Weve been hearing about IPv6 for a while now. So whats tipping the next-generation Internet protocol into top-of-mind territory now?
As Senior Editor Lisa Vaas reports starting on Page 22, several forces are combining that will set the protocol into widespread motion in the next year, not the least of which is the U.S. Office of Management and Budgets mandate that the federal government-including contractors and agencies-move to IPv6 by next summer. Theres just one problem: Enterprise security systems such as firewalls and IPSes arent ready for it.
Lisas in-depth story focuses on IPv6s risks and rewards and what companies should do to gird themselves against problems. And on Page 28, eWeek Labs Technical Director Cameron Sturdevant explains why the transition will be tricky.
In the Labs section, Advanced Technologies Analyst Jason Brooks takes his virtualization coverage to its next logical step, starting on Page 35. Companies have embraced the idea of virtualization, with all its resource-saving and resource-enhancing capabilities, but now they must figure out a way to implement it in the first place and keep on top of all those virtual instances after that, Jason reports.
Jason first offers up an evaluation of Amazon. coms Elastic Compute Cloud, which allows for ad hoc deployment of Xen-based virtual machines on Amazon servers. When the VMs are closer to home, management and backup are key issues. Jason reviews two products meant to ease those tasks: Enomalys Enomalism and Vizioncores esxRanger, respectively.
Also in this issue, Senior Editor Darryl K. Taft on Page 11 examines the impact of Microsofts Silverlight platform, and, on Page 14, Staff Writer Scott Ferguson takes on the many changes occurring in the house that Dell built.
Over at eweek.com, the Labs recently named the most important open-source applications of all time. People were invited to weigh in if they thought anything was missed-and weigh in they did. The most oft-named? Sendmail and GNU (or some variation thereof). Well be putting together a follow-up slide show listing the apps that didnt make it on the original list. Stay tuned.
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