Network management in pictures

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  In pictures: 26 helpful open source network management tools
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  Seven secret weapons for network management on a budget

• How to avoid 5 common email management mistakes

  By Susan Perschke | 21 May, 2012 14:29

  Email managers have a lot at stake. After all, the volume of global electronic messages sent via email dwarfs all other forms of electronic communication, including social networking. Since the inception of electronic mail, which, according to some Internet historians, can be traced to a small mainframe app called 'MAILBOX' from the mid-1960s, human-to-human messages have been created, transmitted and stored in electronic format. But early email administrators could hardly have envisioned the complexity of current email infrastructure and the concomitant maze of technical, security, business and regulatory challenges.

• From packet inspectors to WAN optimizers, network add-ons are all the rage

  By Jon Gold | 12 May, 2012 06:33

  These days, it seems like a dozen new network "extras" - including traffic monitors, packet inspection technologies and management products, to name just a few - are launched every week, all advertising large-scale gains in performance, security and ease of use.

• Canonical gears Linux upgrade to the cloud

  By Paul Krill | 27 April, 2012 00:24

  Canonical is focusing on cloud deployments with an upgrade to its Ubuntu Linux distribution being unveiled on Thursday.

• Microsoft System Center 2012 overhauls licensing, focuses on apps

  By Tim Greene | 20 April, 2012 08:25

  Microsoft has formally shipped System Center 2012 management platform, adding features that create application-centric views of corporate infrastructure and - just as important - implementing a new licensing scheme designed to capitalize on customers' frustration with the leading competitor, VMware.

• Cisco acquires home network management company

  By Jim Duffy | 29 March, 2012 02:28

  Cisco this week said it plans to acquire privately held ClearAccess, a provider of service provisioning and device management software to service providers.

• Can you handle Big Data?

  By Ryan Francis | 28 March, 2012 07:48

  Big Data is the latest industry buzzword. It's just another way of saying you as a network manager are being inundated with data and you better figure out a way to manage, secure and analyze it.

• 'Insatiable demand' for streaming video puts pressure on providers

  By Colin Neagle | 16 March, 2012 05:25

  Just as enterprise network managers brace for the flood of bandwidth-consuming content stemming from the NCAA men's basketball tournament, content delivery providers put in a significant amount of time preparing to meet the meteoric rise in demand.

• Will IT bother to block NCAA tournament traffic?

  By Ann Bednarz | 13 March, 2012 05:29

  Every year when March rolls around, so, too do the dire predictions of network-clogging effects from employees who stream NCAA tournament games at work. But do CIOs and IT managers really care if college basketball lovers sneak a peek using company resources?

• Want better Wi-Fi? Five things you need

  By Logan G. Harbaugh | 27 October, 2011 08:27

  Laptops used to be the only devices on the company's wireless network. But Wi-Fi has become a ubiquitous standard used by a host of devices -- including desktop PCs, laptops, netbooks, tablets, smartphones, printers, storage devices, and projectors.

• Why IT won't like Mac OS X Lion Server

  By John Rizzo | 25 July, 2011 23:40

  Mac OS X 10.7 Lion Server adds innovative features and a new low price tag, but cuts in services and the elimination of advanced GUI administration tools may force some enterprise departments to think twice about the role of Mac servers on their networks.

• The clock is ticking: Give IPv6 a test drive

  By Keir Thomas | 13 January, 2011 09:55

  Major Websites are to test Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) by participating in World IPv6 Day, scheduled for June 8. Google, Facebook, and Yahoo, among others, have agreed to ensure that IPv6 entrances to their sites will be available, along with any network infrastructure needed to receive IPv6 traffic.

• Networking gets faster, more media-savvy

  By Yardena Arar | 08 January, 2011 13:19

  Home is where the network is: That's the mantra of networking vendors at the Consumer Electronics Show 2011 in Las Vegas this week.

• WikiLeaks: A case study in Web survivability

  By Tony Bradley | 09 December, 2010 07:29

  In recent weeks WikiLeaks has been targeted by denial-of-service (DoS) attacks, had its hosting service shutdown, been bounced off of Amazon hosting, had its funding through PayPal, MasterCard and other sources shut down, and its leader arrested on sexual assault-related charges. The fact that WikiLeaks remains stubbornly and defiantly online holds some lessons for other sites when it comes to resilience and survivability.

• Five ways to bulk up your network for telecommuters

  By Brad Reed | 23 October, 2008 08:41

  Whether they're in branch offices or home offices, workers are increasingly telecommuting instead of working in a traditional centralized office environment.

• So you want to be a network manager, Part 2

  By Greg Schaffer | 21 August, 2008 12:34

  Recently, I discussed some management strategies and skills that can help you in your pursuit of a network manager position.