Newsletters | NetEqualizer News Blog

NetEqualizer News: March 2016

April 11, 2016 — netequalizer

We hope you enjoy this month’s NetEqualizer Newsletter. Highlights include features from Release 8.4, our 2016 Leasing Program, and a presentation highlighting the NetEqualizer at the 2016 ASCUE Conference.

March 2016

Release 8.4 is almost here!

Greetings! Enjoy another issue of NetEqualizer News.

I write this today in the midst of a spring blizzard in Colorado. So far it appears that I have at least 15 inches of snow and drifts up to three feet outside my house, while it continues to blow more snow in at 35 miles an hour. Just another typical March day in Colorado! I was hoping to talk about spring in this newsletter, but now it seems far away. 0fad184f-5ea1-44c3-ad71-1093fd99f808

This month we are talking about our upcoming release, slated for May, which features a lot of cool Usability Enhancements. Read below to learn more. We also continue our discussion on how the NetEqualizer is Cloud-Ready, as all things Cloud continues to be top-of-mind for all of us.

We are excited to announce that we will be represented at the ASCUE Conference in June. Join Young Harris College at their talk featuring the NetEqualizer.

And finally, we share more news about our 2016 Leasing Program, and how we are keeping bandwidth shaping affordable.

And remember we are now on Twitter! You can now follow us @NetEqualizer.

We love it when we hear back from you – so if you have a story you would like to share with us of how we have helped you, let us know. Email me directly at art@apconnections.net. I would love to hear from you!

– Art Reisman (CTO)

In this issue:

:: NetEqualizer Release 8.4 – Enhanced Usability – Is Almost Ready!
:: Keeping Bandwidth Shaping Affordable
:: Join a Presentation on NetEqualizer at ASCUE in June 2016
:: Six Ways to Save with Cloud Computing

NetEqualizer Release 8.4 – Enhanced Usability – Is Almost Ready!

A Complete GUI Redesign!

We recently had the chance to kick the tires on our new 8.4 Release interface. It really has some significant wow factor type features. In hindsight, perhaps we should have called this NetEqualizer 9.0 and not just lowly 8.4. We have been talking about this release as a GUI Redesign & Pool Enhancements, but I really think 8.4 is a release full of Usability Enhancements, that will make it easier to manage and configure your NetEqualizer.The biggest changes center on the the regular NetEqualizer GUI. We have transitioned everything to share the same look and feel as RTR. Here are some of the pages and features we are most excited about!1) Edit traffic limits on the fly without having to add/remove them one at a time! The screenshot below shows the Pool/VLAN shared limit interface. You can see the Pools, their names, and their associated members. mpxGG3D

2) We added a cool new dashboard that serves as the homepage for NetEqualizer management (license key information blocked out in grey): dash

3) The new GUI also has an easy way to set the time and pick a timezone – no more logging in to the NetEqualizer terminal! date

4) You can now choose your units for the entire interface! This includes units for the configuration and RTR. unites

Check back next month for an update on more exciting changes planned for 8.4!Our time frame for General Acceptance of this release is May of 2016.As with all software releases, the 8.4 Release will be free to all customers with valid NetEqualizer Software and Support (NSS).

Keeping Bandwidth Shaping Affordable

NetEqualizer Leasing Program

At APconnections, we are proud of our reputation for offering affordable bandwidth shaping solutions. In the summer of 2013, we decided that we could help our customers that need to better align costs with recurring revenue, by offering a Leasing Program. lease

We are happy to announce that we have enhanced our lease offerings in 2016. Our “Standard” lease now comes with a 1Gbps license, and leases for $500 per month. Adding 1Gbps fiber at any of our lease levels just bumps up the price by $100 per month. And for those needing maximum performance, we now also give you access to an Enterprise-class NE4000 with our 5Gbps license and 10Gbps fiber.

If leasing is of interest to you, and you would like to learn more, you can view our Leasing Program agreement here.

Please note that the NetEqualizer Leasing Program is generally available to customers in the United States and Canada. If you are outside of these countries, contact us to see if leasing is available in your area.

Join a Presentation on NetEqualizer at ASCUE in June 2016

Association Supporting Computer Users in Education

We are excited to announce that one of our long-time customers, Hollis Townsend, Director of Technology Support and Operations at Young Harris College, will be talking about his experience with the NetEqualizer in his talk at ASCUE, June 12-16, 2016 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. yhc

Young Harris has been using NetEqualizer to solve their network congestion issues since July, 2007. They have upgraded their NetEQ as their network has grown over the years, and currently run an NE3000 with a 1Gbps license.

We are also happy to announce that APconnections, home of the NetEqualizer, will be a Silver Sponsor at the ASCUE Conference. We will be giving away a great door prize – a Fitbit fitness watch! ascue

If you use technology in higher education, you may want to consider attending ASCUE this June. And if you have ever wanted to talk to a colleague about their experience with the NetEqualizer, please join Hollis’ presentation. His presentation is tentatively titled “Shaping Bandwidth – Learning to Love Netflix on Campus”.

ASCUE is the Association Supporting Computer Users in Education and they have been around since 1968. Members hail from all over North America. ASCUE’s mission is to provide opportunities for resource-sharing, networking, and collaboration within an environment that fosters creativity and innovation in the use of technology within higher education.

Click here to learn more about ASCUE or register for the June conference.

Six Ways to Save with Cloud Computing

NetEqualizer Looks to the Clouds

We are continuing our focus on the cloud for NetEqualizer. The NetEqualizer is now cloud ready – as we’ve written about in previous newsletters. There are a lot of benefits to using the cloud in general. Here are just a few:

1) Fully utilized hardware
2) Lower power costs
3) Lower people costs
4) Zero capital costs
5) Resilience without redundancy
6) Lower network costs

The last one, lower network costs, is interesting. Since your business services are in the cloud, you can ditch all of those expensive MPLS links that you use to privately tie your offices to your back-end systems, and replace them with lower-cost commercial Internet links. You do not really need more bandwidth, just better bandwidth performance. The commodity Internet links are likely good enough, but when you move to the Cloud, you will need a smart bandwidth shaper.

Your link to the Internet becomes even more critical when you go the Cloud. But that does not mean bigger and more expensive pipes. Cloud applications are very lean and you do not need a big pipe to support them. You just need to make sure recreational traffic does not cut into your business application traffic.

The NetEqualizer fits perfectly as the bandwidth shaping product in the above infrastructure. Let us know if you have any questions about the cloud-ready NetEqualizer!

Best Of Blog

How to Build Your Own Speed Test Tool

By Art Reisman – CTO – APconnections

Editor’s Note: We often get asked to “prove” the NetEqualizer is making a difference regarding end user experience. The tool description and method outlined in our blog post, can be used to objectively justify the NetEqualizer value. Let us know if you need any help setting it up.

Most speed test sites measure the download speed of a large file from a server to your computer. There are two potential problems with using this metric.

1) ISPs can design their networks so these tests show best case results.
2) Humans are much more sensitive to the load time of interactive sites.

A better test of your perceived speed is how long it takes to load up a new web page…

Photo Of The Month

Balloon

Have you ever wondered what happens to balloons when they are released into the sky? The remnants of this balloon landed right in front of a staff member on a clear day while hiking Black Star Canyon in Orange County, CA. Balloons like this are actually an environmental disaster as they often end up in oceans and are eaten by sea and wildlife.

Posted in Newsletters. Tags: ascue, cloud-computing, NetEqualizer Leasing Program, Release 8.4. Leave a Comment »

NetEqualizer News: February 2016

February 14, 2016 — netequalizer

We hope you enjoy this month’s NetEqualizer Newsletter. Highlights include discussions on Cloud Computing, the new VM release, and updates on Software Release 8.4.

February 2016

NetEqualizer-VM is Ready, QoS for your Cloud!

Greetings! Enjoy another issue of NetEqualizer News.

February is off to a snowy start in Colorado this year, with a major snowstorm on February 1st dumping 16+ inches of snow in Boulder! While we were snowed in, I had time to reflect and think about where bandwidth shaping is headed, and how we are well-positioned for the industry transition to Cloud Computing. In this month’s newsletter you can read how the NetEqualizer is “Cloud Ready”. 0fad184f-5ea1-44c3-ad71-1093fd99f808

We are now ready with our first VM release (NetEqualizer-VM); you can read all about it below. And finally, we share more news about our 8.4 Release – Enhanced Pools & Other GUI Features.

And remember we are now on Twitter! You can now follow us @NetEqualizer.

– Art Reisman (CTO)

NetEqualizer-VM is Ready!

NetEqualizer-VM Release Ready for Networks <= 100 Mbps
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We are excited to announce that our VM release is now ready! If you are already running virtual machines in your data center, this may be a good fit for you.

The first release is certified for VM systems for up to 100 megabits of throughput.

Base pricing will run at $3,500 USD per year. However, for a limited time, we are running a special pre-order price of $2,500 USD per year.

Please note: The first year is due prior to delivery of the software. We offer a 30 day trial with a $500 USD non-refundable support charge.

Your VM server will need to meet a minimum specification to run the NetEqualizer shaping solution. We have detailed specifications for any VM system – contact us for details!

Release 8.4 Update

Enhanced Pools + GUI Redesign

In previous months’ newsletters we talked about changes coming to the regular NetEqualizer GUI. Over the next couple of months, we’ll highlight those changes here.

One of the changes we are very excited about is the ability to manage Pools on the fly, and also the ability to name them! See the screenshot below:

mpxGG3D

One of the best parts of this screen is that you can manage all Pools and all Pool Members at once. For example, see Pool 1 expanded to show the two Pool Members. You can also change the limits for the Pool, add new Pools, and delete Pools that you no longer need.

We are also enhancing the new user interface with four primary menu options:

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This will help guide first-time users through the process of using NetEqualizer, and will also help separate the functionality out into to main usage categories.

Check back next month for an update on more exciting changes planned for 8.4!

Our time frame for General Acceptance of this release is April/May of 2016.

As with all software releases, the 8.4 Release will be free to all customers with valid NetEqualizer Software and Support (NSS).

Next Generation Bandwidth Control

NetEqualizer is Cloud Ready

We received a call today from one of the Largest Tier 1 providers in the world. The salesperson on the other end was lamenting about his inability to sell cloud services to his customers. His service offerings were hot, but the customers’ Internet connections were not. Until his customers resolve their congestion problems, they were in a holding pattern for new cloud services.

As a brief aside, here is a list of what a Next Generation Bandwidth Controller can do:
1. Next Generation Bandwidth Controllers must be able to mitigate traffic flows originating from the Internet such that important Cloud Applications get priority.
2. Next Generation Bandwidth Controllers must NOT rely on Layer 7 DPI technology to identify traffic (too much encryption and tunneling today for this to be viable).
3. Next Generation Bandwidth Controllers must hit a price range of $5k to $10k USD for medium to large businesses.
4. Next Generation Bandwidth Controllers must not require babysitting and adjustments from the IT staff to remain effective.
5. Next Generation Bandwidth Controller should adopt a Heuristics-based decision model (like the one used in the NetEqualizer).

As for those businesses mentioned by the sales representative, when they moved to the cloud, many of them had run into bottlenecks. The bottlenecks were due to their iOS updates and recreational “crap” killing the cloud application traffic on their shared Internet trunk.

Their original assumption was they could use the QoS on their routers to mitigate traffic. After all, that worked great when all they had between them and their remote business logic was a nailed-up MPLS network. Because it was a private corporate link, they had QoS devices on both ends of the link and no problems with recreational congestion.

Moving to the Cloud was a wake up call! Think about it, when you go to the cloud you only control one end of the link. This means that your router-based QoS is no longer effective, and incoming traffic will crush you if you do not do something different. BT_logo

The happy ending is that we were able to help our friend at BT telecom, by mitigating his customers’ bottlenecks. Contact us if you are interested in more details.

Best Of Blog

Capacity Planning for Cloud Applications
By Art Reisman – CTO – APconnections

The main factors to consider when capacity planning your Internet Link for cloud applications are:

1) How much bandwidth do your cloud applications actually need?

Typical cloud applications require about 1/2 of a megabit or less. There are exceptions to this rule, but for the most part a good cloud application design does not involve large transfers of data. QuickBooks, Salesforce, Gmail, and just about any cloud-based data base will be under the 1/2 megabit guideline. The chart below really brings to light the difference between your typical, interactive Cloud Application and the types of applications that will really eat up your data link.

Photo Of The Month

Grasshopper

This closeup of a local grasshopper was taken by a staff member while in Kansas, a state in the central United States. We hope this picture doesn’t bug you.

Posted in Newsletters. Tags: cloud-computing, NetEqualizer-VM, Next Generation Bandwidth Control, Release 8.4. Leave a Comment »

NetEqualizer News: January 2016

January 25, 2016 — netequalizer

January 2016

Greetings!

Enjoy another issue of NetEqualizer News! This month, we introduce our new virtual NetEqualizer offering, highlight our Tech Refreshes, preview a cool new 8.4 Release feature, and discuss our DDoS Firewall option. As always, feel free to pass this along to others who might be interested in NetEqualizer News.

A message from Art…

Art Reisman, CTO – APconnections

Happy New Year! I hope your 2016 is off to a good start. Here at APconnections, we are starting 2016 off with a wonderful announcement:
0fad184f-5ea1-44c3-ad71-1093fd99f808

We are going Virtual! This month, we discuss how we are embracing Network Function Virtualization (NFV). Read below to learn more about this exciting offering!

And remember we are now on Twitter! You can now follow us @NetEqualizer.

In This Issue:

:: In 2016, We Are Going Virtual!
:: Start The New Year With A Tech Refresh!
:: 8.4 Release Coming Soon!
:: NetEqualizer DDoS Firewall In Action
:: Best Of The Blog

NetEqualizer Website | NetGladiator Website | Contact Us | Follow Us on Twitter

NetEqualizer Demo | NetEqualizer Price List | Join Our Mailing List

In 2016, We Are Going Virtual!

As most of you know, Network Function Virtualization (NFV) has become a viable choice for many networking components. We now believe it is time to consider VM for bandwidth shaping, and are excited to announce that we will offer a NetEqualizer solution (NetEqualizer-VM) that runs on a virtual machine in 2016!

Our first offering, planned for early Q2 2016, will be targeted and tested for 100 Megabit links with 1,000 or fewer customers.

Note: There will always be reliability risks of sharing a hardware platform with other applications, hence we are starting with a relatively small footprint.

Also, in some areas of the world shipping our NetEqualizer hardware is complicated by complex trade policies, and tariffs. Thus, a Virtual offer will shorten the delivery time and reduce the mechanical overhead of hardware shipment.

Right now we are still working out all the details on NetEqualizer-VM pricing and what VMs will be supported.

If you are interested in learning more or participating in the Beta when available, please contact us!

Start The New Year With A Tech Refresh!

Our NetEqualizer Tech Refreshes are a great way to start off the new year! These short, 30 minute WebEx sessions can provide great value to you and your team and help you get the most out of your NetEqualizer. Here are just a few of the benefits:

1) Learn about new releases – we are constantly evolving and enhancing our product. Tech Refreshes can help quickly get you up-to-speed on what is new!

2) Quickly educate a new employee – our Tech Refreshes make training a new staff member on NetEqualizer a breeze!

3) Ask questions and review your configuration – use this time to make sure that your unit is optimally configured, and ask any questions you’ve been curious about with your NetEqualizer!

Schedule your Tech Refresh today by clicking the link below.

Tech Refreshes are free to all customers with valid NetEqualizer Software and Support (NSS).

We also offer onsite training for you and your team in full day seminars – contact us for availability and pricing.

8.4 Release Coming Soon!
User Interface Enhancements

In last month’s newsletter, we talked about changes coming to the regular NetEqualizer GUI. Over the next couple of months, we’ll highlight some of those changes here.

One of the changes we are most excited about is the ability to edit the configuration on the fly. See a screenshot of the Configure Hard Limits Interface below:

This makes even complex configuration changes and setup quick and easy! You’ll now be able to add, edit, and remove hard limits, pools, pool members, priority hosts, and more all from one place.

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As you can see, we are also changing the look and feel to match that of RTR. Check back next month for updates on more exciting changes!

Our time frame for General Acceptance of this release is March/April of 2016.

As with all software releases, the 8.4 Release will be free to all customers with valid NetEqualizer Software and Support (NSS).

NetEqualizer DDoS Firewall In Action

Just a reminder that our DDoS Firewall Option (DFW) is now installed at several locations, and is making a difference by heading off incoming DDoS attacks, even as you read this!

If you suspect you are being hit with sporadic or persistent DDoS attacks, the DDoS firewall option may be well worth the $3500 installation and consulting fee.

You can read more about DDoS on our blog here.

If you have any questions or would simply like to learn more, contact us!

Best Of The Blog

Ten Ways To Make Your Life As An Internet Provider Easier

By Art Reisman – CTO – APconnections

From ISPs and WISPs to networks in libraries, businesses, and universities, Internet use is on the rise. Yet, as the demand for Internet access continues to grow around the world, so do both the opportunities and challenges for service providers.

Just as quickly as your user-base grows, the obstacles facing providers begin to emerge.

From competition to unhappy customers, the venture that once seemed certain to succeed can quickly test the will of even the most battle-hardened and tech-savvy business owners and network administrators. However, for all types of Internet providers, there are ways to make the process smoother…

Photo Of The Month

What is this mountain range?

Tell us and you could win a $25 gift card!

This picture was taken by a staff member during a recent trip. The first four (4) people to email sales@apconnections.net with the name of this mountain range will win a $25 gift card!

The answer for last month is: The Iowa State Court House in Des Moines, IA

Posted in Newsletters. Tags: DDoS, Firewall, NetEqualizer-VM, Release 8.4, Tech Refresh. 1 Comment »

NetEqualizer News: December 2015

December 19, 2015 — netequalizer

December 2015

Greetings!

Enjoy another issue of NetEqualizer News! This month, we update you on our 8.4 Release, talk about what our college customers are saying, feature Part 2 of our articles on RTR best practices, and ask once more for your ideas for the 2016 Roadmap. As always, feel free to pass this along to others who might be interested in NetEqualizer News.

A message from Art…

Art Reisman, CTO – APconnections

With the holiday season in full swing, I want to pause for a moment from my hectic schedule to thank you, our valued customers, for your loyalty in 2015. THANK YOU! thank_you

We here at APconnections truly appreciate your business. Thank you for helping us grow since 2003! I am lucky that I love what I do, and I really enjoy working with as many of you as I can. If you have any feedback, ideas, or questions for me, please reach out to me at art@apconnections.net. I hope you enjoy this month’s newsletter!

And remember we are now on Twitter! You can now follow us @NetEqualizer.

In This Issue:

:: 8.4 Release Update
:: What Our College Customers Are Saying
:: How Can RTR Help You? Check Out RTR Best Practices (Part 2)
:: It Is Not Too Late… To Give Input Into The 2016 Roadmap
:: Best Of The Blog

NetEqualizer Website | NetGladiator Website | Contact Us | Follow Us on Twitter

NetEqualizer Demo | NetEqualizer Price List | Join Our Mailing List

8.4 Release Update
User Interface Enhancements

We have exciting news to share regarding our next software update – Release 8.4. Throughout 2015, we made big changes to our Real-Time Reporting (RTR) and implemented tons of useful features. In 2016, we’ll be focusing our efforts on the rest of the NetEqualizer User Interface. Here are just a few of the things you can expect:

1) Better Configuration Management
We’ve listened to your feedback and are adding in the ability to edit traffic limits and other rules without removing them, control the units (Bps, Kbps, Mbps, etc.) displayed throughout the NetEqualizer interfaces, and manage the configuration all in one place – just to name a few!

2) Secure Logout and HTTPS by default
These popular feature requests will now be standard on all units running the 8.4 Release. Users will now be able to log out from the user interface securely and all data will be sent over HTTPS to and from the NetEqualizer.

3) Manage Time and Date from the GUI
With the 8.4 Release, you’ll be able to manage all time and date features of the NetEqualizer from the user interface instead of the command line.

4) Named Pools
This is one of the most requested items and it will be a reality in the 8.4 Release. With this release, you will be able to name your Pools however you see fit.

Our time frame for General Acceptance of this release is March or April of 2016.

As with all software releases, the 8.4 Release will be free to all customers with valid NetEqualizer Software and Support (NSS).

What Our College Customers Are Saying…

Last month, we featured Morrisville State College in New York, our newest Case Study. Since then, we have heard from several more colleges who wanted to offer their feedback.

Please contact us if you would like your quote added to our testimonials page, even if you are not in the higher education space! We love hearing from all our customers about how we’ve helped them control congestion on their networks.

You can view all of the College & University Testimonials on our website. Here are our two most recent:

usna

United States Naval Academy

IT Administration – United States Naval Academy
“Faced with mounting costs of upgrades for maintenance on our existing bandwidth shaper, in 2014 we did a little research and decided to try the NetEqualizer. We are currently running 1 gigabit for the entire campus, including students and faculty. Our bandwidth utilization is maxed out for most of the day and into the evening. Without a solid bandwidth shaper in place, operations would come to crawl.

Since deploying the NetEqualizer in the Spring of 2015 we have pretty much forgotten about it (in a good way). The NetEqualizer allows us to run at full capacity without the hassles of making adjustments on a daily basis.

One of the best investments we have ever made.”

delaware_valley_univ

Delaware Valley University

Michael Davis – Executive Director of Technology Services
“Delaware Valley University shifted from a packet shaping tool to a NetEqualizer over a year ago, and it is one of the best infrastructure decisions we have made.

The NetEqualizer has allowed us to provide better service to our students without increasing bandwidth, and we hear fewer complaints than ever about bandwidth.

We are planning our next bandwidth increase, and the NetEqualizer is going to make this better than usual. Factoring in student satisfaction with the amount of time that we no longer have to spend tuning a packet shaping device has made us very happy customers.

The support and sales teams at NetEqualizer are also fantastic.”

How Can RTR Help You?
Check Out RTR Best Practices (Part 2)

RTR is great as a simple reporting tool, but it can also be much more! Below we share some helpful ways to utilize the different reports in RTR to better configure your NetEqualizer and understand your network. This is Part 2 of a two-part series – read about Part 1 last month!

1) Figure out who has used the most data over time
Usually on the NetEqualizer, we are talking about usage rates like Mbps, Kbps, etc. But, sometimes you might want to know who has downloaded or uploaded the most data over time (in MB, GB, etc.). Use Traffic History -> Top Talkers to find out!

toptalkers

2) Use the Start/Stop RTR page to view system status messages
The NetEqualizer has processes in place that will rotate old data and keep you from running out of memory. However, you can check to make sure things look good and RTR is running smoothly on the Start/Stop RTR page.

memory

3) Use the General Penalty Reports page to correlate data to the General Traffic History page
In last month’s newsletter, we showed a perfect example of what we’d expect a network to look like. Check out the graphs for Morrisville State College in their Case Study.

We always want to ensure that some Equalizing is occurring during busy times. If you don’t see many penalties during busy times, your HOGMIN value may be set too high.

Consult the User Guide for appropriate HOGMIN values for your network.

GeneralTrafficHistory-2

GeneralPenalty-1

If you are current on NetEqualizer Software and Support (NSS), and have a question about RTR or would like a walk through, click the button below!

It Is Not Too Late… To Give Input Into The 2016 Roadmap

For those of you that have already responded, THANK YOU. Rest assured that we have collected your feedback and added it to our Feature Request List for 2016.

If you have not yet responded, there is still time to influence our fall/winter 2016 release.

If you have a great idea for us, please let us know!

No idea is too “out there” – we want to solve your crunchiest, toughest networking issues.

Email us your idea.

Best Of The Blog

Regulate DDoS Like Pollution

By Art Reisman – CTO – APconnections

I just read another article on DDOS attacks and how companies are being extorted. As usual I am thinking way out of the box again.

Background on the mechanics of DDOS attack

The raw tools of a DDOS attacker are made possible by the billions of computing devices sitting around the world attached to the Internet. A DDOS attacker probes constantly for computers to hack, and then once they have access to several hundred or more in their control, they can point them to any business, sending a storm of data requests jamming Internet links from the outside. Think of a million people trying to cram into the door of your apartment all at once, you would be trapped inside…

Photo Of The Month

Where was this picture taken?

Tell us and you could win a $25 gift card!

This picture was taken by a staff member during a recent customer site visit in the United States. The first four (4) people to email sales@apconnections.net with the name of this building will win a $25 gift card!

The answer for last month is: United States Naval Academy Chapel

Posted in Newsletters. Tags: 2016 Roadmap, 8.4 Release, college testimonial, RTR. 1 Comment »

NetEqualizer News: November 2015

November 12, 2015 — netequalizer

November 2015

Greetings!

Enjoy another issue of NetEqualizer News! This month, we officially release the NE5000, help you out with RTR best practices, feature a live customer NetEqualizer installation and Case Study, and ask for your assistance in our 2016 planning. As always, feel free to pass this along to others who might be interested in NetEqualizer News.

A message from Art…

Art Reisman, CTO – APconnections

We are awaiting our first snow here in Colorado, with our first really cold night killing off the last of the garden this past week (22F/-5C). While the garden goes to sleep, we are laying plans for next year, both in the garden and with the NetEqualizer!

There is still time to give us feedback for 2016. If you would like to contribute to the 2016 NetEqualizer Roadmap, we welcome your ideas. Call or email us with your suggestions. And, for those of you that have already responded, THANK YOU!

This month make it official – our NE5000 powerhouse solution is ready for primetime! If you are thinking of taking your NetEqualizer solution to the next level, read more below.

And remember we are now on Twitter! You can now follow us @NetEqualizer.

We love it when we hear back from you – so if you have a story you would like to share with us of how we have helped you, let us know.

Email me directly at art@apconnections.net. I would love to hear from you!

In This Issue:

:: NE5000: Official Release
:: Real World RTR: Live at Morrisville State College
:: How Can RTR Help You? Check Out RTR Best Practices (Part 1)
:: Help Us Set The 2016 NetEqualizer Roadmap
:: Best Of The Blog

NetEqualizer Website | NetGladiator Website | Contact Us | Follow Us on Twitter

NetEqualizer Demo | NetEqualizer Price List | Join Our Mailing List

NE5000: Official Release

We often get quizzical looks from customers when they see our price performance numbers. Now pushing 10 Gbps line speeds and the ability to shape 60,000 users, we have heard rumblings that some analysts don’t believe our product can perform at this price point. We just ignore them, as they are mostly in the pocket of our competitors anyway.

With a list price of $22,000 USD, our new NE5000 brings bandwidth control pricing back to Earth.

How do we do it?

Really, it’s just old-fashioned hard work! At the core of our NetEqualizer technology lies a team of computer scientists that spend their days optimizing the algorithms and techniques to ensure high reliability and performance.

We also go against the conventional wisdom of packet classification – that is our other advantage. Packet Classification is on the way out, and there is no ignoring it any longer.

If you have not had a chance to work with us before, we encourage you to check out our new high-end model and set up a WebEx with our technical team for a demo. Click the button below to contact us!

Here is a link to our NE5000 data sheet to get you started:

The NE5000 Data Sheet

Real World RTR: Live at Morrisville State College

When developing RTR and other NetEqualizer features, we are often using simulated data – real system testing occurs near the end of the cycle. During a recent Technical Refresh session with Rob Gaudreau of Morrisville State College, however, we got to see some exciting results from a live NetEqualizer that we wanted to share.

The first interesting graph is their General Traffic History:

GeneralTrafficHistory-1

This is a graph of bandwidth usage for the previous week. It’s great to see how predictable the traffic patterns are, and how useful RTR can be in seeing what occurred historically and how you can use that data to plan for the future.

The second interesting graph is their General Penalty History:

GeneralPenalty-1

This is a graph of the number of penalties that were occurring over the previous week – the same time period used to generate the General Traffic History graph. Notice how the penalty count directly correlates with the busy times.

Those penalties are the NetEqualizer hard at work, shaping the largest connections during congested hours of the day, and letting traffic through untouched during less busy times – all without IT administrator intervention. morrisville_case_study

Morrisville State College – Case Study
We enjoyed talking to Rob so much and hearing about his experience with NetEqualizer, that we decided to turn it into a full case study so that others could hear their story. Check it out, here:

Morrisville State College Case Study

Schedule your Technical Refresh Today!
Our Technical Refreshes have been a huge success! These walkthroughs have proven valuable to both new and experienced customers. We are always enhancing our technology and interfaces, so it’s easy to get to the point where features are new and unfamiliar.

If you are current on NetEqualizer Software and Support (NSS), and you are interested in a 30-minute WebEx to see the newest interfaces and learn more about RTR, click the link below!

How Can RTR Help You? Check Out RTR Best Practices (Part 1)

RTR is great as a simple reporting tool, but it can also be much more! Below we share some helpful ways to utilize the different reports in RTR to better configure your NetEqualizer and understand your network. This is Part 1 of a two-part series – look for Part 2 next month!

1) Set up Traffic History IPs for Graphing
Use Traffic History->Manage Tracked IPs to add your internal IPs (or any other IP you care about) to the tracking system. The first step in getting the most out of RTR is telling it which IP addresses you want to track.

managetrackedips

2) Figure out your Top Users by Monitoring Real-Time Connections
Use Active Connections->View Active Connections and sort by the Wavg column to see your top bandwidth users. Use the C and DNS options below the external IP address to learn more about the connected host (C for Country Code and DNS for NS Lookup). Use the AR and T options below the internal IPs to view rules associated with the IP (AR) and its historical bandwidth usage (T).

unnamed (1)

3) See if P2P is an Issue on your Network
Use Active Connections->View Connection Counts to see the IP addresses of users with lots of concurrent connections.

This data can help you determine any P2P users on your network and can also help you establish a baseline for implementing system-wide connection count limits.

Look for outliers and then set a limit such that almost all of your users fall below it with normal network usage. You can also copy the IP of the user with the most connections, filter the Active Connections table for that user, and then view all the different external IP addresses they are connected to.

unnamed (2)

4) See What your Bandwidth Pools are Doing Right Now
Use the RTR Dashboard to view real-time pool data. Remember, all traffic falls under “Pool 0,” so even if you don’t use pools in your network, you can use this horizontal bar graph to see when your network is Equalizing (when it passes the red line).

realtimepool

If you are current on NetEqualizer Software and Support (NSS), and have a question about RTR or would like a walk through, click the button below!

Help Us Set The 2016 NetEqualizer Roadmap

We have finalized our Winter Release (8.4), but there is still time to influence our 2016 Roadmap. We will start planning our Fall Release soon, and we would love to add your ideas to the release.

If you have a great idea for us, please let us know!

No idea is too “out there” – we want to solve your crunchiest, toughest networking issues. Click on the button below to email us your idea.

If you have already responded, rest assured that we have collected your feedback and added it to our Feature Request List.

Best Of The Blog

A Cure for Electronic Theft?

By Art Reisman – CTO – APconnections

What if we created a new electronic currency, a-la Bitcoin, with a twist. Let’s start by taking an idea from the Federal Government, and put a watermark on our personal funds – something unique that signifies who legally possesses the currency. Cattle ranchers do this with a brand so nobody steals their cattle. This has worked pretty well for a few hundred years, right?

With our new personal watermark, suppose somebody breaks into our bank, and wires all your money to some idiot in Russia. In today’s world, the only way to find that money is to follow the trail, and that takes a huge effort from a banking forensics person, working with International governments. The money may travel so fast it may not be possible to recover. Now, suppose the funds had an electronic tag that could not be altered by a criminal. For example currency in your possession has a public private encryption key, and only you can authorize a change in possession…

Photo Of The Month

Where was this picture taken?

Tell us and you could win a $25 gift card.

This picture was taken by a staff member during a recent college customer site visit at a cathedral. The first four people to email sales@apconnections.net with the name of the college where this cathedral is located get a $25 gift card!

Posted in Newsletters. Tags: 2016, NE5000, RTR, Tech Refresh. 1 Comment »

NetEqualizer News: October 2015

October 13, 2015 — netequalizer

October 2015

Greetings!

Enjoy another issue of NetEqualizer News! This month, we preview more Release 8.4 features, preview our NE5000 unit, ask you to Imagine If what future features would help you, and update you on our DDoS tool. As always, feel free to pass this along to others who might be interested in NetEqualizer News.

A message from Art…

Art Reisman, CTO – APconnections

Cool temperatures, crisp weather all mean one thing – fall has arrived in the U.S.! I am enjoying the change of season, and love the cold weather.

Speaking of temperature, this month we talk about our NE5000 – which will have extra fans to keep it cool as well as built-in failover. You can read more about the NE5000 below. We also update you on the upcoming 8.4 Release, planned to rollout this winter. We give you a chance to influence future releases, in our Imagine If section. Also, we continue to see our DDoS tools make a difference for our customers, you can read more below…

And remember we are now on Twitter! You can now follow us @NetEqualizer.

In This Issue:

:: Release 8.4: Preview
:: DDoS In The Field
:: NE5000: Almost Ready for Primetime! & Exciting Test Lab Results
:: Imagine If: What Would Help You?
:: Best Of The Blog

NetEqualizer Website | NetGladiator Website | Contact Us | Follow Us on Twitter

NetEqualizer Demo | NetEqualizer Price List | Join Our Mailing List

Release 8.4: Preview

We have been working hard on Release 8.4 and are excited to release the new features! Here are a couple of our favorites:

See an nslookup of a host directly below the IP address in RTR – This is a feature often requested by our customers with networks where an IP address translates to a hostname. For administrators with these networks, you’ll now be able to quickly see the hostname associated with an IP in every screen within RTR!

We’ve enhanced our messaging within RTR to help guide usage – This includes enhancements to error messages and status messages to make RTR even easier for you to use!

Look for more announcements on Release 8.4, currently planned for Dec/Jan timeframe, in upcoming newsletters.

DDoS In The Field

One of the challenges when creating a security tool is validating that it works when it really matters.

We have heard, via anonymous sources, that many of the high-dollar solutions out there create bloated, rotting piles of information, whose only purpose is to look impressive due to their voluminous output. These tools cover everything, leaving the customer to decide what to do; which is usually nothing or some misguided task.

These non-specific tools are about as useful as a weather forecast that predicts everything all the time. Rain, snow, wind, hot, cold, for everyday of the year. If you predict everything you can’t be wrong?

On the other hand, the reports from the field coming in for our DDoS tool are:

Yes, it works.
Yes, it is simple to use.
Yes, it takes action when appropriate.

We have confirmation that our DDoS tool, combined with our shaping algorithms, has kept some very large institutions up and running while under very heavy, sophisticated DDoS attacks.

The reason is simple:

We first look at the pattern of incoming packets in a normal situation. When the pattern reaches a watermark that is clearly beyond normal, we block those incoming circuits.

If needed, we can also take a softer approach, so the attacker is not aware we are throttling them. This is needed because in some situations outright blocking will alert the attacker you are on to them and cause the attacker to double-down.

When under DDoS attack you don’t need reports; you need immediate action. If you would like to discuss our solution in more detail feel free to contact us!

NE5000: Almost Ready for Primetime!
& Exciting Test Lab Results

Just a few minor tweaks and presto! Our new NE5000 will be ready to go! The test lab box is humming along with 125,000 connections per second, and pushing a sustained 8.5 Gbps up and 8.5 Gbps down without a hiccup.

There is nothing else out there on the market with that kind of shaping power close to our price point. The Layer 7 and deep packet inspection technologies are just way too CPU intensive to keep up with our price/performance curve. So what has happened since we last talked about our NE5000?

1. We revamped the Fiber Cards offered with it to take advantage of multiple CPU’s handling and processing interrupts. This boosted our speed and processing to go near line speed on 10Gig without sacrificing any shaping features.
2. Even the search features in the GUI connection table are lightning quick – running a table size of 250,000 entries!
3. It still comes standard with a DUAL power supply.
4. Failover Internal Fiber ports – there is nothing external to wire.
5. And the best part is… we lowered the list price from $30,000 to $20,000!

Now, you don’t have to create a new budget to get the security of a solid bandwidth shaper at those line speeds. Contact us if you are interested in a new unit or upgrading.

Imagine If…
What Would Help You?

As a networking tool vendor we cannot possibly figure out what is needed in the marketplace without the help of our customers! Many of our best features came directly from you!

Winter break is a time when we experiment with new exciting features and product ideas. If you get a chance, take a moment to think of that killer app that would help you, the IT administrator, with your job.

Imagine If…

There are no rules here! Feel free to be creative! Imagine a robot that goes around and does your job. What are some of the things you would want that robot to do?

Should we adopt your idea, we would also be open to sharing licensing and revenue. Please contact us with your thoughts!

Best Of The Blog

White Paper: A Simple Guide to Network Capacity Planning

By Art Reisman – CTO – APconnections

Oh, how times have changed. I noticed this article from 2010 was getting some recent traffic in our blog. If you read it carefully you’ll see that our basic advice for capacity planning is still relevant. Only, I had to laugh at the specific examples and numbers we used as they are woefully out-of-date.

—

After many years of consulting and supporting the networking world with WAN optimization devices, we have sensed a lingering fear among Network Administrators who wonder if their capacity is within the normal range.

So the question remains:

How much bandwidth can you survive with before you impact morale or productivity?

The formal term we use to describe the number of users sharing a network link to the Internet is contention ratio. This term is defined as the size of an Internet trunk divided by the number of users. We normally think of Internet trunks in units of megabits. For example, 10 users sharing a one megabit trunk would have a 10-to-1 contention ratio. If sharing the bandwidth on the trunk equally and simultaneously, each user could sustain a constant feed of 100 kbps, which is exactly 1/10 of the overall bandwidth…

Photo Of The Month

New England, United States

The six states that make up New England (Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island) are beautiful in the fall. The temperatures get a little cooler and the leaves start to change color. This picture was taken on the campus of the University of New Hampshire in Durham, NH.

Posted in Newsletters. Tags: 8.4 Release, DDoS, Help, NE5000, New Ideas. Leave a Comment »

NetEqualizer News: September 2015

September 18, 2015 — netequalizer

September 2015

Greetings!

Enjoy another issue of NetEqualizer News! This month, we spotlight the NetEqualizer Installation Process, walk through the updated Viewing Traffic section of our NetEqualizer Quick Start Guide, discuss our expanded DDoS Firewall, and show off our new NetEqualizer 8.3 User Guide. As always, feel free to pass this along to others who might be interested in NetEqualizer News.

A message from Art…

Art Reisman, CTO – APconnections

We are almost officially in the fall season in the Northern Hemisphere, and I am enjoying harvesting all my tomatoes, and sadly, very few (and small) pumpkins! Some really good news, though, is that I think my fencing successfully thwarted a raccoon or skunk that was attacking my garden.

Speaking of attacks, this month I have an update on our DDoS Monitor & Firewall modules. We also are ready to harvest updated 8.3 Documentation, which can educate you on our new features. And finally, we are excited to spotlight our Installation Process, which you can take advantage of for any new NetEqualizer or trade-in!

And remember we are now on Twitter! You can now follow us @NetEqualizer.

In This Issue:

:: Spotlight on: The NetEqualizer Installation Process
:: 8.3 Quick Start Guide – Viewing Traffic
:: DDoS Firewall Expanded – Notes from the Field
:: 8.3 User Guide Now Available!
:: Best Of The Blog

NetEqualizer Website | NetGladiator Website | Contact Us | Follow Us on Twitter

NetEqualizer Demo | NetEqualizer Price List | Join Our Mailing List

Spotlight on: The NetEqualizer Installation Process

We recently added a process for all new and trade-in NetEqualizer sales that we are very excited about – the NetEqualizer Installation Process!

This process assigns you an Installation Engineer at the time of sale or trade-in. The sole purpose of the installation engineer is to ensure that you get your NetEqualizer set up correctly and that any questions you might have are answered.

We can be as involved or hands-off as you would like us to be.

What we can do for you:

– Review a Diagnostic:
Send us a diagnostic of your recently set up NetEqualizer so that our Support Team can analyze it for misconfigurations or other problems.

– Review Traffic Limit settings:
Many customers want to use Pools, Hard Limits, and Priority Hosts. We can help by reviewing your traffic limiting strategy and providing best practice recommendations.

– Review your install over a WebEx:
We can schedule a time to go over your system using the WebEx screen-sharing utility. During this time we can look at live traffic, review settings, or answer any other questions that might come up.

– Connect remotely to your NetEqualizer:
If your NetEqualizer is available remotely, we would be happy to log in and do any required support tasks or settings adjustments.

– Answer questions via phone or email:
If you just have a quick question regarding our product, feel free to email our Support Team or your Installation Engineer any time!

How you benefit:

There are many benefits that this service provides to both technical and non-technical customers. For example:

You can proactively prevent problems by letting us review your setup for potential issues.
You can optimize your NetEqualizer for your network so that your users have a great experience online. Every environment is different and we can help with the most efficient settings.
You can learn more about our product, technology, and features. This will allow you to more effectively administer the device.

The NetEqualizer Installation Process is free to anyone who purchases a new NetEqualizer or trades in an old unit for a new one.

What if I just need to learn about the latest NetEqualizer releases?

You need a Tech Refresh! All customers that have valid NetEqualizer Software and Support (NSS) are eligible for additional training and help, via our Technical Refresh. Contact our Support Team to schedule a Tech Refresh today.

To find out more about our new Installation Process, contact us!

8.3 Quick Start Guide –
Viewing Traffic

Earlier this month, we enhanced our Quick Start Guide to talk in more detail about how to view traffic going through the NetEqualizer using our reporting tool (Dynamic RTR).

Here is a preview of what we added to the Quick Start Guide. To check out all the changes, see the full version of the guide here (starting on page 12).

View Current Traffic
Use the Active Connections menu and sub-menus to look at what is happening on the NetEqualizer right now.

Seeing traffic successfully pass through your device after the initial set up is a
great sign things are working properly!

View Historical Traffic
But, once that is up and running, you’ll want to set up reporting so that you can see what’s been happening on your network historically.

In order to get the most from the NetEqualizer reporting tool, you’ll want to follow these steps:

1) Start RTR
This is required for tracking data historically.

2) Add IPs to Track
InRTR, add IP addresses you want to save traffic history for to Manage Traffic History -> Manage Tracked IPs. Most of the time, this will be all your local subnets.

3) View History
Use the Traffic History menu and sub-menus to look at what has happened on the NetEqualizer in the past.

If you’d like a Tech Refresh to walk through any of the reporting features, including the enhanced ability to view traffic, and are current on NetEqualizer Software and Support (NSS), contact us today!

DDoS Firewall Expanded –
Notes from the Field

As a special bonus in our DDoS Firewall, we found out during implementation that we can also program our firewall scripts to identify an internal virus or hijacked computer.

If you are interested in more visibility in detecting an outside attack or virus-laden computer within your network, feel free to contact us for a quick consulting session, and we’ll see if we can customize a firewall and notification system for you!

The DDoS Firewall is an add-on module to the NetEqualizer. Please contact us to learn about pricing for your environment.

8.3 User Guide Now Available!

We have talked a lot in past newsletters about the 8.3 Release and all the new and exciting features we’ve added.

Starting today, all of those new features are now described in detail in our 8.3 User Guide! This document is a great resource for ensuring RTR is set up correctly and also to provide assistance in answering any questions you might have.

Learn more about these exciting new features:

1) Top Talkers Report – this has been one of the most requested graphs and was a popular feature of our previous reporting tool, ntop. You can use this feature to see which IP addresses have used the most bandwidth over time.

2) General Penalty Report – we are bringing this one back from the first version of RTR! You can see both IPs that are currently being penalized, as well as a historical count of penalties that have occurred over time.

3) Connection Count Report – NetEqualizer controls P2P traffic by using connection count limits on IP addresses. However, figuring out what limit to set for your network depends on how it’s used. You can use the new Connection Count Report to see how many connections individual IP addresses have, and thus set your connection limit to the appropriate level.

You can read more about all of the features of the 8.3 Release here, in our updated User Guide. If you have any questions, contact us!

Best Of The Blog

Death to Deep Packet Inspection?

By Art Reisman – CTO – APconnections

A few weeks ago, I wrote an article on how I was able to watch YouTube while on a United flight, bypassing their layer 7 filtering techniques. Following up today, I was not surprised to see a few other articles on the subject popping up recently…

Photo Of The Month

Bobcat Caught on Wildlife Cam

The bobcat is a cat which first appeared nearly 1.8 million years ago. Containing 12 subspecies, it ranges from southern Canada to central Mexico – including much of the United States. This one was recently captured on a staff member’s wildlife camera.

Posted in Newsletters. Tags: DDoS, dpi, Installation Process, Release 8.3. Leave a Comment »

NetEqualizer News: August 2015

August 11, 2015 — netequalizer

August 2015

Greetings!

Enjoy another issue of NetEqualizer News! This month, we preview our 8.4 Winter Release plans, highlight several recent testimonials from K-12 schools, talk about a DDoS attack thwarted by NetEqualizer, announce our new social media presence on Twitter, and discuss Demo Site updates. As always, feel free to pass this along to others who might be interested in NetEqualizer News.

A message from Art…

Art Reisman, CTO – APconnections

It is hard to believe it, but summer is almost over – at least for all the students going back to school or college in late August here in the U.S.! In honor of back-to-school, this month we share some of our latest testimonials from schools – see what they are saying about the NetEqualizer! We also highlight a real-life experience of how we helped one of our school customers catch a DDoS botnet. And, if you want to school yourself in something new, you can view our latest 8.3 reports, now available on our Demo Site.

And although it is still warm, we are starting to plan for winter – read about our Winter Release plans below, and let us know what you think!

We are excited to announce that NetEqualizer is now on Twitter! You can now follow us @NetEqualizer.

In This Issue:

:: NetEqualizer is now on Twitter!
:: Let’s Go Back to School!
:: NetEqualizer Demo Site Has 8.3 Reporting
:: DDoS Gets Real
:: 8.4 Winter Release Plans
:: Best Of The Blog

NetEqualizer Website | NetGladiator Website | Contact Us | Follow Us on Twitter

NetEqualizer Demo | NetEqualizer Price List | Join Our Mailing List

NetEqualizer is now on Twitter!

We are excited to announce that NetEqualizer has joined Twitter!

If you would like to follow us, our handle is @NetEqualizer.

Just like our popular NetEqualizer News blog, @NetEqualizer will be geared toward topics around network optimization and Internet security.

We will tweet out insights on subjects from the latest in network security, traffic shaping, QoS, and net neutrality, as well as commentary on the state of Internet politics.

If this sounds interesting to you, follow us and share our account with others!

Let’s Go Back to School!
What K-12 schools are saying about NetEqualizer

Did you know NetEqualizer is a K-12 School Top 100 Product? K-12 school IT administrators love NetEqualizer! So much so that many have agreed to provide testimonials for us to post on our website.

Here are some of the recent ones we added:

The Lawrenceville School

“We’ve been a NetEqualizer customer for several years and I want you to know how pleased we are with it. Unlike our previous bandwidth management product which required constant tending and updates, the NetEqualizer works exactly as advertised: plug it in and forget it. Our Internet connections run smoothly regardless of the kind or amount of traffic thrown at it. Thanks again!”

Mark Costello – Network Engineer

Miss Hall’s School

“We have been extremely happy with our NetEqualizer. Gone are the bottlenecks that used to occur when all of our students were on the Internet at the same time. The NetEqualizer handles all of the bandwidth management, keeping our users happy, and has been completely hassle-free for our admins.”

Matt Pocock – Director of Technology

The Athenian School

“NetEqualizer is one of very few products that lives up to its promise. After initial configuration it simply does manage traffic in defined pools/objects. There is no complex application based rules or management required. It is a fantastic product that makes the life of a school network manager easier.”

Matt Binder – Director of Information Systems

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Contact us if you would like your quote added to our testimonials page – even if you are not in the education space! We love hearing from all our customers about how we’ve helped them control congestion on their networks.

NetEqualizer Demo Site Has 8.3 Reporting
Updated with 8.3 Reporting

The NetEqualizer Demo Site now has the latest release (8.3) applied! This means that all of the exciting new features we’ve been discussing in our newsletter over the last few months are available to see for both new and existing customers. pdg

If you’d like to check out the new 8.3 features for yourself, you can do so here.

We’ve also updated our Product Demo Guide to reflect some of the changes we’ve made to the site.

If you have any questions about the latest release or would like to schedule a Technical Refresh to go over the new features, please feel free to contact us!

DDoS Gets Real

Think DDoS attacks only happen to other organizations? Sadly, no one is immune. The NetEqualizer is often placed in a unique position in a network such that it can provide real-time intelligence as to whether or not a DDoS attack is occurring. See recent articles regarding DDoS in our blog.

We’ve already heard stories from customers about how they’ve used the NetEqualizer to thwart DDoS attacks but we’ve never actually witnessed one in person – until last week. During a Tech Refresh call with one of our K-12 customers, the training engineer noticed abnormal traffic initiated from the outside to one of the school’s database servers. The IP looked suspicious and when geolocated, turned out to be from Hong Kong. The engineer then looked up the IP address in the active connections table and discovered it was hammering port 22 (SSH). This could have been a multitude of things including the beginning of a DDoS attack or a brute force attempt at connecting to the server. The school administrator immediately took action and blocked the IP.

While the NetEqualizer is excellent and controlling bandwidth congestion, don’t forget that its data can also be helpful in diagnosing other network-related issues, including DDoS!

See our recent blog article about discovering this attack, here.

8.4 Winter Release Plans

We are excited to announce that our Winter Release (8.4) is underway! 8.4 is targeted for the November through January 2016 timeframe

This release will focus on several key areas in the NetEqualizer GUI: Pool Enhancements, DDoS Alerts, and Built-in Configuration & Scripts, which we will discuss below.

Pool Enhancements
Many of you are familiar with our concept of shared limits, which we call “Pools.” Pools are a great way to allocate bandwidth (not reserved) to a group of IPs or subnets. Pools are used by many NetEqualizer customers who need to provide bandwidth to groups of users on their networks.

We find that Pools align with various concepts for different customer types:

1) Access Points (Internet Providers)
2) Buildings (Colleges or Schools)
3) Groups (Libraries – patrons/staff, Schools – staff/students/wireless guests)

As Pools have grown in popularity over the years, we now are focusing on making them easy to use. To do this we are going to add the ability to name your pools (so that you can better keep track of them), view subnets within your pools (so that you can better see which pool a user belongs to), and the ability to edit pools on the fly (so that you no longer have to remove and re-add them when you need to make a change).

DDoS Alerts
Adding to our existing email alert capability, we are now going to build in alerts for suspected DDoS traffic picked up by our DDoS Monitor. While checking the DDoS periodically will still be important, the alerts will give you piece of mind that your network is always being monitored for abnormal traffic.

For an example of why this is important, see the article titled “DDoS Gets Real” in this month’s newsletter.

Built-in Configuration & Scripts
Another feature of 8.4 will be the incorporation of some of our most popular custom configuration scripts that historically have only been available via our online help or our support team.

We will now have interfaces for setting up HTTPS on your NetEqualizer as well as the ability to have time-of-day configurations (configurations that change based on different needs throughout the day).

The goal with these features is to reduce work for customers, streamline workflow, and enhance our user interface with some of our most popular scripts that are not yet represented via the GUI.

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If you have an idea for a GUI enhancement aligned with Pools, DDoS or Built-in Configuration & Scripts that you would like to be considered for 8.4, please let us know!

These features are free to all customers with valid NetEqualizer Software and Support. If you are not current with NSS, contact us today!

Best Of The Blog

How Does Your ISP Actually Enforce Your Internet Speed?

By Art Reisman – CTO – APconnections

Every once in a while I’ll post something on Reddit just to see the response. A couple of weeks ago I posted a link to this article and it generated about 3,000 hits over the course of a day.

This was even after I got a nasty note from the moderator saying I posted it in the wrong place. It was kind of ironic that 3,000 people were interested, maybe they click on anything that blinks?

I don’t know. Many of these articles you see on our blog are the result of technical conversations with customers. I’ll spend a good deal of mental energy explaining a concept and when appropriate I’ll take my notes and turn into an information article. Hence this blog post was born, I never imagined it would have such broad appeal.

—

Have you ever wondered how your ISP manages to control the speed of your connection? If so, you might find the following article enlightening. Below, we’ll discuss the various trade-offs used to control and break out bandwidth rate limits and the associated side effects of using those techniques.

Dropping Packets (Cisco term “traffic policing”)

One of the simplest methods for a bandwidth controller to enforce a rate cap is by dropping packets. When using the packet-dropping method, the bandwidth controlling device will count the total number of bytes that cross a link during a second. If the target rate is exceeded during any single second, the bandwidth controller will drop packets for the remainder of that second. For example, if the bandwidth limit is 1 megabit, and the bandwidth controller counts 1 million bits gone by in 1/2 a second, it will then drop packets for the remainder of the second. The counter will then reset for the next second. From most evidence we have observed, rate caps enforced by many ISPs use the drop packet method, as it is the least expensive method supported on most basic routers…

Photo Of The Month

11826053_10103359251010943_8461014502151942597_n

North Arapaho Peak

North Arapaho Peak is the king of the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area in the Rocky Mountains just west of our home near Boulder, CO. Not only is it the tallest in the area (13,508 ft), it is also the most difficult non-technical climb.

The route involves an easy hike up to the summit of South Arapaho Peak – and the cruxes of the climb are five unique points along the ridge that connects the two mountains. The 0.75 mile ridge takes nearly an hour to complete in one direction and has significant exposure to falling below. This picture is from the ridge, looking down on Arapaho Glacier – a protected area that serves as the watershed for the City of Boulder.

Posted in Newsletters. Tags: 8.3 Release, 8.4 Release, DDoS, Demo Site, K-12, school, Testimonials, Twitter. Leave a Comment »

NetEqualizer News: July 2015

July 14, 2015 — netequalizer

July 2015

Greetings!

Enjoy another issue of NetEqualizer News! This month, we highlight exciting 8.3 Release features, talk about our experience at edAccess’s Vendor Day, encourage you to sign up for a Tech Refresh, spotlight our Hotel & Resorts offering, and update you on the NetEqualizer DDoS monitoring and prevention tool. As always, feel free to pass this along to others who might be interested in NetEqualizer News.

A message from Art…

Art Reisman, CTO – APconnections

Now that summer has officially arrived, we are ready for the heat in Colorado. It has been unusually rainy and cloudy here in July so far, and I would like more sunshine please!

Speaking of heat, this month we turn the heat up on several of our new features in 8.3, which are spotlighted below. 8.3 has been G/A since early June, in case you missed it. We also want you to take a Summer Course, no tests involved, and update you on Art’s latest visit back to school, namely the edAccess Conference. And finally, if you need relief from the heat of potential DDoS attacks, you have come to the right place. Our DDoS Monitor and Firewall can help! Read more below.

In This Issue:

:: Spotlight: 8.3 Release Hot New Features
:: We Had a Blast at edAccess!
:: Take a Summer Course! Sign Up for a Tech Refresh
:: Spotlight: GX2 – NetEqualizer Hotel & Resort Industry Wi-Fi Partner
:: NetEqualizer DDoS Tool Gaining Momentum
:: Best Of The Blog

NetEqualizer Website | NetGladiator Website | Contact Us

NetEqualizer Demo | NetEqualizer Price List | Join Our Mailing List

Spotlight: 8.3 Release Hot New Features

8.3 has been G/A since early June, and we have been receiving a lot of positive feedback on the new RTR reports. If you have not yet requested 8.3, what are you waiting for? Click here to request an upgrade to 8.3 from our support team.

This month, we are highlighting two features available in 8.3 – Historical and Active Penalty Tracking. We also talk our activated Management Port, a feature available on all new NetEqualizers!

One of the best features in the 8.3 release is increased visibility into how your NetEqualizer is penalizing traffic. We’ve added interfaces to the 8.3 release that allow you to see both the number of penalties enforced on your network historically, as well as all of the current connections that are being penalized.

Historical Penalty Tracking

The General Penalty Reports page under the Traffic History menu shows the number of penalties enforced on your network at a given point in time. This allows you to see when connections on your network were being Equalized.

Active Penalty Tracking

The View Active Penalties page under the Active Connections menu shows which connections are currently being Equalized along with their current state (New, Increased, or Decreased). This allows you to diagnose any performance issues and also gives you a real time look at how the penalties are being enforced and who they are being enforced on.

Management Port Enabled by Default on all NEW NetEqualizers

We strive to make setting up the NetEqualizer as simple as possible. In this spirit, last year we moved all new NetEqualizers to a four port model, and started using colored port plugs to help our customers identify the ports. Two ports (eth0 and eth1) are used for network traffic, a 3rd port (eth2) is used as a management port, and the 4th port is a spare. We use four colors: 1) blue (WAN), 2) orange (LAN), 3) clear (Management Port) and 4) black (unused).

Prior to 8.3, only a subset of our customers used the Management Port, typically those on VLANs. As of 8.3, we standardized everything so that our NetEqualizer code automatically enables the Management Port, and ALL customers will use this to configure new NetEqualizers. While not a huge change, we think this will make setup just a little bit easier for everyone.

Please note that this feature is only available on new NetEqualizers.

—

You can read more about all of the features of the 8.3 Release here in the 8.3 Software Update. If you would like to upgrade to 8.3, just click on the button below to send a request to Support.

These features are free to all customers with valid NetEqualizer Software and Support. If you are not current with NSS, contact us today!

We Had a Blast at edAccess!

Art recently joined the edAccess Conference in Mercersberg, PA on June 24th for Vendor Day. It was a great event and was well-attended by small schools and colleges (members come from schools with an FTE of under 1,000 students).

Art got to visit with quite a few current NetEqualizer customers, as you can see in the picture below:

Art is on the left of the picture and is shown along with representatives from Williston Northampton School, Choate Rosemary Hall, Blair Academy, Mt. St. Mary Academy, Merceyhurst University, Peddie School, and Groton School.

Art would like to personally thank everyone for a great event…

I’d like to thank John Johnson from Williston Northampton School, Rainelle Dixon from Mercersberg Academy and the entire edAccess steering committee for being such wonderful hosts to the vendors. Mercersburg is such a lovely campus and my drive through central Pennsylvania was also relaxing and fun, I took some time on my return stopping at the various waysides, and even took in a game, featuring the Single A Crosscutters of Williamsport.

Thanks Again!

To learn more about NetEqualizer and how we help educational institutions of all sizes, click below.

Take a Summer Course! Sign Up for a Tech Refresh

Remember those days? If you ever took a summer course, you know that the key was to keep it short, so that you could get back outside. Our NetEqualizer Technical Refresh is short! – only a 30 minute discussion with you and your fellow team members to help get caught up on new NetEqualizer functionality or answer any other questions you have.

The Tech Refresh is great for both new and longtime customers because we are constantly enhancing our product to give you the most value in managing and shaping bandwidth.

To schedule your Tech Refresh, contact us today!

Tech Refreshes are free to all customers with valid NetEqualizer Software and Support. If you are not current with NSS, contact us today!

Spotlight: GX2 – NetEqualizer Hotel & Resort Industry Wi-Fi Partner

NetEqualizer’s Wi-Fi management partner for the hotel and resort industry, GX2 (formerly Global Gossip), recently attended the HITEC 2015 Conference in Austin, Texas, and brought along the NetEqualizer. According to their website, HITEC is the world’s largest hospitality conference. hmsio

Visitors to GX2’s booth and luncheon were able to review the NetEqualizer offering, and also walk away with some trade show bling (a foam NetEqualizer soccer ball!).

Here is a screenshot of the GX2 application used in the managed Wi-Fi service offering:

As we have reported here in the past, GX2 utilizes the NetEqualizer as part of their Wi-Fi offering supporting our National Parks. So, if you have a summer vacation planned at Yellowstone, Mammoth, Mount Rushmore, Zion, Crater Lake, or the Grand Canyon, to name a few, chances are you are experiencing the benefits of NetEqualizer’s traffic shaping.

If you are already on our technology, you have part of the solution already in place. If you have ever wanted to learn more about a managed service Wi-Fi solution for the Hotel & Resort industry, you can read about our joint offering (HMSIO).

NetEqualizer DDoS Tool Gaining Momentum

We keep getting reports of ongoing Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks from our customers, and are glad to hear the NetEqualizer is helping in many cases. If you are interested in chatting about using the NetEqualizer as a DDoS prevention tool please contact us to set up a time to chat.

Note: We do have a consulting charge for custom activation of firewall rules, but the initial consult is free.

The 8.3 Release includes our DDoS Monitor at no extra charge! In addition, our new DDoS Firewall tool (DFW) can be purchased as an add-on module for an additional fee.

The new DDoS Monitor shows you some basic metrics on the outside intrusion hit rate into your network. It can be used to spot anomalies which would indicate a likely DDoS attack in progress. The DDoS Firewall tools helps to actually thwart the attack.

Best Of The Blog

Is Your Bandwidth Controller Obsolete Technology?

By Art Reisman – CTO – APconnections

Although not free yet, bandwidth contracts have been dropping in cost faster than a bad stock during a recession. With cheaper bandwidth costs, the question often arises on whether or not an enterprise can do without their trusty bandwidth controller.

Below, we have compiled a list of factors that will determine whether or not Bandwidth Controllers stick around for a while, or go the route of the analog modem, a relic of when people received their Internet from AOL and dial up…

Photo Of The Month

Cinque Terre, Italy

This picture was taken by one of our staff while walking the trail that connects the five towns of the Cinque Terre on the coast of Italy. These towns are built into the sides of the tall hills that meet the sea. The trek between each town is a manageable 2 miles and provides picturesque views of the water and surrounding forests.

Posted in Newsletters. Tags: 8.3 Release, Conferences, DDoS, edAccess, HMSIO, Tech Refresh. Leave a Comment »

NetEqualizer News: June 2015

June 9, 2015 — netequalizer

June 2015

Greetings!

Enjoy another issue of NetEqualizer News! This month, we announce the 8.3 Release – Expanded RTR, introduce our End of Spring Sale, update you on our DDoS monitoring and prevention technology, and preview our upcoming seminars and conferences. As always, feel free to pass this along to others who might be interested in NetEqualizer News.

A message from Art…

Art Reisman, CTO – APconnections

Spring has been interesting in Colorado this year – if you like to set records for the most rain in 20 years, that is! Luckily, one of my favorite TV channels is The Weather Channel, so I have been enjoying all the storms… With spring coming to an end soon, I look forward to warmer summer weather.

In This Issue:

:: 8.3 Release is G/A
:: Spring for a Lease in our End of Spring Sale
:: DDoS Update
:: NetEqualizer Tech Seminars and Conferences
:: Best Of The Blog

NetEqualizer Website | NetGladiator Website | Contact Us

NetEqualizer Demo | NetEqualizer Price List | Join Our Mailing List

8.3 Release is G/A

We are very excited to announce that our 8.3 Release – Expanded RTR is now generally available!

The beta tests for the 8.3 Release have gone very well, and we are ready to release the new reporting features to everyone! Here is a comment from one of our beta customers:

“One of the things that really got my attention on the new 8.3 Release was the ability to see, in real-time, the traffic on all my subnets on one screen. I simply created a pool for all the subnets in my network, and I can instantly see the saturation in the dynamic bar charts that update once a second. I know instantly which segments are saturated by glancing at my monitor screen.”

This release expands our current reporting features to include even more useful information, graphs, and tables. Here are just a few of the new additions you’ll find in the 8.3 Release:

You can read more about all of the features of the 8.3 Release here in the 8.3 Software Update. If you would like to upgrade to 8.3, just click on the button below to send a request to Support.

These features are free to all customers with valid NetEqualizer Software and Support. If you are not current with NSS, contact us today!

Spring for a Lease in our End of Spring Sale

Our Leasing Program continues to be a popular choice for customers that want to use a NetEqualizer with no long-term lease commitment, and also want to spread out their costs over each month instead of incurring one upfront expense. If you have ever considered leasing a NetEqualizer, now is the time!

To celebrate two years of the NetEqualizer Leasing Program, all new NetEqualizer Leases started before August 31st, 2015 will get 50% off the 1st month fee.

This offer is subject to availability, and customers must qualify to participate in our Leasing Program.

We also are excited to announce that we have added fiber connectivity to our leasing program, in both the 1Gbps and 10Gbps levels. And, to provide more flexibility in financing for our larger customers, we are now offering an Enterprise-Level Lease, for customers with more than 10,000 end users.

If you are interested in learning more, you can read the details of our Leasing Program here, or contact us below.

DDoS Update

The 8.3 Release also includes our recent Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Monitor at no extra charge! In addition, our new DDoS Firewall tool (DFW) can be purchased as an add-on module for an additional fee.

Here are some tips from our security experts for how to handle DDoS attacks, or stop them in the first place:
• Lock out unexpected geographies – Most businesses do not need global availability for their websites.
• If an attack occurs, look for fraud – Sometimes DDoS attacks can be smokescreens for other breaches.
• Route traffic through a system like CloudFlare – Their vast network can help thwart bandwidth overloads.
• Have a plan – Build DDoS into your Disaster Recovery Plan, and know who to call when an attack occurs.

The NetEqualizer can help you have a plan.

The new DDoS Monitor, which comes standard, shows you some basic metrics on the outside intrusion hit rate into your network. It can be used to spot anomalies which would indicate a likely DDoS attack in progress.

See our detailed blog article on the subject for how this technology works. Here is a screenshot of the DDoS Monitor dashboard:

If you decide you need something more proactive to mitigate a DDoS attack, we have a solution for you! For a one time charge of $3,500, which includes one hour of training and consulting, we install our DDoS Firewall (DFW) feature, which can be configured to block standard DDoS attacks.

NetEqualizer Tech Seminars and Conferences

Our CTO, Art Reisman, will be on-site at Mercersburg Academy in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania during edACCESS Vendor Day, June 24th.

If you have ever been curious about the NetEqualizer, and want to learn more, stop by to talk to Art. We also look forward to visiting with customers as well, so please come by and say hello. You might even get some free NetEqualizer bling from Art!

If you cannot attend the edACCESS conference, but are in the area of South Central Pennsylvania, and would like to meet with Art, email him at:

art@apconnections.net

Art will be in the area for a few days after the conference as well.

How do you tell if edACCESS is right for you? Their mission is to provide support and networking for information technology staff at secondary schools and small colleges. Most edACCESS members come from schools with an FTE of under 1,000 students. So, if that sounds like you, consider attending the 2015 edACCESS Conference.

If you have never been to an edACCESS Conference, you might not know that they are purposely run small (100 attendees maximum) and that they use the peer conference mode.

Here is what they say on the edACCESS website:

“Each edACCESS conference is small, responsive, and participant-driven. Small, because edACCESS conferences are limited to one hundred attendees. Responsive, because half the conference is spent discussing topics chosen by attendees through a careful first-day process. Participant-driven, because we believe that, collectively, we are the experts.”

We hope to see you there!

Best Of The Blog

The Facts and Myths of Network Latency

By Art Reisman – CTO – APconnections

There are many good references that explain how some applications such as VoIP are sensitive to network latency, but there is also some confusion as to what latency actually is as well as perhaps some misinformation about the causes.

In the article below, we’ll separate the facts from the myths and also provide some practical analogies to help paint a clear picture of latency and what may be behind it…

Photo Of The Month

Brighton Beach, UK

This picture was taken by one of our staff on Brighton Beach, UK during our recent Tech Seminar. Brighton Beach features Brighton Pier, which is a pleasure pier that opened in 1899. Here, the ride operators are shown taking a break from work.

Posted in Newsletters. Tags: 8.3 Release, DDoS, edAccess, RTR, Sale. Leave a Comment »

NetEqualizer News: April 2015

April 8, 2015 — netequalizer

April 2015

Greetings!

Enjoy another issue of NetEqualizer News! This month, we update you on our upcoming NetEqualizer Tech Seminars and conferences, ask for your input on what are your most pressing IT problems, and preview more exciting features for our Spring Release (8.3). As always, feel free to pass this along to others who might be interested in NetEqualizer News.

A message from Art…

Art Reisman, CTO – APconnections

Early April is the time of year in North America when some of the early arriving bird migrants start their journey north. I saw a couple of common Grackles and an Eastern Phoebe this last week, as well as an Osprey – just to name a few. Spring is also the time of year when I get out on the road and start visiting customers. London and Pennsylvania are on the docket, with more to come.
art photo for NL

I really enjoy meeting with customers around the world and hearing their experiences. It’s how some of our best products and features have come to light. Whether it’s a small change to the NetEqualizer interface, or a problem that needs solving, we thrive off of these conversations. Read more about opportunities to meet with me and share your thoughts in this month’s newsletter.

In This Issue:

:: 2015 Technical Seminars
:: What is Your Better Mousetrap?
:: Annual edACCESS Conference
:: Expanded RTR: Spring Release (8.3) Update
:: Best Of The Blog

NetEqualizer Website | NetGladiator Website | Contact Us

NetEqualizer Demo | NetEqualizer Price List | Join Our Mailing List

2015 Technical Seminars

Spring 2015 – Coming to the UK on April 23rd

We are coming across the Pond this spring! If you are in or around the United Kingdom on April 23, 2015, come join our CTO, Art Reisman, for an informative and educational session hosted by Flex Information Technology Ltd.

Art will be at the Grove Technology Park in Wantage, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom OX12 9FF the afternoon of April 23rd. You can view the details and register for the event here.

Our Technical Seminars are great because they are not marketing sessions. They are run by our CTO and are technical briefings. The seminar includes discussion on bandwidth control and also a live demonstration of the NetEqualizer technology.

So, if you have always been curious about the NetEqualizer, and would like to learn more, stop by for an afternoon! Or if you are an existing customer, and would like to meet Art to pick his brain, join us in the UK!

Please contact Paul Horseman of Flex Information Technology Ltd with any questions:

paul@flex.co.uk
-or-
+44 (0)333 101 7313

Summer or Fall 2015 – Location TBD

We are currently starting to plan our Summer/Fall 2015 Tech Seminar. For this seminar, we are looking stateside. If you are in the United States and would like to be considered as a host site, let us know by contacting us at:

sales@apconnections.net
-or-
(303) 997-1300

What is Your Better Mouse Trap?

As always, we are looking to expand our product line in ways that are useful to our customers. Our DDoS Monitoring and DDoS Firewall are a perfect example of an urgent need that came up last month, with several customers being caught off guard by attacks. We responded with a timely interim release, by integrating some existing technology from our IPS device into the NetEqualizer.

We are also interested in new ideas that will help make the life of an IT administrator easier. We want to help you to solve your most pressing IT problems, so please take a moment and think of what your better mouse trap would be, and tell us!

Even if you don’t think it is possible, just throw it out there! Your ideas are invaluable in helping us to create the next generation networking solutions.

Annual edACCESS Conference

June 24, 2015

We are looking forward to visiting with a few our customers at the annual edACCESS Conference hosted by Mercersburg Academy in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. We will stop by for Vendor Day on Wednesday, June 24th.

If you have never been to an edACCESS Conference, you might not know that they are purposely run small (100 attendees maximum) and that they use the peer conference model.

Here is what they say on the edACCESS website:

If you cannot attend this conference, but are in the area of South Central Pennsylvania, please let us know and perhaps we can stop by as we will be on the East Coast for a few days after the conference.

We are looking forward to seeing you there!

Expanded RTR: Spring Release (8.3) Update

Anticipated Release Date: May 2015

Wow! I got a chance to kick the tires on our 8.3 Release last week. My favorite new RTR report now gives you the ability to see real-time bar charts showing actual bandwidth usage on a per Pool basis (you can also see the Top IP or IP subnet users).

And the real icing on the cake was the red warning colors on the bar chart whenever a pool went into Equalizing, essentially a nice graphical indicator that the NetEqualizer is doing it’s job on your main screen. Here is a screenshot of this feature:

We’ve also added in a number of other exciting features! These include, but are not limited to:

1) Historical Penalty Reporting – see how many penalties were enforced at a given point in time on your NetEqualizer.

2) Connection Count Reporting – see connection counts by IP. Use this to find possible P2P issues on your network.

3) Export Data from RTR – export data from the RTR databases in CSV format to keep a history longer than 4 weeks or just analyze the data as you wish.

4) Active Penalties – see all connections that are currently being Equalized, as well as what type of penalty they are receiving.

For more details on Release 8.3 features, check out our March 2015 Newsletter.

The coding for Release 8.3 is now complete, and we are moving it into our testing process. We are currently anticipating a May 2015 release, and will announce it in the May 2015 Newsletter.

Once 8.3 reaches GA, these features will be free to customers with valid NetEqualizer Software and Support (NSS). You will need to upgrade first to version 8.0+. If you are not current with NSS, contact us today!

Best Of The Blog

The Technology Differences between a Web Filter and a Traffic Shaper

By Art Reisman – CTO – APconnections

First, a couple of definitions, so we are all on the same page:

A Web Filter is basically a type of specialized firewall with a configurable list of URLs. Using a Web Filter, a Network Administrator can completely block specific web sites, or block complete categories of sites, such as pornography.

A Traffic Shaper is typically deployed to change the priority of certain kinds of traffic. It is used where blocking traffic completely is not required, or is not an acceptable practice. For example, the mission of a typical Traffic Shaper might be to allow users to get into their Facebook accounts, and to limit their bandwidth so as to not overshadow other more important activities. With a Traffic Shaper, the idea is to limit (shape) the total amount of data traffic for a given category.

From a technology standpoint, building a Web Filter is a much easier proposition than creating a Traffic Shaper. This is not to demean the value or effort that goes into creating a good Web Filter. When I say “easier,” I mean this from a core technology point of view. Building a good Web Filter product is not so much a technology challenge, but more of a data management issue.

A Web Filter worth its salt must be aware of potentially millions of various websites that are ever-changing. To manage these sites, a Web Filter product must be constantly getting updated. The product company supporting the Web Filter must search the Web, constantly indexing new web sites and their contents, and then passing this information into the Web Filter product. The work is ongoing, but not necessarily daunting in terms of technology prowess. The actual blocking of a Web site is simply a matter of comparing a requested URL against the list of forbidden web sites and blocking the request (dropping the packets)…

Photo Of The Month

Tribute to Jack Miller

By Art Reisman

I had the honor to meet my neighbor Jack Miller and listen to his life stories over the past few years. Jack has the unique distinction of serving two WWII tours in North Africa. After the first tour, he was discharged to take care of his farm after the death of his mother, but then, through a clerical mix-up, he was shipped back, only this time he was taken POW by the Germans.I spent many summer evenings sitting on his front porch listening to his stories. My favorite one was set at a time when the Germans were in retreat, and his battalion was marching across Germany, extremely hungry and low on rations. He described walking past German farms with grazing cattle, and I asked him why they did not just take the cows and eat them. Without hesitation, Jack’s reply was “Why, those cows belonged to the German people.”

People like Jack were cut from a different mold.

We lost Jack at the age of 92 last November.

Rest in Peace, Jack.

Posted in News, Newsletters. Tags: Conference, RTR, Tech Seminar. Leave a Comment »

NetEqualizer News: March 2015

March 16, 2015 — netequalizer

March 2015

Greetings!

Enjoy another issue of NetEqualizer News! This month, we announce the NE5000 (our Next Generation NetEqualizer solution), highlight our recent 8.2 Release (DDoS Monitoring and IPv6 Shaping), preview our upcoming 8.3 Release (Expanded RTR), and update you on NetEqualizer Tech Seminars and conferences. As always, feel free to pass this along to others who might be interested in NetEqualizer News.

A message from Art…

Art Reisman, CTO – APconnections

As we move closer to spring, I am ready for a thaw. Here in the U.S., most of the country has been locked in snow and ice this winter. We are all ready for warm weather! As I think about warmer days, I start thinking about growing new things, and am happy to announce that as we continue to grow our capabilities, we are also building out advanced hardware platforms. This month we announce our Next Generation NetEqualizer!

We also continue to grow our next release (8.3), in which we are building out additional reporting (RTR) capabilities. Our goal is to have all of the new features released by late spring. And finally, our 8.2 DDoS Monitor, Firewall, and IPv6 equalizing release is now Generally Available.

In This Issue:

:: Announcing the Next Generation NetEqualizer! The NE5000 is Now Available
:: 8.2 Release is Now Generally Available!
:: Update on 2015 Tech Seminars and Conferences
:: 8.3 Release (Expanded RTR) Arriving in Late Spring
:: Best Of The Blog

NetEqualizer Website | NetGladiator Website | Contact Us

NetEqualizer Demo | NetEqualizer Price List | Join Our Mailing List

Announcing the Next Generation NetEqualizer! The NE5000 is Now Available

The next generation NetEqualizer is here!

Introducing the NE5000 – our top-of-the-line powerhouse solution for larger organizations.

The NE5000 comes standard with bi-directional 10 Gbps fiber (40 Gbps fiber optional), and it can shape bandwidth for up to 50,000 concurrent users.

There are also a few exciting additions to the NE5000 not seen in previous models.

• First, we included built-in redundancy so that the device fails open.
• Second, we included built-in power redundancy as well so that the unit will never experience sudden outages.
• And third, we included a built-in management port to make network integration and management even easier.

Take a look at our price list for pricing information, or contact us if you have questions!

8.2 Release is Now Generally Available!

Our 8.2 Release is now generally available! This release includes two primary new features:

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Monitoring

We are hearing that many of our customers need help with the onslaught of DDoS attacks on their networks. As the NetEqualizer is implemented near the network perimeter, and has visibility to all incoming and outgoing traffic, we are able to analyze traffic behavior and report on suspected DDoS attacks. Once identified as suspected DDoS, the NetEqualizer can then be used to block further traffic as needed.

IPv6 Bandwidth Shaping

For several years we have provided visibility to IPv6 traffic flowing through the NetEqualizer, to give you a view into how much IPv6 is on your network. We now feel that IPv6 has gained enough momentum to be a noticeable percentage on our customers’ networks. Therefore, as of 8.2 we are offering equalizing for IPv6 traffic. This will ensure that your full network gets the benefit of improved QoS during peak periods, for both IPv4 and IPv6 traffic.

—

The 8.2 update is simple and easy to install. We recommend upgrading as soon as possible in order to be properly prepared should a DDoS attack happen to you.

You can read more about these features in our release notes here. Our User Guide has also been updated with more information about how these features work.

These features are free to customers with valid NetEqualizer Software and Support who are running version 8.0+. If you are not current with NSS, contact us today!

Update on 2015 Tech Seminars and Conferences

Throughout 2015, we’ll be using our Newsletter to update you on Tech Seminars that NetEqualizer is hosting, as well as conferences we’ll be attending. Stay tuned!

Here is what we currently have planned for the near future:

NetEqualizer Tech Seminar

We are currently exploring sites for a Tech Seminar in the UK during the summer or fall 2015. As of this newsletter, nothing is finalized. If you would like to host a tech seminar, we are also open to visiting a domestic site here in the U.S. or Canada, so please don’t hesitate to contact us.

edACCESS Conference

edACCESS provides support and networking for information technology staff at secondary schools and small colleges. Most members come from schools with under 1,000 students.

We will be joining in the edACCESS conference at Mercersburg Academy on June 24, 2015 for Vendor Day! Feel free to stop by and pick up some NetEqualizer bling!

—

If you have questions on either the NetEqualizer Tech Seminar or the edACCESS conference, contact us!

8.3 Release (Expanded RTR) Arriving in Late Spring

Over the last few months we’ve continued to invest heavily in expanding our Real-Time Reporting (RTR) to make it even more robust. In late spring of this year, our 8.3 Release will be generally available.

The 8.3 Release includes many features our customers have asked for in the past to help improve their reporting experience. Here are just a few of the exciting new features:

Real-Time Pool and VLAN Dashboard

The current version of RTR has a real-time dashboard which shows current bandwidth usage. In Release 8.3, however, we’ve enhanced the dashboard to include both real-time pool and real-time VLAN bar graphs showing current usage. You can also easily see when your pools and/or VLANs are Equalizing.

Summary IP Reports

One of the most popular features in ntop, our previous reports offering, was the Summary Hosts Report, which highlighted how much bandwidth a particular IP address had used over a certain time period. In Release 8.3, we’ve added our own summary IP reports into RTR! Summary IP Reports is even better, as it will enable you to run custom database queries against all of the stored historical data to find exactly what you need. We will also include a handful of sample summary reports for common queries.

Historical Penalty Graphs

In Release 8.3, you’ll be able to see how the NetEqualizer has penalized traffic over time. RTR will now include graphs for tracking how many penalties are being enforced each minute. We’ll then store the data for up to four weeks. And, just like our other graphs, you’ll be able to export the data for retention if you so choose. This has been one of our most commonly requested features, and now it’s here!

—

Once 8.3 reaches GA, these features will be free to customers with valid NetEqualizer Software and Support who are running version 8.0+ If you are not current with NSS, contact us today!

Best Of The Blog

10 Things to Consider when Choosing a Bandwidth Shaper

By Art Reisman – CTO – APconnections

This article is intended as an objective guide for anyone trying to narrow down their options in the bandwidth controller market. Organizations today have a plethora of product options to choose from. To further complicate your choices, not only are there specialized bandwidth controllers, you’ll also find that most Firewall and Router products today contain some form of bandwidth shaping and QoS features.

What follows is an all-encompassing list of questions that will help you to quickly organize your priorities with regards to choosing a bandwidth shaper.

1) What is the Cost of Increasing your Bandwidth?

Although this question may be a bit obvious, it must be asked. We assume that anybody in the market for a bandwidth controller also has the option of increasing their bandwidth. The costs of purchasing and operating a bandwidth controller should ultimately be compared with the cost of increasing bandwidth on your network.

2) How much Savings should you expect from your Bandwidth Controller?

A good bandwidth controller in many situations can increase your carrying capacity by up to 50 percent. However, beware, some technologies designed to optimize your network can create labor overhead in maintenance hours. Labor costs with some solutions can far exceed the cost of adding bandwidth…

Photo Of The Month

Snowshoeing in Snowy Colorado

The snow this year broke records all over the U.S.! February was the snowiest February on record for Colorado. This is a picture of Boulder County Open Space, which is like a park, as everyone can use it for recreation. It is shared by a farmer to graze cows in the spring & summer. Here, one of our staff takes advantage of a snowy day to snowshoe.

Posted in News, Newsletters. Tags: DDoS, NE5000, RTR. 1 Comment »

NetEqualizer News: February 2015

February 15, 2015 — netequalizer

February 2015

Greetings!

Enjoy another issue of NetEqualizer News! This month, we introduce an exciting new DDoS protection feature for NetEqualizer, share the results of our recent Holiday Giving Campaign, and preview our NetEqualizer 2015 Tech Seminar. As always, feel free to pass this along to others who might be interested in NetEqualizer News.

A message from Art…

Art Reisman, CTO – APconnections

Over the period of one week, we were contacted several times from customers asking us if the NetEqualizer could do something to alleviate an ongoing Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack. It turns out we do have some technology in our arsenal for this event, but it was only art photo for NL available in our NetGladiator product. Purchasing a full blown NetGladiator for a random attack is often not within the scope or budget for many of our customers. So, what if we could move this utility into our standard NetEqualizer base? We could then blanket a wide swath of our customers with DDoS protection as well as enhance the value of their NetEqualizer, and so that is what we have done. Read more about this exciting new offering below!

In This Issue:

:: Are You Under Attack? NetEqualizer Can Help!
:: Holiday Giving Campaign Results
:: NetEqualizer 2015 Tech Seminars
:: Best Of The Blog

NetEqualizer Website | NetGladiator Website | Contact Us

NetEqualizer Demo | NetEqualizer Price List | Join Our Mailing List

Are You Under Attack? NetEqualizer Can Help!

Software Update 8.2 is now available as a limited beta release and includes our new Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Monitor at no extra charge! In addition, our new DDoS Firewall tool (DFW) can be purchased as an add-on module for an additional fee.

The DDoS Monitor, which comes standard, shows you some basic metrics on the outside intrusion hit rate into your network. It can be used to spot anomalies which would indicate a likely DDoS attack in progress. See our detailed blog article on the subject for how this technology works. Here is a screenshot of the DDoS Monitor dashboard:

Also included in Software Release 8.2 is IPv6 Equalizing. We have updated our shaping algorithms to account for both IPv4 and IPv6 traffic. This enables us to provide QoS across a dual stack so that congestion is eased across all of your traffic.

Our recent efforts to include DDoS mitigation functionality and enhanced IPv6 tools were accelerated due to the fact that our customers were facing immediate impacts. We have not forgotten our promise to release RTR enhancements, which are still scheduled for release in the late spring/early summer of 2015.

You can read more about software update 8.2 here. We anticipate that the 8.2 release will be generally available in the March/April 2015 timeframe.

For questions about our DDoS offering, IPv6 shaping enhancements, or anything else, contact us anytime:

sales@apconnections.net
-or-
303-997-1300

Holiday Giving Campaign Results

Thanks to you, our year-end Holiday Giving Campaign was a success! We were able to give sizable monetary donations to three worthy charities in early 2015.

This is really what the holidays are all about, and we thank you for helping us to support these worthy causes:

1) Toys for Tots: The mission for Toys for Tots is to collect new, unwrapped toys during
October, November and December each year, and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to less fortunate children in the community in which the campaign is conducted.

tft

2) The Hunger Project: The Hunger Project is a global, non-profit, strategic organization committed to the sustainable end of world hunger.

3) Doctors Without Borders: Doctors Without Borders works in nearly 70 countries providing medical aid to those most in need regardless of their race, religion, or political affiliation.

NetEqualizer 2015 Tech Seminars

Are you interested in enhanced on-site training, as well as helping to influence the direction of our next major software release?

We have found over the years that our on-site Tech Seminars become great vehicles for customers to dig deep and derive extra value from their installed NetEqualizer(s).

For example, we have hunted down P2P users during these events, as well as validated security tools and enhanced shaping techniques. It is also a great opportunity for our engineering team to gain insight into the latest needs of our customer base.

The obligation of the host is to simply provide a conference room for demo and discussion, and also to allow some live analysis of their network. This is not a sales presentation. If you are interested in hosting, let us know!

This year, we would love to have the opportunity to present in Western Europe if anyone in that part of the world is interested!

sales@apconnections.net
-or-
303-997-1300

Best Of The Blog

Fourteen Tips to Make Your ISP/WISP More Profitable

By Art Reisman – CTO – APconnections

As the demand for Internet access continues to grow around the world, opportunities for service providers are emerging in markets far and wide. Yet, simply offering Internet service, even in untapped areas, does not guarantee long-term success. Just as quickly as your customer-base grows, the challenges facing ISPs and WISPs begin to emerge.

From competition to unhappy customers, the business venture that once seemed certain to succeed can quickly test the will of even the most battle-hardened and tech savvy business owners. However, there are ways to make the road to profitability a little smoother…

Photo Of The Month

Aerial Photography from Remote Control Drone

Small remote control drones with cameras are becoming very popular in the United States. This particular shot was taken by a member of our staff in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. It is looking south toward Cape Canaveral.

Posted in Newsletters. Tags: DDoS, holiday promotion, ipv6, netequalizer tech seminar. Leave a Comment »

NetEqualizer News: January 2015

January 13, 2015 — netequalizer

January 2015

Greetings!

Enjoy another issue of NetEqualizer News! This month, we highlight leasing a NetEqualizer with NO contract, discuss our new IPv6 shaping process, share a recent case study, and preview our 2015 price adjustments. As always, feel free to pass this along to others who might be interested in NetEqualizer News.

A message from Art…

Art Reisman, CTO – APconnections

As we kick off 2015, I am knee-deep once again in architecting solutions, which many of you know is what I love to do most! It feels good to start 2015 following my passion – I hope you are committing or re-committing to spend time doing those things that you love most.

Speaking of architecture, this month I share with you the upcoming IPv6 Release (8.1v6) design. I also am excited to include our latest Case Study; we have captured Lutheran Health Network’s experience with the NetEqualizer. This large-scale NetEqualizer implementation is a great read, particularly for customers with multiple sites using varying bandwidths. And finally, we give you a preview of 2015 pricing. Some good news here – we have reduced prices on two license levels!

In This Issue:

:: The Joy of Leasing
:: Architecting the IPv6 Release (8.1v6)
:: Case Study: Lutheran Health Network
:: 2015 NetEqualizer Pricing Preview
:: Best Of The Blog

NetEqualizer Website | NetGladiator Website | Contact Us

NetEqualizer Demo | NetEqualizer Price List | Join Our Mailing List

The Joy of Leasing

In 2015, we are continuing our popular no-contract, monthly Leasing Program.

This program works best for several types of customers:

1) Customers who need to align monthly expenditures with a monthly revenue stream.

2) Customers with limited budgets that need to reduce their upfront costs.

3) Customers who would like user-based pricing.

Why is leasing a NetEqualizer joyful? We think that our leasing program is superior to what you would find through a typical 3rd party lessor. We keep the process simple, and make it easy for you to participate. In fact, we started this program because we were tired of the long drawn-out process full of tons of paperwork, signatures, and waiting, while trying to work with lessors on behalf of our customers. We decided that we could do this better, and we think we have!

We have found this model popular, as customers can immediately get the benefits of a full-featured NetEqualizer without committing to a large upfront expenditure. And, there is no long-term commitment; if your needs change in the future, you can exit or modify your Lease Program as needed.

This model works well for businesses that would like to align their shaping costs with the number of users they have on their network, rather than the size of their network pipe. In smaller businesses, this enables customers to better align their costs with their actual potential revenue stream rather than their network size.

In the past several years, we have seen Schools, Business Centers and Internet Service Providers participate in our Monthly Leasing Program.

If this sounds of interest to you, call us to discuss or check out our Leasing Program to see if it meets your needs!

sales@apconnections.net
-or-
303-997-1300

Please note that the NetEqualizer Leasing Program is currently only available to customers in the United States and Canada.

Architecting the IPv6 Release (8.1v6)

We have word from a few customers running dual stacks that they do have enough IPv6 traffic that it needs to be addressed in the NetEqualizer shaper, especially during peak traffic times.

Now that IPv6 is becoming a reality in many networks, I am focusing my efforts on architecting our solution, which I share here:

We realized early on in our design choices that a customer running a dual stack may have two addressing schemes, but they still have one bandwidth link to shape as a whole. In other words, all the shaping decisions will be based on the total bandwidth across both sets of addresses, and not a separate decision for IPv6 and IPv4.

With that decision, the easiest way to accomplish this for reporting and shaping was to trick the IPv6 traffic into an IPv4 format, which is what we are going to do.

We examined real IPv6 traffic on a live network, and as expected the upper bytes in the address rarely, if ever, change. So by taking the lower 24 bits of the IPv6 address and mapping that into a locally unique IPv4 address, we can show and shape all the traffic in one table.

We will have Beta versions of 8.1v6 ready to run in late February. At that time we will also have examples and documentation on how to track and shape your IPv6 traffic on the NetEqualizer.

Stay tuned here to learn more about our IPv6 Release this Spring! And if you have any thoughts or input on IPv6 that you would like to share, shoot me an email at art@apconnections.net.

Case Study: Lutheran Health Network

Recently we received feedback from Lutheran Health Network (LHN) on how their NetEqualizer’s have helped to optimize their network infrastructure. It was so much great information that we captured it as a Case Study to share with you.

Jason Whiteaker, a Senior Network Engineer at LHN, describes their environment, what challenges they faced, solutions considered, and the great results they have had with the NetEqualizer in place. Read the full Case Study here to see how the NetEqualizer has been a technical and political “win-win” for the network team.

This Case Study demonstrates how the NetEqualizer works well in hub and spoke environments. To read more about how effective the NetEqualizer is at hub and spoke shaping, check out our blog article on the subject.

2015 NetEqualizer Pricing Preview

As promised in last month’s newsletter, all newsletter readers can now get an advance peek of our 2015 NetEqualizer Pricing! For a limited time, you can now preview of our 2015 Pricing here without registration. You can also view the Data Sheets for each model once in the 2015 Price List.

Our 2015 Pricing will be effective February 1st, 2015.

Key changes for 2015:

– Due to popular demand, we are adding two license levels to the NE3000 series: 500Mbps and 750 Mbps.
– Exciting news for folks looking at 100 or 150Mbps licenses. We have reduced prices on the 100Mbps and 150Mbps license levels, to better align our pricing model.
– And finally, as we are seeing more customers moving to higher bandwidth levels, we have decided to no longer offer the 10Mbps license in 2015.

If you are interested in user-based pricing, we are continuing to offer our Monthly Lease Program in 2015. You can read more about that in The Joy of Leasing in this month’s newsletter.

We will be using 2014 pricing through January, and all current quotes using the pricing will be honored for 90 days from the date the quote was originally given. However, if you have an outstanding quote on a 100 or 150Mbps unit, we will be happy to update it for you to use the new lower pricing.

We also continue to offer license upgrades on our newer NE2000’s. Remember that if you have a NE2000 purchased on or after August 2011, it is eligible for license upgrades and support. If you have an older NE2000, please contact us to discuss a trade-in.

If you have questions on pricing, feel free to contact us at:

sales@apconnections.net
-or-
303-997-1300

Best Of The Blog

How Does Your ISP Actually Enforce Your Internet Speed?

By Art Reisman – CTO – APconnections

Photo Of The Month

Roseate Spoonbill from Merritt Island National Seashore

The best thing NASA did besides going to the moon was preserving miles and miles of shoreline on the east coast of Florida near Cape Canaveral. The Merritt Island bird loop is better than the wild animal safari you can take over at Disneyland, alligators and exotic birds like you have never seen before.

Posted in Newsletters. Tags: ipv6, NetEqualizer Leasing Program, netequalizer pricing. Leave a Comment »

NetEqualizer News: December 2014

December 17, 2014 — netequalizer

December 2014

Greetings!

Enjoy another issue of NetEqualizer News! This month, we discuss our recent K-12 Schools award, introduce IPv6 shaping for NetEqualizer, and remind everyone of 2015 pricing changes. As always, feel free to pass this along to others who might be interested in NetEqualizer News.

A message from Art…

Art Reisman, CTO – APconnections

As we close out 2014, I smile as I think of what this year has taught me, both professionally and art_small personally. Professionally, I now know that IPv6 really will be a reality in 2015, as you will read more about below. I have also learned that sometimes surprises are good – as we share with you that we received an unanticipated (but very welcome!) award from District Administration (a K-12 Schools publication) this month.

And personally, I learned that at my age I need to make sure to hydrate before a long run!

In This Issue:

:: We Are Honored! NetEqualizer is a K-12 School Top 100 Product in 2014
:: 2015 Pricing Coming Soon
:: Ready or Not, Here Comes IPv6!
:: Best Of The Blog

NetEqualizer Website | NetGladiator Website | Contact Us

NetEqualizer Demo | NetEqualizer Price List | Join Our Mailing List

We Are Honored! NetEqualizer is a K-12 School Top 100 Product in 2014

We have always known that the NetEqualizer is great (you have too!), but it is wonderful when it is validated by an independent publication. Recently we learned that we were honored in the December 2014 edition of District Administration, a publication geared to K-12 School leadership.

NetEqualizer made the 2014 list of Top 100 Products for K-12 Schools!

The December 2014 Cover Story is the annual Top 100 Products, viewable in the District Administration online edition. According to the article, there were 2,400 unique nominations for the Top 100 this year, up from 1,800 in 2013. Winners were selected by the editorial board based on quality and quantity of the testimonials submitted from readers.

So, a big THANK YOU to the readers that submitted us for inclusion in the Top 100! We would not have received this honor without you. We truly appreciate you taking the time to say nice things about us, especially as we rely heavily on word of mouth to get our story out to our customers. If you would like to see our listing, we are on the bottom of page 52.

As we have not advertised in this publication in the past, and did not solicit inclusion for this award in any way, this took us completely (and happily) by surprise.

As Lauren Williams of District Administration mentions in her introduction to the winners, “This annual award alerts superintendents and other senior school leaders to the best products their colleagues around the country are using to help their districts excel.”

If you have not seen the winners, take a look, you might find a product that is a good fit for your K-12 School.

2015 Pricing Coming Soon

As we close out 2014, just a reminder that we are still writing quotes using our 2014 pricing, and the quotes are good for 90 days. If you are thinking of trading-in your current NetEqualizer, upgrading your license level, or getting another NetEqualizer, now is a good time to get a quote from us.

We will be using 2014 pricing through January, and all current quotes using the pricing will be honored for 90 days from the date the quote was originally given.

Look for a preview of our 2015 Pricing in our January Newsletter. Our 2015 Pricing will be effective February 1st, 2015.

Ready or Not, Here Comes IPv6!

Just this past month, we have seen several customers begin to see 10% or more IPV6 traffic on their networks when they turned on their IPv4/IPv6 dual stack.

As you may know, today IPv6 traffic is viewable under the Management & Reporting menus. To see any IPv6 traffic that you have on your network, select View Current Activity -> View Active Connections -> Active IPv6 Connections.

However, as IPv6 has historically been a small percentage of overall network traffic, we have not focused our engineering resources to-date on adding IPv6 shaping.

That is about to change! To address the increase in IPv6 traffic, we plan on putting out a winter release with a dual stack of our own. Our goal is to have code ready for an initial beta test in early February.

Our engineering team has come up with a cool way to handle dual address schemes. The NetEqualizer dual stack will map IPv6 addresses into unused IPv4 addresses – so that you will be able to track, shape, and equalize IPv6 on a standard NetEqualizer.

If you are interested in hearing more, please contact us:

sales@apconnections.net
-or-
303-997-1300

Best Of The Blog

Case Study: A Simple Solution to Relieve Congestion on Your MPLS Network

By Art Reisman – CTO – APconnections

We recently installed a NetEqualizer for a national healthcare company connecting hundreds of hospitals and clinics to a central location. We were able to solve all their congestion issues on their MPLS network, while saving them tens of thousands of dollars over other solutions. The centralized NetEqualizer solution is so elegant and simple that large IT departments, who are often wined and dined by vendors with expensive WAN optimization solutions, have hard time believing that we can solve their WAN issues at a fraction of the cost. In the coming weeks, we will release a detailed case study featuring this customer.

For now, here is the original blog article that explains our spoke and hub technology…

The problem:
A customer has a hub and spoke MPLS network where remote sites get their public Internet and corporate data by coming in on a spoke to a central site. Although the network at the host site has plenty of bandwidth, the spokes have a fixed allocation over the MPLS and are experiencing contention issues (e.g. slow response times to corporate sales data, etc.)…

Photo Of The Month

Landon Donovan

Landon Donovan is widely considered to be the best soccer player to ever come out of the United States. He has played for multiple national and international clubs. On August 7, 2014, Donovan announced that he would be retiring at the end of the 2014 Major League Soccer season; the season ended with the Galaxy winning their fourth MLS Cup of the Donovan era on Sunday December 7, 2014. This photo was taken by one of our staff members at a game last summer.

Posted in Newsletters. Tags: mpls, mpls hub, Netequalizer, netequalizer pricing. 1 Comment »

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