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So, when they contacted me to let me know that they were releasing a new major upgrade to SpiceWorks, I thought I would try to help them get the word out here.

The latest rev offers Twitter Integration, 3rd Party Application Plug-ins and Network Mapping. Here are the details on those features from the SpiceWorks press release:

• Network Mapping – the fully-integrated network mapping application automatically creates network diagrams that graphically display network elements, their relationships, and bandwidth consumption. The “Hotspot” mode uses enhanced visualization features to help IT managers visually monitor and troubleshoot network problems in real-time.
• Management Application Plug-ins – top technology vendors, including Microsoft, LiveOffice, Intel and Trend Micro, have built management widgets that plug into Spiceworks to help users better manage technology from those vendors. The LiveOffice Mail Archive Widget, for example, allows users to archive email accounts from within Spiceworks in a couple of clicks. The Microsoft License Organizer allows users to automatically track Microsoft licenses and to order additional licenses when needed. Additionally, Intel offers a plug-in that allows IT pros to see which computers are vPro-enabled.
• Help Desk Tickets Anywhere – users can control the Spiceworks help desk from any email-enabled device, including mobile phones. With a few simple key strokes, users can create new tickets, edit & update existing tickets, and delete tickets from anywhere – whether right next to a user’s desktop or half-way across town.
• Social Windows Event and Twitter Alerts – users can now see how other IT pros have prioritized and managed various Windows Events. With one-click they can view Windows event background pages and read community group discussions on how to best troubleshoot and resolve related problems. In addition, activity updates sent from within Spiceworks can now be automatically updated or “cc:’d” to a user’s Twitter account. These features help small businesses to use social networking tools to resolve and stay better informed on IT issues.

You can try out the latest version for yourself (no evaluation timeout) by signing up at the SpiceWorks website. I figure that if its already used by 700,000 IT Professionals, I can’t go wrong!

Twitter is the *BEST* place to stay up to date because its REAL TIME. Here are the best Cisco Networking resources on follow on Twitter:

• @CiscoSystems
• @CiscoSubnet
• @CiscoPress
• @CiscoIT
• @CiscoNews
• @Cisco_Insights

And finally, if you are going to follow those “in the know” in Cisco networking, why not follow me? You can do that at- @davidmdavis

To learn more, read my artcile Exploring entry-level options for using VoIP

Checkout this story on the new Personal Cisco Telepresence units…

ALSO, please checkout my article on Cisco Telepresence if you are unfamiliar with it-
Petri Knowledgebase: What is Cisco Telepresence and what does it take?

Cisco Introduces Personal TelePresence

Cisco Enters New Markets for In-Person Virtual Communications with New Endpoints for the Personal Office and Large Group Meetings

SAN JOSE, Calif., May 12, 2008 – Cisco today unveiled the next evolution in virtual communications with the introduction of two new environments: a personal Cisco® TelePresence system for use in individual offices and a large Cisco TelePresence room ideal for group training and cross-functional team meetings.

Cisco TelePresence System 500

A breakthrough collaborative technology, Cisco TelePresence integrates advanced audio, high-definition video and interactive elements with the power of the underlying network to deliver an immersive meeting experience. Cisco TelePresence can help companies shorten sales and product-development cycles while improving operational efficiencies and supporting environmentally responsible business practices.

The two additions to the Cisco TelePresence portfolio are the Cisco TelePresence System 500 and Cisco TelePresence System 3200. They join the existing Cisco TelePresence System 1000 and 3000 endpoints, offering a portfolio that provides intercompany, multipoint and video conferencing interoperability capabilities to help customers scale virtual meetings across their organizations, simply, over a converged network.

With the introduction of the Cisco TelePresence System 500, the immersive power of Cisco TelePresence is extended into the personal office. This smaller form factor retains all the same qualities of the life-size, face-to-face Cisco TelePresence interaction while giving organizations the flexibility to support intimate, one-on-one meetings or enable employees to join larger group meetings from personal workspaces. The Cisco TelePresence System 500 also provides a lower-cost entry point for medium-sized businesses to experience telepresence in communication with partners, customers or suppliers.

The Cisco TelePresence System 500 integrates a 37-inch display, camera, an innovative microphone array, speakers and specially-designed lighting in a complete solution that can be placed on a desk, mounted on the wall or stand on a pedestal in a private office, creating one of the first high-definition telepresence experiences for personal use. Maintaining the Cisco TelePresence experience, it allows users to participate in virtual meetings as an equal participant, appearing life-size to participants in other Cisco TelePresence rooms. The Cisco TelePresence 500 can also be used as a second monitor in a personal office or as a digital sign through integration with the Cisco Digital Media System video technology for digital signage and desktop video streaming.

The Cisco TelePresence System 3200 builds on the success of the six-person Cisco TelePresence System 3000 by tripling the room capacity and augmenting the virtual table with a second row of seating for larger venues. Ideal for headquarters sites or large regional offices, the system allows large teams to meet and collaborate virtually with remote participants when much of the team is in one physical location, or conduct training or classroom applications easily with remote participants or presenters.

Cisco TelePresence System 3200

The Cisco TelePresence System 3200 is designed to provide the same high-quality audio and video experience to meeting participants in both rows, without requiring a raised row of second seating. With table configurations for either 12 or 18 participants, new camera lenses, microphones for back-row participants, and a new codec that supports data sharing at 30 fps, the Cisco TelePresence System 3200 embodies the sophisticated innovation that has become the standard for Cisco TelePresence.

“SAP is commited to delivering products and services that help accelerate business innovation for our customers,” said Dietmar Bruder, vice president, SAP IT Infrastructure Services. “As a leading provider of business software solutions, we are constantly rethinking success and what it takes to be agile, integrated, and flexible to respond to change and complex pressures – to do more, and deliver more effectively to our customers. With Cisco TelePresence, we can work faster without sacrificing any of the face-to-face interaction that is so crucial to gaining consensus across teams. The CTS 3200 especially helps us scale training and handle larger meetings, it’s a key addition to our Cisco TelePresence portfolio.”

The recent introduction of intercompany Cisco TelePresence services will enable companies to meet in-person with partners, customers or suppliers with the same simplicity, security and experience as they can internally today. This breakthrough in video communications, combined with today’s introduction of additional Cisco TelePresence endpoints, will help extend the power of the technology into a broader range of companies and meeting environments.

“Video is rapidly becoming the most effective way to communicate and share information,” said Charles Stucki, vice president and general manager, TelePresence Systems business unit, Cisco. “TelePresence is much more than video. TelePresence puts you into the meeting in every important sense. With our recent developments in intercompany and interoperability with video conferencing and an expanded portfolio of solutions, we’ve dramatically increased the uses for and value of TelePresence. This will help accelerate the proliferation across organizations of all sizes.”

Critical to delivering the innovative Cisco TelePresence experience are integrated services from certified partners and Cisco. Cisco offers new specific enhanced and streamlined services for Cisco TelePresence System 500 installation and configuration to rapidly and cost-effectively scale deployments.

Cisco also recently enhanced Cisco TelePresence multipoint capabilities with the ability to scale in a single meeting up to 48 sites, and has released interoperability with standards-based videoconferencing systems to help organizations scale Cisco TelePresence deployments.

List Pricing and Availability

The Cisco TelePresence System 500 has a list price of $33,900 USD; the Cisco TelePresence 3200 has a list price of $340,000 USD. Both ship in the third calendar quarter of 2008. A $90,000 USD list Cisco TelePresence System 3200 upgrade kit is also available for Cisco TelePresence System 3000 customers.

The full message text can be found here.

Below, is the post from GaryV, which details how to understand and interpret Cisco DSL statistics:

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I did have some degree of success with AT&T, and I actually got a response from the ATM group at Cisco. Hopefully this will be useful to other readers as well…

First, here is what I have so far from Cisco TAC, and they indicate there is more to come.

To troubleshoot Layer 1 problems, you can use the show dsl interface atm 0 command to verify that the Cisco 877 router is trained to the DSLAM. If the Cisco 877 router is successfully trained to the DSLAM, this command will also display the trained upstream and downstream speed in kbps.

Now, the definitions:

Noise Margin (also signal-to-noise ratio)
When DSL service is provisioned in a DSLAM, the minimum acceptable noise margin is usually specified. CAP DSL service is typically provisioned with a downstream margin of 3 dB and an upstream margin of 6 dB. Research has shown that the optimum margins for DMT service are 6 dB downstream and 6 dB
upstream.

Avoiding configuring a DSL service with more noise margin than appropriate is important because the system will train to an unnecessarily low DSL rate to provide the specified margin. It is also important to avoid specifying an exceptionally low margin, such as 1 dB downstream and 1 dB upstream because a small increase in noise level on the transmission line would probably
result in excessive errors and a subsequent retraining to a lower DSL rate.

Increasing the transmit power levels will also improve the noise margin but at the cost of interfering with other services in the same cable.

Most DSLAMs and CPE report both the provisioned and actual noise margins for each DSL line. If the actual margin is higher than the provisioned margin, the line should provide an acceptable error rate at the present DSL line rate. As the actual margin drops below the provisioned margin, there is a
high probability of an excessive error rate and subsequent retrain to a lower DSL rate.

Attenuation
Attenuation generally refers to any reduction in the strength of any type of signal, whether digital or analog. More precisely in the case of DSL, attenuation is the normal loss of signal strength over distance. Attenuation specifically is a logarithmic function of the power setting. As power increases, attenuation increases logarithmically. Also called simply loss, attenuation is a natural consequence of signal transmission over long
distances. The extent of attenuation is usually expressed in units called decibels (dB).

Capacity Used
Percentage of the capacity that is being used.

Now something actually useful.
Here are ranges for these values that I received from an AT&T provisioning engineer.

For Noise Margin: (the higher this value, the better)
8-13 Average
14-22 Very Good
23-28 Excellent

For Attenuation: (the lower this value, the better)
20-30 Excellent
30-40 Very Good
40-60 Average

I will append any additional information I get from Cisco.

Regards,
Gary

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-David
Personal Website: HappyRouter.com – home of Cisco how-to articles & videos
David Recommends:
HappyRouter Cisco VMware Workstation & Server Video Training Series
HappyRouter Cisco CCNA & CCNP Video Training Series

IDC Research recently released their 2007 Vendor Profile of Qwest, entitles “Targeting the Enterprise, Qwest Reshapes Its Strategy. This 15 page reports runs for $3500. (w0w) But, don’t worry, I’m not suggesting you pay that for a 15 page report. (And if you have a spare $3500 for a 15 page report just let me know and I will write one for you).

To save you the time and trouble of trying to obtain and read this let me give you a little synopsis…

• Qwest is trying to become more business-oriented
• The reorganization by Qwest to refocus on the enterprise is good for potential customers, like you and I
• Qwest won and participated in the Government’s Networx contract.
• Qwest is moving into metro markets in the US
• Qwest is trying to improve processes, train employees, and improve customer support
• Qwest has a nationwide fibre MPLS backbone in 48 states
• It is trying to expand metro Ethernet into 32 markets
• Qwest made $593 million in 2006 and business so far in 2007 has been basically flat
• Qwest says that 95% of the Fortune 500 are its clients

Overall, according to the analysis, Qwest is a strong company and the have a lot of opportunities ahead that can demonstrate their capabilities. The new CEO needs to ensure that the company stays in the right direction.

My personal feelings on Qwest are that they have come a long long way since they were US West. My poor experience was with their local techs. In the last 5 or so years, I have become increasingly pleased with their local techs and their local salespeople. The company seems to have strong offerings that can be very tempting at times. I have heard that they have had trouble with their Inegrated Access Nationwide VoIP network that they offer to businesses. I hope that they can stabilize that because their integrated access VoIP / Internet solution is a nice offering.

What is your take on Qwest? Love em’ or Hate em’? Do you use them? Please post your comments here!

Thanks….. David
Personal Website: HappyRouter.com – home of Cisco how-to articles & videos
David Recommends:
HappyRouter Cisco VMware Workstation & Server Video Training Series
HappyRouter Cisco CCNA & CCNP Video Training Series