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The Innovation In Infrastructure Awards are a benchmark for networking infrastructure products. Labs analysts and editors from eWeek and sister publication PC Magazine collaborated to select the most innovative and advanced networking infrastructure products released in the last year. The i3 finalists are listed below, and the winners will be announced at a special ceremony this week at NetWorld+Interop in Las Vegas (on May 7). Look for up-to-the-minute coverage at www.eweek.com and www.pcmag.com and a story on the winners in next weeks issue of eWeek.
Enterprise Hardware
DSR2161
Avocent Corp.s DSR2161 takes keyboard, video and mouse switching to new heights by combining digital and analog connections in one switch.
Instant Virtual Extranet
Answering the call for companies with growing mobile computing demands, Neoteris Inc.s Instant Virtual Extranet appliance provides secure access to remote employees or to business partners, using standard protocols such as HTTP/HTTPS, IMAP, Post Office Protocol and SMTP.
IP740
Nokia Corp.s IP740 firewall is a powerful system offering Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. software along with hot-swappable components and hot-standby functionality.
Enterprise Software
WebLogic Server 7.0
With its strong focus on high performance, Web services and interoperability, BEA Systems Inc.s WebLogic is a solid, reliable infrastructure component.
Samba 2.2.2
A critical enterprise component for many businesses and educational institutions that need to let Windows and Unix systems share file and printer resources, the open-source Samba 2.2.2 server also can act as a Windows domain controller.
Java 2 Platform Standard Edition Version 1.4
Sun Microsystems Inc.s Java 2 Platform Standard Edition Version 1.4 is the latest release of one of the most successful computing programming platforms. A new assertions feature in Java adds to the languages well-deserved reputation as a safe and reliable tool.
Internet Hardware
7340 FTTU
Alcatel SAs 7340 FTTU, which stands for fiber to the user, can carry voice calls and hundreds of channels of analog and digital video, as well as very high-speed Internet traffic—all simultaneously.
Big-IP 5000 IP Application Switch
The Swiss Army knife of local network hardware, F5 Networks Inc.s Big-IP 5000 IP Application Switch provides Layer 2 and 7 switching, load balancing, basic firewall protection and Secure Sockets Layer acceleration.
eServer zSeries for Linux
IBMs zSeries offering for Linux is the best of both worlds: big-iron 24-by-7 support and reliability combined with the popularity of Linux.
Internet Services
FarSight
Empirix Inc.s FarSight service has more than 40 worldwide locations spread over 22 Internet backbones, helping to ensure that Web sites stay up and running.
Premier Tzo
Premier Tzo from Tzolkin Corp. solves the problem of constantly changing Domain Name System entries in a maintenance-free way.
HitBox Enterprise V7
WebSideStory Inc.s Enterprise V7 takes the guesswork out of gauging the business value of Web sites.
Internet Software
Tux 2.0 Web
Red Hat Inc.s Tux 2.0 Web server (now known as Red Hat Content Accelerator) has a revolutionary kernel-space design and advanced thread management, providing previously unseen Web performance.
Project JXTA
An open-source initiative backed by Sun, Project JXTA is a set of protocols and software based on XML and Java that opens up peer-to-peer networking beyond proprietary software and, especially, beyond the PC.
Zeus Web Server 4.0
Zeus Technology Ltd.s Zeus Web Server is consistently one of the best-performing Web servers, and Version 4.0 boasts key improvements that have lifted it to the top of the enterprise Web server market.
Security
Web Server Edition 2.01
ClickNet Software Corp.s Entercept Web Server Edition 2.01, a full trusted operating system product, is by far the best choice for shoring up the flimsy walls of Microsoft Corp.s Internet Information Services.
StealthWatch G1
Lancope Inc.s StealthWatch G1 is an outstanding product that uses an innovative non-signature-based method for detecting intrusions.
LaBrea
LaBrea is a freeware application from developer Tom Liston that sits on unused IP addresses. When a worm attempts to connect, this simple but revolutionary tool sends false response information that traps the worm.
Storage
IPStor 1.0
FalconStor Software Inc.s IPStor 1.0 harnesses IP for conducting the business of storage virtualization and supports all the major industry-standard protocols.
MaxAttach Series
Maxtor Corp.s MaxAttach Series is an innovative line of network devices and software that serves the needs of businesses of all sizes.
Data Neo Series 4000
The Overland Data Inc. Data Neo Series 4000 tape library is for enterprises that measure backup in terabytes and have zero tolerance for downtime.
Wireless Hardware
Treo 180
Handspring Inc. packs the power of a fully functional organizer, a Global Systems for Mobile Communications world phone and a wireless browser into a device about the size of a deck of cards.
Palm i705
Lighter and more capable than its Palm VII predecessor, Palm Inc.s Palm i705 pushes personal digital assistants to a new level.
BlackBerry 5810
Research In Motion Ltd.s Black- Berry 5810 contains a complete organizer, access to corporate e-mail and a cell phone. The core of the 5810 is RIMs implementation of Java 2 Micro Edition, making it a fully functional data processing system.
Wireless Software & Services
NetStumbler
NetStumbler, from www.netstumbler. com, combats hack attempts by plugging security gaps through its sniffer shareware program.
SQL Anywhere Studio 7.0.3
Sybase Inc.s SQL Anywhere Studio commands nearly 70 percent of the enterprise mobile management and data synchronization market—and for good reason. SQL Anywhere is backed by the Anywhere DBMS, allowing for easy connection to myriad heterogeneous back-end data sources.
AiroPeek
WildPackets Inc.s AiroPeek is a network sniffing tool that allows administrators to decode all 802.11b wireless protocols; display throughput for each packet; and set up user-defined alarms, triggers and notifications.
SOHO Networking
Filanets InterJak 200
Filanet Corp.s InterJak 200 is a compact device that serves as a router, a firewall, and a server for file and print management, with an optional virtual private network server and content-filtering module.
Net Integrator Mark I
Net Integration Technologies Inc.s Net Integrator Mark I server appliance offers file and print sharing, Web serving, and e-mail serving in one box.
ISB Pro800turbo
Nexland Inc.s ISB Pro800turbo features dual WAN ports, allowing users simultaneous access to two broadband accounts and offering a level of failover support.