ON THE STANDS - In the miles of aisles

ATM

much to choose from at the UK's largest IT show, we steer you through the noise and hurly burly by pointing out some of the stands where the action will be. Report compiled by Prabjit Korotana. METRODATA: Hall 11 Stand Q100

ATM specialist Metrodata is launching the Access Processor (AP) range aimed at telecoms carriers, which it claims can dramatically reduce the cost of combined voice, data and video services to its customers. Metrodata believes that while there is growing demand for integrated services, the cost of such services remain a barrier, and by pricing the entry-level AP3000 at just #6,000, the company hopes to kickstart greater adoption.

ODETICS TELECOM: Hall 12 Stand W80

Dexter is the name of the game for this ATM access equipment supplier, for corporate, carrier and service provider applications. These ATM access concentrators are said to break the European ATM cost barrier, delivering ATM performance at Frame Relay prices. "When you stop talking, Dexter stops sending" said OT European sales manager, Ian Betteridge. "This silence suppression instantly frees bandwidth for other users and applications."

CABLING

3M: Hall 12 Stand V24

The Telecoms Systems Division of 3M is joining forces with BATM Advanced Communications to launch a fibre-to-desk cabling system called Volition.

The company claims it will "bring affordable fibre optic technology to the local area network" and that the system "will have vast implications for networking". Go along and see if you agree.

AMP: Hall 10 Stand H50

Networks telecom 98 will see the UK launch of three new complete copper cabling systems from AMP: NETCONNECT Momentum for Class D, NETCONNECT Quantum for Class E and NETCONNECT Platinum for Class F. Also making their debut are the Raylan family of media converters, which halves the cost of Lan copper conversion to fibre networks; and the AMP wireless Lan Dual Gain Antenna, which provides an alternative to leased lines, and yet does not require an end-user licence.

KRONE: Hall 12 Stand S10

"Some surprises" are offered by Krone in its private preview room, but an open invitation like that raises as many fears as expectations. What could they be? We shiver with anticipation. Meanwhile, on the stand the Krone crew will be unveiling its PremisNET, a "total solution" for network cabling, as well as the usual cabinets, patch panels and fibre offerings.

CONSULTANCY & INTEGRATION

BLACK BOX: Hall 9 Stand F26

The networking catalogue specialists will be focusing on products in three key areas: high-speed digital Wan infrastructure, server management, and Lan connectivity. The Black Box Connectivity Challenge invites showgoers to present connectivity problems to staff on the stand, and if the connector or cable you need isn't in the catalogue - Black Box will make it for you.

MICROMUSE: Hall 12 Stand U84

Micromuse will be launching three new products at the show: Netcool/OMNIBUS 3.3, Firewall 1.1 Probe and Java Event List. More than 135 organisations worldwide, including AOL, BT, Netcom and WorldCom, use the NetCool suite of applications, which offer service level profiles of available services and applications in realtime. Micromuse will also be demonstrating on the stands of partners INS, Check Point and on the OPSEC Pavilion.

NETWORKS UNLIMITED: Hall 12 Stand U60

Not so much a relaunch as a "new corporate identity" is promised by this UK specialist in network diagnostic tools, management systems, internet security and desktop productivity solutions. Consultants will be on hand to provide advice about health-checking, troubleshooting and remote maintenance (though nothing quite as eye-catching as Fluke's Men In Yellow was revealed in advance of the show).

CONVERGENCE

SDX BUSINESS SYSTEMS: Hall 9 Stands B78 & C70

This British company aims to make its name in the voice/data convergence and CTI markets at the show, with products from its newly acquired subsidiary, Network Alchemy, as well as its own Wan and call centre technology. CyberGear is its small office communications platform, while INDeX is a set of APIs for CTI application development, voice processing and cordless mobility.

The Network Alchemy Argentphone range fuses a voice PBX, internet router and firewall, Lan hub and computer telephony in a single platform.

PAXDATA NETWORKS: Hall 10 Stand K82

A new voice and data integration router, called VIPER, is Paxdata's first foray into the convergence arena. The company believes voice-over-IP is simply unreliable, and has developed its own fast packet techniques - a toll quality voice compression unit called PVM2 - to route both voice and Lan IP traffic. Also showing for the first time at the show will be its Solo Lite, an entry-level ISDN router for low-cost internet access.

E-COMMERCE

GRESHAM COMPUTING: Hall 12 Stand U31

This Southampton-based web commerce specialist will be flying the flag for Britain. It will be showcasing its flagship product Casablanca, which provides web browser access to enterprise services over a range of platforms, including IBM MVS and AS/400, Digital VMS, ICL VME and Unix environments.

HIGH-SPEED NETWORKING

FOUNDRY NETWORKS: Hall 11 Stand O110

Any new iron is the order of the day at Foundry, the Gigabit Ethernet specialist set up by former ATM evangelists. The TurboIron/8 offers 32Gbps capacity and eight Gigabit Ethernet ports for a mere #900 per Layer 2 port and #1,350 per Layer 3 port. A snip! Also on display for the first time at a UK show, will be the chassis-based BigIron gigabit switches and the ServerIron, a server load-balancing switch.

MADGE NETWORKS: Hall 10 Stand L60

Token Ring specialist Madge will give the first live European demo of its 100Mbps High Speed Token Ring network connections using the Smart Ringswitch Plus platform. Madge will also show Lan/Wan video-conferencing live in action, featuring the Madge Lan Video Gateway, the Wan Access switch and Videoswitch.

ODS NETWORKS: Hall 12 Stand T60

For the first time in the UK ODS will be showing the LANBlazer 7000 - a Gigabit Ethernet switch contender - and the SecureSwitch - a network security application. These are the fruits of recent development work for the company, which previously specialised in intelligent hubs for Lans. Its other products include the Infinite switch, the only switching hub designed to support the four major industry standards - Ethernet, Token Ring, FDDI and ATM.

TORRENT NETWORKING TECHNOLOGIES: Hall 12 Stand S12

This will be the first UK showing for this go-ahead start-up. Torrent will show its IP9000 gigabit router, which features unique, patented technology that scales IP routing for all traffic types to Gigabit speeds, without the slow path typical of Layer 3 switches and earlier routers. Torrent's Per-Flow Service Provisioning, used in the IP9000, offers ATM-level service guarantees.

LEGACY CONNECTIVITY

ATTACHMATE: Hall 12 Stand U30

This leading supplier of PC connectivity software, which allows access to mission-critical data on hosts (mainframe, mid-range, Unix and Unisys) will be showing the latest versions of key products: HostPublishing System 2.2, HostView Server 2.0 and EXTRA Personal Client 6.4.

BOS: Hall 12 Stand X38

Better Online Solutions (BOS), the Israeli specialists in IBM AS/400 to PC/Lan connectivity, is showing for the first time Jadvantage, a Java-based application that enables TN5250 emulation and printing on PCs and NCs. Also showing will be the low-cost BOSaNOVA TCP/IP suite, which lets remote Win95 and NT users on a TCP/IP network access AS/400 applications.

ESKER: Hall 12 Stand W10

Esker invites you to bridge the generation gap by checking out its two legacy connectivity solutions. Tun Plus 9.0, the latest version of its PC-to-host product, extends support to IBM and C-IASM environments. Version 2 of the Esker Plus web-to-host software, offers effortless browser access to corporate applications and databases.

HUMMINGBIRD COMMUNICATIONS: Hall 12 Stand V40

Another thrusting contender in the PC-to-enterprise stakes, Hummingbird, will be attempting to belie its name and prove it's no lightweight. It will demo the latest versions of its PC X server, Exceed 6.0, its NFS client, Maestro 6.0, and its mainframe terminal emulation suite, Host Explorer 6.0.

MILLENNIUM BUG

CENTENNIAL: Hall 12 Stand W78

Year 2000 specialist, Centennial, will be integrating the latest version of its software solution with Novell's ZENworks at the show. The demos aim to show network managers how to achieve effective desktop management and compliance for the millennium by using the Centennial application and data file scanning software.

NETWORK ANALYSIS & TESTING

CHEVIN SOFTWARE ENGINEERING: Hall 12 Stand W28

Unveiling its new range of traffic monitors and protocol analysers for enterprise networks will be Yorkshire-based Chevin Software Engineering.

Getting its first public airing is CNApro v4.15, which differentiates between Token Ring management frames and data frames, allowing views of Token Ring networks to be built up in both ring order and as a geographical representation. The tool can also simultaneously manage both Token Ring and Ethernet networks. Chevin will also announce products supporting RMON and its own HS RMON, and the company will highlight the strengths and weaknesses of each RMON option.

FLUKE: Hall 11 Stand O60

Ooooh! It's all very spine-tinglingly spooky down at the Fluke stand, where its Men In Yellow will be telling chilling stories of the network nightmares grappled with by faceless network managers. Yes, anonymity is the name of the game, as Fluke's technicians reveal true-life horror stories, but with a "no names mentioned" policy to spare the blushes of the real-life network managers. One of the shadowy MIY figures whispered to Network News in advance of the show: "As companies are sensitive to divulging information that might make them look inefficient or unknowledgeable, this is a way for them to get answers to their problems without them being identified and embarrassed."

PRINTERS & PERIPHERALS

KYOCERA ELECTRONICS: Hall 10 Stand J90

Environmentally-aware Kyocera will be showing new models in its fast-expanding ECOSYS range of printers, offering speeds from 6-28ppm (pages per minute), and now colour printing. The colour FS-5800C laser printer, which will be officially launched later this summer, offers a 3.5ppm speed, and will be previewed alongside a new high-powered network mono printer, the FS-6700.

MAYFLOWER ADVANCED MEETING SOLUTIONS: Hall 12 Stand X30

Mayflower will be showing its full range of SoftBoard and Ibid interactive whiteboards, demonstrating how network meeting and group collaboration solutions can be achieved. Anything drawn on the whiteboard will be captured and displayed on the PC, and then edited and e-mailed or faxed to others.

One customer that has installed softboards in all its mobile command units is the London Fire Brigade.

REMOTE ACCESS

DIGI INTERNATIONAL: Hall 10 Stand K92

Speed and excitement are the order of the day on the Digi stand - especially if you're into motorbikes. Scott Smart, nephew of UK champion Barry Sheene, will be on the Digi stand on the first day of the show, and wannabe leather-clad rebels can also enter a draw to win VIP tickets to a 500cc Grand Prix at Donnington Park in mid-July. The VIP tickets will include full hospitality and a chance to visit the pitlane with Scott's team.

Digi will be previewing its RAS product family, due for release in the autumn, and launching its GO Pro PCMCIA card, which replaces the DataFire GO and will be available in July. The RAS line of server cards aims to strengthen the viability of Intel PCs as a communications platform, and will support a full range of comms services - 56 Kbps V90, 56K Flex, ISDN, GSM and PCS cellular.

EICON TECHNOLOGY: Hall 12 Stand V10

Eicon will be launching the DIVA Server PRI PCI card, which supports inbound and outbound ISDN communications with remote ISDN devices on a single PRI line (30 B channels in Europe). Also taking a high profile on the stand will be the #240 DIVA T/A ISDN modem, which features Always On/Dynamic ISDN (AO/DI) support. The company will be conducting a prize draw each day with the prize of a DIVA T/A ISDN modem.

MULTITECH: Hall 12 Stand X39

On show for the first time are new lines of communications servers, a proxy server for Ethernet to ISP connection via ISDN lines, interface cards and new V90-ready modems. The CommPlete communications server uses a Pentium processor for each PRI ISDN link, optimising data intensive performance.

SECURITY & ENCRYPTION

AXENT TECHNOLOGIES: Hall 9 Stand D52

Security specialist AXENT, recently merged with Raptor Systems, aims to prove its contention that it is now a top dog in security with a range of key products: the Security Briefcase, Intruder Alert 3.0 and Enterprise Security Manager. It will also be taking part in conference debates on Enterprise Wide Security (23 June) and Anatomy of Internet and Network Attacks (24 June).

CHECK POINT SOFTWARE: Hall 11 Stand Q110

Check Point Software is promising to deliver a "massive presence" at this year's show. Making their European debuts will be new versions of the company's flagship products: Firewall-1 version 4, for enterprise security management, and Floodgate-1, its enterprise traffic management product for NT. The latter uses Stateful Inspection technology to control bandwidth resources, optimise performance and relieve congestion. Briefings on the stand will be titled: How To Secure Your Network, and the company will also take part in enterprise security briefings at the OPSEC Security Pavilion (see Featured attractions article).

INFORMER SYSTEMS: Hall 9 Stand E28

Fingerprint pattern analysis is one of the features supported by Informer's flagship product, the Secure-IT 3000 security server. It protects networks from hackers by authenticating remote users at the point of entry, and giving complete audit trails or remote access events on Lans and Wans.

The fingerprint analysis uses biometric authentication, which has key advantages over token-based systems: there are no ongoing costs once deployed, no token to lose and there is no PIN number to forget.

TELTREND: Hall 15 Stand S18

ISDN specialist, Teltrend, will be launching an encryption card for its NiQ800 router for the small and medium-sized business market. Using 56-bit DES encryption, the Crypto Pack is said to compare favourably with 40-bit versions currently imported from the US. The product will allow users to build secure virtual private networks over low-cost public data networks. For banks and financial institutions, Teltrend also offers the option of triple DES (168-bit key) encryption for vital information.

STORAGE

AMACOM TECHNOLOGIES: Hall 10 Stand I105

This could undoubtedly be one of the most popular stands at the show, at least during certain hours, as Amacom will be televising coverage of the World Cup, and offering a prize draw for two tickets to the World Cup final on 12 July. Yes, that's right, TICKETS TO THE WORLD CUP FINAL!

If you can avoid the crush of unscrupulous showgoers trying to bribe Amacom employees, you could check out a higher capacity version (6.4/12.8Gb) of the Flipdisk mobile data storage device, a hard drive for notebooks.

RINGDALE: Hall 12 Stand W50

A new range of storage systems will take pride of place on the Ringdale stand, opening new ground for the connectivity specialist. The Data Storage System offers a maximum 30-second access time to data on 150 (or more) disks, as well as automatic backups. Also on the stand will be the latest versions of Ringdale's PeripheralVision network management software, and a range of new connectivity products and print servers.

SWITCHES & ROUTING

CS TELECOM: Hall 12 Stand U80

World Cup fever will be evoked by this supplier of multi-service (ATM, Frame Relay, legacy traffic) multimedia switches and access devices for carrier and corporate networks. The company says it will provide entertainment to convey the atmosphere of the football extravaganza and evoke "the mystique and sophistication of Parisian cafe society" to emphasise its French links.

MAYFLEX: Hall 9 Stand C60

Mayflex will aim to capture attention by taking the wraps off its Planet range of web-manageable 10/100 Ethernet hubs and switches. Management of all the Planets in the suite is via browsers, allowing any SNMP-based system - such as HP OpenView, IBM NetView and PlanetView - to access information in the management information base of the switch or hub.

NBASE COMMUNICATIONS: Hall 12 Stand U20

NBase is unveiling a new Fast Ethernet switch, the NH2024, which supports 10/100Mbps on each of its 24 ports. The company will also show its Gigabit Ethernet solutions, including the GigaFrame Switch, which incorporates NBase's proprietary Layer 3 DirectIP technology and gives Gigabit Ethernet transmission up to 100km.

NETWORK PERIPHERALS INC (NPI): Hall 11 Stand W44

Making its debut at the show, this developer of networking solutions for SMEs and workgroups will be launching a range of low-cost switching products. The company claims that the low-cost, ease of use and low-overhead management will attract companies with 20-500 network nodes. NPI produces a full range of FDDI, 10/100 and Gigabit Ethernet switching solutions for workgroups, wiring closets and backbones.

PERFORMANCE TECHNOLOGIES: Hall 12 Stand V39

This New York-based company is making its UK debut at the show with a series of fault tolerant Ethernet switches.The Nebula 8000 claims to be the first truly fault tolerant Fast/Gigabit Ethernet switch for enterprise backbones. The 32-port switch comes with VLans, Layer 3 routing, QoS capabilities and security/filtering. Also showing is the 64-port Nebula 6000, a high density switch aimed at ISPs and large campus environments.

RADLAN: Hall 12 Stand X97

RADLAN will be showing its Apollo Pro multilayer router-switch, which was developed to handle tough intranet and subnet traffic levels by combining Layer 2 switching with Layer 3 routing. The distributed architecture delivers integrated Layer 3 switching and routing intelligence from the master unit to up to four slave units. Master units cost $8,200 (#4,970); slave units start at $5,000 (#3,030).

XYLAN: Hall 9 Stands B88D, E60

Xylan will be showcasing its complete range of campus switches, as well as further capabilities in its Switched Network Services (SNS) policy-based initiative. The company has staked a lot on this area - putting a large proportion of the engineering team onto the development effort, and working in conjunction with development partners like IBM and Check Point.

UNINTERRUPTIBLE POWER SUPPLIES

CHLORIDE POWER ELECTRONICS: Hall 12 Stand U40

Chloride promises to provide "dramatic power effects" as part its live demonstrations of UPS up to 20kVA, in the hope of making an impression on network and comms managers who are yet to be converted to the UPS cause. The company's three PowerStart models - 250VA, 400VA and 600VA - also offer network interfaces and management capabilities.

LIEBERT EUROPE: Hall 9 Stand 9F

Liebert is using prize draws - a drawing every hour on its stand for a PowerSure UPS (250VA) unit - to pull in the punters. Being unveiled are: the SiteNet Multi-Link, the world's first UPS software written in Java; and the UPStation GXT Multi Module, a scalable (3KVA to 9kVA) system with N+1 redundancy.

IMV: Hall 12 Stand X32

Formerly known as Victron, this supplier of UPSs to major utilities, computer, process control and telecoms companies, is launching the 19in NetPro UPS. Available in ratings from 600VA to 3kVA, the units are SNMP-compatible, enabling them to communicate an impending shut-down to a network management station.

MPL POWERWARE: Hall 10 Stand N52

A chance to win two tickets for the British Grand Prix in July is the draw at this UPS supplier, which has close links with the world of Formula 1, having supplied power protection to the Australian Grand Prix. On the stand will be the new Powerware Prime, a three-phase double conversion on-line UPS ranging from 7.5 to 45kVA.

PK ELECTRONICS: Hall 12 Stand U82

Users will be spoilt for choice on this cornucopia of UPS delights. Most eye-catching of all is the BlackOut Buster, the world's smallest footprint and most purple 500VA UPS. But pride of place on the stand is the US9001, with parallel redundant online technology.

MIDDAY AT THE OASIS

Come to the Network News stand (D50 in Hall 9) and join in the fun. These are all the things you can do on our stand, an oasis in the midst of the hub-bub:

- Relax at our ice-cream bar with a free Ben & Jerry's ice-cream.

- Win a trip for two to San Francisco and see a baseball game at 3Com Park.

- Play top computer games (Quake II, Actua Soccer 2, Air Attack or Microsoft CART Precision Racing) on Wireplay for twice daily prizes.

- Watch Networks TV debates live.

- Get a free Network News screwdriver (for the first thousand visitors who ask)!!!!!

- Register for your free copies of Network News and NETWORK Solutions.

- Pick up your free copy of our Back to Basics special show supplement, which tells you how to set up a network from scratch.

- Use our terminals to search the UK's best IT and business site for your perfect job on Jobworld (jobworld.co.uk).