Francis Chu

Avocent Corp. breaks new ground with its recent introduction of the DS1800, a KVM switch that runs over a standard Ethernet network. But although the DS1800 has the impressive capability to extend the control of servers through the IP network, its mediocre performance and high price might deter some IT managers from jumping into this […]

Shopping on the Internet is like signing up for a supermarket saver card or getting that extra 10 percent discount when you sign up for a retail stores credit card. You get some immediate savings, but you are also involuntarily subscribing to junk mail. To this day, I still receive junk mail from the company […]

Security-conscious companies with limited budgets and small IT staffs should consider Axent Technologies Inc.s VelociRaptor firewall appliance to provide powerful network security with straightforward setup and management. The VelociRaptor appliance is armed with Axents latest Raptor firewall (Version 6.5) and Axents PowerVPN, preinstalled in a Cobalt Networks Inc. RaQ appliance. Given Raptors record in the […]

Companies thirsting for more robust tape backup systems will have plenty of choices in the months ahead as three tape technologies emerge. As data accumulates with increasing speed on ever-more-complex networks, systems administrators are under pressure to improve backup systems. E-commerce transactions and other high-volume operations create demand for higher backup storage capacity, faster data […]

As high-bandwidth Internet connections proliferate, sites of all sizes are sharing cable-modem and DSL links. A simple option is to buy a low-end digital subscriber line/cable router from a vendor such as Linksys, Netgear or Umax. Where security is critical and budgets are larger, Internet appliances such as SonicWalls add firewall and virtual private network […]