Fluke offers testing kit for Cat 6 cabling
Fluke Networks Canada announced the shipment of a 10 Gigabit/s Ethernet cable testing solution for copper, consisting of Fluke Networks’ popular DTX-1800 CableAnalyzer certification tester plus the new DTX 10 Gig Kit. This test package enables testing and certification of both existing Cat 6 or newly installed Augmented Cat 6 cabling.
The DTX 10 Gig Solution can measure performance for 10 Gig and Alien Crosstalk (ANEXT and AFEXT) to 500 MHz, in full compliance with the recently ratified IEEE 802.3an standard.
Fluke Networks’ test solution for 10 Gig copper Ethernet makes it possible to measure and evaluate the Alien Crosstalk between all possible wire pair combinations of two links in approximately 30 seconds. The DTX AxTalk Analyzer™ software included with the DTX 10 Gig Kit takes the complexity out of testing Alien Crosstalk by automating all the tasks and computations.
The DTX 10 Gig Kit consists of a set of communications moduleswhich snap into the DTX-1800 main and remote units. Also included is a Windows-based software program to calculate AxTalk power sum test parameters. The kit enables tests in a channel as well as permanent link configuration.
The DTX 10 Gig Kit is available for delivery from distributors and other Fluke Networks sales outlets worldwide. The DTX CableAnalyzer and assorted modules are available for immediate delivery from these same channels.
Cisco adds to Unified Communications line
Cisco Systems announced significant enhancements to its Unified Communications suite of voice, data and video products. These include a Cisco Unified Internet Protocal (IP) telephone, a desktop integration application and greater scalability for rich-media conferencing, messaging and call processing solutions. Cisco is also introducing a range of tools, offers and services designed to make Cisco channel partners even more effective and successful in deploying Cisco Unified Communications solutions.
Cisco Unified CallConnector is designed to provide an easy to use telephony features toolbar, integrated screen pops, directory integration and presence and “Click to Dial” capability from any Web page or Microsoft Office document.
The Cisco Unified IP Phone 7931G provides 24 lighted line keys and four interactive soft keys that guide a user through call features.
Cisco said its Unified Application Environment will enable rapid development, reliable execution and automated management of applications that combine voice and video with enterprise applications and data.
The Cisco Unified Operations Manager 2.0 and Cisco Unified Service Monitor 2.0 now provide additional tools for simplifying communications system management. In addition, the Cisco Unified Videoconferencing Manager is an application that allows organizations using Cisco Unified Videoconferencing to schedule and control videoconferences from a Web browser and Microsoft Outlook calendars.
Businesses can now take advantage of the enhanced Cisco Unity Connection which offers enhanced voice-enabled directory handlers and doubles voice mailbox capacity; while the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace 5.4 update offers enhanced videoconferencing scalability and scheduling capabilities through improved Cisco Unified MeetingPlace interfaces, support for Lotus Notes 7.1, and enhanced instant messaging integration. Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express has been updated to support up to 200 concurrent voice conferencing users and will offer Microsoft Outlook calendar integration and ad-hoc videoconferencing later in the year. The Cisco Unified PhoneProxy product extends enterprise phone access and features to remote workers by securing Cisco Unified IP phones deployed in homes and other remote locations, without the need for a VPN router.
Cisco also announced enhancements to the Cisco Unified Contact Center solutions portfolio including updated Cisco Unified Contact Center Enterprise and Hosted products to provide increased scalability for large, enterprise-wide deployments to reliably support virtualized contact center environments. The enhanced Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal (CVP) 4.0, which provides automated speech-based, self-service for contact centers, offers automated speech capabilities with enhanced operations, administration, management and provisioning applications.
Unistar IIILA remotely monitors power supply issues
Staco Energy Products Co. introduced the UniStar IIILA Series single-phase, online, rack mount Uninterruptible Power Supply.
Available with capacities of 1 kVA, 2kVA and 3kVA, the Unistar IIILA offers remote monitoring and diagnostic capabilities through the Web, networks, or an SNMP adaptor. Standard software is compatible with most operating systems including Novell Netware, Windows, Linux and Free BSD. An advanced microprocessor control yields greater reliability and functionality in a smaller size than other systems. Each UniStar IIILA features high overload handling without transfer to the bypass, and protection against short circuit and over-temperature conditions.
The Smart Battery Management System continuously monitors battery status and recharges whenever necessary. Hot swappable batter packs allow users to change batteries without shutting down the UPS, further simplifying maintenance.
SecureSpan models round out XML appliance line
Layer 7 Technologies announced four SecureSpan XML appliances. These include SecureSpan XML Accelerator, which handles document parsing, validation and transformation in a data centre or with an ESB. SecureSpan XML Data Screen – offers XML threat protection, content filtering and traffic control. SecureSpan XML Firewall and VPN promises advanced identity and message level SOA security for cross-domain, B2B and portal SOA initiatives. Finally, SecureSpan XML Networking Gateway allows for policy-based message routing, mediation, virtualization, SLA and SOA governance enforcement.
To simplify migration planning and ensure future-proofing, each successive SecureSpan XML appliance includes the capabilities of the legacy device and can be quickly upgraded through additional software licences, the company said. The SecureSpan XML Firewall and VPN and the SecureSpan Networking Gateway are also available as server software for Linux and Windows Server 2003.
All SecureSpan XML appliances are based on a high performance 64-bit multi-processor, multi-core AMD architecture with onboard XML acceleration from ASIC vendor Tarari and hardware based crypto acceleration. All SecureSpan appliances offer full clustered redundancy and linear scalability.
Pricing for the range of SecureSpan appliances begins at US$30,000, depending on the model.
2X ApplicationServer publishes Windows apps
2X announced its 2X ApplicationServer v.4, which allows publishing of Windows applications onto remote desktops.
The latest version adds integrated load balancing, Linux & Mac client support, support for server farms, SSL tunneling and more.
2X ApplicationServer can intelligently connect users seamlessly to the appropriate terminal server. Using resource-based load balancing it can ensure redundancy, as well as distributing resource usage across a farm of terminal servers. It can also reconnect users to disconnected sessions and load balance RDP and ICA connections simultaneously. With SSL tunneling, remote users can connect securely to any Windows application without the need for a VPN. End-to-end SSL encryption & certificate support makes it secure. Only a single open port is required, making it very manageable for the administrator, 2X said.
A Linux client allows publishing of Windows applications onto Linux desktops or Linux-based thin clients. The Linux client is integrated with a number of free thin client solutions including 2X ThinClientServer and Thinstation. Mac users can run Windows applications without the need for virtual machines.
Veeam boosts file transfer for VMware environments
Veeam Software announced the release of Veeam FastSCP for VMware ESX Server, a tool to transfer files between ESX Server and Windows machines.
Veeam FastSCP for VMware ESX Server is designed to ensure security by using a one-time username and password and works more than six times faster than SCP.
Veeam FastSCP includes three features that make it an essential tool for VMware administrators, the company said. It can copy files more than six times faster than SCP. It doesn’t require installing anything on ESX Server. It establishes a connection generating a one-time username and password for each file. For example, if you have to upload 10 ISO files, the program will change credentials 10 times. Veeam FastSCP doesn’t require any reconfiguration of ESX Server. It has Windows Explorer-like user interface familiar to any Windows user. An administrator can install FastSCP on his/her workstation and start copying files right away.
Veeam FastSCP is free and intended for VMware administrators.