Show Report: Networld+Interop Plays the Phoenix

This year's Networld+InterOp show felt more energized than shows of the recent past, with a number of technologies that have been around for years showing evidence that they are ready to become mainstream.

Gigabit Ethernet, for instance, has been around for years, but now, with managed Gigabit switches from companies like Netgear dropping to under $20 per port, it's poised to become much more commonplace. Similarly, Voice over IP (VoIP) has, after foundering for years, re-emerged as the industry's new tech darling. It was on display at dozens of booths, with solutions devised for companies of all sizes.

Wireless technology, which has been quite successful in home markets, is poised for even greater success in the larger business world, with new security and management products from lots of vendors. Cisco, for example, was pushing new enterprise-level wireless installation and management solutions. Meanwhile, companies like Netgear and SMC were showing off new solutions designed for more mid-sized operations. And, of course, numerous vendors were pitching their wireless products as faster than others, even as the industry waits for yet another higher-speed standard to arrive in the next year.

Other major networking issues were on display as well. A number of vendors focused on traffic monitoring, including an interesting application monitoring solution from Fluke Networks.

Security remains a top concern, and it seemed like every vendor had something to say about it. One interesting new trend: many more appliances that try to combine multiple features, such as antispam, antivirus, or intrusion detection systems. Many of these are aimed at the gateways in mid-size and larger companies. But we also saw a number of small-office appliances, from companies such as EmergeCore, that aim to provide everything from e-mail to Web servers.

Copyright © 2004 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in ExtremeTech.