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The annual NetWorld+Interop Las Vegas show is the event for
companies who make networking related products to strut their stuff.
Although the dot-com economy may be in shambles, and Cisco and others may be
trimming workforces and announcing disappointing earnings, the show must go
on!
We've been getting a steady stream of show-related announcements and
making our ToDo list of things to check out at the show. Here's some
of what has caught our interest.
Buffalo
goes Pro
Buffalo Technologies will be showing a few new members of their
802.11b AirStation line, including a USB client adapter and their
wireless print server (see
our review). The big news is the first look at its AirStation
Pro, a wireless bridge system for connecting LANs in
different rooms, or even different buildings.
This product is basically
an Ethernet to 802.11b bridge that can communicate wirelessly with other
bridges (see diagram)-- something that many people have been looking for to easily
join two Ethernet networks on different floors of a home or small
office. The catch is that the Pro is being positioned for the
"Enterprise" and that means it won't be
cheap. We'll post pricing info when we get it. BuffaloTech
will also add two outdoor antennas to their lineup:
one unidirectional and the other an omni-directional.
HomeRF
gets a second chance
Proxim
plans to show that there's still life in the HomeRF market by via a
demonstration of the new HomeRF2.0 10Mbps spec.
Products with this technology are due out later this year, and this will
be our first chance to see if it's got the goods. Whether
HomeRF2.0 can hold its own against the 802.11b/WiFi juggernaut remains
to be seen.
Ositis
takes the hard road
Ositis,
makers of the popular WinProxy internet sharing software, will be
introducing WinProxy 4, and three hardware products!
One product provides mobile internet access
[AccessNow] with no
configuration or gateway hassles. The second provides anti-virus
protection [AVStripper] for an Internet connection. The third is
described as a hardware version of WinProxy4.0
[Sentinel Firewall]. We'll see if we can also get the poop on their recently announced WinProxy
for Starband product while we're there, too.
Update!
We received more info from Ositis on the new hardware products, so here
it is: (The info is cut-and-pasted, so it's a little heavy on marketing
"enthusiasm"...)
AccessNow is the solution for
mobile Internet access. Instant access to the Internet with no
configuration, setup, IP address entry, subnet or gateway hassles is
now possible. If your connection point is running AccessNow, you
plug in and it just works!
AccessNow connects any user to the Internet with any type of network
configuration. AccessNow is the ultimate solution where Internet
connectivity is the goal. It is perfect for hotels, cafes, airports,
conferences mobile workgroups, and copy shops. Excellent for sites
where no end-user support is available. AccessNow provides immediate
access for all users with NO SETUP. No matter how the user has their
system configured, they will be able to connect to the Internet.
Instant access is no longer a myth- it’s a reality. AccessNow is
available in software, hardware, wired and wireless versions.
Connect the AVStripper to your
Internet pipeline and stop all Internet virus activity on your
network. It cleans both incoming and outgoing connections to keep
your network safe and secure. Just plug it in and it works with your
existing network. No configuration is necessary. Protects the entire
enterprise from malicious code including hacker style viruses
seeking to invade the corporate network. No longer does the
administrator have to rely on each individual’s desktop to have
up-to-the-hour virus definitions lest a single user bring down the
entire network.
The AVStripper includes customizable alerting and reporting for the
network administrator. It may be used on both the incoming Internet
pipeline or between subnets to limit network vulnerability. As a
stand-alone hardware solution, there is no system integration
necessary. Just plug it into your existing network for seamless and
transparent protection.
Sentinel Firewall protects your
network and simultaneously connects all your computers to the
Internet. Firewall hardware includes proxy and DHCP server,
server-side antivirus protection for both incoming and outgoing
connections, ultra fast caching, extensive user controls, advanced
alerting with logging, site filtering, and VPN client support.
For ultimate network control, alerting for events feature includes
advanced user modifiable notification for virus attempts, smart
filter, whitelist and blacklist violations. Alert rule creation can
be managed easily at both the global categories level all the way
down to specific protocol level functions. The notification method
can be selected independently for each rule including email, popup
message, program message or special log creation. The alert message
may also be customized per rule.
Advanced user privileges allow the network administrator to control
each user or user group individually by time, site filters and
protocol. Define access to the Internet by both user groups and
individual access controls.
