Mobile Internet Solutions » Cisco

New WiFi Routers Managed in the Cloud

lesliemanzara — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 15:24:36 +0000

David Strom, ReadWriteWeb, 11/15/2011

Two announcements in the past month show that the wireless routing marketplace is getting cloud-savvy, with the ability to use the cloud to manage widescale deployments. The advantage of this is clear for companies with several branch offices that want to maintain a single wireless and wired network across their entire enterprise.

The products are from the Branch on Demand BR100 from Aerohive and the ZyXEL NWA1100N-CE. While not directly comparable, both offer the ability to centrally manage a collection of wireless routers and both are offered on a subscription-pricing model. Aerohive units will be available in mid-December, and the ZyXEL units are available now.

(Here is a typical use case for branch offices, click to enlarge.)

Aerohive will sell the BR100 for a $99 per year subscription. All of their routers will need to have their HiveManager software running at your central site. They will be able to work with other SaaS-based services including Barracuda Networks’ spam filtering and Websence Web app firewall along with OpenDNS.org. The BR100 is the first in a line of branch office routers and comes with five wired Ethernet ports and a 11n wireless access point. Aerohive will also sell separately the VMware Cloud VPN Gateway starting at $450 per year.

The ZyXEL router can be remotely controlled over the Internet as well. The cloud service empowers organizations to enforce uniform access rules and policies from a single point, deploy networks using self-configuration features, remotely manage multiple networks in real-time. Customers who purchase a three-year cloud-management service for $299 at PC Connection will receive the NWA1100N-CE at no additional cost., although it can be purchased separate from the service as a traditional access point.

This is not completely a new idea, and several companies, including Cisco and Sonicwall, have offered routers that can be centrally managed across the Internet for many years. What is new here is the price points being promised, as well as the level of functionality offered at these price points. Also, Aerohive will pre-stage and configure each unit before shipping them out to your branch offices, which can be a big time saver.

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Cisco, NEC team up on LTE networks

lesliemanzara — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 21:53:13 +0000

By Stephen Lawson, IDG News Service, 8/30/2011

The deal could help NEC sell more base stations and Cisco more back-end switches

Cisco Systems and NEC will jointly sell LTE networks to carriers under a deal announced on Tuesday.

Cisco will provide its ASR 5000 mobile packet core switch and NEC will supply base stations for the high-speed mobile data networks around the world. They have verified interoperability between the products after extensive testing in the real world, the companies said.

LTE (Long-Term Evolution) represents a big opportunity for makers of both radio access networks and the core infrastructure that sits behind them. Demand for mobile data capacity is expected to grow rapidly over the next several years thanks to broad adoption of mobile devices and services designed for them.

NEC, based in Tokyo, built the LTE network for Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo and has provided base LTE stations for Korean carrier KDDI and participated in trials at SingTel and Telefonica.

The ASR 5000 switch is based on technology that Cisco acquired through its purchase of Starent Networks in 2009. It is equipped to carry out traffic management, service provisioning and other back-end tasks for 3G and 4G mobile networks and allows carriers to migrate smoothly to 4G technology, according to Cisco.

The deal is likely to help NEC more than Cisco, because NEC is a fairly small player in the RAN (radio access network) business outside of Japan, said analyst Daryl Schoolar of Current Analysis. The biggest RAN vendors, such as Ericsson, Alcatel-Lucent, and Huawei Technologies, don’t need to make such arrangements with Cisco because they sell mobile packet core equipment themselves, he said.

Cisco competes against those companies and has won deals with many carriers on the strength of its existing back-end switches and its data networking heritage, Schoolar said. Large carriers prefer to use multiple vendors so they aren’t totally reliant on one supplier.

Upgrading from 3G to 4G boosts the capacity of networks and increases the speed of an individual user’s service. Carriers are quickly adopting LTE to keep up with mobile data demand that has networks around the world operating at an average of 65 percent of capacity, according to a recent Credit Suisse survey. The Global Mobile Suppliers Association reported earlier this month that there were 24 commercial LTE networks up and running in 16 countries, and that there would be 71 networks by the end of this year.

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Cisco wants seamless mobility between WiFi and cellular networks

lesliemanzara — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 14:13:36 +0000

Esme Vos, MuniWireless, 1/24/2010

Cisco has been on a roll in the past few months promoting what they call borderless mobility (tablets and smartphones moving easily with in a large Wi-Fi network without having to log on again and again) and now, with seamless mobility between Wi-Fi and cellular networks. Elizabeth Woyke (Forbes) interviewed Chris Kozup, Cisco’s director of mobility solutions, on the company’s vision of future of Wi-Fi:

“In North America, we’re at 60 to 70 percent in terms of people being able to detect Wi-Fi in the places they expect to,” says Chris Kozup, Cisco’s director of mobility solutions. “This year and 2012, you’ll see a shift around making Wi-Fi connections more seamless.” The aim is to make it as easy to connect to third-party networks, such as those in airports and cafes, as to a person’s home Wi-Fi network. Another goal is to improve connectivity between certain applications, devices and networks so gadgets can move between cellular and Wi-Fi connections without a stutter.

While users have been clamoring for seamless roaming for years, mobile phone operators have only now been moving into Wi-Fi. The iPhone, iPad and other smartphones are creating serious bandwidth problems. Indeed, check out this Devicescape survey from 2009, in which 85 percent of users stated they want seamless switching between WiFi and 3G.

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Cisco beefs up Wi-Fi mobile payment security

lesliemanzara — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 23:18:49 +0000

John Cox, Network World, 1/19/2011

Cisco is beefing up wireless transaction security with new software features for its Wi-Fi access points. The vendor says the changes add needed protection over and above that mandated by the Payment Card Industry (PCI) standard.

A December 2010 survey by Cisco of 500 retail customers found that about one-third of them pass payment or credit card data over internal Wi-Fi networks. (For more details from that study, check out “Survey on PCI: How it’s impacting network security“.)

The PCI specification, set by the PCI Security Standards Council, outlines how payment-card data is to be secured and stored. Several provisions apply to wireless networks used to transmit that information. The 2.0 PCI spec was released in October 2010 (and formally ratified in January 2011), but doesn’t fully address the fast-rising use of mobile payment technologies.

One issue is that the standard requires physical and logical inspections, to detect when a device attaches to the network, and whether it’s an authorized device. But it doesn’t specify how this is done. In practice, according to Cisco, the PCI specification focuses on only one key threat: rogue wireless access points. “But it can’t address [others such as] ad hoc wireless bridging, evil twin/honeypot exploits, denial of service, reconnaissance, or cracking tools,” says Cisco’s Chris Kozup, director, mobility and borderless networks.

To fill this gap, Cisco has created a feature called Enhanced Local Mode (ELM) for its Adaptive Wireless Intrusion Prevention System. ELM expands the number of threats that IT groups can monitor, and lets the monitoring be done with existing Cisco access points.

Previously, Cisco offered only basic rogue detection, and individual access points had to be dedicated to radio monitoring, unable to support data traffic.

With ELM active on one two-radio access point, the monitoring functions can jump from channel to channel, now able to cover all channels in both Wi-Fi frequencies (2.4 and 5 GHz), and covering a much wider range of threats. No dedicated access points or separate sensors are needed to implement a full Wi-Fi intrusion-prevention system.

Cisco also added expanded PCI-specific reporting features to its Cisco Wireless Control System (WCS). In the past, Cisco offered a general PCI compliance report. Now, WCS can create summary reports, and use filters to focus on compliance in individual locations or even individual devices. Enterprise security staff can administer reports and audits and keep a continuous eye on PCI compliance.

Using the new ELM feature with access points that make use of Cisco CleanAir technology lets IT identify access points running on non-standard channels or running proprietary extensions.

The new PCI-related features will be part of a free software upgrade to all Cisco 11n access points in late March 2011.

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Cisco, T-Mobile team up for Wi-Fi Calling for Business system

lesliemanzara — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 14:08:46 +0000

Matt Hamblen, Computer World, 12/15/2010

It’s designed to ensure reliable voice calls over Wi-Fi, seamless roaming

Cisco and T-Mobile USA today announced Wi-Fi Calling for Business to help ensure reliable voice calls over Wi-Fi as well as seamless roaming of voice and data traffic between Wi-Fi and cellular networks for smartphone users.

The two companies collaborated on the system, which can help companies lower communication costs by putting more mobile voice and data calls over often-free Wi-Fi networks than on cellular networks, where monthly usage fees and expensive per-minute charges on international calls apply.

Cisco and T-Mobile named Cytec Industries as an early adopter of the service. Marc Rohleder, director of sales engineering at T-Mobile, said that about about 1,000 of Cytec’s 6,000 workers have used the service for about six months, with the company now putting about 30% of its mobile calls over Wi-Fi.

“That translates to cost savings,” Rohleder said in an interview, although he didn’t specify how much. Cytec has global operations and 28 sites in the U.S. alone where connecting over a Wi-Fi network would virtually cut out mobile service costs, he said. International roaming charges over cellular connections are generally very expensive, but can be avoided using Wi-Fi, he explained.

Cytec was not willing to discuss the new service or cost savings.

Rohleder said that T-Mobile also benefits with the new service. “For us, we’re the only major U.S. carrier to offer the service, so it gives us a greater reach into enterprises that wouldn’t be inclined to go to T-Mobile” for network services.

Cytec consolidated a number of mobile carriers onto T-Mobile, getting attractive rates that are enhanced partly because T-Mobile’s parent company, Deutsche Telekom already operates cellular networks in 14 countries and partners with operators of 45,000 Wi-Fi hotspots globally, Rohleder added.

The new service requires a Cisco wireless LAN infrastructure, which Cytec had deployed. The Cisco infrastructure includes Cisco’s Unified Wireless Network technology and Cisco Compatible Extensions (CCX), which is software to improve quality of service, roaming and power savings and must be embedded in silicon on smartphones using the system. So far, CCX is supported in BlackBerry and Nokia smartphones, both in use at Cytec.

Cisco is working to expand the use of CCX on other popular smartphones, including iPhone and Android, said Chris Kozup, director of mobility marketing at Cisco.

The handoffs between Wi-Fi and cellular are also enhanced with T-Mobile’s use of the Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) standard, which is an Internet Protocol extension of T-Mobile’s GSM/EDGE network, Rohleder said. UMA has been in use for four years at T-Mobile to enable Wi-Fi calling; the network extension handles 40 million calls a month.

T-Mobile announced Wi-Fi Calling for some Android smartphones on Oct. 6, adding them to several earlier Wi-Fi supported Nokia and BlackBerry smartphones. The four Android devices ready for Wi-Fi at T-Mobile are the T-Mobile MyTouch 4G, LG Optimus T, the G2, and the Motorola Defy. While they are Wi-Fi enabled, they do not support CCX yet, Rohleder said.

Cisco and T-Mobile did not discuss the cost of a typical Wi-Fi Calling for Business system, since it would involve variable costs for a Cisco Wi-Fi network and T-Mobile cellular service costs.

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HP Drops Palm From webOS’s Branding, Launches HP webOS 2.0

lesliemanzara — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 21:38:50 +0000

Matt Burns, TechCrunch, 10/19/2010

HP just announced the next generation webOS and it’s a doozy. This platform now has all the weapons necessary to fully compete in the smartphone wars: true multitasking, an updated version of the social media connection service Synergy, Adobe Flash 10.1, and a whole bunch of new advancements. Hardware is really the only thing missing now, but that’s set to change as the first webOS device, the Palm Pre 2, will hit later this week in France and in the coming months on Verizon in the states.

This big update comes 16 months after the original webOS devices dropped at CES ’09. The OS was herald as an iPhone killer back then, but the excitement was quickly hampered with poor hardware and carrier support. We’ve said all along that webOS is great, but the Pre and Pixie didn’t take advantage of it. Hopefully HP, with its massive manufacturing strength, can finally out hardware to take advantage of the OS. Oh, and a webOS tablet would be nice too. Just saying.

Coming first on new Palm Pre 2 in France, the United States and Canada
PALO ALTO, Calif., Oct. 19, 2010 – HP today announced HP webOS 2.0, the most significant update to the platform since its launch in 2009 and a substantial step in HP’s vision to transform how people think, feel and connect.
The first device to run webOS 2.0, HP’s new Palm Pre 2 smartphone, will be available on Friday in France from SFR and is scheduled to be available in the coming months in the United States from Verizon Wireless and in Canada.
“With webOS 2.0, we’re advancing the innovations we introduced 16 months ago, expanding the features that make webOS great for consumers, enterprises and developers,” said Jon Rubinstein, senior vice president and general manager, Palm Global Business Unit, HP. “We’ve made tremendous strides since the platform launched, and now we’re taking our biggest leap forward with powerful new features that make it easier to get more things done with your webOS device.”

webOS 2.0 offers consumers compelling application experiences not available on any other platform, while providing developers an unparalleled level of openness to integrate their applications and services. The next generation of webOS makes it easier to get more done:

True Multitasking – Pause a game, tap an email notification, check your calendar, read a restaurant review, send an email reply, then switch back to the game without closing anything.(1,2) webOS lets you easily manage multiple open applications and notifications using natural touch gestures. New in webOS 2.0, Stacks logically groups together your open apps so they work the way you do. Whether you’re reading email or planning a night on the town, Stacks keeps related items together so managing multiple tasks is even easier.

Just Type – Start an email, create a message, update your status, search your favorite websites – all before you’ve even opened an app.(1) With webOS 2.0, whenever you want to do something on your phone – whether it’s emailing, texting, searching or almost anything – just type. And Just Type is open to developers, so they can integrate with the search function and add their own user-customizable shortcuts, called Quick Actions.

HP Synergy – webOS was the first mobile OS to connect you seamlessly to multiple web services. With the Synergy feature, you just have to sign in to your Facebook, Google, Microsoft® Exchange, LinkedIn and Yahoo! accounts and your information automatically populates your phone.(3) webOS 2.0 will extend the support for Synergy so developers can easily plug new Messaging, Contacts and Calendar application sources directly into the core webOS experiences.(4)

Exhibition – A new way to use your webOS phone, Exhibition lets you run apps designed specifically for the Palm Touchstone Charging Dock, turning charge time into useful time.(4, 5) Set your phone on the dock and Exhibition launches automatically, showing you anything from today’s agenda to a slideshow of your Facebook photos. Exhibition will enable developers to display aspects of their existing app experience or create specialized apps for use when users have their webOS device in charge mode on the charging dock.

Adobe® Flash® Player 10.1 Beta – With version 2.0, webOS now supports a beta of Adobe Flash Player 10.1 in the browser, which provides access to rich, Flash based web content.(6)

webOS 2.0 also includes many more new features, including the following:

Favorites – With webOS 2.0, you can tag your favorite contacts so they appear as favorites in Phone and Contacts views. When you search for them by name, they instantly show up at the top of the Contacts, Email, Messaging and Phone apps. Favorites make it simple to get in touch fast.

Skype Mobile™ (Verizon Wireless only) – For Verizon Wireless customers, webOS 2.0 supports Skype-to-Skype calls and messaging while in the United States to anywhere in the world, and low-rate calls to international landlines and cell phones.

Text Assist – webOS 2.0 offers greatly expanded capabilities to spell check, auto correct, set up macros and customize the dictionary.

Quickoffice Connect Mobile Suite – An all-new document viewer from the leading provider of mobile document viewers offers support for Microsoft Office Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents and provides integration with a variety of services, including Google Docs and Dropbox.

Facebook 2.0 – Available via the Palm App Catalog, Facebook 2.0 will support Facebook IM via Synergy in the Messaging application,(4) as well as Stacks, status updates via Quick Action and the Exhibition feature.

Browser – The browser adds support for more HTML5 features, including geolocation support. OpenSearch plugin support makes it easy to add your favorite websites to Just Type web search.

Messaging – The unified Messaging app in webOS 2.0 adds Yahoo! IM and buddy management. Customers can now connect to their buddies through SMS, MMS, Google Talk, AIM and Yahoo! IM.

VPN – webOS 2.0 supports the most popular ways to connect to a corporate network, including IPsec and Cisco AnyConnect mobile optimized VPN, which supports SSL (TLS and DTLS).

App Catalog – The redesigned Palm App Catalog makes finding and discovering great apps even easier.(7) And the new Software Manager helps you keep your apps up-to-date.

Launcher – A redesigned app launcher lets you add, label and reorder launcher pages.

Phone – The webOS 2.0 Phone app lets you easily dial your favorites and offers reverse area code lookup and Skype Mobile integration (Skype Mobile for Verizon Wireless only).

Accounts – The new Accounts app provides a single place to manage all your Synergy accounts.

Bluetooth® keyboards – webOS now supports Bluetooth keyboards and Bluetooth SPP peripherals, enabling applications such as barcode readers and realty lock boxes.

A host of developer features – In addition to Exhibition, Just Type and Synergy APIs, webOS 2.0 adds Node.JS, enabling developers to create services in JavaScript. They also can now use the webOS Plug-In Development Kit (PDK) to combine C/C++ with web technologies in a single app.

Introducing Palm Pre 2

HP also introduced the Palm Pre 2 smartphone, the latest evolution to the Palm Pre lineup. Pre 2 is the first Palm phone with a gigahertz processor and features a 5-megapixel camera, a glass screen and a sleeker, streamlined design that still gives users the ideal combination of a vivid touchscreen and a slide-out keyboard.

Availability

Palm Pre 2 featuring webOS 2.0 will be available on Friday in France from SFR and is scheduled to be available in the coming months in the United States from Verizon Wireless and in Canada. The webOS 2.0 update will be delivered to existing customers in the coming months, with exact timing to be announced at a later date.
Developers will be able to purchase unlocked UMTS versions of Pre 2 in the United States to use as a canvas to build the next generation of webOS applications and services.

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Smart wireless networks to the rescue

lesliemanzara — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 13:08:37 +0000

Marguerite Reardon, CNET News, 10/19/2010

Wireless operators are adding more smarts to their networks to ensure the flood of new smartphones, tablets, and other wireless connected gadgets don’t overwhelm them.

Equipment suppliers gathering here this week at 4G World to discuss the next generation of wireless network infrastructure are working not only to help wireless operators add more capacity to their network, but they are also adding more intelligence into the network to make more efficient use of the resources.

Analysts predict that data traffic on the wireless network could increase 700 percent by 2015 as smartphones and other connected-devices access the Net wirelessly. Smartphones in general consume 50 times more bandwidth than traditional cell phones. And laptops consume 25 more data than smartphones. Tablets–an emerging category of product popularized by the Apple iPad–are somewhere in the middle.

In preparation to handle the onslaught of traffic, wireless operators have already begun upgrading their networks. They’ve been placing wireless bay stations closer together to increase capacity using smaller cell sites to handle more traffic. They’re starting to offload traffic to Wi-Fi and femto cells. They’ve added fiber to the backhaul portion of their networks to carry data from the cell towers to the core wired networks.

And they are also migrating to new network technologies. In the U.S, each of the four major wireless operators is upgrading its network technology to increase bandwidth and performance. Verizon Wireless is deploying a so-called 4G wireless technology, LTE or Long Term Evolution. Sprint Nextel, through its partnership with Clearwire, is deploying its next-generation network using a technology called WiMax. And AT&T and T-Mobile USA are using upgrades to existing HSPA infrastructure to increase bandwidth. AT&T and T-Mobile have each said they plan to eventually deploy LTE.

While 4G technologies will add more capacity to carrier networks, that is only part of the benefit of the upgrade. The upgrade to LTE and WiMax will make the networks more efficient because they are based on IP. And more efficient networks mean carriers don’t have to spend as much to offer customers services.

“The carrier that spends the least amount on delivering its services and is the most efficient will win,” said Phil Marshall, co founder and chief research officer for Tolaga Research.

But becoming a more efficient network also requires more intelligence in the network.

“Intelligence is needed to manage the network,” he said. “And we’re only at the beginning stages of deploying this technology.”

Indeed, the timing is right for intelligent network management of wireless networks. Marshall, who spoke yesterday on a panel sponsored by Qualcomm with other industry execs, said that six or seven years ago there were several companies developing wireless network optimization products, but many went out of business because there wasn’t enough data on the networks to manage.

That has all changed with the advent of the super smartphones, like the iPhone and Android devices. And it will continue to grow as other devices come on board, such as Windows Phone 7 devices and other devices like the tablet PCs.

Marshall said that when you talk about capacity on a wireless network, it’s helpful to think of it the same way you think of building new roads. You can add several more lanes to a highway, but you may also have to manage the traffic by coordinating traffic lights and adding HOV lanes during peak travel times. That’s also what is needed for wireless networks, he said.

Mike Wright, executive director for Telstra, the Australian broadband provider that was the first carrier to deploy next-generation HSPA+ network technology, was also on the panel. He agreed that even as bandwidth increases, carriers still have to manage their networks to ensure that they are keeping costs down and optimally serving customers.

“We’re already at a point where there is mass market adoption of these data services,” he said. “So we need to look at ways we can more intelligently manage the traffic on our network.”

As an example, he said he is looking at ways to time-shift traffic during the busiest parts of the day to flatten the cost.

“Your network is as expensive as it costs to carry your peak loads,” he said. “So flattening out that traffic with network quality of service techniques or time-shifting traffic, means we can get more out of our resources.”

Infrastructure companies are already working on solutions. Cisco Systems, which makes infrastructure equipment that fuels the Internet, has launched a special business unit to work with wireless operators. And tomorrow, the company is expected to announce a product that will help wireless operators better manage their data traffic once it comes off the radio network and is aggregated onto their wired IP-based infrastructure.

“Making the IP core network more efficient helps alleviate the need for more spectrum and more capacity throughout the network,” Andy Capener, the director of marketing for service provider mobility for Cisco, said in an interview last week. “We don’t actually supply the radios that transmit the data wireless, so it’s incumbent upon us to optimize the traffic beyond that point so that it consumes less wireless resources when it goes through the radio network.”

In other words, Cisco’s technology will help compress video and Web pages that consumers download and view to reduce overall usage on the network.

Ericsson, which makes radio gear in addition to IP core infrastructure, is also making equipment to help carriers use the network more efficiently. George Antoun, head IP and broadband products for Ericsson, said during the panel that ideally all players in the wireless ecosystem should be designing products for efficiency. He pointed out that Research In Motion has done a very good job with the BlackBerry designing the device and its core applications to use the network very efficiently.

By contrast, he explained that other devices, such as the iPhone, are not designed with network efficiency in mind. He said that Apple has designed the iPhone so that apps are updating constantly. This means that the device is always talking to the cell towers in the network and downloading data, which runs up data consumption unnecessarily.

“Even if the phone is in your pocket as you drive down the highway, it’s talking to every cell tower in every cell site you pass,” he said. “It’s transmitting data. It’s pushing data to you unless you turn it off.”

In addition, to consuming more data, this activity also drains power from the cell sites, possibly making them less effective. And it drains the device’s battery as well. The net result is a network that is not operating at full efficiency with hundreds or even thousands of these devices constantly moving between cell sites.

“It would be great if we could get application developers and device makers to design the products differently,” he said in an interview. “But who is going to tell Steve Jobs he has to change the iPhone? Instead, it’s up to the carriers to add more intelligence to de-prioritize apps and functions that are not being used.”

Antoun also pointed out that it’s the device makers and application developers that are driving innovation. New devices, such as the iPhone and the Android devices, are pushing wireless operators to upgrade their networks.

“The big change in the industry is that service providers used to wait for the business case to be fleshed out before they built out their networks,” he said. “But now they are building the networks and people are immediately filling them. Where ever they go, there is demand.”

Antoun also said that the solution is not simply a technical one in terms of adding capacity and intelligence for better traffic management. Consumers’ consumption habits must also be altered so that people pay for what they use.

“The industry is at an inflection point where we can change the way we charge for services,” he said. “There’s not only an opportunity to optimize the network, but to really put new business models out there. We have lost the war a little bit. And we can’t continue with flat service pricing.”

Intelligent management and network provisioning can help carriers develop these new business models, he suggested.

“The tech is there,” he said. “A lot has to be understood and applied. And then it’s a matter of who will make the first move.”

One thing that could derail the march toward intelligent network innovation is the fight in Washington, D.C. over Net neutrality. While in theory, Net neutrality rules, which are supposed to ensure that operators can’t give priority to traffic to harm competition or block consumers from accessing legal content, should not prevent wireless operators from managing their networks. But regulation, even with the best intentions, could still have unintended consequences, which hamper development.

“The problem is that the regulations tend to lag technology innovation,” Marshall said. “And right now, things are evolving so quickly.”

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Cisco plans an Android-based business tablet

lesliemanzara — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 20:45:47 +0000

Agam Shah, IDG News Service, 6/29/2010

The Cius will sport more networking capabilities than the iPad, plus videoconferencing and keyboard/mouse support

Cisco Systems has announced the Cius tablet, a handheld device designed to help users run business applications and communicate in real time. It will use the Google Android OS, feature a 7-inch touch screen and 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, weighs just over 1.5 pounds, and provide about eight hours of battery life, according to Cisco.

Cisco calls the Cius a “business tablet,” and also a virtual desktop designed to access cloud computing services. Pricing is not yet final but should be under $1,000, the company said. Some units will be available this fall, though general availability is not expected until early 2011.

The Cius will sport 802.11a/b/g/n (Wi-Fi) and Bluetooth wireless networking capabilities. It will be able to connect to 3G mobile broadband networks, and support for 4G will be available at a later date, Cisco said. The device will include a Micro-USB port, as well as 32GB of flash storage and support for Secure Digital cards.

The tablet also will come with advanced communication capabilities that work with Cisco’s unified communications and collaboration tools. It will be able to quickly establish instant-message sessions, voice calls, and videoconferencing sessions, Cisco claimed. The device will interoperate with Cisco’s TelePresence videoconferencing system and work with Cisco applications including Cisco Quad, Cisco Show, and WebEx tools.

On campuses, the tablet will be dockable into the HD Soundstation, which provides wired networking connectivity for a full desktop experience, according to Cisco’s Web site. The docking station can also display high-definition content from the tablet on a connected monitor. Users will also be able to connect USB or Bluetooth keyboards and mice to the docking station for a traditional desktop experience.

The Cius will come with a front-facing high-definition video camera that can record 720p video at 30 frames per second and a 5-megapixel camera at the back that can capture high-quality video and still images. Users will be able to engage in live video calls when the tablet is docked or being held, the company said.

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AT&T, Verizon join Wi-Fi roaming group

lesliemanzara — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 14:10:04 +0000

Stephen Lawson, IDG News Service, 6/22/2010

Cisco and Comcast have also recently joined the WBA, which provides for easy roaming onto hot spots

AT&T and Verizon Wireless, the two largest U.S. mobile operators, have joined an organization that ensures roaming among mobile operators’ Wi-Fi networks.

The group, called the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA), also announced on Monday that South Korean mobile operator KT, Cisco Systems, U.S. cable operator Comcast, and wireless software vendor Devicescape Software have recently joined.

The WBA provides for sharing of login credentials among operators of Wi-Fi networks so that subscribers can log into another WBA member’s network using the same username and password as they do with their primary carrier. Service providers that join WBA commit to participating in this program over time, though the interoperability may not be available immediately, said Dave Fraser, CEO of Devicescape. AT&T and Verizon were not immediately able to confirm what they will be doing with the WBA.

As mobile data use rapidly grows and strains some cellular networks, carriers are trying to shift as much data as possible onto Wi-Fi where it is available. Both AT&T and Verizon make large networks of hot spots available to their subscribers. Eliminating username and password entry to get onto Wi-Fi hot spots is becoming more important as more subscribers access Wi-Fi from smartphones rather than laptops, Fraser said.

Also on Tuesday, the WBA said it is set to release the WISPr 2.0 specification, which will allow Wi-Fi network operators to go beyond the single-login capability and remove the need for entering any username and password for roaming. The new specification, designed by the WBA, also will allow for roaming from a 3G (third-generation) or 4G (WiMax or LTE) network on to Wi-Fi. The aim is to automatically shift a user’s data activity onto Wi-Fi wherever available, whether the user is in the coverage area of the primary carrier or a roaming partner, Fraser said.

However, neither interoperability program eliminates roaming charges among carriers, he added.

The WBA will be conducting trials of WISPr 2.0 for about six months, and it is unlikely to be implemented commercially for at least one year, Fraser said.

Other WBA members include BT Group, Deutsche Telekom, NTT, Boingo Wireless, and Tata Communications Internet Services. Together, the service-provider members operate more than 100,000 Wi-Fi hot spots worldwide and have a combined subscriber base of more than 350 million, according to the WBA.

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Cisco Embraces iPad, iPhone for Collaboration

lesliemanzara — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 17:44:41 +0000

David Needle, InternetNew.com, 6/14/2010

The networking leader also enhances its WebEx and Prosumer Video offerings for businesses as mobile video and enterprise collaboration take center stage.

Cisco is driving ahead with its efforts to rev up enterprise collaboration. Now it’s talking up ways to integrate the Apple iPad and iPhone into its Cisco Quad enterprise collaboration offering, which is due out later this year. It’s also showcasing other areas in which enterprises can take advantage of the iPad and iPhone, along with enhancements to WebEx and its upcoming Prosumer Video offering. Those are all key areas for Cisco, which is not just working to solidify the enterprise networking hardware and management space, but also the collaboration and communications applications that run over those networks. Datamation takes a look.

Enterprise collaboration continues to be a major focus for networking giant Cisco, which on Friday announced new features for its yet-to-be-released Quad enterprise collaboration offering that roll in new enhancements targeting users of Apple’s iPhone and iPad. Cisco also unveiled an enhanced WebEx conferencing platform and a cloud storage system that integrates with the iPhone, iPad and Cisco’s own Flip MinoPro camcorder.

Cisco calls Quad an “immersive platform” for enterprise collaboration that integrates voice, video and social networking into one space.

Read the full story at Datamation:
iPad, iPhone Join Cisco’s Collaboration Push

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