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Jan 28 2008   6:34PM GMT

Network Hardware Vendors Fight To Keep Up With Bandwidth Demands



Posted by: Tony Bradley
Enterasys, ConSentry, Force 10, Juniper Networks, UCC, YouTube, Cisco, IP, VoIP, Unified Communications

Unless you have been in a coma, or living in a cave for the past year, you should be aware that the whole world is being converged into a single, IP-based network. Telephone and television service are both available via IP. Video services such as YouTube.com, and video conferencing for enterprise collaboration also consume a fair amount of IP bandwidth. As consumers and businesses aggressively embrace all of the new IP-based technologies, the network hardware vendors are racing to try to stay ahead of the curve and provide next-generation solutions to meet the bandwidth needs. Cisco, Juniper, Force 10, ConSentry Networks, and Enterasys Networks are all rolling out updates and new hardware to support bandwidth-heavy applications, such as virtualization, collaboration, unified communications and video. Check out this NetworkWorld article for more details about this trend.

Jan 7 2008   8:20PM GMT

Understanding MPLS



Posted by: Tony Bradley
Networking, VoIP, QoS, MPLS, YouTube

MPLS seemed to be one of the big network buzz words of 2007, overshadowed only by VoIP. It seems like everyone is racing to implement MPLS networks. What is the big deal? What does MPLS even stand for? Well- I can answer that last one: MultiProtocol Label Switching. In a nutshell, MPLS is faster and easier to manage than traditional networking protocols or architectures. MPLS provides a cost-effective and flexible solution that is better suited for high-bandwidth usage such as voice and video. You might connect the dots and ascertain that the popularity of VoIP and video technologies is a primary driver behind the push for MPLS. TechTarget’s SearchNetworking site has a great introduction to MPLS. Their MPLS guide covers MPLS basics, Understanding MPLS network components, MPLS architectures, MPLS and quality of service (QoS), and Using MPLS with VoIP. To become better acquainted with this hot technology, I suggest you take a look at the MPLS Technology Overview.


Nov 26 2007   2:49PM GMT

Cisco Jockeying To Lead IP Video



Posted by: Tony Bradley
IP communications, Broadband, Cisco, IP, YouTube

You may have heard of this quaint site that lets users create and share videos with one another. I think it is called “YouTube”. OK, if you haven’t heard of YouTube, you are new to the planet or something. YouTube is just one example of the recent explosion of IP video on the Internet though. Movie studios and television networks are expanding their online presence and the result is an ever-growing library of movies and TV shows available to be watched as IP video as well. Combine that with initiatives such as IP video surveillance, and you have the makings of a hot new trend. Cisco has made some recent acquisitions in the area of IP video that appear to be a maneuver to get ahead of the competition and try to corner the IP video market. Check out Is Cisco Becoming the IP Video Giant? for more about this story.


Aug 26 2007   8:32PM GMT

Cisco Forecasts Exponential Growth of IP Traffic



Posted by: Tony Bradley
IP, peer-to-peer, P2P, YouTube, Broadband, Cisco, Internet, IP communications, Networking

Cisco has released a report detailing their forecasts and predictions for the world of IP communications. In a nutshell, they see the continued adoption of broadband Internet access, and the growth of online video (for business use as well as consumer / social sites such as YouTube.com) and peer-to-peer (P2P) networking as driving forces that will cause the total volume of IP traffic to roughly double every 2 years through 2011. You can read the report from Cisco, or check out this Networkworld.com article for an analysis and summary of the report forecasts.