1. VEGAS
w w w . i n t e r o p . c o m
DAILY Tuesday, May 7, 2002
Wireless plays starring
role in this year’s eNet
Network processor scorecard:
Proselytizers, pundits play to a draw
P R E S E N T S
12pm–1pm
Maynard Webb
President
eBay Technologies
KEYNOTES
I N S I D E
VPN Days begin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Hit the road
with Tech Drive 2002 . . . . . . . . . . .6
The Daily Question . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Q&A with eBay’s
Maynard Webb . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Maps and floor plans . . . . . . . . . . .44
KEYNOTE PANEL
Bringing Innovation to the
Ultimate Networking Challenge
Premier Hardware Provider
iLabs technologies
shape future
of networking
T
hree key networking ad-
vancements are being
demonstrated here in
the live multi-vendor test bed,
the InteropNet Labs (iLabs).
The first public interoperable
deployment of IEEE’s 802.1x se-
curity protocol has been built as
part of the iLabs project. The
protocol is a key step in port-
based network access control for
ensuring the security of data in
wireless LANs.
802.1x is the IEEE standard
that provides an authentication
framework for 802.11-based
LANs. This capability will let
wireless LANs to scale by allow-
ing centralized authentication of
wireless users or stations. The
iLabs also is investigating how
authentication, encryption and
data integrity can be met in a
wireless network.
The iLabs task force also has
built the first public interopera-
ble iSCSI network, testing a
process that promises simpler
storage networks at a lower cost
than existing storage area net-
works (SANs). The test team has
built a network using both iSCSI
and exiting Fibre Channel tech-
nologies in order to demonstrate
the role iSCSI will play in com-
plementing and enhancing exist-
ing storage solutions.
The first public multi-vendor
By Sean Cassidy, The Daily
S
ome not-so-slight differences of opin-
ion concerning the near future of the
network processor (NP) market were
presented at Monday’s Network Processor
Report Card session at the Las Vegas Hilton,
part of the day-long Network Processor Sum-
mit at NetWorld+Interop 2002 Las Vegas.
Eric Mantion, senior analyst of networking
technology for In-Stat MDR, claimed to be
“the optimist of the group.” Mantion’s presen-
tation made use of various charts and graphs
to illustrate his point that the NP market is
going to grow exponentially. The reasons, he
explained, are three-fold: growth in Internet
traffic and sockets; new target markets; and
the fact that NPs form a displacement market,
not a new market, and historically, displace-
ment markets have exhibited a rapidly rising
market penetration curve.
Loring Wirbel, editorial director at CMP
Media, played devil’s advocate when dis-
cussing the near-term prospects of NPs in
the context of the communications industry
in general. According to Wirbel, revised IT
RFPs from customers are slowly killing
OEMs, especially smaller outfits and start-
ups whose business plans were dependent
on initial RFPs issued last year. He feels that
large segments of the communicationsBuilding the Most Effective
eNet Infrastructure
5:00pm–6:00pm
InteropNet Event Network
(eNet) Panel: Putting
Innovation to the Test
Moderator
and Panelist:
Gordon Stitt
President and
Chief Executive Officer
Extreme Networks
9am–10am
Serge Tchuruk
Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer
Alcatel
Attend the Keynote Panel and get a ticket to
tonight’s Beer Bash in the Interop Garage.
(continued on page 48)
By Jim Thompson, The Daily
S
taying in touch, gathering
class materials and resolving
network problems is a whole
lot easier this year, thanks to the ex-
pansion of wireless technologies
into the InteropNet Event Network
(eNet), the underlying network that
powers NetWorld+Interop.
With more than 15 wireless access
zones throughout the Las Vegas Convention
Center and the adjacent Las Vegas Hilton
Hotel, wireless technology, which has been a
big part of the eNet in past years, is even big-
ger this time.
“One example of how far we’ve come is that
Interop conference attendees can sit in the
class room, connect to the ’Net and access
presentation materials live, so everyone is
(continued on page 48)
(continued on page 48)
Final preparations at eNet for today’s show floor opening