March 2013
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Greetings! Enjoy another issue of NetEqualizer News! This month, we discuss AD integration into NetEqualizer, the results of our recent Educause conference, and new NetEqualizer features coming in 2013. As always, feel free to pass this along to others who might be interested in NetEqualizer News. |
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A message from Art…
Art Reisman, CTO – APconnections
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! |
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In This Issue:
:: 2013 Software Update Features |
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We are already in the process of implementing exciting new features for our first Software Update of 2013! Here is a quick preview of what you can expect this year: – 64 Bit Processing: This change will allow current customers to operate on existing hardware and attain 20 to 50 percent improvements in performance. – Sortable Active Connections Table: You will now be able to sort the Active Connections table by any of the columns you choose. – Caching Service Updates: We will be updating and expanding our available caching services. – Port-Based Equalizing: Check out our blog article on bandwidth management on the public side of a NAT router. – Active Directory Integration: Now, administrators will be able to see AD user names in their Active Connections table. – Other Minor Enhancements Check back with NetEqualizer News for updates on each of these new features and their scheduled releases! If you are not current with NSS, contact us today! -or- toll-free U.S. (888-287-2492), worldwide (303) 997-1300 x. 103 Educause Conference Poster Session Update Sandy had a great time at the West/Southwest Regional Educause Conference in Austin February 12-14th, 2013! Here she is in front of her Poster Session materials:
Sandy talked about the “Future of Bandwidth Shaping” with the attendees. One professor, who also runs a ISP for colleges, even came from South Africa! Most of you know that NetEqualizer is the future of bandwidth shaping, but if you need to convince anyone else (your boss, the powers that be, etc.), we recommend printing out our updated 1-2 page Executive White Paper and sharing that. If you are in Higher Education, you can also check out our newly revised College & University Guide. Stay tuned to NetEqualizer News for updates on upcoming conferences! AD Integration Beta and Support Update We are close to releasing our new Active Directory integration feature and are nearing the end of our beta tests! Thanks to all of those organizations that have helped us out thus far. As an additional note, because Active Directory is a complicated environment which varies from customer to customer, the AD Integration feature will be an additional charge beyond NSS. This fee will include support in getting you up and running with the new feature. How Much Bandwidth Do You Really Need?
By Art Reisman – CTO – APconnections When it comes to how much money to spend on the Internet, there seems to be this underlying feeling of guilt with everybody I talk to. From ISPs, to libraries or multinational corporations, they all have a feeling of bandwidth inadequacy. It is very similar to the guilt I used to feel back in College when I would skip my studies for some social activity (drinking). Only now it applies to bandwidth contention ratios. Everybody wants to know how they compare with the industry average in their sector. Are they spending on bandwidth appropriately, and if not, are they hurting their institution, will they become second-rate? To ease the pain, I was hoping to put a together a nice chart on industry standard recommendations, validating that your bandwidth consumption was normal, and I just can’t bring myself to do it quite yet. There is this elephant in the room that we must contend with. So before I make up a nice chart on recommendations, a more relevant question is… how bad do you want your video service to be? Your choices are:
Although my answer may seem a bit sarcastic, there is a truth behind these choices. I sense that much of the guilt of our customers trying to provision bandwidth is based on the belief that somebody out there has enough bandwidth to reach some form of video Shangri-La; like playground children bragging about their father’s professions, claims of video ecstasy are somewhat exaggerated…
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Photo Of The Month
Snow Geese in Kansas If you look closely at the lake you can see a gaggle of white Snow Geese in the water. Though they typically live in colder climates, they’ll come to warmer states in the winter to breed. This photo was taken in Kansas on a recent trip by one of our staff members. |
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