The Lippis Report

There is huge growth in video traffic on corporate networks thanks primarily to on-demand video clips and increasingly video collaboration, TelePresence, video surveillance and Digital Signage. However, how do IT business leaders support the various forms of video on their corporate networks before a video tsunami wreaks havoc to network performance? Also, how do IT business leaders deliver a good video experience to a wide range of endpoints, such as, low bandwidth remote offices, mobile smartphones, WiFi connected laptops etc? Tere’ Bracco, Senior Marketing Manager for Network Systems and Security at Cisco joins me to discuss Cisco’s Medianet technologies that offer an approach to managing and delivering video services over corporate IP networks.

Find out by listening to this podcast.

By Cisco Systems

The last decade has witnessed a rapid development of data and voice convergence over a common IP infrastructure. Now video is converging with data and voice traffic over a common IP network. Converging video with data and voice is more complex than converging data and voice: it demands more considerations, and it imposes stricter requirements on the underlying IP network. This paper reviews high-level requirements of a media-ready network and presents a high-level framework and systematic methodology to perform Medianet Readiness Assessment (MRA) on your enterprise network. It goes into detail on the methodology and process it takes to perform the assessment.

Find out how by downloading this paper

Power over Ethernet (PoE) powers IT endpoints like IP phones and WLAN Access points. But newer devices like IP video phones, IP surveillance cameras, thin client display, next Generation IP phones, 802.11n WLAN access points and Pan Tilt Zoom (PTZ) Surveillance cameras require more than 15W of power so the IEEE recently standardized a new 30W PoE standard called PoE Plus. Soon most, if not all, corporations will have a mix of end points that require old PoE and new PoE plus power. IT leaders can meet these requirements by leveraging the enhanced PoE and PoE Plus features offered by Cisco’s Catalyst 4500 E-Series product line. Moreover Cisco has announced two new Catalyst 4500 Series Line Cards with readiness for PoE Plus and inline power up to 30W per port. I talk with Sachin Gupta, Director and Product Manager at Cisco Systems about these new PoE design features and what new options are available to IT architects as they build out corporate collaborative solutions.

A panel of IT business leaders discusses their experience with Network Virtualization as we dive into motivations, design options, economics and business outcomes. On the panel is Marilyn Hay, Manager of the Network Management Centre at the University of British Columbia, Frank Hoonhout, Senior Lead Network Engineer at the State of Oregon’s State Data Center and Hasan Siraj, Director of Product Marketing at Cisco Systems. This is a podcast you surely want to listen to.

Find out the real world value and business outcome of investing in Network Virtualization by listening to this podcast.

The Web Malware Pandemic

Just as the Internet, the Web, and the information age have revolutionized our businesses and our lives, these developments have also radically changed the face of crime. Computer and Internet crime are no exception. Today, computers factor in nearly every form of crime – from crimes facilitated by computers (credit card theft, for example), to crimes, which are specifically computer-to-computer (malware, for example), and to crimes in which computers play an incidental supporting role (i.e. an illegal gambling bookie that keeps computerized records). This paper addresses one single facet of cybercrime – the manipulation of Web content and Web technologies for criminal and/or for illicit gains

Find out how to defend Web traffic from cybercrime by downloading this paper

THE WORLD’S LARGEST SECURITY ANALYSIS OF REAL-WORLD WEB TRAFFIC
By Cisco Systems

The ScanSafe Global Threat Report is an analysis of more than a trillion Web requests processed in 2009 by the ScanSafe Threat Center on behalf of the company’s corporate clients in over 80 countries across five continents. Our leading position of providing security in-the-cloud provides unparalleled insight in the real-world Web threats faced by the today’s enterprise; this report represents the world’s largest security analysis of real- world Web traffic.

Download it now here.

Power Management Is Added To Edge Switches
by Lippis Consulting

Wiring closet switches are undergoing a renaissance as the number and type of end-point devices accessing applications through multiple networks soar. Once the device for connecting desktops, wiring closet switches now connect wireless access points, laptops, kiosks, netbooks, IP phones, printers, video desktop systems, electrical power systems and more. As networks go borderless so too are wiring closet switches. Wiring closet switches are pervasive as they connect all end-points into an enterprise network distributing network services, applications and now power throughout a corporation. Network intelligence and services have shifted toward network access, enabling power management, unified communications, integrated security, wireless LAN access, application delivery, and high availability to support real time applications and much more. This white paper documents the dynamics forcing a change in wiring closet switching with recommendations and guidelines for IT business leaders to assist them in fixed switch vendor selection. The new Cisco edge switching products, Cisco Catalyst 3750-X, 3560-X, and 2960-S Series Switches are profiled as they represent progressive thinking in this space.

In addition to desktop connectivity wiring closet switches now connect wireless access points, laptops, kiosks, netbooks, IP phones, printers, video desktop systems and more while also managing electrical power of the devices they connect. New PoE Plus standard 802.3at allow 30W per port to be delivered which has driven a change in wiring closet power management. I talk with Berna Devrim, Sr. Manager, Access Switching Marketing at Cisco Systems about the dynamics forcing a change in wiring closet switching and the new Cisco X and S series of edge switching products which represent progressive thinking in this space. Enjoy, Nick.

By Cisco Systems

The traditional network and physical perimeter is no longer the only borderline to defend information security. Collaboration, IT consumerization, mobility, and new computing technologies are driving productivity gains while presenting renewed security requirements. There is greater pressure on IT to meet the demands of a dynamic workforce, both in terms of service delivery and security challenges. New solutions are needed to protect borderless networks and to help further improve business efficiencies in the mean time. Cisco® TrustSec is such a solution.

To find out how to protect your network with TrustSec download this white paper now

Cisco’s TrustSec is architecture with its implementation spread across client software, infrastructure (Catalyst & Nexus) and policy (Access Control System and NAC appliance). Cisco has expanded TrustSec to incorporate 802.1x clients allowing IT leaders to mix and match NAC and 802.1x endpoints. TrustSec organizes and simplifies authentication and policy schema allowing administrators to configure and maintain identity-based access to IT resources while identifying and applying policy based on a user roles in the organization. TrustSec also provides encrypted links at the switch port level. Steven Song Security Business Manager in the Network Systems & Security group at Cisco Systems joins me to discuss TrustSec and how Cisco is expanding its services and importance for IT business leaders.

By Cisco

As the Internet transforms from a static resource to a utility platform enabling two-way communications, malicious threats have increased in volume and shifted their focus toward the Web. Hackers are exploiting the vulnerabilities of an open and dynamic Web to distribute their malware rather than creating their own malicious websites. Web malware infection from reputable websites that have been compromised is now not only a reality, but is now the preferred route to infect victims. This change has made traditional methods of control such as anti-virus less effective and requires an alternative approach to security. This alternative approach is Cloud Web Security.

To understand Cloud Web Security download this white paper

IT leaders are not comfortable with mobile computing security. And they do have a lot to be concerned about as securing a plethora of different devices accessing both corporate and SaaS applications from a vast array of locations and network access methods is a challenge. Traditional VPN methods are too cumbersome for users and don’t factor the huge growth in SaaS application use. A new model for securing remote and mobile access is needed and Cisco has delivered one. Cisco just launched AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client that offers a simple use model for mobile workers that leverages Cisco’s ASA, IronPort Web Security Appliance, ScanSafe, and SIO to wrap a corporate perimeter around its mobile workforce. Kevin Kennedy, Product Marketing Manager at Cisco Systems discusses a new approach to securing mobile computing.

Hear how virtualization has spread beyond the data center into the core network to increase utilization, security, and functionality.

Listen to the podcast here

By Cisco

The adoption of cloud-based computing and applications promises to improve the agility, efficiency, and cost effectiveness of IT operations required to provision, scale, and deliver applications to the enterprise. However, as with other new technology trends, delivering applications from the cloud to the remote sites creates additional challenges in application performance, availability, and security. This document discusses some cloud deployment scenarios and shows how Cisco WAAS solves application-delivery challenges for customers.
To understand how cloud-based application-delivery challenges can be overcome download this white paper.