Thursday, February 21, 2008 1:21 AM/EST
It was said of the Chicago stockyards that they used every part of the pig except the squeal. The same can be said of the Internet search industry. For some time, ISPs and others, including no-cost DNS provider OpenDNS, have been squeezing every last penny out of Internet search by providing alternative suggestions when users misspell the domain name of their intended Web destination. While often problematic, as Steve Loughran writes, for some client systems, it's hardly nefarious. Search is now a well-established commercial activity. For example, no-cost OpenDNS does a good job of offering corrections to users' fumbled keystrokes and otherwise makes a good college try of getting users to their intended Web sites. What is highlighted in this case is the ubiquitous and aging DNS infrastructure. WiscNet and eWEEK Labs recently teamed up to look at several vendors, including Alcatel-Lucent, BlueCat Networks and InfoBlox, to update and better...
Wednesday, January 09, 2008 7:21 PM/EST
I've just returned from Madison, Wisc., where I worked with the good folks at WiscNet, the state research and education network provider, to conduct a look at three DNS (Domain Name System) appliances. WiscNet is considering appliances to replace its aging DNS implementation. At one point in the post-event wrapup, one attendee--a representative of a Midwestern state net--asked, "Who here tried e-mail appliances and then stopped?" His point was that appliance solutions, for his organization, hadn't worked out that well. In fact, he shared that after only a year of operation, he was in the midst of replacing his e-mail appliances. It made me think that this was a valid concern for small and midsize companies, whereas many large organizations like the appliance model, or so I've been told, because it compartmentalizes the installation and maintenance process in a way that is easier to deal with in a large bureaucracy....
Monday, December 10, 2007 6:03 PM/EST
For most small and midsize organizations, use the following formula to find a Web host provider: Price (where low is good and high is bad) divided by services (where more is better) equals "our decision." There are some nonintuitive factors that must now be brought into play to get the best hosting provider for your organization. But first, let me set the stage for this discussion with a real-life example. I'm on an e-mail thread started by Diane Steinhauser, the executive director of the TAM (Transportation Authority of Marin). This thread, along with several long phone calls that I've had with Diane reveal that business leaders must also consider hosting security as part of the selection criteria. The problem is that there isn't an independent rating system or licensing body for Web host providers. Thus, picking a "good" hoster now also means asking a lot of questions about reputation and...
Friday, November 30, 2007 5:49 PM/EST
If you are thinking of replacing your organization's Domain Name System)or if you have a DNS solution that you want me and the good folks at WiscNet to consider, then read on. Below, I've published the invitation I sent today to three DNS vendors. We have room for one more company or open-source project to be considered during the WiscNet/eWEEK DNS Demonstration Day. Participate in the WiscNet/eWEEK DNS Demonstration Day on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2008, in Madison, Wisconsin. WiscNet is considering replacing an existing BIND DNS implementation to enable greater manageability and stability. WiscNet will make a decision on which vendor to select for this project shortly after the demonstration day. To accept the invitation, please send an e-mail to Cameron Sturdevant at csturdevant@eweek.com by Friday, Dec. 14, 2007. WiscNet is interested in a functional demonstration of your DNS solution. Here is a list of specific features WiscNet would like...
Thursday, November 29, 2007 7:00 PM/EST
Upcoming federal deadlines for IPv6 implementation mean that core IP services including DNS will come under some scrutiny. In January, eWEEK Labs will go on-site at WiscNet to evaluate a DNS replacement project. DNS, the service that translates names into IP addresses, so you can type in www.eweek.com instead of 192.168.22.35, is a relatively distant cousin, architecturally speaking, of Layer 3 IP. However, the June 2008 milestone for IPv6 adoption in all federal agencies raises a host of questions including how DNS will accommodate the much larger 128-bit IP address. The pressure on DNS is coming from e-mail and software-as-a-service applications that depend on the aging infrastructure. Add to this the coming implementation of IPv6 and I see a growing justification for looking at how DNS is currently implemented with an eye to modernizing the ubiquitous protocol that enables us connect point A to point B. Because DNS plays a...
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