Caron Carlson

The network that connects approximately 4,000 users at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab in Berkeley, Calif., to sister sites in Oakland, Calif.; Walnut Creek, Calif.; and Washington is managed by exactly 10 individuals. Because none of them works on the East Coast, the lab relies on remote network analyzers to keep the two coasts connected and […]

Looking ahead to sunnier days when the major telecommunications networks start investing heavily in third-generation wireless and IP-based infrastructure, Sun Microsystems Inc. today launched a beta program for high-availability server software. Part of Suns strategy for next-generation networks, the new Netra High Availability Suite 2.0 software was developed to give network equipment makers ways to […]

With offices from coast to coast and beyond, the U.S. Postal Service uses VSAT technology to ensure that each of its 40,000 sites retains broadband connectivity to its intranet no matter what the terrain or climate. Beginning next year, even the most far-flung private enterprises will have similar options at a price somewhere between that […]

Despite Microsoft Corp.s apparent victory in federal court last month, the company faces a barrage of renewed pressures in the antitrust case that has dogged it for years. U.S. senators charged with overseeing the Department of Justice are preparing to question the agencys settlement terms next week, and nine states and the District of Columbia […]

Bandwidth prices may be dropping, but IT budgets are falling even faster, leading to a quest for more efficient ways to route traffic over the Internet. Several start-up vendors of router control devices are launching new and rival ways to reach that end. Router control is vital to enterprises with multiple connections to the Internet […]

Less than two years after announcing its departure from the enterprise switching business, 3Com Corp. is elbowing its way back in—and boldly jabbing the competition in the process. The Santa Clara, Calif., company last week championed a new version of its Superstack 3 Switch 4400, which it said is “displacing” Cisco Systems Inc. switches. Officials […]

Larry Smiths Fiesta Gourmet Shop, of San Antonio, was like many small businesses looking for a break on telecommunications costs. Smith left the incumbent telco provider in his area to take a chance on a startup carrier that promised lower costs and better service. Less than two and a half years later, Smith is cutting […]

The growing symbiosis between Regional Bell Operating Companies and their smaller rivals is fueling an odd mix of legislative wrangling and financial cross-pollination that could ultimately weaken competition in broadband data services. The conflict came into stark relief last week when SBC Communications Inc. gave longtime rival Covad Communications Group Inc. a cash infusion of […]

With the proliferation of networking devices at the office, corporate cubicle denizens are looking for ever more connectivity, costing enterprises hefty sums in wiring and occasionally hefty networking headaches when the users try to establish new creative connections on their own. This week, 3Com Corp., of San Jose, Calif., is launching what it calls a […]

Todays security consciousness plus the current economic climate often equals networks with an increasing number of safety devices but no additional personnel to administer them. To close the gap, NetScreen Technologies Inc. will roll out at months end two management applications to simplify the configuration of its firewall and VPN devices. NetScreens Global Pro 3.0 […]

One week before the post-Thanksgiving holiday shopping frenzy begins, the Senate passed a two-year extension of the 1998 moratorium on discriminatory and access taxes on the Internet. The House of Representatives approved the measure last month before the moratorium expired Oct. 21, and it now goes to President Bush for signature. The move is heralded […]

Fearing that Congress may soon consider an Internet services bill initiated by the Bell Operating Companies, competing telecommunications carriers and lawmakers opposed to the measure today urged congressional leadership not to bring it up for a vote. Known as the Tauzin/Dingell bill, after its sponsors Reps. Billy Tauzin, R-La., and John Dingell, D-Mich., the legislation […]