What is IP Convergence?

Definition: IP Convergence implies the carriage of different types of traffic such as voice, video, data, and images over a single network. The integrated network is based on the Internet Protocol (IP).

What is IP Convergence?

Corporate managements have long desired a single network that would allow them to transfer both voice and data. Timely information is now a key asset and corporates realize the importance of investing in networks that facilitate enterprise telecommunications.

Enterprise networks that are based on the Internet Protocol network technology are today in the forefront of answering businesses’ requirement for a useful and cost-effective network that can serve as the backbone for all enterprise communication needs. Along with meeting the challenges posed by the physical integration of the network, it is also important to ensure that the aggregated flow of traffic meets the quality and functionality requirements as fulfilled by the discrete networks.
The core aspects that dictate the implementation and deployment of an IP convergent network include integrating discrete network elements; staying up-to-date with IP and its associated protocols; and having systems in place to manage voice, data, and video traffic for multimedia applications.

The benefits of IP Convergence

1. Excellent support for multimedia applications. Improved connectivity means that devices can be assigned specific tasks; the number of devices required is less which makes installation, deployment, and learning an easier task.

2. A converged IP network is a single platform on which interoperable devices can be run in innovative ways. Since IP is an open standard, it is vendor independent and this helps in fostering interoperability and improving network efficiency in terms of time and cost. The ambit of IP convergence encompasses networks, devices, and different technologies and systems that can be operated on a unified infrastructure.

3. A converged IP network is easier to manage because of the uniform setup in which the system resources operate. Training users is easy.

4. An enterprise can achieve flexibility in terms of moulding its communication patterns to its management practices. This is a dynamic process that can be continually improved with collaboration from network partners. What this results in is the right information to the right person at the right time leading to improved decision making.

5. IP networks have proven to be remarkably scalable and this has been one of the prime reasons that even large enterprises have gone ahead with implementing IP. Applications that run on IP networks are available all over the world; in fact most new business applications include inbuilt IP support.

6. An IP convergent network is capable of making use of the developments in class of service differentiation and QoS-based routing. This leads to better utilization of resources and also allows for capacity redundancy to take care of an increase in the number of users.

7. A uniform environment requires fewer components in the network. Smoother maintenance and management result from this and in turn lead to improved processes. Affordable deployment results from the elimination of multiple networks operating in parallel and manageability improves. In a converged environment, fewer platforms need to be tested and gateways between networks are eliminated.

8. Business applications have different tolerance levels for transit delays, dropped packets, and error rates. IP architecture is capable of handling these so that the QoS reflects the requirements of the different applications.

9. Device integration has the potential to simplify end-to-end security management and at the same time make it more robust. Continuous development is taking place in field of security for IP data communication.

10. A converged IP network offers a business tremendous cost savings in terms of hardware and space utilization. It opens up more markets that can be reached, more products that can be introduced, increases employee productivity and mobility, and enables even smaller companies to compete with larger ones because of faster information relay.
Implementation

The first and most apparent result of integrating discrete network elements is that with a reduction in the number of nodes in a network, the operating and maintenance costs go down. Connectivity and wiring costs - whether to the user’s work station or to the provider’s facility - are reduced. A converged IP network means that there are always opportunities available for efficient bandwidth utilisation. Routing PSTN traffic over an IP network is one sure way of improving network capacity utilisation. Facsimiles have for long presented a problem for routing over an IP network but recent advances have made it possible to transfer faxes as IP packets and they present another excellent avenue for maximizing IP network capacity.

The TCP/IP protocol stack is already being used by enterprises for communication. The advent of VoIP has played a big role in pushing companies to evolve toward implementing IP networks. Converging communications technology through IP protocol means that you can link subsystems and networks that include shared Ethernet LANs, dedicated WAN links and ATM networks. IP convergence also implies various legacy technologies resulting in a consistent and uniform experience at the user interface; where a single device is used to access applications like telephony and video. Thus, IP convergence also leads to application or device convergence.

Till now, IP has been up to the challenge of catering to multiple services encompassing different types of media spread over the globe. It has delivered in terms of scalability and user mobility.

Conclusion

IP convergence is being pursued by enterprises at present primarily for the cost-saving opportunities that it offers. Yet, the technology has the potential to change the way businesses operate. Business-oriented improvements can be achieved based on coordinated activity. The issues related to widespread and quick IP convergence have as much to do with technology as with risk perceptions harboured by managements. IP networks are competing with the telephone systems that have been around for more than a century and with nearly 900 million users, it has nearly seven times the user base of the Internet. IP networks are growing at a tremendous pace but wholesale network changes cannot be undertaken without fully considering the implications of regulations on businesses and network providers. Read More......

“Your Wireless Future” at “Tomorrow’s Wireless World”

This one is from Chetan Sharma's blog (via Forox). The following is an extract from his blog:

Earlier this week, I had the distinct honor of moderating a panel of some of the most eminent senior wireless research scientists and CEOs of wireless companies from Finland where we explored the future of the wireless landscape from user interface to reduction in carbon footprint to privacy and security issues and much more.

Many people might not be aware but the City of Oulu in the central part of Finland is a leading epicenter of wireless activities with many major industry players setting up shops for doing R&D work. In fact, it is quite likely that one of the companies out of Oulu has had an impact in some way on the mobile phone you have in your pocket (and we are not including Nokia).

The topic of our panel was “Your Wireless Future” – a broad topic that is always difficult to cover in 60 minutes or less.

I started by asking the panelists about what in their view have been some of the defining trends over the last 12 months. Summary of answers – iPhone; android; move towards full mobile browser; browser will reduce fragmentation and more innovation will happen on this front; with the rise of smartphones, security and privacy have become an issue,

Some other salient points (read issues and opportunities) from the discussion:

* It is forecasted (by WWWRF) that in another 10 years, we will have 1000 radios per every subscriber. That would translate into few trillion nodes around us. The level of complexity and carbon footprint will be enormous. One has to figure out a way to address both.
* City of Oulu has first of a kind experiment with NFC where the technology has been embedded in day-to-day life from home, school, train station, restaurant, probably every object in the city. Pretty interesting experiment that will lead to interesting use cases and technology implementations.
* There are so many protocols being integrated into the device that hackers are targeting not only the data but the protocol weaknesses to gain access. IT finally starting to address smartphone issue in their networks.
* The role of Cognitive radio and SDRs will gain prominence as more access technologies get introduced.
* In a ubiquitous environment with finite spectrum, “sensing” technologies will have a great role in optimization. Sense and do the best for the consumer, the device, and the network. Hyper connectivity will become the norm.
* In addition to touch, gesture and face recognition will add to a better multimodal experience.
* Mobile payments is coming and going to make a big impact. We have to of course sort out the business models.
* 3Cs of mobile – convergence, context, and community (Nokia’s Mantra).
* The very business of R&D has changed significantly with corporations choosing to outsource R&D and the cycle of concept to market launch has shrunk from 6 years or more to 12-18 months.
* More innovation will come from integration of existing technologies rather than some big breakthrough.
* Demand for bandwidth will keep growing.
* Significant opportunities in medicine, enterprise, and other industry verticals.
* In developing countries, while consumers are willing to pay for expensive devices, they don’t have any appetite for expensive service plans.

Some discussion points from Craig’s (Dr. Craig Barrett, Chairman of Intel Corporation) and our Q&A session:

* World will go to free MIPS and free baud (computing and communications). What happens then?
* Moore’s law is good for another 15 years based on 5 generation of future chipsets that they have in the labs. And it will probably keep going after that.
* Awareness of context really important.
* Many types of devices will proliferate including MIDs, education devices, some designed specifically for special purpose (medical monitors) and geographies (emerging markets).
* Global challenges are education, health, computing, and communication.
* In the developed world, wireless technology can help reduce the cost which is increasing at the rate of $200B/year and in the developing world, technology can help provide access to health care.
* Convenience and access trumps security concerns.
* Areas of opportunities – Telemedicine, education, economic development, governance, energy and environment.
* This is Craig’s 11th recession. Principle to tackle has been the same every time. You cannot save your way out of recession. You can only innovate out of a recession. Intel R&D budgets will remain the same.
* Innovation is key to surviving and competing in the global economy, now more so than ever.
* The fact that so much can be done in these tiny piece of electronics is just amazing and the drive to do better and more using technology keeps him going, keeps him inspired.

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Data Structures and Algorithms in Java

Fundamental data structures in a consistent object-oriented framework

Now revised to reflect the innovations of Java 5.0, Goodrich and Tamassia's Fourth Edition of Data Structures and Algorithms in Java continues to offer accessible coverage of fundamental data structures, using a consistent object-oriented framework. The authors provide intuition, description, and analysis of fundamental data structures and algorithms. Numerous illustrations, web-based animations, and simplified mathematical analyses justify important analytical concepts.

Key Features of the Fourth Edition:

1. Updates to Java 5.0 include new sections on generics and other Java 5.0 features, and revised code fragments, examples, and case studies to conform to Java 5.0.

2. Hundreds of exercises, including many that are new to this edition, promote creativity and help readers learn how to think like programmers and reinforce important concepts.

3. New case studies illustrate topics such as web browsers, board games, and encryption.

4. A new early chapter covers Arrays, Linked Lists, and Recursion.

5. A new final chapter on Memory covers memory management and external memory data structures and algorithms.

6. Java code examples are used extensively, with source code provided on the website.

7. Online animations and effective in-text art illustrate data structures and algorithms in a clear, visual manner.

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A Fourth-Generation Slugfest: Can WiMAX Triumph Over Its Competitors?

Now that Sprint’s long-awaited Xohm service has launched in Baltimore to mostly positive reviews, researchers, bloggers, and journalists are beginning to place their bets on the upcoming battle between WiMAX and long term evolution (LTE), its toughest challenger. Researchers at In-Stat have struck the first blow for WiMAX, concluding in a new report that WiMAX is likely to “outpace” LTE over the next few years, though both technologies are still years away from full implementation. In-Stat argues that because LTE will not be ready for at least another year or two, the timing of network roll-outs favors WiMAX technology. But CNET’s Marguerite Reardon is skeptical, as she draws a comparison between Sprint’s Xohm roll-out and the recent failed efforts by EarthLink to develop municipal Wi-Fi networks. She argues that Sprint’s business model may be doomed to fail because it pits WiMAX against existing 3G data services and cheaper, more consistent broadband options such as Verizon DSL. In the absence of financial incentives and a greater variety of WiMAX-ready devices, Reardon predicts that Xohm will face a tough battle for consumers – not necessarily against LTE, but against HSPA products offered by competitors.

However, while Sprint’s WiMAX network in Baltimore may not be as consistent as existing broadband services — for now, at least — it still offers stronger, faster, and more consistent connections than EarthLink’s Wi-Fi project, which depended on countless access points, each with a limited reach. WiMAX offers the freedom of municipal Wi-Fi, but with far less hassle — so the real goal for Sprint is to convince consumers that its service will make their lives easier, liberate them from coffee shops, and save them the trouble of dealing with routers and modems. Their inability to pull this off is by no means a foregone conclusion. Municipal Wi-Fi, after all, is still an attractive concept in theory, if not in practice. And while it’s true that WiMAX-ready mobile devices and laptops are currently few in number, we can doubtlessly expect to see more of these devices entering the market if the launch of Xohm proves to be successful in the long run.

Reardon doesn’t mention LTE directly, but she does inject a bit of unpleasant reality into the WiMAX vs. LTE debate by pointing out the gloomy state of the economy, and in doing so, she raises an important question: what if delays in WiMAX roll-outs give LTE technology time to catch up? Phil Skeffington, an associate with UK-based consultancy Mott MacDonald Schema, doesn’t see a problem. In fact, if Skeffington is right, the battle between WiMAX and LTE may even result in a draw. Skeffington believes that WiMAX and LTE are “complementary technologies,” with LTE poised to become the preferred technology for mobile handsets, and WiMAX set to corner the market of “nomadic” laptop users because of its superior bandwidth capabilities. Because demand from laptop users is higher right now, WiMAX is still likely to hold on to its early lead. Its ability to emerge from the fight unscathed depends on Sprint’s ability to attract consumers, to create demand for devices, and to convince manufacturers and investors to meet that demand. Fortunately for backers of WiMAX, there is plenty of cause for optimism.

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Donald Duck Virus

Donald Duck virus created by using Visual Basic programming language and detected as VbWOrm.QXE. One of the characteristics of this virus is the word "Duck Feather."

Duck Feather hide folders / subfolders in the flash disk, and is to duplicate files with the name of the folder / subfolder is to trick users. To clean up, see the following:

1. Should disconnect the computer that will be cleaned from the network (if connected to the Local Are Network / LAN).

2. Disable "System Restore" for a while during the cleaning process takes place (if using Windows ME / XP).

3. Turn off the virus that is active in memory, to turn the virus is to use tools such as the replacement taks manager procexp, then turn off the virus which has the icon "folder."

4. Repair the Windows registry that has been altered by a virus. To accelerate the process copy the script below in the program with a notepad and then save the name repair.inf. Run the file by:

* Click the right repair.inf
* Click on the Install
[Version]
Signature = "$ $ Chicago"
Provider = Vaksincom Oyee

[DefaultInstall]
AddReg = UnhookRegKey
DelReg = del

[UnhookRegKey]
HKLM, Software \ CLASSES \ batfile \ shell \ open \ command ,,,"""% 1 ""% * "
HKLM, Software \ CLASSES \ comfile \ shell \ open \ command ,,,"""% 1 ""% * "
HKLM, Software \ CLASSES \ exefile \ shell \ open \ command ,,,"""% 1 ""% * "
HKLM, Software \ CLASSES \ piffile \ shell \ open \ command ,,,"""% 1 ""% * "
HKLM, Software \ CLASSES \ regfile \ shell \ open \ command, "regedit.exe"% 1 ""
HKLM, Software \ CLASSES \ scrfile \ shell \ open \ command ,,,"""% 1 ""% * "
HKLM, SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ Winlogon, Shell, 0, "Explorer.exe"
HKLM, SYSTEM \ ControlSet001 \ Control \ SafeBoot, AlternateShell, 0, "cmd.exe"
HKLM, SYSTEM \ ControlSet002 \ Control \ SafeBoot, AlternateShell, 0, "cmd.exe"
HKLM, SYSTEM \ CurrentControlSet \ Control \ SafeBoot, AlternateShell, 0, "cmd.exe"
HKLM, SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ Advanced \ Folder \ SuperHidden, UncheckedValue, 0x00010001, 1
HKLM, SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Command Processor, AutoRun, 0,
HKLM, SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ Advanced \ Folder \ Hidden \ SHOWALL, CheckedValue, 0x00010001, 1
HKLM, SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ Advanced \ Folder \ Hidden \ SHOWALL, DefaultValue, 0x00010001, 2
HKCU, Software \ Microsoft \ Command Processor, AutoRun, 0,

[del]

HKCU, Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ System, DisableRegistryTools
HKCU, Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ System, DisableTaskMgr
HKCU, Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ Explorer, NoFolderOptions
HKCU, Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ Explorer, NOFind
HKCU, Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ Explorer, NORun
HKCU, Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ WinOldApp
HKLM, SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ Image File Execution Options \ PAYXX.exe
HKCU, Software \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ Winlogon, Shell
HKLM, SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ Advanced \ Folder \ Hidden \ HideFileExt
HKLM, SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ Advanced \ Folder \ Hidden \ ShowFullPath
HKLM, SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ Advanced \ Folder \ Hidden \ ShowFullPathAddress
HKLM, SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ Advanced \ Folder \ Hidden \ SuperHidden
HKCU, Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ Explorer, NoFolderOptions
HKCU, Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ System, DisableRegistryTools


5. Find and delete duplicate files created by the virus. To accelerate the process should use the search function "of Windows Search" with the first display of hidden files.

If the Folder Options not appear, LogOff computer should first and then show hidden files. After the duplicate files found, delete the file that has the characteristics:

* Using the folder icon
* File size 53 KB
EXE extension *
* File Type "Application"


6. Show return the file / folder on the Flash Disk, which is hidden. To show the hidden files, you can use alternative tools such as bebarapa Batch File Utility or by using the ATTRIB command.

Here's how to display the files / folders are hidden by using the ATTRIB:

* Click the "Start"
* Click "Run"
* Type in "cmd" and press "Enter"
* Move the cursor position to drive Flash Disk
* Then type the game is really good-h-r / d and then press "enter"


7. For optimal cleaning to prevent infection and re-scan, the antivirus software up-to-date and have been able to detect the virus.



Congratulations, and good luck;)


Source: Tips & Tricks detikINET
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