good management

How to deploy a wireless network smoothly

Sun, 24 Sep 2006 20:01:38 -0400

To hear tech leaders tell it, there are still some huge stumbling blocks in the way of a smooth wireless network deployment. One big issue is the lack of good management tools for keeping track of what's going on inside and outside of the enterprise. The second and third key hurdles are the need for better technology standards and easier to use devices. That's just a sampling of the insight gleaned from IT leaders attending the recent Interop conference. Better network performance tracking technology would be a big help, as would proactive monitoring capabilities. Yet, as some tech leaders relate, there have been more than a few success stories in deploying wireless networks and converging them with other voice and data networks already in place. Find out why these successes worked and what to be prepared for before you move ahead to give your users the wireless capabilities they need today. Article

PLUS: Dual-mode devices get closer to reality. Article

How to get Skype up and managed with ease

Sun, 30 Jul 2006 20:01:38 -0400

You've made the go with Skype and now the hard work of planning, setting policy and determining good management approach has to begin. As one experts details out, you really need to start at the very bottom and determine if Skype is already in place thanks to some rogue user or tech savvy business unit leader. You can do that by using your configuration or software management tool. If you don't have one, there's a handy free tool that can not only provide that info, but also let you easily disables APIs in use. Once you know if Skype is in and running or not, then it's time to list out the settings being used and get a management handle on proxies and ports and APIs. Then it's policy-setting time, as Skype has to be managed like any other tech service and application. The final step, if Skype isn't already on the network, is implementation, where you need to bend and massage the communications application to match your network configurations. As the expert outlines in a Networking Pipeline article, getting Skype up and running securely with good management practices isn't as hard as many tech leaders may believe. Article

How a wireless network keeps inventory in check

Sun, 30 Apr 2006 20:01:38 -0400

A leading aerospace company has built a wireless local area network (WLAN) system that will help it keep track of parts and manufacturing tools and boost inventory functions. The Boeing Company runs one of the largest plants in business today, covering almost 100 acres at 472 million cu. ft. The facility in Everett, WA, is also home to the development of the company's 787 super jumbo jet that should take flight this summer. Keeping track of all the equipment and manufacturing tools in such a large facility is not easy. The process was labor intensive and costly until the IT department brought in location tracking on a WLAN. Now engineers can quickly find and assemble parts and airplane kits, and very little goes missing or lost. That means less money spent on replacement parts and greater productivity, say IT leaders.

The first step was setting up a tagging system using the company's using an 802.11 network. But not everything has been tagged with RFID tags as the cost of the tags is still pretty pricey, so Boeing tagged items on components and tools "valuable enough" to warrant the cost. Now up and running, the company is discovering that the WLAN is useful for a slew of other business needs and is seeing benefits all over the tech map--from better security and management to quality of service gains. The new hurdle is now how to manage all the tracking data being collected. However, IT leaders seem confident that with a good management strategy the data management piece will also reap big benefits. Article