AIN Helping Service Providers With Management
For those in the planning and operational ares of service provider networks,
OPNET Technologies hopes to interest you in their new ServiceProvider
Guru product. Building on the company’s core technology, version
8.0 offers new features for configuration troubleshooting, change validation,
predictive planning and optimization of design. The app offers a virtual
network environment that replicates the infrastructure and behavior of
a live network and automates the manual process of ID’ing config
problems that can be responsible for performance degradation. Users can
tailor the NetDoctor analysis using a scriptable interface. Also brought
into play is an advanced simulation engine and network model library for
detailed analysis, new QoS–supported hybrid sims for fast sim runtimes,
as well as design primitives. Additional
details.
AIN Controlling The Environment
A new, web–based management tool has debuted from Exario Networks
named virtualNOC (virtual Network Operations Center), enabling use of
their customized WAN solutions. Offered is a unified interface for online
management of IP routing and firewall policies, dynamic assignment and
config of CLASS 5 voice features, endpoints provisioning and de–provisioning,
and transparent navigation between all remote locations. Online invoice
management and account management is all provided via the company’s
OSS technology. Additional
info.
EVENT Deciding The Future
The Object Management Group (OMG) has a meeting upcoming wherein new software
standards for biotechnology, manufacturing, as well as satellite and space
computing will be adopted. Set for Danvers, Massachusetts early next month,
specifications under review include COmputer–Aided Design Services
and the integration of such with OMG’s Product Data Management (PDM)
facility. There’s a new spec for laboratory equipment control interfaces
within the biotechnology arena and how such should interface with OMG
Interface Definition Language which would make compatible equipment accessible
from CORBA–compliant software. And then there’s a RFP that will
work on a standard for data exchange of satellite command and telemetry,
taking CORBA to the outer reaches of space. Other OMG standards due for
discussion include: software modeling, CORBA middleware, and industry–specific
domain facilities. Expected is the adoption of the Model Driven Architecture
as the base for OMG specs. More
info here.
FAULT
TOLERANCE Easing Failure Fears
Providing the ability to scale to 16 or more clustered servers is the
new LifeKeeper for Windows 2000 from SteelEye Technology. Included with
the offering is a suite of integrated Application Recovery Kits (ARKs)
that support IBM DB2 Universal Data Base software, Microsoft’s IIS
Web Server and SQL Server 2000, and Oracle8i. The software helps maintain
uptime of business apps, data and servers and this new product offers
scalability, plug–and–play integration as well as an intuitive
GUI. IT admin folk can implement automated fault monitoring and recovery
as well as making certain the apps and data are available 24x7. Multiple
cluster configurations are supported, including cascading failover and
recovery across multiple nodes, meaning workloads may be extended across
multiple backup servers should a failure occur. More
product details here.
LINUX Linux OS To Cost
The practice within the Linux OS world has been to allow users to install
as many copies of the operating system as they wish... not so for Caldera
International anymore. Each Linux system sold by the company will require
the user to pony up to receive a "certificate of license authority"
for each copy of the OS. One reason give for this charge is that, although
the Linux kernel must be publicly published, there are elements within
the Caldera offering that include restrictive license governed higher
level software. The company has just released a new version of their OpenLinux
server version as well as their Open Unix 8, an update to UnixWare 7 from
SCO which Caldera acquired earlier this year.
LINUX No More Iron From VA
Next month, you won’t be able to purchase any more computers from
VA Linux Systems. The company has decided to dump this portion of their
business and focus on Linux software development, their SourceForge OnSite
service for collaborative software programming projects, development tools
and their web presence. As this side of their business has, pretty much,
remained unprofitable, the move does make some sense. However, entering
the software–only biz certainly puts them in direct competition with
the likes of CollabNet and Red Hat.
MICROSOFT Time Extension for Office XP
The original October 1st deadline that had been set by Microsoft for users
to update to Office XP has now been extended to February 28 of 2002. Major
time change, eh? This is the lead app within the company’s highly
controversial new software licensing program called Software Assurance
which contracts customers and requires them to purchase at discounts,
and at various times during the year, OS and app upgrades. In other words,
Microsoft knows best and they would rather tell you when to upgrade than
have you decide when such such occur. And in order to be considered for
such upgrades, users MUST have the latest version of the app or OS before
such can be approved. For large corporations, yes, there are cost savings.
For smaller entities, the upgrade costs are higher.
MICROSOFT Tags Tumble Off
Windows XP (and, of course, Internet Explorer v6) will not include Smart
Tags in spite of the technology appearing in Beta versions of the OS.
Smart tags, which are created throug use of XML, enable any text entry
to possess a direct link to a URL selected by the publisher to either
help define that term, or offer some up selling based on the curiosity
of the reader for that word. Problem is, Microsoft simply does not believe
this technology will be truly ready to roll for the OS when it debuts
this October. Smart Tags do, however, appear in Microsoft’s apps
suite, Office XP, that launched earlier this year.
MICROSOFT .NET Keen To Port
Rumors are afloat that indicate Microsoft may well ship smaller versions
of their .NET runtimes on Linux, Unix, and mebbe even some other OS’s.
The basis for such though rests within the company’s release of Visual
Studio .NET last week, with various target OS’s being supported with
the Beta including bkLinux, kbUnix, kbMacintosh as well as Win and WinCE.
Lest we forget, Microsoft has a stake in Corel, the Canadian software
developer, and indications by the company at that time indicated a port
of .NET to Linux could be handled by Corel. Word is that the CLI subset
of the .NET framework will be the topic of a Microsoft announcement this
week as well as any plans for ports, with a major announcement set to
debut toward the end of July when Microsoft attends the O’Reilly
open source convention. But how could such support for open source be
part and parcel of a Microsoft strategy, given the company’s diatribes
against such? Many analysts and pundits believe such is a but a smokescreen.
Thought is being formulated that .NET’s Visual Studio tools would
still require a Win2K or XP platform for development, with APIs then used
for various systems’ deployments.
MICROSOFT Security Patch Released
The first service pack for Microsoft’s Exchange 2000 server has been
released, bringing a number of improvements to security for the app. This
is an email and app server that offers a number of collaborative features
that include indexing and IM. Not only are the holes patched, but there
are also improvements to antivirus APIs, the inclusion of Outlook 2002
which now scans all emails (incoming and outgoing) for worrisome attachments
and alerts users whenever an outside program is attempting to force its
way into the address book. Exchange 2000 Server requires Windows 2000
SErver and Active Directory. Download
the patch here.
MICROSOFT Activation + Deactivation
Here’s some information that should amaze and frustrate... within
both Office and Windows XP, the technology that activates the code can
unexpectedly deactivate! This, then, makes your software about as useful
as a headache and will be of enormous problem to folk who have to add
or remove PC components from their systems or upgrade various apps on
a regular basis. With the Office suite, the technology ensures that the
app is cemented to your computer’s configuration... you’ll be
able to use the product 50 times before you’ll be required to activate
the software. With XP, if you don’t legitimatize your copy within
two weeks, the OS then fails. But what has been found is that if you make
some really major changes to your PC’s hardware configurations, the
software could deactivate as the belief will be that a move to another
system has occurred. With the hardware signature of your system firmly
embedded in the app or the OS, these changes alter that configuration
detection scheme, and the technology then believes a new machine is now
running the software.
SECURITY Doffing Their Database Hat
Yet another Microsoft patch needs to be downloaded by users, this time
for their Word 97 thru Word 2002 applications. If you don’t patch
your app, there’s the possibility of a mean macro to initiate without
any warning at all. This hole enables a malicious entity to access a Word
doc and modify the file to disable the program’s built–in security
scanner to not recognize a macro that’s embedded. Then, when you
happen to open this document, the macro would automatically start–up.
You may recall that in 1999, a Word macro virus known as Melissa wreaked
havoc worldwide. According to Microsoft, the attacker would have to be
able to execute low–level editing on a Word–created file and
such an attack could not be authored from within Word itself. Microsoft’s
security bulletin.
WEB ListBot Be No More
Microsoft has decided to terminate their ListBot electronic mailing–list
management service. Those who are current ListBot customers can glom onto
their existing data until August 20th., and which point they’ll simply
have to do without their information. The service itself will be "disabled"
as of August 6th. Certainly reflecting the company’s intention to
have all services paid–for by their customers, a la .NET Web services,
ListBot was incorporated into their bCentral site in the fall of 1999
as LinkExchange became part of this smallbiz website. There are other
services available as well as Microsoft’s List Builder — at
a cost of $149. However, that’s 60 percent off the full, annual subscription
fee of $269! If you move to List Builder, you’ll be able to migrate
your lists directly from ListBot. The web is becoming more and more all
about revenue... farewell, freebies!
