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Keep On NOC'N in the Net World

A report from one of the world's largest networking shows as it celebrates the latest in connections.

Networld+Interop, one the largest and most comprehensive gatherings for networking, Internet and intranet professionals, celebrated its 10th year this fall as over 50,000 visitors decended upon Atlanta's World Congress Center to see what's new. More than 600 exhibitors displayed new wares that are geared toward the future of communications and the Internet.


This year's exhibitors used every kind of free giveaway and gimmick to generate excitement and traffic in their booths -- from offering lattes and espressos to enjoy during a cybercafe demonstration, to giving away a sport-utility vehicle in a free drawing.

Introducing!

The conference showcased the InteropNet, which has grown into the largest, short-term, realtime network in the world. Top vendors collaborated to create this multilayered, fully operational network, which connects more than 600 of the world's top networking suppliers and their products to each other and the Internet.

The network consists of leading- edge technologies, including ATM, 100BaseT, ISDN and Gigabit Ethernet, which is a catalyst to interoperability and open standards.

InteropNet is built on standard, dependable technologies that are available today, new technologies that have been tried and tested, and self-contained technologies used in experimental environments. Some of the networking solutions InteropNet showed attendees are:

* Multiprotocol -- TCP/IP and IPv6;

* Switched 10BaseT and 100BaseT;

* Dedicated switched connections for all exhibitors via ATM-based ELAN technology;

* Fully deployed and natively routed IPv6;

* LAN-based ATM backbone made up of 0C3 and 0C12 links;

* ISDN network, providing BRI (Basic Rate Service) and PRI (Primate Rate Service) connections over copper ribs;

* Interactive area dedicated to Internet/intranet applications; and a

* Fully automated Spy Network to diagnose problems across the show floor from the Network Operations Center (NOC).

What's Up Noc?

The Network Operations Center was centrally located at one of the concourse's entrances. This is where the entire InteropNet came together and was monitored by a team of industry experts. These experts, called the NOC Team, were volunteers who performed protocol analysis, configuration management, fault determination and resolution during the event. The NOC Team installed and monitored the network and also designed the entire system, which took months prior to the show.

Another group of volunteers, called the InteropNet Team Members (ITMs), came from all over the world to take part in the installation and troubleshooting of InteropNet. ITMs worked side-by-side with their NOC Team peers and learned from each other's technologies and experiences.

Attendees were able to see the NOC Team and ITMs in action if they took a walking tour of InteropNet. Hourly tours allowed attendees to learn more about how networking technologies work in the enterprise environment. Additionally, for a more in-depth look at InteropNet, there were technology tours that focused on ATM, IPv6 and IP Multicast, which were followed by question and answer sessions.

In addition to InteropNet, there were live vendor demonstrations of new network technologies -- such as Internet database, push, multicast and security technologies -- that were part of the InteropNet Applications Forum. This forum helped describe how the InteropNet infrastructure looks at application layer technology, and how it solves the problems CIOs and information systems managers face on a daily basis.

Special Events

The conference also introduced several special events for attendees, including:

* CommUnity took a comprehensive look at the emergence of integrated data, voice and video for use across enterprise and public networks. CommUnity had its own keynote speakers, including Karyn Mashima, vice president of advanced multimedia communications at Lucent Technologies, and William Friel, senior vice president and CIO of Prudential Insurance Company, who discussed how integrated technologies are being used, where they are taking us and how they will affect communications.

* Start-Up City featured companies that are looking to develop the foundation for the networking and Internet infrastructure of the future.

* The Consultants Corner gave attendees a chance to ask questions, hear success stories and learn about specific products from a group of VARs (value-added resellers) and telephony resellers. This event was sponsored by The Pioneers, a nationwide organization of datacom/telephony resellers focused on identifying and selling computer telephony solutions.

* The IP Telephony of CommUnity served as an educational area for attendees who wanted to know how voice conversations can effectively be transported over IP (Internet Protocol) networks. Demonstrations allowed attendees to make free phone calls around the world and witness the voice quality for themselves.

* The Web-Enabled Call Center, sponsored by VocalTec Communications Ltd., Dialogic Corp. and Compaq Corp., gave Web surfers a chance to connect with staffed call centers. While it is inevitable that Internet shoppers will still require personal assistance from vendors, the Web-Enabled Call Center showed how this can be achieved.

* Welcome Pavilions were established specifically for resellers and Internet service providers -- who are important to selling networking products and Internet services -- allowing vendors to easily meet and share information with them.

The speakers at the conference portion of Networld+Interop included Edward Kozel, chief technical officer for Cisco Systems Inc., who discussed the Internet revolution and the virtual enterprise; Frank Moss, CEO of Tivoli Systems Inc., who discussed enterprise management; and Whitfield Diffie, engineer on security for Sun Microsystems Inc., who discussed the politics of cryptography in the late 20th century.

Faster and more reliable connectivity was the overall theme of the show. Vendors offered faster and more powerful solutions to IS managers, so the users of the systems they maintain have better connections to corporate networks or the Internet.

Kimberly Maxwell is the author of "The Modem Coach." She lives in Tucson, Ariz.

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