Hi Steven and Thread,
Slowly sliding, bottlenecking Delta style, into yet another delicious diversion, enjoy!
WebInsite Weekly/March 9 1999
==========================
Welcome to WebInsite Weekly--the e-mail newsletter from Data
Communications, the global site for network architects.
DATA COMM USER SURVEY
=============================
What's your opinion worth? How about a new IBM ThinkPad 770?
Data Communications is conducting its annual User Survey of
long-distance carriers, and we'd like to hear from everyone out there
who specifies/uses international leased lines, international frame
relay, or corporate Internet services.
Your opinions count. They'll form the basis of a major feature article
detailing which international providers offer the best--and
worst--service in the world. (Our findings will be published in an
upcoming issue of Data Communications and on our Web site.)
The carriers are listening. Service providers from all parts of the
globe have told us they take our User Surveys very seriously. In fact,
some operators have launched campaigns to improve quality once our
findings have been made public.
And there's another good reason to participate. Every survey
participant is automatically entered into a drawing for an IBM
ThinkPad 770 (configured with 366-MHz processor, 128-Mbyte RAM,
14.1-Gbyte hard disk, and 24X CD-ROM).
Take the survey at:
data.com
WHO KNOWS ABOUT THE NEW PUBLIC NETWORK?
============================================
Data Communications--who else? We've rolled out a special section
called NPN (short for New Public Network) to help cut through the hype
and deliver hard facts about the products and technologies carriers
and ISPs need to build their next-generation IP networks.
What's in the inaugural issue of NPN? The first engineering-caliber
test of ATM-to-frame switches, along with a feature-by-feature
assessment of IADs (integrated access devices), revolutionary products
that are changing the way carriers provision services to their
customers. You'll also find industry news and the sort of
single-product reviews you've come to count on from Data
Communications.
So check it out. And remember that NPN is your one-stop site for
technology tutorials, lab tests, and detailed product comparisons--all
geared to the architects of the public IP network:
data.com
NETWORKING NEWS/HOT HEADLINES
==================================
Data Communications now delivers daily news right to your
desktop. Just point your browser at data.com
Here's a sampling of what you'll find:
Siemens Officials Outline Unisphere Plans
Execs at Siemens AG outline plans for a new U.S. operation based on
the vendor's recent $500 million acquisitions
data.com
Vendors Unveil Plans to Save Digital Phones
Recent products should help companies to install IP PBXs and hold on
to their expensive digital phones.
data.com
Carriers Buck Local-Loop Costs in Japan
High-speed wireless access may ultimately help bring down service
costs in Japan.
data.com
TELECOM REPORT
================
For March 1 through 5:
*Rates for worldwide voice services declined by a fraction of a
percent (-0.34%) while global private-line rates held relatively
constant. Regionally, this dip was reflected in modest reductions in
voice-traffic rates, such as Asia (-0.6%) and the Americas (-0.3%).
*The lowest available per-minute rates originating from the U.S. were
for PSTN in Hong Kong, which declined to 6 cents (a reduction of
24.53% from the previous week); PSTN in China, which dropped 23 cents
(a reduction of 14.81% over last week's rate); PSTN in Bahrain, down
to 45 cents (a reduction of 9.82%); and PSTN in Bangladesh at 53 cents
(down by 9.09% from last week's rate).
*Significant reductions also occurred in rates for voice over IP on
private networks: In Malaysia a per-minute rate for leased-line VOIP
was 11 cents (down 45% from the previous week's rates). The same rate
was posted for leased-line VOIP in Singapore, which represented a
33.33% reduction there. In Poland, the leased-line VOIP rate dropped
to 15 cents per minute, down 1.69% from last week's rate.
--Written exclusively for WebInsite by Ross Mayfield, vice president
of marketing for Ratexchange, an online bandwidth exchange for more
than 1,700 carriers. Visit the Ratexchange Web site at:
ratexchange.com
GET THE GOODS ON GIGABIT ETHERNET
====================================
Don't miss Data Comm's 1999 Gigabit Ethernet Challenge--a special
supplement that gives Cabletron, Cisco, Fore, Foundry, Nortel,
Plaintree, and Xylan an opportunity to present their gig Ethernet
solutions. All vendor strategies are based on a common network
scenario to allow for head-to-head comparisons. Which strategy works
best for your network?
data.com
DATA COMM ONLINE POLLS
=========================
Nobody knows networking like Data Comm's readers. That's why we give
them a chance to sound off on today's hottest technology
issues. Here's a sampling of what they had to say about Service-Level
Agreements (SLAs):
Total number of responses: 41
*Do you have SLAs (service-level agreements) with WAN service providers?
Yes 56%
No 44%
*If you do not have SLAs in place, why not?
Provider unwilling to negotiate 33%
Provider does not honor them 39%
Confident in provider performance without them 28%
Provider responds to performance problems case by case 33%
Other (please specify) 6%
*Are you satisfied with the terms of your SLAs?
Yes 74%
No 26%
To see what else our readers told us, including reader suggestions for
SLA improvements, visit:
webinsite.data.com
WHAT DO YOU REALLY THINK?
============================
Share your opinions and see what your colleagues have to say about
Ethical Networking
Take Data Comm's latest online poll
webinsite.data.com
TECHNOLOGY TUTORIALS
=======================
Data Comm now posts its award-winning technology tutorials to the Web
before they appear in print. There's something new every day at
data.com
FIREWALL SERVICES: MORE BARK THAN BITE
Outsourcing firewall services saves corporations the hassles and
expense of ownership, but does it expose them to harm? Ironically,
firewall service providers may suffer from the same shortage of
security skills their customers are trying to avoid.
data.com
LAB TEST: FRAME RELAY TO ATM: THE FAULT LINE
Switches that map frame relay circuits to ATM sound like a solution
for carriers. But can they really stand up to the strain? Data Comm's
Lab Test shows surprising results.
data.com
IADS: BUNDLE UP FOR THE LAST MILE
ATM-based integrated access devices (IADs) let carriers deliver
bundled voice, data, and video for far less.
data.com
HTH, Ray |
