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Technology News You Can UseOctober 2007 – Issue XXXIIn This Newsletter
Letter from the Chair, Zandra Pulis, CPS EnergyGreetings, An integral part of the mission of the North Chamber is to provide a forum for collaboration of members to promote and profitably grow their businesses. The IT Resource Guide is just that - a resource that facilitates the collaboration of members to promote business opportunities. All businesses, large and small, have technology needs and the IT Resource Guide provides a user-friendly, one-stop shop to research IT needs.
Did you know that the web version of the IT Resource Guide has several hits a day? We will distribute over 350 printed publications at our 5th Annual
Click here to view our online directory. There are two ways to be included in this Guide:
For more information, please contact Debby Zucker at dzucker@northsachamber.com or 210.344.4848. Don't Wait - deadline for submittal in 2 weeks. The Next Generation Internet Protocol Version Six (IPv6), Marvell Roberson, Command Federal
What is the Next Generation Internet Protocol Version Six
In simplest terms, Internet protocol is the set of techniques used to transmit data over the Internet. IPv6 was designed to replace the current version, IPv4, and will bring superior reliability, flexibility and security to the Internet. IPv6 will have a dramatic impact on military operations, corporate security, mobility, supply chain management and other key business functions worldwide.
IPv6 Upgrade Now is the time to start planning your organization’s migration from IPv4. Know what challenges you’ll encounter and how to tackle them. The Next Generation Internet Protocol version 6 is here. The rollout of Windows Vista was a critical piece of the puzzle, paving the way for state and local agencies to adopt this next generation of internet infrastructure. From a federal standpoint, the transition date mandated by the Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Defense is quickly approaching. What’s more, the American Registry for Internet Numbers and Internet Engineering Task Force have both issued warnings for consumer adoption of IPv6 networks by 2011. As IT professionals roll out this network-wide infrastructure upgrade, there are several pitfalls and problems to anticipate and plan around in order to guarantee a successful transition. You have to know where to start, what to look out for and perhaps most important, what should be left alone when embarking on the network migration. Get the lay of the Land
Before developing an IPv6 transition strategy—and certainly before buying anything—conduct a network inventory of hardware, operating systems and applications. This might seem like a significant investment of time and money. However, the baseline assessment will be helpful in several ways: Acts as a baseline measurement of comparative purposes and demonstrating progress to IPv6 compliance;
Don’t stop with the infrastructure and applications inventory. Perform a human resources inventory as well. IPv6 is not simply IPv4 with additional addresses; it offers many tangible benefits. The protocol is feature-rich and enables networks and applications with enhanced features. However, one of the great challenges with IPv6 is misinformation. There will be many good internal resources who simply have not been trained in the benefits and implications of deploying an IPv6 network and its related applications. Understand IPv6 thoroughly and establish a plan to develop an IPv6 skill set. Once there is a baseline understanding of how IPv6-ready your current environment is—then develop the appropriate strategy and prioritization of impending IPv6 network and application investments. Start Planning and Securing
The potential for trillions of devices that can now be easily and securely connected to the Internet (sensors, cameras, cell phones, radios, and so on) changes the manner in which the network is built to support these emerging applications, such as first responders, environmental controls, surveillance and social networks. Most IPv4 networks have been designed to minimize the consumption of addresses; with IPv6 this rationale is no longer relevant. The massive IPv6 address pool, combined with networking paradigm where everything will be connected, warrants a completely new IP address allocation and security strategy. One significant change with IPv6 is in security. At a high level, the introduction of IPv6 into the network (by the way, it’s already there) will mandate a change in current security policy. The physical security model with firewalls and penetration prevention at the edge will shift to a policy security model. The policy model is a defense in-depth strategy to security wherein individual devices will connect, most likely in an ad-hoc, mobile way, and establish a trusted relationship on the network based on credentials, virus protection and authentication. Additionally, because IPv4 and IPv6 will coexist for a long time, security policy will need to address this co-existence in specific ways to defend against all prior IPv4 threats and account for the new IPv6 threats. A new IP address allocation plan combined with a policy-driven security plan will clearly require a new and different network architecture—particularly for the multitude of state and municipality wireless networks that are emerging throughout the country. Focus on One App at a Time
Any IPv6 integration effort will require testing of new architectures, hardware and applications before attempting to deploy those solutions in a production environment. The development of an IPv6 test environment will help build IPv6 expertise and experience that greatly reduces the impact of IT services during deployment. Setting up a test environment should be part of the first service/application implementation. By keeping these features in mind, IT professionals implementing an IPv6 migration at the state or local level will be able to avoid many problems usually incurred during first-time transitions. IP Enhancements There are several key enhancements afforded by using IPv6 network architecture. One is the expanding of the existing 32-bit header to a 128-bit header. This will result in a near-infinite supply of IP addresses for the future—340 trillion trillion trillion addresses. Another benefit is the need for fewer firewalls, which will result in improved operational efficiencies of the network. However, the most compelling benefit is the new IPv6 applications layer. In the past, the application layer design put too much of the network intelligence at the core. In the new design, IPv6 sensors will have increased capabilities that will push power to the edge of the network where end-user devices are located. This technical shift will further increase the openness of the networks. Traditional operations and applications that were previously hindered in communicating openly will now be able to talk to one another because of the net-centric, auto configuration features made possible by an IPv6 network architecture. The result: greatly enhanced operational efficiencies that will generate immediate, significant cost savings for state and local government.
IPv6—Top 10 Things You Should Already Be Doing
IPv6 is coming whether you and your organization have adequately planned for it or not. IPv6, all its new features and functionality, resulting security issues, as well as a number of other enterprise issues, should be considered in your preparation. Consider these 10 things companies and government agencies should do now to be prepared for this inevitability.
1. Take a Net-Centric View In our opinion this action is the most important. You must understand what IPv6 will mean to your operation. What are its implications at a high level? Viewing your operation in a network centric world means that before you do anything you must understand how IPv6 will impact your operation. What are the possibilities, opportunities, threats, what does network centric really mean? IPv6 has business model implications and you need to understand them. 2. Establish the Goals, Path, and Timeline for Your Transition Once you have set a of network centric view take a practical look at the steps to get there, set some goals, set some time lines and build a network centric roadmap. When you have an endpoint then you can define what it is you aim to achieve by implementing IPv6, what members of your organization will be involved, and their roles, and timelines to get there. 3. Inventory your Equipment Take the time to inventory your equipment. This is generally part of good practice. Gather the additional metrics needed to assess your network for v6 capability. Once you have a clear inventory of your equipment, building a transition plan based on what you already have—and what will be needed going forward –will be easier. 4. Identify your Software and Services and How they Need to Change Identify current software and services that are running on your network and understand the gap analysis for v6 transition. Work with your vendors and provide documentation of your plans to your vendor community to create a collaborative plan for IPv6. Understand the timelines for “IPv6 capable.” Establish upgrade strategies, and map out alternative methods to work around varying vendor IPv6 readiness. 5. Develop an Addressing Plan/Network Architecture Implications Most IPv4 networks have been designed to minimize the consumption of addresses—with IPv6 this goes away. The massive IPv6 address pool combined with a networking paradigm where everything will be connected warrants a completely new IP address allocation strategy. Understand and build a new addressing plan, and generally this will result in a new and different network architecture. 6. Set up a v6 Test Environment Any IPv6 integration effort will require testing of new architectures, hardware and applications before attempting to place solutions in a production environment. Development of an IPv6 test environment will help build your IPv6 experience quotient and reduce impacts to IT services during deployment. 7. Devise and Implement a Security Policy One significant change with IPv6 is in security. At a high level, IPv6 will usher in a paradigm change in security from the current “physical” security model with firewalls and penetration at the edge, to a ‘policy” security model. The policy model is a defense in-depth strategy to security where individual devices or classes of devices will connect, most likely in an ad-hoc, mobile way and establish a trusted relationship on the network based on policy criteria such as credentials, virus protection, and authentication. Moreover, since IPv4 and IPv6 will co-exist for a long time, security policy has to address this co-existence in specific ways to defend against all the prior IPv4 threats and account for the new IPv6 threats. 8. Establish an IPv6 Education Plan IPv6 is not simply IPv4 with additional addresses. It is a feature-rich IP protocol that allows you to build networks and the applications with enhanced features. Misinformation is the biggest problem with IPv6. Your organization needs to understand IPv6 thoroughly. Make a commitment to understand and establish a plan to develop the IPv6 skill set your organization needs. Include all levels of the organization; do not limit your education to just network engineers and IT staff, but include managers and officers of the company. 9. Develop an IPv6 Procurement Strategy and Policy IPv6 transition will take time. Start today by setting in place a sound procurement strategy. Plan that everything you buy will be connected to the network—beyond everything that consumes power to every item that can collect or decimate information. IPv6 value is about connecting to your goods and service, products and customers wherever they exist. Establish the network connectivity roadmap and work with your vendors today to collaborate on specifications for connectivity. This will take time, and starting today will advance you toward the competitive advantage of “everything connected.” 10. Establish a Migration Strategy Be realistic. There are many items that will never make the transition. They are old, unsupported or little used, or just not worth it. The object of a migration strategy is to recognize this in advance and establish a process to deal with these devices in a single consistent way to avoid having multiple solutions to a single problem. It is good practice and it helps socialize the diversity of IPv6 transition.
Auto Racing, Web Marketing and What you Didn't Know John Tomblin, DataTitanI’m really not one to channel surf for auto racing…but I’ve watched my share of races. I was recently watching a race on T.V. and while I watched the cars zooming around the track, drafting one another, all shiny against the bright lights, pairing up and having the occasional “ big bump”, I realized there’s quite a bit in common between auto racing and web marketing. No – I wasn’t drinking. Let’s take a closer look. Rule 1: First, you must show up. Race teams dart around the country from week to week in preparation for and to arrive at the next big event. No show – no go! The same is true of websites. One of the biggest misconceptions about websites is that if you build it…people will come. Nothing however could be further from the truth. Ted Turner of TNT broadcasting said it best years ago when he was quoted as saying “ Early to bed…early to rise…work like hell and advertise.” Websites are incredible tools when used correctly; however, just because you have a website doesn’t mean anyone is going to visit you. Fifteen years ago, finding a website (assuming you had fast internet access at 33.3K baud) was like finding the winning lottery ticket. It was a fun…it was slow and the mere mention of having a website drove people crazy with excitement trying to find it. In the
Rule 2: You must qualify. No matter how well a team may have performed in their last race, all teams must quality each week for race day. In the web world, qualifying means you’re SEO or PPC campaign must out perform the competition to get into the pole position. In stock car racing, each team must go through qualifying rounds…and only those with the fastest laps qualify. The same is true with SEO and PPC campaigns where everyone is working to get their site into the infamous # 1 ranking position. This is achieved with site optimization processes and bidding tools that allow your site to out perform the competition. Then, once you get in the pole position, you must continue to tune your site, watch what’s going on in your rearview mirror and make sure the competition stays where you want them…behind you. Rule 3: You must look good! I’ve never seen an ugly stock car…at least not at the beginning of a race. Each car has been preened, painted and washed up so they are looking good on race day. The same is true for websites. If you’ve ever gone shopping online for a book on stock car racing, arrived at the site where you can buy the book (using SEO or PPC of course) only to discover you can’t navigate the site properly…then you understand what I’m talking about. The same is true with race cars. Advertisers spend tens of thousands of dollars each season keeping their sponsored race cars looking perfect for each race. The same is true of your website. Getting visitors to your site is the first goal…but keeping them there is the greater goal. This is accomplished by providing your visitors a clean design, easily viewable text and easy to understand navigation. The big stock car sponsors already know this…and now so do you. Rule 4: Don’t crash! There are a lot of factors that determine whether a driver will make their 500 laps. Road conditions, traffic (avoiding fast moving objects in the often dangerous turn four) and making sure all parts of the car perform correctly not just for a few laps…but the entire race. The same is true with websites. Once you get in the race and start doing your “laps”, you must be certain that like stock cars, your website is well tuned, that you have the tires inflated correctly and that there’s plenty of fuel in the gas tank. On the web, that means all your web pages are working harmoniously with the top three browsers, that all the links work and that all the forms and database systems perform as intended. If you’ve ever done a search on the web, found the site you wanted, put an item in your shopping cart only to discover moments later the check-out controls don’t work, then in race terms you just hit the wall doing 200 mph. Rule 5: Finish! As the race approached the big finale, I listened closely as pit crews gave instructions to their drivers. I listened in as one driver called his pit crew explaining he was low on fuel and didn’t think he was going to make it. The crew chief fired back explaining to his driver “drive low on the apron and conserve fuel…this creates a shorter track for us and gets us to the checked flag”. The crew chief keep repeating: “Don’t worry about being first…worry about finishing 500 laps”. I questioned the pit chief’s reasoning then understood…the pit chief was thinking about points…not winning the race. Yes, it’s great to win each week…but the ultimate prize goes to the team with the most points at the end of the season. Interestingly, the same is true on the web. It’s not just about winning one race…it’s about getting as many points as possible over the season, and you achieve this by using a multi-tiered approach that includes SEO, PPC, word-of-mouth, banner ads, car signs, web blogs, billboards, rider signs and business cards. Combined, all of these methods play a part in helping you generate the most points for your campaign and eventual end-of-season point standings. So go on…get in the car…start the engine…and race.
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