Manufacturers) are behind the MXM design including Quanta Corp., Wistron Corp., FIC, Uniwil, Clevo Computer Co., AOpen Inc., Tatung Co., Arima Computer Corp., Asustek Computer Inc., and Mitac International Corp.
According to Henry, as the ODMs go so go the OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) such as Dell Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co., and Toshiba Corp., here in the United States. (...) Up until now upgrading graphics on a notebook was not an option. With graphics upgradeability, there is now one less reason to buy a desktop PC, according to Rob Enderle, principal at Enderle Group.
A single standard for graphics modules will also allow manufacturers to offer more choices in graphic performance without having to redesign the motherboard and can be used as a competitive differentiator. (...)
For IT departments running corporate software on upgraded PCI Express notebooks, no major problems should be encountered, according to Enderle. Enderle said that as long as a company is using a current Nvidia driver set, it will take PCI-Express graphic modules into account. However, if a system has an older Nvidia driver set, then that can create problems. (...)
Notebook manufacturers are also expected to ship notebooks with PCI Express Card expansion modules rather than the current CardBus standard slots. CardBus cards will not be compatible with the new bus. Desktops and workstations are expected to ship with PCI Express this summer. Notebooks will follow a few months after that, according to Pappas.
Asia and Pacific: Casio to offer first 3-megapixel camera phone
By Martyn Williams, IDG News Service (Tokyo Bureau)
Japanese cellular carrier KDDI Corp. plans to begin selling in early June a cell phone with an embedded 3-megapixel resolution digital camera function, it said Wednesday. The handset will be the first in the world at this resolution, according to the carrier. The an-nouncement came almost a year to the day since the first megapixel-class cell phones went on sale in Japan and around six months after the first 2-megapixel models hit shelves.
The A5406CA is manufactured by Casio Computer Co. Ltd., which also produced the first 2-megapixel handset. Features include a 2.3 inch TFT (thin film transistor) display with 240 pixel by 320 pixel (QVGA) resolution, a 1.1-inch sub display, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) cradle to allow for easy transfer of images and video files to a PC, a 12.8M-byte internal data folder and a slot for miniSD cards.
It measures 52 millimeters by 102 millimeters by 28 millimeters and weighs 125 grams. KDDI, which offers service under the 'Au' brand name, hasn't announced the price of the phone. It's compatible with Japan's variant of the CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) standard and won't go on sale overseas.
The launch represents another step towards closing the resolution gap between cell phones and full-fledged digital cameras. However, as the resolution of camera phones rises, differences in the optical system between phones and cameras are becoming more apparent and for-cing manufacturers to pay attention to more than just pixel-count.
Last week Sharp Corp. unveiled a new camera phone with optical zoom function, which is also a world-first, according to Sharp.
Asia and Pacific:First dual-layer DVD+R discs to launch this month
By Martyn Williams, IDG News Service (Tokyo Bureau)
The first dual-layer DVD+R recording media are set to go on sale in Japan at the end of this month and overseas in June, disc maker Mitsubishi Kagaku Media Co. Ltd. said Friday.
The discs were developed jointly by Mitsubishi Kagaku, which uses the Verbatim brand-name, and Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV and offer 8.5G bytes of recording space compared to the 4.7G bytes of space available on a standard DVD+R disc.
They will cost around US$13.30 per disc in Japan, said a spokeswoman for the company.
As the name suggests, the extra recording capacity is made possible through the addition of a second recording layer inside the disc. To make it possible for a single laser to access both recording layers, one behind the other, the top layer has been made semi-transparent. That allows enough reflectivity for data storage and playback while also allowing light to pass through to the second layer.
Similar technology is already in use in commercial DVD-Video discs and so is supported by almost all DVD drives currently on the market. That means the dual-layer discs should be compatible with any drive that supports these discs, according to Mitsubishi Kagaku.
Recording drives supporting the new media are already on sale.
Sony Corp. launched both the internal DRU-700A and external DRX-700UL drives in Japan, the U.S. and Europe in May. The drives support dual-layer DVD+R recording at 2.4X and also writing of single-layer DVD+/-R at 8X, DVD+/-RW at 4X, CD-R at 40X and CD-RW at 24X. Philips also showed a drive at the Cebit elec-tronics fair in Hanover, Germany, in March. The DVDR1640K drive supports up to 16X recording on single-layer DVD+R discs and 4X recording on DVD+RW discs. An alternative to dual-layer technology is double-sided discs. These offer double the storage space at 9.4G bytes but require the user to take out and flip over the disc to gain access to the second side. Such discs are already on the market.