inTEST Corporation (NASDAQ:INTT) , an independent designer, manufacturer and marketer of semiconductor automatic test equipment (ATE) interface solutions and temperature management products, today announced results for the quarter ended September 30, 2008.
Net revenues for the quarter ended September 30, 2008 were $9.2 million, compared to $11.5 million in the second quarter of 2008. Our net loss for the third quarter of 2008 was $(2.0) million or $(0.22) per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $(1.4) million or $(0.15) per diluted share for the second quarter of 2008. The net loss for the third quarter of 2008 included charges for impairment of long-lived assets of $133,000 or $0.01 per diluted share and restructuring charges of $61,000 or $0.01 per diluted share, while the net loss for the second quarter of 2008 included restructuring charges of $200,000 or $.02 per diluted share. The impairment of long-lived assets is related to the planned closure of our Amerang, Germany manufacturing facility which was previously announced and the restructuring charges are the result of one-time termination benefits related to our workforce reductions.
Robert E. Matthiessen, President and Chief Executive Officer of inTEST commented, "the continuing weakness and turmoil of the macroeconomic environment has caused a significant reduction in capital spending in the semiconductor industry. This, in turn, has resulted in a decrease in our bookings in the third quarter to $8.2 million, compared to $10.0 million in the second quarter of 2008. With that in mind, we have implemented further restructuring to right-size our operations to the anticipated revenue levels of the foreseeable future. This effort will result in additional restructuring costs in the fourth quarter of 2008. On the positive side, we have begun the integration of Sigma Systems Corporation which we acquired on October 6, 2008.
Sigma is a manufacturer of thermal platforms, custom configured environmental chambers and other environmental test solutions. Sigma will be joining inTEST in a strategic fit with Temptronic that will greatly expand our product offerings outside the semiconductor market, including the automotive, medical/pharmaceutical, electronic, and aerospace/defense markets. We expect that this expansion of our business into markets outside of semiconductor capital equipment will greatly enhance our pursuit of profitability in the future."
Thursday, 6 November 2008
InTEST
inTEST Corporation is an independent designer, manufacturer and marketer of ATE interface solutions and temperature management products, which are used by semiconductor manufacturers to perform final testing of integrated circuits (ICs) and wafers. The Company's high-performance products are designed to enable semiconductor manufacturers to improve the speed, reliability, efficiency and profitability of IC test processes. Specific products include positioner and docking hardware products, temperature management systems and customized interface solutions. The Company has established strong relationships with semiconductor manufacturers globally, which it supports through a network of local offices. For more information visit www.intest.com.
Sunday, 2 November 2008
Siemens ISO Certifications
Siemens IT Solutions & Services announced today that its North American Global Production Centers have achieved a triple crown of ISO certification. Siemens has now officially achieved the following certifications:
-- ISO 9001:2000--Quality Management System
-- ISO/IEC 20000-1--IT Service Management in accordance with ITIL(R)
Processes
-- ISO/IEC 27001--Information Security Management
This triple certification is a rare achievement for any company and reflects a rigorous approach to these three important IT service management disciplines. It also represents a considerable trajectory of achievement for Siemens, which went from a single ISO 9001 certification at their Toronto Data Center to all three certifications at their Mason, Ohio, Toronto and Chicago Centers. In all, Siemens IT Solutions & Services has achieved this triple ISO certification at 65 locations in 17 countries around the world, including 11 out of their 14 Global Productions Centers.
"With this achievement, our North American operations have been integrated even more seamlessly into the Siemens global delivery network," said Michael W. Somers, Vice President, Operations for Siemens IT Solutions & Services. "Collaborating based on common standards in this network enables us to effectively leverage our global capabilities for the North American market."
"These are the three ISO Certifications we set out to achieve as a company and we've accomplished it," said Lisa Davis, the National Director of Quality and Continuous Improvement for Siemens, North America. "Some companies achieve this by dedicating a few people to document process but they are not really lived. I'm confident that we can say that we achieved these certifications because this is 'how we do business'," said Davis.
These Siemens' ISO certifications were achieved by an independent audit conducted by DQS GmbH. Siemens IT Solutions & Services spent a year preparing for the review. The preparation culminated in a 10-day site visit by DQS auditors. The audit focused on highly detailed analyses of the Siemens Global Production Centers in Chicago, Mason, and Toronto and covered everything from verifying the quality and use of industry standard processes for IT service delivery, resolution, control, release and relationship management, to data center security and risk areas such as insuring the use of non-combustible materials in the data centers.
"This is an important milestone for Siemens," said Somers. "The ISO benchmark is an important competitive differentiator in the IT marketplace. It assures our clients around the world that Siemens adheres to a very high set of quality standards. It is," he said, "a strategic and a tactical reality and that quality is reflected in everything we do."
"The triple ISO certification provides Siemens with a unique asset in the IT marketplace. From a customer perspective," said Davis, "this combination of external certifications allows us to integrate quality throughout our service offerings. For instance, we can use ITIL(R) Best Practices to achieve a certain level of quality and then bring in our Six Sigma Black Belts to advance to an even higher level of service."
The achievement of ISO certification is far from an end to the process, noted Davis. While an important achievement, it represents a corporate commitment to quality. ISO-accredited auditors will continue to monitor Siemens processes and procedures to ensure ongoing achievement of their standards. They will conduct at least annual "no-knock" audits of Siemens facilities.
The certifications provide a powerful road map for continuous improvement and assures clients that Siemens adheres to a global benchmark of quality. "That quality manifests itself in the processes and services that we offer our customers," noted Somers. "It provides our customers with a sense of security and requires that we have both internal and external procedures in place that ensure that we deliver what we promise."
-- ISO 9001:2000--Quality Management System
-- ISO/IEC 20000-1--IT Service Management in accordance with ITIL(R)
Processes
-- ISO/IEC 27001--Information Security Management
This triple certification is a rare achievement for any company and reflects a rigorous approach to these three important IT service management disciplines. It also represents a considerable trajectory of achievement for Siemens, which went from a single ISO 9001 certification at their Toronto Data Center to all three certifications at their Mason, Ohio, Toronto and Chicago Centers. In all, Siemens IT Solutions & Services has achieved this triple ISO certification at 65 locations in 17 countries around the world, including 11 out of their 14 Global Productions Centers.
"With this achievement, our North American operations have been integrated even more seamlessly into the Siemens global delivery network," said Michael W. Somers, Vice President, Operations for Siemens IT Solutions & Services. "Collaborating based on common standards in this network enables us to effectively leverage our global capabilities for the North American market."
"These are the three ISO Certifications we set out to achieve as a company and we've accomplished it," said Lisa Davis, the National Director of Quality and Continuous Improvement for Siemens, North America. "Some companies achieve this by dedicating a few people to document process but they are not really lived. I'm confident that we can say that we achieved these certifications because this is 'how we do business'," said Davis.
These Siemens' ISO certifications were achieved by an independent audit conducted by DQS GmbH. Siemens IT Solutions & Services spent a year preparing for the review. The preparation culminated in a 10-day site visit by DQS auditors. The audit focused on highly detailed analyses of the Siemens Global Production Centers in Chicago, Mason, and Toronto and covered everything from verifying the quality and use of industry standard processes for IT service delivery, resolution, control, release and relationship management, to data center security and risk areas such as insuring the use of non-combustible materials in the data centers.
"This is an important milestone for Siemens," said Somers. "The ISO benchmark is an important competitive differentiator in the IT marketplace. It assures our clients around the world that Siemens adheres to a very high set of quality standards. It is," he said, "a strategic and a tactical reality and that quality is reflected in everything we do."
"The triple ISO certification provides Siemens with a unique asset in the IT marketplace. From a customer perspective," said Davis, "this combination of external certifications allows us to integrate quality throughout our service offerings. For instance, we can use ITIL(R) Best Practices to achieve a certain level of quality and then bring in our Six Sigma Black Belts to advance to an even higher level of service."
The achievement of ISO certification is far from an end to the process, noted Davis. While an important achievement, it represents a corporate commitment to quality. ISO-accredited auditors will continue to monitor Siemens processes and procedures to ensure ongoing achievement of their standards. They will conduct at least annual "no-knock" audits of Siemens facilities.
The certifications provide a powerful road map for continuous improvement and assures clients that Siemens adheres to a global benchmark of quality. "That quality manifests itself in the processes and services that we offer our customers," noted Somers. "It provides our customers with a sense of security and requires that we have both internal and external procedures in place that ensure that we deliver what we promise."
Monday, 27 October 2008
TechExcel Launches ServiceWise 8 and CustomerWise 8
TechExcel, Inc.,announce the release of ServiceWise 8.0 and CustomerWise 8.0. New features and enhancements automate repetitive processes and improve communication and collaboration between support teams and their customers, improving both IT service and support for organizations. Additionally, an improved self-service portal includes automatic active directory password reset that enables support managers to show precise figures on support time saved and improved ROI, on average reducing the number of calls to service teams by approximately 30%.
"Meeting the demand for excellent customer service has never been more challenging. Versions 8.0 of our IT Service Management and customer support software help organizations improve their customers' experience," said Tieren Zhou, Ph.D., CEO and Chief Software Architect at TechExcel. He continued, "We've added a lot of automation that improves usability and service level features that help teams be more responsive to customer requests and also keeps the customer informed."
TechExcel is dedicated to developing software solutions with built-in business intelligence that can be configured by the users to optimize their business processes. By providing integrated CRM, help desk, defect tracking and test management applications, TechExcel integrates Web, wireless, and client/server technologies to provide companies with the flexibility needed to better manage their business.
What's New in Version 8.0: The insight required for successful IT support and customer service
TechExcel ServiceWise and CustomerWise provide companies with the essential tools necessary to effectively manage customer support and customer request processes. Typically, ServiceWise is used to manage internal help desk and IT management processes while CustomerWise is used to manage external customer support, sales, and marketing processes. However, both solutions are designed to improve inter-departmental communication and knowledge management essential for organizations to meet and exceed customers' expectations. Version 8.0 introduces new and enhanced features that allow organizations to optimize all IT processes and dramatically improve the customer experience, including:
-- Smart Screens
-- Microsoft Outlook Integration
-- Service Level Agreement Improvements
-- Drill-Down Reporting
-- Improved Privileges Control
-- Self-service Improvements
-- And More ...
Configurability and user interface customization have always been strengths of TechExcel solutions. The addition of Smart Screen in version 8.0 continues this tradition by allowing ServiceWise and CustomerWise to be configured for processes and request tracking beyond just support desk requests. Users can now effectively manage the many different types of requests a support team or IT team encounter including: incident requests, change requests, service requests, safety reports, and even non-technical requests and work orders from within a single application.
TechExcel ServiceWise and CustomerWise 8.0 also include workflow automation improvements that enable several teams to collaborate more effectively on shared work activities. Furthermore, work scheduling has also been improved to enable better escalation procedures for critical tasks. Integration improvements such as a Microsoft Outlook Sync and a Microsoft Active Directory password reset utility further improve communication and self-service between customers and technicians.
On-demand Web seminars and personal demonstrations of TechExcel ServiceWise and CustomerWise 8.0 are available now. Call 800-439-7782 extension 5 or visit http://www.techexcel.com/ for more information about TechExcel offerings.
"Meeting the demand for excellent customer service has never been more challenging. Versions 8.0 of our IT Service Management and customer support software help organizations improve their customers' experience," said Tieren Zhou, Ph.D., CEO and Chief Software Architect at TechExcel. He continued, "We've added a lot of automation that improves usability and service level features that help teams be more responsive to customer requests and also keeps the customer informed."
TechExcel is dedicated to developing software solutions with built-in business intelligence that can be configured by the users to optimize their business processes. By providing integrated CRM, help desk, defect tracking and test management applications, TechExcel integrates Web, wireless, and client/server technologies to provide companies with the flexibility needed to better manage their business.
What's New in Version 8.0: The insight required for successful IT support and customer service
TechExcel ServiceWise and CustomerWise provide companies with the essential tools necessary to effectively manage customer support and customer request processes. Typically, ServiceWise is used to manage internal help desk and IT management processes while CustomerWise is used to manage external customer support, sales, and marketing processes. However, both solutions are designed to improve inter-departmental communication and knowledge management essential for organizations to meet and exceed customers' expectations. Version 8.0 introduces new and enhanced features that allow organizations to optimize all IT processes and dramatically improve the customer experience, including:
-- Smart Screens
-- Microsoft Outlook Integration
-- Service Level Agreement Improvements
-- Drill-Down Reporting
-- Improved Privileges Control
-- Self-service Improvements
-- And More ...
Configurability and user interface customization have always been strengths of TechExcel solutions. The addition of Smart Screen in version 8.0 continues this tradition by allowing ServiceWise and CustomerWise to be configured for processes and request tracking beyond just support desk requests. Users can now effectively manage the many different types of requests a support team or IT team encounter including: incident requests, change requests, service requests, safety reports, and even non-technical requests and work orders from within a single application.
TechExcel ServiceWise and CustomerWise 8.0 also include workflow automation improvements that enable several teams to collaborate more effectively on shared work activities. Furthermore, work scheduling has also been improved to enable better escalation procedures for critical tasks. Integration improvements such as a Microsoft Outlook Sync and a Microsoft Active Directory password reset utility further improve communication and self-service between customers and technicians.
On-demand Web seminars and personal demonstrations of TechExcel ServiceWise and CustomerWise 8.0 are available now. Call 800-439-7782 extension 5 or visit http://www.techexcel.com/ for more information about TechExcel offerings.
Sunday, 26 October 2008
ICCM
ICCM's core objective is to provide revolutionary software and superior services to organisations aspiring to Best Practice Service Management. Rather than the legacy "application development" driven approach that many vendors in the market have adopted, ICCM's forward-thinking approach blends their first-class Service Desk tool with the functionality of business technology in the form of Metastorm BPM®. This collaboration delivers unparalleled Service Management capabilities across all industries and business functions in almost every geographical region.
Tuesday, 14 October 2008
Coverity Customer Milestone
Coverity(TM), Inc. today announced the company's customer base has grown to more than 500 customers. This milestone was achieved after record revenue growth throughout 2008, during which time Coverity accepted its first round of external funding following six consecutive years of cash flow positive growth. In 2008, Coverity has also introduced a new dynamic analysis product, a new software readiness management product and acquired development tool vendor Codefast to accelerate the expansion of the company's suite of developer oriented products.
"Coverity Prevent has been a key part of our code quality initiative for over two years. Coverity's sophisticated defect detection methodology allowed us to enjoy a 'signal-to-noise' ratio that is 5 times superior to other static analysis tools we used," said Collin Park, senior engineer at NetApp. "Coverity continues to be a valuable resource in helping us develop software with the highest possible standards of quality and security so we can help our customers' businesses succeed."
With over 500 customers, Coverity's customer base has already grown more than 30 percent in 2008. In addition to Coverity's growth, in 2008 the company has made the following accomplishments:
-- New Software Readiness Product -- Coverity Software Readiness Manager(TM) allows QA, development managers and executives to objectively assess the release readiness of their critical code by combining essential data from multiple sources including Prevent, Coverity's industry-leading static analysis product. Software Readiness Manager helps development teams deliver high-integrity code that successfully meets quality standards to align product development with business goals.
-- New Dynamic Analysis Product -- Coverity Thread Analyzer(TM) for Java observes code as it is executed and automatically and predictably identifies race conditions and deadlocks. The product is unique in the field of dynamic analysis because its sophisticated technology detects not only problems that will occur in limited testing environments, but also problems that have the potential to occur over extended operations in field environments.
-- Codefast Acquisition -- Coverity acquired build management vendor Codefast in 2008. The technology acquired from Codefast will be enhanced to take advantage of Coverity's patented Software DNA Map(TM) analysis system, further expanding the company's platform of products that enable software development teams to ensure the integrity of their code.
-- Scan Report on Open Source Software 2008 -- The Scan site (http://www.scan.coverity.com/) is an outgrowth of Coverity's relationship with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to help improve the quality and security of open source software. This year, Coverity released a report on the Scan project based on 2 years of recurring analysis of over 250 popular open source code bases with Coverity Prevent(TM). The report detailed the continuing improvement of open source software, representing a collection of code analysis data unlike anything else in the world, spanning 14,238 individual project analysis runs for a total of nearly 10 billion lines of code over a 2 year period.
"With a proven track record of financial success and technical innovation, Coverity is poised to do even more to help our customers develop software with the highest possible integrity," said Seth Hallem, CEO of Coverity. "The longstanding relationships we have with our customers remain a critical component of Coverity's foundation for further growth, because our ability to help our customers succeed is always a predictor of our own ability to succeed."
"Coverity Prevent has been a key part of our code quality initiative for over two years. Coverity's sophisticated defect detection methodology allowed us to enjoy a 'signal-to-noise' ratio that is 5 times superior to other static analysis tools we used," said Collin Park, senior engineer at NetApp. "Coverity continues to be a valuable resource in helping us develop software with the highest possible standards of quality and security so we can help our customers' businesses succeed."
With over 500 customers, Coverity's customer base has already grown more than 30 percent in 2008. In addition to Coverity's growth, in 2008 the company has made the following accomplishments:
-- New Software Readiness Product -- Coverity Software Readiness Manager(TM) allows QA, development managers and executives to objectively assess the release readiness of their critical code by combining essential data from multiple sources including Prevent, Coverity's industry-leading static analysis product. Software Readiness Manager helps development teams deliver high-integrity code that successfully meets quality standards to align product development with business goals.
-- New Dynamic Analysis Product -- Coverity Thread Analyzer(TM) for Java observes code as it is executed and automatically and predictably identifies race conditions and deadlocks. The product is unique in the field of dynamic analysis because its sophisticated technology detects not only problems that will occur in limited testing environments, but also problems that have the potential to occur over extended operations in field environments.
-- Codefast Acquisition -- Coverity acquired build management vendor Codefast in 2008. The technology acquired from Codefast will be enhanced to take advantage of Coverity's patented Software DNA Map(TM) analysis system, further expanding the company's platform of products that enable software development teams to ensure the integrity of their code.
-- Scan Report on Open Source Software 2008 -- The Scan site (http://www.scan.coverity.com/) is an outgrowth of Coverity's relationship with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to help improve the quality and security of open source software. This year, Coverity released a report on the Scan project based on 2 years of recurring analysis of over 250 popular open source code bases with Coverity Prevent(TM). The report detailed the continuing improvement of open source software, representing a collection of code analysis data unlike anything else in the world, spanning 14,238 individual project analysis runs for a total of nearly 10 billion lines of code over a 2 year period.
"With a proven track record of financial success and technical innovation, Coverity is poised to do even more to help our customers develop software with the highest possible integrity," said Seth Hallem, CEO of Coverity. "The longstanding relationships we have with our customers remain a critical component of Coverity's foundation for further growth, because our ability to help our customers succeed is always a predictor of our own ability to succeed."
Permabit in Symantec Enterprise Certification
Permabit Technology Corporation, the industry's leading innovator of scalable, data-reduced storage for enterprise archiving, today announced that the Permabit Enterprise Archive family has completed testing through the Symantec Technology Enabled Program (STEP) and has been certified as interoperable with Symantec Enterprise Vault. This certification provides corporate and government customers with the assurance that Permabit's scalable disk-based archiving solution integrates seamlessly with Symantec's intelligent archiving platform.
"The open architecture of Permabit Enterprise Archive allows seamless interaction with thousands of applications. This certification validates that our solutions are compatible with Symantec Enterprise Vault, giving our joint customers added piece of mind," said Tom Cook, CEO, Permabit. "This recognition demonstrates a mutual commitment to ensure we provide our joint customers with a certified and supported solution to secure enterprise customers' business critical information."
Enterprise Vault provides an intelligent archiving platform that stores, manages, and enables discovery of corporate data from email systems, file server environments, instant messaging platforms, and content management and collaboration systems. The solution is able to store all of these data types in a single massively scalable Permabit Enterprise Archive. By leveraging Permabit's flexible and scalable grid storage architecture, customers can start with one archive initiative and quickly and easily add additional content types to the system. The flexibility to convert archive volumes from Read/Write to Write Once Read Many (WORM) at any time facilitates immediate deployment while providing the flexibility to add more stringent archive requirements later to meet regulatory compliance or corporate governance needs.
Permabit Enterprise Archive provides long-term integrity of stored information for large enterprises while dramatically shrinking operating expenses by leveraging patented Scalable Data Reduction(TM) technology, which combines sub-file inline deduplication with traditional compression. Meeting the increasing need for simplicity and reliability in unified enterprise archive solutions as data capacity requirements continue to grow, Symantec and Permabit provide a cost-effective, unified solution that addresses the massive storage requirements of email and file-based archives.
"The open architecture of Permabit Enterprise Archive allows seamless interaction with thousands of applications. This certification validates that our solutions are compatible with Symantec Enterprise Vault, giving our joint customers added piece of mind," said Tom Cook, CEO, Permabit. "This recognition demonstrates a mutual commitment to ensure we provide our joint customers with a certified and supported solution to secure enterprise customers' business critical information."
Enterprise Vault provides an intelligent archiving platform that stores, manages, and enables discovery of corporate data from email systems, file server environments, instant messaging platforms, and content management and collaboration systems. The solution is able to store all of these data types in a single massively scalable Permabit Enterprise Archive. By leveraging Permabit's flexible and scalable grid storage architecture, customers can start with one archive initiative and quickly and easily add additional content types to the system. The flexibility to convert archive volumes from Read/Write to Write Once Read Many (WORM) at any time facilitates immediate deployment while providing the flexibility to add more stringent archive requirements later to meet regulatory compliance or corporate governance needs.
Permabit Enterprise Archive provides long-term integrity of stored information for large enterprises while dramatically shrinking operating expenses by leveraging patented Scalable Data Reduction(TM) technology, which combines sub-file inline deduplication with traditional compression. Meeting the increasing need for simplicity and reliability in unified enterprise archive solutions as data capacity requirements continue to grow, Symantec and Permabit provide a cost-effective, unified solution that addresses the massive storage requirements of email and file-based archives.
Thursday, 18 September 2008
Testuff
Following a successful beta with over 1,000 participant companies, Testuff launches its on-demand software test management tool. Aside from the standard features for test stuff management, Testuff offers an intuitive interface, bug tracker integration, and test video recording, all at an affordable price.
Why another test management tool in a market flooded with solutions? The founders of Testuff were dissatisfied with the existing products out there. They were too expensive, too big, too complicated, and required high maintenance. Testuff was born to provide a better solution to a neglected audience: small companies that didn't wish to spend thousands of dollars on test management.
A lot of thought and effort has been put to make Testuff simple, intuitive, and fun to use. By deliberately going desktop in a web age, Testuff achieves a very smooth look and feel that's rare amongst web apps. Accordingly, users report they get fully working with it within an hour.
Integration with the existing work environment is also important for Testuff. Development teams usually install and use a bug tracker before any QA personnel is hired. Therefore, Testuff isn't bundled with a built-in bug tracker like most tools. Instead it integrates with the existing bug tracker by exporting all defects to it.
One of the innovations Testuff offers is built-in test video recording. When executing a manual test one can record the screen, mouse and keyboard. The video is then included in exported defects so that the dev team may easily see bugs recreated in front of their eyes, not able to use the "works for me" excuse any more.
What is the Testuff vision? Arik Aharoni, CEO and founder, tells us: "Most of our effort when building Testuff went into molding it to fit the hand and mind of the QA. The playful UI, video recording, integration with bug trackers and every other feature in Testuff are there to make testers' lives easier."
Why another test management tool in a market flooded with solutions? The founders of Testuff were dissatisfied with the existing products out there. They were too expensive, too big, too complicated, and required high maintenance. Testuff was born to provide a better solution to a neglected audience: small companies that didn't wish to spend thousands of dollars on test management.
A lot of thought and effort has been put to make Testuff simple, intuitive, and fun to use. By deliberately going desktop in a web age, Testuff achieves a very smooth look and feel that's rare amongst web apps. Accordingly, users report they get fully working with it within an hour.
Integration with the existing work environment is also important for Testuff. Development teams usually install and use a bug tracker before any QA personnel is hired. Therefore, Testuff isn't bundled with a built-in bug tracker like most tools. Instead it integrates with the existing bug tracker by exporting all defects to it.
One of the innovations Testuff offers is built-in test video recording. When executing a manual test one can record the screen, mouse and keyboard. The video is then included in exported defects so that the dev team may easily see bugs recreated in front of their eyes, not able to use the "works for me" excuse any more.
What is the Testuff vision? Arik Aharoni, CEO and founder, tells us: "Most of our effort when building Testuff went into molding it to fit the hand and mind of the QA. The playful UI, video recording, integration with bug trackers and every other feature in Testuff are there to make testers' lives easier."
Tuesday, 16 September 2008
Spirent Launches TestCenter Fibre Channel
Spirent Communications plc , a global provider of performance analysis and service management solutions, today announced the launch of Spirent TestCenter(TM) Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) Solution, the industry's first test product to validate the performance characteristics of FCoE systems, an emerging technology for enterprise data center networks. A demonstration of this FCoE solution is being showcased at the Spirent Proof of Concept (SPoC) Labs and Collaboration Centers (http://www.spirent.com/go/spoclab) in Beijing, London and Sunnyvale.
FCoE is a proposed industry standard designed to extend data connectivity in addressing current and future business requirements. FCoE maintains existing management paradigm and tools for storage and will serve as a bridge between storage networking and other next-generation data center networks. Initially, FCoE offers SAN and systems administrators the benefit of being able to reduce the number of physical network interfaces in the server, which reduces costs and simplifies management. FCoE utilizes the mission-critical characteristics of Fibre Channel technology and works with existing infrastructure and applications.
The Spirent TestCenter FCoE solution helps assess the interaction of storage and data center traffic over a common interface. Built on Spirent's Fibre Channel hardware and software expertise, the introduction of its FCoE solution demonstrates the company's market leadership and commitment to advancing the development and deployment of the latest technologies. By leveraging its extensive expertise in the Fibre Channel and Ethernet marketplaces, Spirent delivers the most complete product of its kind with the ability to support Layer 2-7 network performance testing with a broad platform specifically designed for multi-play networks and multi-device technologies.
"Brocade is a pioneer who helped create the SAN industry and customers are now turning to us as a strategic and trusted vendor. Specifically, they are asking us to help them evolve their data centers with new technologies in mind while continuing to enjoy the benefits of the most innovative, high-performance data center fabric technologies available today," said Marty Lans, senior director in the Data Center Infrastructure Division at Brocade. "With the only product capable of pre-testing the performance and interoperability of the FCoE protocol for storage networks, working with Spirent will help ensure that our FCoE solutions will maintain industry-leading latency and loss behaviors and maintain Fibre Channel-like integrity of data connectivity"
"Testing is becoming a strategic imperative for our customers, especially as they consider developing technologies such as FCoE," said Tim Jefferson, general manager for Spirent TestCenter at Spirent Communications. "Spirent is in a unique position to serve this market since we are able extended our knowledge of Fibre Channel and Ethernet testing, and our expertise in the 10-Gigabit arena to develop the most comprehensive solution for testing a superior breed of storage network and data center solutions."
Test engineers now have the ability to analyze a number of critical occurrences including the encapsulation of a native Fibre Channel frame into an Ethernet frame, the emergence of Converged Enhanced Ethernet (CEE) to help ensure lossless fabric, and the effect of replacing a Fibre Channel link with MAC addresses in CEE environments. Spirent TestCenter FCoE provides support for FCoE Initialization Protocol (FIP), a control plane protocol, and Priority Flow Control (PFC), the advanced quality of service protocol for Ethernet. Ultimately, users of Spirent's FCoE solution can easily understand latency issues as well as the impact of packets which are dropped and scenarios such as loss of power.
FCoE is a proposed industry standard designed to extend data connectivity in addressing current and future business requirements. FCoE maintains existing management paradigm and tools for storage and will serve as a bridge between storage networking and other next-generation data center networks. Initially, FCoE offers SAN and systems administrators the benefit of being able to reduce the number of physical network interfaces in the server, which reduces costs and simplifies management. FCoE utilizes the mission-critical characteristics of Fibre Channel technology and works with existing infrastructure and applications.
The Spirent TestCenter FCoE solution helps assess the interaction of storage and data center traffic over a common interface. Built on Spirent's Fibre Channel hardware and software expertise, the introduction of its FCoE solution demonstrates the company's market leadership and commitment to advancing the development and deployment of the latest technologies. By leveraging its extensive expertise in the Fibre Channel and Ethernet marketplaces, Spirent delivers the most complete product of its kind with the ability to support Layer 2-7 network performance testing with a broad platform specifically designed for multi-play networks and multi-device technologies.
"Brocade is a pioneer who helped create the SAN industry and customers are now turning to us as a strategic and trusted vendor. Specifically, they are asking us to help them evolve their data centers with new technologies in mind while continuing to enjoy the benefits of the most innovative, high-performance data center fabric technologies available today," said Marty Lans, senior director in the Data Center Infrastructure Division at Brocade. "With the only product capable of pre-testing the performance and interoperability of the FCoE protocol for storage networks, working with Spirent will help ensure that our FCoE solutions will maintain industry-leading latency and loss behaviors and maintain Fibre Channel-like integrity of data connectivity"
"Testing is becoming a strategic imperative for our customers, especially as they consider developing technologies such as FCoE," said Tim Jefferson, general manager for Spirent TestCenter at Spirent Communications. "Spirent is in a unique position to serve this market since we are able extended our knowledge of Fibre Channel and Ethernet testing, and our expertise in the 10-Gigabit arena to develop the most comprehensive solution for testing a superior breed of storage network and data center solutions."
Test engineers now have the ability to analyze a number of critical occurrences including the encapsulation of a native Fibre Channel frame into an Ethernet frame, the emergence of Converged Enhanced Ethernet (CEE) to help ensure lossless fabric, and the effect of replacing a Fibre Channel link with MAC addresses in CEE environments. Spirent TestCenter FCoE provides support for FCoE Initialization Protocol (FIP), a control plane protocol, and Priority Flow Control (PFC), the advanced quality of service protocol for Ethernet. Ultimately, users of Spirent's FCoE solution can easily understand latency issues as well as the impact of packets which are dropped and scenarios such as loss of power.
Spirent Communications First Demo of Galileo Glonass
Spirent Communications plc today announced the first public demonstration of GPS/Galileo/GLONASS simulation system with Spirent GSS8000 (http://www.spirent.com/general/docview.cfm?D=5074) multi-constellation, multi-signal simulator at Institute of Navigation (ION) GNSS 2008 conference. Spirent's new GSS8000 GNSS simulator is a powerful, flexible platform providing solutions for R&D and system and application testing. The GSS8000 supports multi-system, multi constellation GNSS testing with industry leading flexibility, accuracy, and reliability.
Simulators are essential tools for GNSS R&D and system and application developers as they provide controlled, repeatable test signals. The GSS8000 on display from September 17 - 19 at ION GNSS 2008 conference in Savannah, Georgia includes GPS, Galileo and GLONASS signals, plus SBAS (WAAS, EGNOS, MSAS), combined at one RF output. The same system is also capable of generating signals representing the planned Japanese Quazi Zenith satellite system. Spirent will have GPS, GLONASS and Galileo receivers on their booth and intend to run a series of demonstrations throughout the show.
Representatives from Spirent Communications and Spirent Federal Systems will be at the ION GNSS 2008 show where the Spirent GSS8000 GNSS simulator will be a key focus of Spirent's exhibit. Spirent Federal Systems is the Spirent affiliate responsible for sales of Spirent equipment in the Americas.
Simulators are essential tools for GNSS R&D and system and application developers as they provide controlled, repeatable test signals. The GSS8000 on display from September 17 - 19 at ION GNSS 2008 conference in Savannah, Georgia includes GPS, Galileo and GLONASS signals, plus SBAS (WAAS, EGNOS, MSAS), combined at one RF output. The same system is also capable of generating signals representing the planned Japanese Quazi Zenith satellite system. Spirent will have GPS, GLONASS and Galileo receivers on their booth and intend to run a series of demonstrations throughout the show.
Representatives from Spirent Communications and Spirent Federal Systems will be at the ION GNSS 2008 show where the Spirent GSS8000 GNSS simulator will be a key focus of Spirent's exhibit. Spirent Federal Systems is the Spirent affiliate responsible for sales of Spirent equipment in the Americas.
Monday, 1 September 2008
DnsMux
IP load-balancing and traffic management appliances for enhanced performance, high availability, reliability, and disaster tolerance from Redhill Networks
Natural disasters can be unpredictable and unavoidable, but they do not need to cause systems to be unavailable.
As Internet and intranet applications continue to grow in popularity and criticality, as more and more users around the globe become connected to the Internet, and as applications are increasing served via the Internet, the demands for continuous availability and the cost of downtime continue to escallate. Today’s users demand ever-more stable computing environments and expect web sites to always be available.
Today’s users also demand high performance from anywhere in the world. Many companies are deploying additional hosting sites to satisfy user demands but face challenges as to how to connect users to the best servers to satisfy their requests and deliver high performance to users located far away from hosting servers
+ Introducing DnsMux
DnsMux™ is an intelligent DNS server that can ensure the uptime and of Web- and other IP-based applications by diverting traffic away from failed servers to servers at one or more different geographical locations, while also ensuring that users worldwide are connected to the best servers to meet performance and content objectives.
Availability of hosting servers becomes harder to manage when they are at different locations, so further challenges arise as to how to handle scheduled downtime – and, even more difficult, unscheduled downtime due to failure – of servers that are out of reach, while ensuring demands for continuous availability to users worldwide. DnsMux facilitates servers or entire sites to be taken out of operation at will, all from a Web-based interface anywhere in the world.
CAI Networks has created a simple and affordable solution to meet these challenges. With DnsMux, what has until now been available only to those with the resources to spend on high-priced solutions is now available to everyone.
+ What is DNSMux?
DnsMux is a network appliance that replaces conventional authoritative DNS servers, which offer limited functionality. In a multi-site environment, DNSMux provides all the functionality of existing DNS server but additionally offers:
High availability / failover: DnsMux automatically monitors the health of the web servers it controls; should a failure occur, or should one or more servers at a site be taken out of operation, DnsMux automatically sends new traffic to a functioning site
High performance / load balancing: DnsMux automatically detects heavily-loaded servers or sites and directs users to equivalent servers or sites with lighter loads
Affinity targeting: DnsMux can automatically determine the geographical location of each user and, based on configuration settings, route them to the appropriate web server or server farm that contains the appropriate content based on language, geography, etc.
+ High Availability / Failover
Natural disasters, power outages, ISP failures, and other problems can cause a site to be totally unreachable for a short or extended period of time. During that time, many users are likely to give up and assume the worst, since they will have no idea when the site may come back up, and are likely to abandon after retrying for a brief period of time. This can mean loss of confidence, and loss of business.
DnsMux handles such problems by regularly checking the health of each site (comprised of one or more web servers) it manages every few seconds to ensure that each is operational. Should the site experience problems, its servers are immediately taken out of service and new traffic is routed to another site. Such multiple sites can all be active, or one or more can be designed as hot standby. DnsMux can be configured to fail over to either any active site or to a specific site should a failure occur.
DnsMux’s health-checking uses OSI layer 4 to 7 network protocols and RSA-encrypted secure communication between DnsMuxes at all times. Should an abnormal situation be detected, DnsMux can be configured to send notification to a specified email address, mobile phone, or PDA.
+ Facilitates Planned and Unplanned Downtime
Besides being able to avoid unplanned downtime due to disaster or other mishap, DnsMux facilitates planned downtime for maintenance or other purpose by exempting one or more (or all) servers at a site from receiving traffic. During such times, traffic is diverted to other servers or other sites until the server(s) are brought back online.
DnsMux permits sites to be designated for normal operation, or they can act as hot standbys should another site fail.
+ Peak Performance for Geographically Distributed
Users and Sites
Whereas ordinary DNS servers directs users to multiple sites serving the same content on a rather arbitrary basis, DNSMux can route each user to the site that offers the best performance.
DnsMux can automatically determine each user’s approximate geographical location and the proximity to each server in a DnsMux-managed geographical network, and cause the traffic to be routed to the closest server that hosts the content being sought.
DnsMux regularly monitors the performance of each server it manages and routes traffic to the best performing servers, thereby ensuring optimal user response times. DnsMux can intelligently load-balance traffic between multiple sites as well as multiple servers at a site.
+ Affinity Targeting Connects Users to Appropriate Content
An important DnsMux feature for sites that contain disparate content is the ability to automatically routes users to the sites and servers containing appropriate content. Such affinities are typically based on geography – for example, routing users in Germany to German-language sites, or routing European users to a Europe site while US-based are routed to English-language sites in North America.
Such affinity targeting is accomplished via automatic determination of users’ locations and configuration settings identifying which geographies should be associated with various sites. If multiple servers can satisfy affinity-based user requests, DnsMux is able to route users to the closest ones, based on geographical proximity or measured performance.
Failover capability is employed so that if any of the DnsMux-managed sites should fail users will be automatically rerouted around them to the sites that contain the appropriate content.
+ High Security
DnsMux configuration and management is done via a browser-based interface, permitting remote administration from anywhere that has IP connectivity and secure access to the DnsMux unit. DnsMux contains its own firewall to enforce access only by authorized users or other DnsMux units with which it communicates.
DnsMux’s configuration and management features include:
Master/slave configuration capability permits changes to be made on one DnsMux and automatically propagated to other DnsMuxes in the network
DnsMux’s built-in firewall restricts configuration access to only authorized users
DnsMux is equipped with a second network interface, allowing administration tasks to be routed through a specified network
DnsMux can be located behind a NAT firewall or WebMux load balancer
The DnsMux unit includes a front keypad interface and menu-driven LCD display, which constantly updates its operational status.
To further ease implementation, CAI Networks can factory pre-configure a customer’s DnsMux unit(s) as a free service.
Natural disasters can be unpredictable and unavoidable, but they do not need to cause systems to be unavailable.
As Internet and intranet applications continue to grow in popularity and criticality, as more and more users around the globe become connected to the Internet, and as applications are increasing served via the Internet, the demands for continuous availability and the cost of downtime continue to escallate. Today’s users demand ever-more stable computing environments and expect web sites to always be available.
Today’s users also demand high performance from anywhere in the world. Many companies are deploying additional hosting sites to satisfy user demands but face challenges as to how to connect users to the best servers to satisfy their requests and deliver high performance to users located far away from hosting servers
+ Introducing DnsMux
DnsMux™ is an intelligent DNS server that can ensure the uptime and of Web- and other IP-based applications by diverting traffic away from failed servers to servers at one or more different geographical locations, while also ensuring that users worldwide are connected to the best servers to meet performance and content objectives.
Availability of hosting servers becomes harder to manage when they are at different locations, so further challenges arise as to how to handle scheduled downtime – and, even more difficult, unscheduled downtime due to failure – of servers that are out of reach, while ensuring demands for continuous availability to users worldwide. DnsMux facilitates servers or entire sites to be taken out of operation at will, all from a Web-based interface anywhere in the world.
CAI Networks has created a simple and affordable solution to meet these challenges. With DnsMux, what has until now been available only to those with the resources to spend on high-priced solutions is now available to everyone.
+ What is DNSMux?
DnsMux is a network appliance that replaces conventional authoritative DNS servers, which offer limited functionality. In a multi-site environment, DNSMux provides all the functionality of existing DNS server but additionally offers:
High availability / failover: DnsMux automatically monitors the health of the web servers it controls; should a failure occur, or should one or more servers at a site be taken out of operation, DnsMux automatically sends new traffic to a functioning site
High performance / load balancing: DnsMux automatically detects heavily-loaded servers or sites and directs users to equivalent servers or sites with lighter loads
Affinity targeting: DnsMux can automatically determine the geographical location of each user and, based on configuration settings, route them to the appropriate web server or server farm that contains the appropriate content based on language, geography, etc.
+ High Availability / Failover
Natural disasters, power outages, ISP failures, and other problems can cause a site to be totally unreachable for a short or extended period of time. During that time, many users are likely to give up and assume the worst, since they will have no idea when the site may come back up, and are likely to abandon after retrying for a brief period of time. This can mean loss of confidence, and loss of business.
DnsMux handles such problems by regularly checking the health of each site (comprised of one or more web servers) it manages every few seconds to ensure that each is operational. Should the site experience problems, its servers are immediately taken out of service and new traffic is routed to another site. Such multiple sites can all be active, or one or more can be designed as hot standby. DnsMux can be configured to fail over to either any active site or to a specific site should a failure occur.
DnsMux’s health-checking uses OSI layer 4 to 7 network protocols and RSA-encrypted secure communication between DnsMuxes at all times. Should an abnormal situation be detected, DnsMux can be configured to send notification to a specified email address, mobile phone, or PDA.
+ Facilitates Planned and Unplanned Downtime
Besides being able to avoid unplanned downtime due to disaster or other mishap, DnsMux facilitates planned downtime for maintenance or other purpose by exempting one or more (or all) servers at a site from receiving traffic. During such times, traffic is diverted to other servers or other sites until the server(s) are brought back online.
DnsMux permits sites to be designated for normal operation, or they can act as hot standbys should another site fail.
+ Peak Performance for Geographically Distributed
Users and Sites
Whereas ordinary DNS servers directs users to multiple sites serving the same content on a rather arbitrary basis, DNSMux can route each user to the site that offers the best performance.
DnsMux can automatically determine each user’s approximate geographical location and the proximity to each server in a DnsMux-managed geographical network, and cause the traffic to be routed to the closest server that hosts the content being sought.
DnsMux regularly monitors the performance of each server it manages and routes traffic to the best performing servers, thereby ensuring optimal user response times. DnsMux can intelligently load-balance traffic between multiple sites as well as multiple servers at a site.
+ Affinity Targeting Connects Users to Appropriate Content
An important DnsMux feature for sites that contain disparate content is the ability to automatically routes users to the sites and servers containing appropriate content. Such affinities are typically based on geography – for example, routing users in Germany to German-language sites, or routing European users to a Europe site while US-based are routed to English-language sites in North America.
Such affinity targeting is accomplished via automatic determination of users’ locations and configuration settings identifying which geographies should be associated with various sites. If multiple servers can satisfy affinity-based user requests, DnsMux is able to route users to the closest ones, based on geographical proximity or measured performance.
Failover capability is employed so that if any of the DnsMux-managed sites should fail users will be automatically rerouted around them to the sites that contain the appropriate content.
+ High Security
DnsMux configuration and management is done via a browser-based interface, permitting remote administration from anywhere that has IP connectivity and secure access to the DnsMux unit. DnsMux contains its own firewall to enforce access only by authorized users or other DnsMux units with which it communicates.
DnsMux’s configuration and management features include:
Master/slave configuration capability permits changes to be made on one DnsMux and automatically propagated to other DnsMuxes in the network
DnsMux’s built-in firewall restricts configuration access to only authorized users
DnsMux is equipped with a second network interface, allowing administration tasks to be routed through a specified network
DnsMux can be located behind a NAT firewall or WebMux load balancer
The DnsMux unit includes a front keypad interface and menu-driven LCD display, which constantly updates its operational status.
To further ease implementation, CAI Networks can factory pre-configure a customer’s DnsMux unit(s) as a free service.
Sunday, 31 August 2008
Spirent GNSS Test
Spirent is the world's leading provider of GNSS test and simulation systems. In this capacity, Spirent is the first choice of major manufacturers, integrators, test facilities and space agencies worldwide for GNSS testing and simulation solutions. Today, Spirent simulation systems are used throughout the world through a broad range of clients in more than 30 countries across five continents and in over 50 governmental agencies. Spirent delivers navigation and positioning testing equipment and services to all sectors of the navigation and positioning community, from government agencies through to emerging commercial markets (www.spirent.com/positioning).
QTRAX Load Testing with SOASTA
SOASTA, the leading provider of cloud-based testing solutions, and QTRAX, a new free digital music service, today announced a significant breakthrough in the load testing of web applications in the Cloud. SOASTA CloudTest Lab, running in Amazon EC2, simulated 100,000 virtual users against QTRAX's soon to be launched digital music service. The test required
approximately 100 test servers that were located in SOASTA CloudTest Lab. SOASTA CloudTest Lab produced a complete set of performance analytics that provided QTRAX with metrics on how their web application responded under heavy load -- allowing them to optimize their application configuration far in advance of their public launch.
SOASTA CloudTest Lab, with access to over 1,000 test servers available on demand, enables companies of all sizes to quickly and affordably simulate high volumes of web traffic to test web site performance. What would have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and take weeks to execute, is now easily achievable within an hour and for a fraction of the cost.
"We anticipate our service to be extremely popular with traffic and music content from around the world. We needed an affordable testing solution to make sure we deliver according to our own and our future customers' expectations," said Christopher Roe, CTO, QTRAX. "SOASTA helped us to check and quantify the performance of our service so we can ensure a successful user experience no matter how heavy the traffic."
SOASTA CloudTest provides engineers with a 24x7x365 virtual test lab at their fingertips. The combination of a scalable hardware architecture with leading edge web testing technology enables the testing of every layer of a web application or service. It delivers immediate value, scales seamlessly up or down with testing needs, and does not require investment in a cost prohibitive testing infrastructure. SOASTA CloudTest natively supports every testing type including Load, Performance, Functional, and Web UI/Ajax.
"We are enabling a new way of testing with the combination of our SOASTA CloudTest solution and the virtual computing resources of cloud computing," said Tom Lounibos, CEO, SOASTA. "A load test of this scale has never been done so quickly and affordably. As businesses continue to use the web as their main sales channel, cloud computing's on-demand, scalable infrastructure is key in the way we develop, deploy and manage web applications."
approximately 100 test servers that were located in SOASTA CloudTest Lab. SOASTA CloudTest Lab produced a complete set of performance analytics that provided QTRAX with metrics on how their web application responded under heavy load -- allowing them to optimize their application configuration far in advance of their public launch.
SOASTA CloudTest Lab, with access to over 1,000 test servers available on demand, enables companies of all sizes to quickly and affordably simulate high volumes of web traffic to test web site performance. What would have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and take weeks to execute, is now easily achievable within an hour and for a fraction of the cost.
"We anticipate our service to be extremely popular with traffic and music content from around the world. We needed an affordable testing solution to make sure we deliver according to our own and our future customers' expectations," said Christopher Roe, CTO, QTRAX. "SOASTA helped us to check and quantify the performance of our service so we can ensure a successful user experience no matter how heavy the traffic."
SOASTA CloudTest provides engineers with a 24x7x365 virtual test lab at their fingertips. The combination of a scalable hardware architecture with leading edge web testing technology enables the testing of every layer of a web application or service. It delivers immediate value, scales seamlessly up or down with testing needs, and does not require investment in a cost prohibitive testing infrastructure. SOASTA CloudTest natively supports every testing type including Load, Performance, Functional, and Web UI/Ajax.
"We are enabling a new way of testing with the combination of our SOASTA CloudTest solution and the virtual computing resources of cloud computing," said Tom Lounibos, CEO, SOASTA. "A load test of this scale has never been done so quickly and affordably. As businesses continue to use the web as their main sales channel, cloud computing's on-demand, scalable infrastructure is key in the way we develop, deploy and manage web applications."
Thursday, 28 August 2008
Tektronix IMS and TISPAN Testing
Tektronix has announced the availability of the Spectra2 6.3 Core Network Test Solution software release, which offers comprehensive testing for IMS and TISPAN networks.
With network equipment and service providers increasingly looking to provide differentiated services over next-generation network infrastructure, the need for comprehensive test solutions is key to delivering reliable services.
"Spectra2's legacy of success with PSTN and VoIP networks provides a solid foundation for extending the solution to provide test coverage in next-generation IMS and TISPAN networks," said Richard Kenedi, General Manager of Function and Load Diagnostics, Tektronix Communications. "Our goal is to provide a test solution at the opening of the TISPAN market window. Spectra2 6.3 positions Tektronix as the leader in TISPAN support while continuing to provide world-class solutions for IMS and legacy technologies. Tektronix' Spectra2 'all-in-one' platform has and will continue to satisfy real-world customer needs with a solution that is flexible, reliable and easy to use."
Tektronix' enhanced Spectra2 6.3 software release introduces policy management testing for IMS and TISPAN networks, complementing a mature DIAMETER solution with support for the Gq/Gq' and Rq Interfaces. Spectra2 6.3 offers powerful element simulation capabilities of the next generation Policy Decision elements such as the PDF, SPDF, CSCF and A-RACF and further complements its capability to test IMS Core, VoIP, and PSTN networks.
The Spectra2 6.3 release also implements load testing support for the TISPAN (Megaco V3) la interface. Users are provided with the ability to test and monitor enforcement of local policies at border elements to control bandwidth and session based media traffic. The Spectra2 6.3 release introduces support for Enhanced Variable Rate Codec (EVRC) based media streams, an extension of the Spectra2 media solution set which includes functional and load testing coupled with Quality of Service reporting.
With network equipment and service providers increasingly looking to provide differentiated services over next-generation network infrastructure, the need for comprehensive test solutions is key to delivering reliable services.
"Spectra2's legacy of success with PSTN and VoIP networks provides a solid foundation for extending the solution to provide test coverage in next-generation IMS and TISPAN networks," said Richard Kenedi, General Manager of Function and Load Diagnostics, Tektronix Communications. "Our goal is to provide a test solution at the opening of the TISPAN market window. Spectra2 6.3 positions Tektronix as the leader in TISPAN support while continuing to provide world-class solutions for IMS and legacy technologies. Tektronix' Spectra2 'all-in-one' platform has and will continue to satisfy real-world customer needs with a solution that is flexible, reliable and easy to use."
Tektronix' enhanced Spectra2 6.3 software release introduces policy management testing for IMS and TISPAN networks, complementing a mature DIAMETER solution with support for the Gq/Gq' and Rq Interfaces. Spectra2 6.3 offers powerful element simulation capabilities of the next generation Policy Decision elements such as the PDF, SPDF, CSCF and A-RACF and further complements its capability to test IMS Core, VoIP, and PSTN networks.
The Spectra2 6.3 release also implements load testing support for the TISPAN (Megaco V3) la interface. Users are provided with the ability to test and monitor enforcement of local policies at border elements to control bandwidth and session based media traffic. The Spectra2 6.3 release introduces support for Enhanced Variable Rate Codec (EVRC) based media streams, an extension of the Spectra2 media solution set which includes functional and load testing coupled with Quality of Service reporting.
CACI Contract Win in Simulation for U.S. Army
CACI International Inc (NYSE:CAI) announced today that it has been awarded a $36 million prime contract to support the Modeling and Simulation Division of the U.S. Army's Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD). CACI received the competitive three-year contract (two-year base and one-year option) under its Strategic Services Sourcing (S3) contract with the U.S. Army. This is the sixth NVESD award CACI has announced since December 2007, for a total of more than $129 million in awards since that date. This new award increases both the size and scope of CACI's work with NVESD's Modeling and Simulation Division and strengthens CACI's functional core competency in C4ISR (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance).
NVESD provides the Army with research and development of advanced night vision and other sensor technologies, such as infrared weapon sights, surveillance systems and systems that enhance the soldier's ability to operate at night and during limited visibility conditions. CACI's services to NVESD's Modeling and Simulation Division will support Joint and Army simulation applications that are designed to make military training more realistic and effective while interoperating across all the services.
CACI's role focuses primarily on developing software simulations for NVESD to use in training troops on key C4ISR systems. CACI's team provides advanced, high-resolution 3D graphics, simulations of ground and air vehicles, and terrain mapping and other functions to help contain costs while accelerating the delivery of new capabilities to the warfighter. The company also supports the upgrading of current modeling and simulation software and provides technical support for concept development, systems development, and systems integration and testing. In continuing its NVESD role, CACI assures uninterrupted services delivered by a team with in-depth knowledge of, and familiarity with, NVESD's technical environment and mission requirements.
Said Bill Fairl, CACI President of U.S. Operations, "CACI is proud to continue our support for the U.S. Army's Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate in the technologies our company was founded upon - modeling and simulation. We offer leading-edge solutions and services that ensure timely and effective modeling and simulation support for training and technology development."
According to Paul Cofoni, CACI President and Chief Executive Officer, "As our sustained and growing business with the U.S. Army's Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate shows, CACI continues to expand our support for the nation's greatest needs and requirements. We are proud to play a role in products and services that directly support our warfighters and their ability to complete their missions."
NVESD provides the Army with research and development of advanced night vision and other sensor technologies, such as infrared weapon sights, surveillance systems and systems that enhance the soldier's ability to operate at night and during limited visibility conditions. CACI's services to NVESD's Modeling and Simulation Division will support Joint and Army simulation applications that are designed to make military training more realistic and effective while interoperating across all the services.
CACI's role focuses primarily on developing software simulations for NVESD to use in training troops on key C4ISR systems. CACI's team provides advanced, high-resolution 3D graphics, simulations of ground and air vehicles, and terrain mapping and other functions to help contain costs while accelerating the delivery of new capabilities to the warfighter. The company also supports the upgrading of current modeling and simulation software and provides technical support for concept development, systems development, and systems integration and testing. In continuing its NVESD role, CACI assures uninterrupted services delivered by a team with in-depth knowledge of, and familiarity with, NVESD's technical environment and mission requirements.
Said Bill Fairl, CACI President of U.S. Operations, "CACI is proud to continue our support for the U.S. Army's Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate in the technologies our company was founded upon - modeling and simulation. We offer leading-edge solutions and services that ensure timely and effective modeling and simulation support for training and technology development."
According to Paul Cofoni, CACI President and Chief Executive Officer, "As our sustained and growing business with the U.S. Army's Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate shows, CACI continues to expand our support for the nation's greatest needs and requirements. We are proud to play a role in products and services that directly support our warfighters and their ability to complete their missions."
Tuesday, 26 August 2008
Crosscheck Networks in Europe Tie-Up
Crosscheck Networks has announced a partnership with A.E.T. Europe B.V. (AET), market leader in strong authentication with cryptographic tokens and Digital ID Management. The partnership enables Crosscheck Networks to provide SOA customers worldwide the ability to test WS-Security operations using hardware based smart cards and USB tokens as well as test secure SSL session with dynamic X509 client authentication using the hardware smart card certificate. The integration of SafeSign Identity Client (IC) with SOAPSonar testing product allows customers to quickly validate the interoperability of SOA client applications that utilize hardware-based smartcards for secure signed or encrypted SOAP/XML messages when communicating with SOA infrastructure components.
"AET is the market and technology leader when it comes to middleware for cryptographic tokens. Crosscheck Networks is pleased to partner with a company that delivers strong authentication worldwide to over 10 million users with more than 70 cards and USB tokens from more than 10 different manufacturers," said Jack Hembrough, Board Advisor Crosscheck Networks.
Crosscheck Networks' industry-leading SOA testing software, SOAPSonar, is based on four pillars of SOA testing -- functional regression, performance, security, and compliance. The product simplifies testing at each stage of the SOA lifecycle.
"We are seeing increased use cases in Europe of SOA client applications utilizing hardware-based smartcards for SOAP-XML message cryptography," said Reinoud Weijman, Managing Director of AET. "SOAPSonar's integration with SafeSign IC allows SOA customers to easily test hardware-based cryptography for SOAP-XML before deploying production SOA client applications."
"AET is the market and technology leader when it comes to middleware for cryptographic tokens. Crosscheck Networks is pleased to partner with a company that delivers strong authentication worldwide to over 10 million users with more than 70 cards and USB tokens from more than 10 different manufacturers," said Jack Hembrough, Board Advisor Crosscheck Networks.
Crosscheck Networks' industry-leading SOA testing software, SOAPSonar, is based on four pillars of SOA testing -- functional regression, performance, security, and compliance. The product simplifies testing at each stage of the SOA lifecycle.
"We are seeing increased use cases in Europe of SOA client applications utilizing hardware-based smartcards for SOAP-XML message cryptography," said Reinoud Weijman, Managing Director of AET. "SOAPSonar's integration with SafeSign IC allows SOA customers to easily test hardware-based cryptography for SOAP-XML before deploying production SOA client applications."
SOASTA
SOASTA, Inc. is a provider of cloud-based testing solutions. SOASTA's mission is to ensure that today's web applications and services perform in a high quality, scalable, and predictable manner. The company's product, SOASTA CloudTest(TM), is available as an on demand virtual test lab in the cloud or as an appliance (virtual or hardware), and enables developers to test and monitor their Web applications and services at an affordable price. SOASTA CloudTest supports Load, Performance, Functional, and Web UI/Ajax testing. SOASTA is privately held and headquartered in Mountain View, California. For more information about SOASTA, please visit http://www.soasta.com/
SafeData Launches its Managed High Availability Services
SafeData, LLC has launched its Managed High Availability Services. This new offering will provide organizations with 24/7 monitoring and problem resolution, audits and scheduled switch tests to ensure the stability and confidence of their high availability (HA) environments.
Gartner Group estimates that 50 percent of companies that build out an HA solution fail their disaster recovery (DR) tests and 95 percent of all companies never complete their DR testing. According to Gartner, this is due to the lack of specific knowledge of the technology and very limited IT resources within these organizations.
"The IT resources in businesses today are stretched very thin and running a stable replication system still remains a complex process," said Peter Briggs, president of SafeData. "Many IT departments don't perform periodic role swaps and don't correct errors as often as they should. Our Managed Services offering takes the guesswork out of running high availability and its price point makes it an affordable option for companies looking for an immediate return on their investment."
SafeData can manage an HA environment in the customer network or through its subscription service that provides replication software, iSeries hardware and redundant network in one of its carrier-class data centers. Through either model, SafeData offers 24/7 automated monitoring of the HA environment as well as manual daily and weekly monitoring and incident management services. The company also offers auditing services, ensuring that HA audits are active and running per the recommended intervals. Additionally, SafeData works with its clients to identify roles and responsibilities and perform processes for both virtual and live role-swap tests. In the event of a disaster, SafeData will perform necessary fail-over procedures to ensure the availability of its client's data.
Gartner Group estimates that 50 percent of companies that build out an HA solution fail their disaster recovery (DR) tests and 95 percent of all companies never complete their DR testing. According to Gartner, this is due to the lack of specific knowledge of the technology and very limited IT resources within these organizations.
"The IT resources in businesses today are stretched very thin and running a stable replication system still remains a complex process," said Peter Briggs, president of SafeData. "Many IT departments don't perform periodic role swaps and don't correct errors as often as they should. Our Managed Services offering takes the guesswork out of running high availability and its price point makes it an affordable option for companies looking for an immediate return on their investment."
SafeData can manage an HA environment in the customer network or through its subscription service that provides replication software, iSeries hardware and redundant network in one of its carrier-class data centers. Through either model, SafeData offers 24/7 automated monitoring of the HA environment as well as manual daily and weekly monitoring and incident management services. The company also offers auditing services, ensuring that HA audits are active and running per the recommended intervals. Additionally, SafeData works with its clients to identify roles and responsibilities and perform processes for both virtual and live role-swap tests. In the event of a disaster, SafeData will perform necessary fail-over procedures to ensure the availability of its client's data.
Monday, 25 August 2008
PureLoad
PureLoad is a load testing tool that simulates thousands of users executing requests against server based applications. Use PureLoad to verify performance and stability of your server applications.
Claimed benefits:-
Ease Of Use
No scripting language or programming required, everything controlled from GUI
Extensive support for testing web applications
Test web applications created using JavaEE, .NET, PHP, AJAX, SOAP, ASP, CGI etc.
Support for other type of server applications
Using protocols like FTP, SSH, Telnet, etc.
Cost effective
Prices from $4490 (PureLad Web, 50 virtual users), platform independent and no advanced training required
Claimed benefits:-
Ease Of Use
No scripting language or programming required, everything controlled from GUI
Extensive support for testing web applications
Test web applications created using JavaEE, .NET, PHP, AJAX, SOAP, ASP, CGI etc.
Support for other type of server applications
Using protocols like FTP, SSH, Telnet, etc.
Cost effective
Prices from $4490 (PureLad Web, 50 virtual users), platform independent and no advanced training required
Web Polygraph
Web Polygraph is a freely available performance testing tool for caching proxies, origin server accelerators, L4/7 switches, content filters, and other Web intermediaries. Polygraph's features include:
high-performance HTTP clients and servers
realistic HTTP and SSL traffic generation
HTTP Basic, NTLM, and Negotiate proxy authentication
LDAP-friendly generation of user credentials
flexible content simulation
ready-to-use standard workloads for benchmarking
powerful domain-specific configuration language
portable open-source implementation
friendly commercial support
high-performance HTTP clients and servers
realistic HTTP and SSL traffic generation
HTTP Basic, NTLM, and Negotiate proxy authentication
LDAP-friendly generation of user credentials
flexible content simulation
ready-to-use standard workloads for benchmarking
powerful domain-specific configuration language
portable open-source implementation
friendly commercial support
Crossbeam Certifies Check Points FireWall-1 GX
Crossbeam Systems, Inc. today announced that it has certified Check Point's market-leading FireWall-1 GX product via the iBeam ISV Certification Program to run on Crossbeam's X-Series Next Generation Security Platform.
Using carrier-class equipment in a highly flexible, interconnected test bed, Crossbeam's iBeam ISV Certification Program is the industry's first testing environment that recreates the layered, core security architectures of large enterprise and service provider networks. iBeam assures Crossbeam customers that the best-of-breed security applications they want to use have been thoroughly tested and proven to work together in the complex, multi-vendor network environments that mimic their own.
The iBeam certification of Check Point's FireWall-1 GX will enable GSM mobile operators using GPRS-(2.5G) and UMTS-(3G) enabled wireless networks to protect themselves against a host of threats via Crossbeam's carrier-class security platform -- from over-billing attacks and theft of services to Denial of Service (DoS) attacks -- which can destroy their credibility with customers. GX is the first product to protect these wireless infrastructures from the threats of untrusted networks. With FireWall-1 GX, wireless network operators can offer seamless roaming to their data customers without exposing their network to potential security threats.
"Check Point is pleased to continue our strong partnership with Crossbeam with the certification of Check Point's FireWall-1 GX security solution," said Juliette Sultan, head of global marketing at Check Point Software. "The iBeam certification provides assurance that mobile operators using Crossbeam's next-gen platform can take advantage of the industry's most advanced firewall solution from Check Point."
Crossbeam offers a scalable security platform that virtualizes delivery of best-of-breed security applications. Crossbeam's customer base is comprised of large enterprises and service providers whose demands for security are creating enormous appliance sprawl and affecting performance -- one of the key drivers for security virtualization and use of Crossbeam's platform. Crossbeam's Next Generation Security Platform enables its users to collapse entire security infrastructure segments onto a single device and centralize management, while maintaining carrier-class availability and reliability. This provides customers with unparalleled flexibility, scalability and built-in redundancy to intelligently secure traffic as business and network demands change, without sacrificing performance.
"iBeam rigorously tests security applications in high-performance networks to ensure peak performance," said Jim Freeze, chief marketing officer for Crossbeam. "This is absolutely critical because it enables customers to leverage the full benefits of our next-gen platform to reduce the cost and complexity of managing security in multi-vendor architectures, while meeting strict carrier-class performance requirements."
Using carrier-class equipment in a highly flexible, interconnected test bed, Crossbeam's iBeam ISV Certification Program is the industry's first testing environment that recreates the layered, core security architectures of large enterprise and service provider networks. iBeam assures Crossbeam customers that the best-of-breed security applications they want to use have been thoroughly tested and proven to work together in the complex, multi-vendor network environments that mimic their own.
The iBeam certification of Check Point's FireWall-1 GX will enable GSM mobile operators using GPRS-(2.5G) and UMTS-(3G) enabled wireless networks to protect themselves against a host of threats via Crossbeam's carrier-class security platform -- from over-billing attacks and theft of services to Denial of Service (DoS) attacks -- which can destroy their credibility with customers. GX is the first product to protect these wireless infrastructures from the threats of untrusted networks. With FireWall-1 GX, wireless network operators can offer seamless roaming to their data customers without exposing their network to potential security threats.
"Check Point is pleased to continue our strong partnership with Crossbeam with the certification of Check Point's FireWall-1 GX security solution," said Juliette Sultan, head of global marketing at Check Point Software. "The iBeam certification provides assurance that mobile operators using Crossbeam's next-gen platform can take advantage of the industry's most advanced firewall solution from Check Point."
Crossbeam offers a scalable security platform that virtualizes delivery of best-of-breed security applications. Crossbeam's customer base is comprised of large enterprises and service providers whose demands for security are creating enormous appliance sprawl and affecting performance -- one of the key drivers for security virtualization and use of Crossbeam's platform. Crossbeam's Next Generation Security Platform enables its users to collapse entire security infrastructure segments onto a single device and centralize management, while maintaining carrier-class availability and reliability. This provides customers with unparalleled flexibility, scalability and built-in redundancy to intelligently secure traffic as business and network demands change, without sacrificing performance.
"iBeam rigorously tests security applications in high-performance networks to ensure peak performance," said Jim Freeze, chief marketing officer for Crossbeam. "This is absolutely critical because it enables customers to leverage the full benefits of our next-gen platform to reduce the cost and complexity of managing security in multi-vendor architectures, while meeting strict carrier-class performance requirements."
Tektronix Announces ISDB Support Across full MPEG Portfolio
Tektronix, Inc. has announced comprehensive support for the Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting -- Terrestrial (ISDB-TB) DTV standard across the full MPEG analyzer and generator portfolio. ISDB-TB support is being added to the MTS400 Series MPEG Analyzers and MTS4SA software, and both MTX100B and RTX100B MPEG Generators. The new capabilities will assist Brazilian ISDB-TB broadcasters with deployment of new ISDB-TB services designed to deliver digital TV, HDTV and mobile TV channels to consumer TV sets and mobile/handheld devices.
Brazil started broadcasting over-the-air high definition (1080i) digital TV using the ISDB-TB standard last December. ISDB-TB is based upon the Japan ISDB standard and adds H.264 (MPEG 4) AVC video compression and HE-AAC for audio compression. ISDB-TB requires additional test and measurement capabilities for designers of video compression IC's, professional compression systems and set top boxes as well as broadcasters who deliver traditional broadcast television using compressed digital video over Satellite, Cable and Terrestrial channels.
"With new support for ISDB-TB across the Tektronix MPEG analyzer and generator portfolio, Equipment Developers, Network Operators, and broadcasters have access to the Test and Measurement tools they need to be successful in Brazil," said Arif Kareem, vice president, Video Product Line, Tektronix. "These tools are designed to help our customers maximize quality, reduce time to market and improve operational efficiency."
The MTS400 Series MPEG Analyzers provides DTV and IPTV connectivity and network QoS metrics that are seamlessly integrated into the MPEG analysis capabilities. The addition of ISDB-TB enables equipment designers and manufacturers to ensure standards compliance for new network appliances including consumer premises equipment in support of the ISDB-TB deployment in Brazil. Equipment manufacturers and designers around the world will benefit from improved quality and reduced time to market with support of the ISDB-TB standard.
These new tools provide improved operational efficiency for Brazilian broadcasters. Tektronix MTS Series analyzer products also include integrated cross layer fault analysis and error logging. Users are informed whether root cause of video problems is at the transmission, transport stream or elementary stream layer resulting in reduced time to insight, improved Quality of Service and faster new service deployments.
The RTX100B ISDB-TB RF MPEG Signal Generator offers a flexible, affordable solution for design evaluation and testing of digital video products conforming to the standard for digital terrestrial TV systems. The RTX100B provides the capability to record and play out MPEG-2 transport streams, and modulate the up-converted RF signal. The MTX100B Recorder and Player offer a flexible, affordable solution for design evaluation and conformance testing of digital video products using MPEG-2 technology. The MTX100B can play any transport stream files, including custom transport streams created with off line multiplexers in the Tektronix MPEG analysis tools.
Brazil started broadcasting over-the-air high definition (1080i) digital TV using the ISDB-TB standard last December. ISDB-TB is based upon the Japan ISDB standard and adds H.264 (MPEG 4) AVC video compression and HE-AAC for audio compression. ISDB-TB requires additional test and measurement capabilities for designers of video compression IC's, professional compression systems and set top boxes as well as broadcasters who deliver traditional broadcast television using compressed digital video over Satellite, Cable and Terrestrial channels.
"With new support for ISDB-TB across the Tektronix MPEG analyzer and generator portfolio, Equipment Developers, Network Operators, and broadcasters have access to the Test and Measurement tools they need to be successful in Brazil," said Arif Kareem, vice president, Video Product Line, Tektronix. "These tools are designed to help our customers maximize quality, reduce time to market and improve operational efficiency."
The MTS400 Series MPEG Analyzers provides DTV and IPTV connectivity and network QoS metrics that are seamlessly integrated into the MPEG analysis capabilities. The addition of ISDB-TB enables equipment designers and manufacturers to ensure standards compliance for new network appliances including consumer premises equipment in support of the ISDB-TB deployment in Brazil. Equipment manufacturers and designers around the world will benefit from improved quality and reduced time to market with support of the ISDB-TB standard.
These new tools provide improved operational efficiency for Brazilian broadcasters. Tektronix MTS Series analyzer products also include integrated cross layer fault analysis and error logging. Users are informed whether root cause of video problems is at the transmission, transport stream or elementary stream layer resulting in reduced time to insight, improved Quality of Service and faster new service deployments.
The RTX100B ISDB-TB RF MPEG Signal Generator offers a flexible, affordable solution for design evaluation and testing of digital video products conforming to the standard for digital terrestrial TV systems. The RTX100B provides the capability to record and play out MPEG-2 transport streams, and modulate the up-converted RF signal. The MTX100B Recorder and Player offer a flexible, affordable solution for design evaluation and conformance testing of digital video products using MPEG-2 technology. The MTX100B can play any transport stream files, including custom transport streams created with off line multiplexers in the Tektronix MPEG analysis tools.
Surgient Offers Integrated Solutions and IBM Jazz
.Surgient, is to offer integrated solutions with products built using IBM Jazz collaborative technologies. As a result, IBM quality assurance users can use Surgient's Virtual Automation Platform(TM) to allocate IT resources and set up and tear down virtual labs on-demand for software testing and quality assurance, introducing new efficiencies to the application development lifecycle.t
IBM Jazz provides an open and extensible platform on top of which IBM, business partners and clients are building new development tools that integrate collaboration, team awareness and project health into every aspect of the software development lifecycle. Later this year, Surgient's Virtual Automation Platform will include an integration with IBM Rational Quality Manager, comprehensive test planning and process software that provides a single view into all aspects of a quality plan. Surgient's product currently integrates with IBM's Rational BuildForge.
"IBM created Jazz and the Jazz initiative to encourage collaboration and innovation among dispersed developers and development teams," said Michael Loria, vice president of business development, IBM Rational Software. "Surgient's virtual test lab management support for IBM Rational Quality Manager helps eliminate physical and virtual distances within development team environments."
By implementing the Surgient Virtual Automation Platform, development and QA organizations will benefit from Surgient's self-service IT solution for virtual lab management. IBM Rational customers using IBM Rational Quality Manager can request and build a live application testing environment with specific configurations without manual administration from a company's IT department, freeing up IT personnel to address additional business critical initiatives. Surgient was a visionary behind virtual lab management beginning in 2003 and now serves many of the world's largest companies.
"Surgient's Virtual Automation Platform is one of the most comprehensive, mature and powerful orchestration engines in the industry today," said Sameer Jagtap, vice president of product strategy at Surgient. "By leveraging virtualization technologies and fully automating complex IT operations for pre-production and production data centers, Surgient streamlines the application development lifecycle by allowing developers, testers and other users to drive this process in a self-service and on-demand model."
Jagtap added: "By combining virtualization and Surgient's automation technology, IT organizations can reduce costs for infrastructure and administration, create a powerful self-service environment for developers and testers, and ultimately accelerate the application development lifecycle. IBM's powerful lifecycle development tools based on IBM Jazz collaborative technologies are a natural complement for Surgient solutions, and we are excited to bring this integrated solution to market."
IBM Jazz provides an open and extensible platform on top of which IBM, business partners and clients are building new development tools that integrate collaboration, team awareness and project health into every aspect of the software development lifecycle. Later this year, Surgient's Virtual Automation Platform will include an integration with IBM Rational Quality Manager, comprehensive test planning and process software that provides a single view into all aspects of a quality plan. Surgient's product currently integrates with IBM's Rational BuildForge.
"IBM created Jazz and the Jazz initiative to encourage collaboration and innovation among dispersed developers and development teams," said Michael Loria, vice president of business development, IBM Rational Software. "Surgient's virtual test lab management support for IBM Rational Quality Manager helps eliminate physical and virtual distances within development team environments."
By implementing the Surgient Virtual Automation Platform, development and QA organizations will benefit from Surgient's self-service IT solution for virtual lab management. IBM Rational customers using IBM Rational Quality Manager can request and build a live application testing environment with specific configurations without manual administration from a company's IT department, freeing up IT personnel to address additional business critical initiatives. Surgient was a visionary behind virtual lab management beginning in 2003 and now serves many of the world's largest companies.
"Surgient's Virtual Automation Platform is one of the most comprehensive, mature and powerful orchestration engines in the industry today," said Sameer Jagtap, vice president of product strategy at Surgient. "By leveraging virtualization technologies and fully automating complex IT operations for pre-production and production data centers, Surgient streamlines the application development lifecycle by allowing developers, testers and other users to drive this process in a self-service and on-demand model."
Jagtap added: "By combining virtualization and Surgient's automation technology, IT organizations can reduce costs for infrastructure and administration, create a powerful self-service environment for developers and testers, and ultimately accelerate the application development lifecycle. IBM's powerful lifecycle development tools based on IBM Jazz collaborative technologies are a natural complement for Surgient solutions, and we are excited to bring this integrated solution to market."
Sparxent Completes NetworkD Corporation
Sparxent, a newly formed IT and business solution provider focused on the middle market, today announced it completed the acquisition of NetworkD Corporation, a value-added reseller based in Newport Beach, Calif., with offices in North America and Europe. Exact financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
"NetworkD is a strategic acquisition for Sparxent. It has an excellent reputation, a strong customer base and it will become the platform for future growth," said Steve DeWindt, co-founder of Sparxent. "This is our first step in creating a new business model for providing software, hardware and IT consulting services to mid-market companies."
Established in 1996, NetworkD has a base of more than 6,000 customers throughout the U.S. and Europe. The NetworkD Group of companies includes NetworkD Corporation, NetworkD Europe Ltd., NetworkD Europe GmbH and NetworkD Europe SAS.
"Joining with Sparxent gives us access to new markets and additional resources as well as a laser focus on delivering enterprise-class IT services to mid-sized customers," said Ashley Leonard, CEO of NetworkD. "We are excited to become a Sparxent company and expand the breadth and depth of services we can offer to customers."
With this acquisition, NetworkD will retain its identity and continue to execute its core business strategy. Becoming a Sparxent company will allow NetworkD to increase its geographic and financial reach, accelerate growth and tap into additional resources worldwide.
NetworkD is recognized internationally for expertise in helping companies reduce IT operational costs and increase efficiency of support staff by utilizing systems management and service desk solutions. NetworkD is a Platinum LANDesk Software Solution Provider and the largest global reseller of LANDesk solutions.
Sparxent is focused on the marriage of consulting, solutions, integration, development and services into a single source for IT. By acquiring local IT providers like NetworkD and bringing them together under a single umbrella, Sparxent will act as a single source for IT for medium-sized companies.
"NetworkD is a strategic acquisition for Sparxent. It has an excellent reputation, a strong customer base and it will become the platform for future growth," said Steve DeWindt, co-founder of Sparxent. "This is our first step in creating a new business model for providing software, hardware and IT consulting services to mid-market companies."
Established in 1996, NetworkD has a base of more than 6,000 customers throughout the U.S. and Europe. The NetworkD Group of companies includes NetworkD Corporation, NetworkD Europe Ltd., NetworkD Europe GmbH and NetworkD Europe SAS.
"Joining with Sparxent gives us access to new markets and additional resources as well as a laser focus on delivering enterprise-class IT services to mid-sized customers," said Ashley Leonard, CEO of NetworkD. "We are excited to become a Sparxent company and expand the breadth and depth of services we can offer to customers."
With this acquisition, NetworkD will retain its identity and continue to execute its core business strategy. Becoming a Sparxent company will allow NetworkD to increase its geographic and financial reach, accelerate growth and tap into additional resources worldwide.
NetworkD is recognized internationally for expertise in helping companies reduce IT operational costs and increase efficiency of support staff by utilizing systems management and service desk solutions. NetworkD is a Platinum LANDesk Software Solution Provider and the largest global reseller of LANDesk solutions.
Sparxent is focused on the marriage of consulting, solutions, integration, development and services into a single source for IT. By acquiring local IT providers like NetworkD and bringing them together under a single umbrella, Sparxent will act as a single source for IT for medium-sized companies.
Forecast
Forecast from Facilita is a powerful and flexible application performance testing, load testing and stress testing toolset that easily and accurately tests the performance and scalability of applications and systems.
Harness rich functionality to create tests that are truly representative of the complexity of real-life scenarios. You will be able to test, diagnose, monitor and predict the performance of your systems. By simulating hundreds to thousands of concurrent users Forecast helps you test the performance of an application end-to-end, applying consistent, measurable and repeatable loads.
You can:
Thoroughly analyse end-to-end system performance; therefore finding problems pre-launch
Confirm that new or upgraded applications perform within expectations and requirements; therefore minimising risk of slow performance or bottlenecks
Shorten test cycles and reduce the costs of defects by testing early in the development cycle
Maximise your return on investment with accurately sized IT infrastructure and subsequently reduced operating costs
Protect IT investments by predicting scalability and performance
Run complex and mixed test loads (e.g. concurrent Web, Citrix, Java and .Net) to accurately simulate real-world scenarios.
Harness rich functionality to create tests that are truly representative of the complexity of real-life scenarios. You will be able to test, diagnose, monitor and predict the performance of your systems. By simulating hundreds to thousands of concurrent users Forecast helps you test the performance of an application end-to-end, applying consistent, measurable and repeatable loads.
You can:
Thoroughly analyse end-to-end system performance; therefore finding problems pre-launch
Confirm that new or upgraded applications perform within expectations and requirements; therefore minimising risk of slow performance or bottlenecks
Shorten test cycles and reduce the costs of defects by testing early in the development cycle
Maximise your return on investment with accurately sized IT infrastructure and subsequently reduced operating costs
Protect IT investments by predicting scalability and performance
Run complex and mixed test loads (e.g. concurrent Web, Citrix, Java and .Net) to accurately simulate real-world scenarios.
JBlitz
JBlitz is a 100% Java product that is fully cross-platform. JBlitz ships with an extensive API for fine-tuning, customization and integration.
JBlitz will give you the reassurance you need and help ensure your customers get the first class web experience they expect! Try it out today.
-- Achieves continuous heavy loading via multiple virtual users that simulate multiple concurrent browser sessions.--
-- Comes fully featured and provides a rich, clear and easy to use application interface.
-- Does not require any complex scripting. All test setup is done through the GUI.
-- Comes with an extensive customization API allowing you to fine-tune, extend or integrate with third party software.
-- Is available on Windows, Linux, Mac and Unix.
JBlitz will give you the reassurance you need and help ensure your customers get the first class web experience they expect! Try it out today.
-- Achieves continuous heavy loading via multiple virtual users that simulate multiple concurrent browser sessions.--
-- Comes fully featured and provides a rich, clear and easy to use application interface.
-- Does not require any complex scripting. All test setup is done through the GUI.
-- Comes with an extensive customization API allowing you to fine-tune, extend or integrate with third party software.
-- Is available on Windows, Linux, Mac and Unix.
Sunday, 24 August 2008
eValid™ Web Testing & Analysis Suite
Automated Testing & Analysis of Web Browser Enabled Applications and WebSites:
Functional Testing, Validating, Server Loading, Performance Tuning, Page Timing, Spidering, Searching, WebSite Metrics, Transaction Monitoring
100% Realistic User-Perspective Tests
Tests Operate Entirely Inside A Full-Featured Web Browser
Superior Ease-Of-Use, Power, Flexibility, Adaptability
User-Friendly Licensing, Excellent TCO, Superior ROI
Patented and Patent-Pending Technology
Functional Testing, Validating, Server Loading, Performance Tuning, Page Timing, Spidering, Searching, WebSite Metrics, Transaction Monitoring
100% Realistic User-Perspective Tests
Tests Operate Entirely Inside A Full-Featured Web Browser
Superior Ease-Of-Use, Power, Flexibility, Adaptability
User-Friendly Licensing, Excellent TCO, Superior ROI
Patented and Patent-Pending Technology
Saturday, 23 August 2008
OpenLoad Tester
OpenLoad Tester V5.5 is a browser based, performance optimization solution for functional and load testing as well as performance monitoring of dynamic Web applications and services. Powered by IBM Software, OpenLoad Tester V5.5 delivers unprecedented ease of use, accuracy and scalability, while eliminating the need for complex scripting and complicated data analysis.
OpenLoad Tester V5.5 substantially minimizes the time and skill set required to load test and tune the performance of Web based applications and services by simplifying the process of building real-world user scenarios, verifying expected functional behavior through automated regression testing and pinpointing performance bottlenecks within Web applications and IT infrastructure from both inside and outside the firewall; offering application development and testing teams the ability to perform fast and productive performance optimization of enterprise Web applications and services.
OpenLoad Tester V5.5 substantially minimizes the time and skill set required to load test and tune the performance of Web based applications and services by simplifying the process of building real-world user scenarios, verifying expected functional behavior through automated regression testing and pinpointing performance bottlenecks within Web applications and IT infrastructure from both inside and outside the firewall; offering application development and testing teams the ability to perform fast and productive performance optimization of enterprise Web applications and services.
WAPT 5.0
WAPT 5.0 is a load and stress testing tool that provides you with an easy-to-use, consistent and cost-effective way of testing web sites, web servers, and intranet applications with web interfaces. You may test and analyze the performance characteristics under various load conditions to find bottlenecks of your web applications. WAPT has a set of features to test web sites with dynamic content and secure HTTPS pages. It provides informative test results through descriptive graphs and reports.
Today thousands of businesses worldwide face the challenge of establishing their web presence - a goal difficult to achieve without efficient web site development and testing tools. Why is load and stress testing is so important? Most performance issues arise only when the server is stressed with a high user load. This means that you should perform load testing to know how many concurrent visitors your site can serve flawlessly. It can be difficult to organize such testing without the help of a group of real users. The right way is to use advanced automatic load and stress testing tools. WAPT can simulate up to several thousands real users to check the performance of your site and find any bottlenecks.
Today thousands of businesses worldwide face the challenge of establishing their web presence - a goal difficult to achieve without efficient web site development and testing tools. Why is load and stress testing is so important? Most performance issues arise only when the server is stressed with a high user load. This means that you should perform load testing to know how many concurrent visitors your site can serve flawlessly. It can be difficult to organize such testing without the help of a group of real users. The right way is to use advanced automatic load and stress testing tools. WAPT can simulate up to several thousands real users to check the performance of your site and find any bottlenecks.
Test Complete
An automated tool for functional, unit, regression, manual, data-driven, object-driven, distributed and HTTP load, stress and scalability testing in one easy-to-use and totally integrated package at an affordable price.
TestComplete is a full-featured environment for automated testing of Windows, .NET, Java, WPF (XAML) applications, web pages, web servers and web services. It has been designed to free developers and QA departments from the massive drain on time and energy required by manual testing.
TestComplete is systematic, automated, and structured testing tool, with superior support for .NET, Java, Visual C++, Visual Basic, WPF (XAML), Delphi, C++Builder and web applications. It is equally oriented for testing 32-bit and 64-bit applications. With TestComplete you can also test PowerBuilder, FoxPro, Access and other applications.
TestComplete is the ultimate solution to perform nightly tests and to help you get reliable daily builds of your software.
TestComplete tools and features let every member of your team, developers and non-developers, no matter how technically savvy, contribute to your testing projects. Once you start using TestComplete, you will be able to turn every test run into a key contribution to your overall development efforts. TestComplete will keep your projects on schedule and on spec, the team confident, and the work 100% productive.
TestComplete is a full-featured environment for automated testing of Windows, .NET, Java, WPF (XAML) applications, web pages, web servers and web services. It has been designed to free developers and QA departments from the massive drain on time and energy required by manual testing.
TestComplete is systematic, automated, and structured testing tool, with superior support for .NET, Java, Visual C++, Visual Basic, WPF (XAML), Delphi, C++Builder and web applications. It is equally oriented for testing 32-bit and 64-bit applications. With TestComplete you can also test PowerBuilder, FoxPro, Access and other applications.
TestComplete is the ultimate solution to perform nightly tests and to help you get reliable daily builds of your software.
TestComplete tools and features let every member of your team, developers and non-developers, no matter how technically savvy, contribute to your testing projects. Once you start using TestComplete, you will be able to turn every test run into a key contribution to your overall development efforts. TestComplete will keep your projects on schedule and on spec, the team confident, and the work 100% productive.
Friday, 22 August 2008
Integra Selects Tollgrade for Broadband Assurance
Integra Telecom Inc., a facilities-based, integrated communications carrier for business, has selected Tollgrade Communications' (NASDAQ:TLGD) broadband service assurance probe -- DigiTest(R) ICE(TM) -- for deployment in a system wide test initiative to further improve performance delivery for Integra's services. A first release of DigiTest ICE became generally available in the U.S. market earlier this summer.
DigiTest ICE is Tollgrade's latest generation broadband service assurance test probe, which has been size and cost reduced to address the requirements of both Central Office-based services and next generation IP network remote cabinets. This solution is uniquely designed for installation at the remote FTTN site -- inside the cabinet -- placing it closer to the customer where it is able to segment faults between the access network and customer and visibility of the customer experience.
The compact ICE test probe is managed by Tollgrade's LoopCare(TM) Test OSS, a key software component of this deployment. It is designed to support a full suite of physical layer measurements and prequalification tests for ADSL and ADSL2+ service delivery.
"As Integra continues to grow, we are constantly striving to maintain our high standards of quality customer service and reliability across our entire system," said Steven Fisher, Integra's Vice President of Operations. "Upon completion, this test system will further ensure the service reliability of our entire network, a key metric of our customer service programs," he added.
"We worked closely with Integra to identify the right testing solution for its expanding footprint and service offerings," said Paul Lloyd, Tollgrade's Director of Product Management. "DigiTest ICE and LoopCare will provide the capability of identifying, validating and locating trouble sources in the customer's current and next generation telco networks, therefore reducing unnecessary service dispatches," he added.
This test system deployment initiative is expected to be completed before the end of 2008.
DigiTest ICE is Tollgrade's latest generation broadband service assurance test probe, which has been size and cost reduced to address the requirements of both Central Office-based services and next generation IP network remote cabinets. This solution is uniquely designed for installation at the remote FTTN site -- inside the cabinet -- placing it closer to the customer where it is able to segment faults between the access network and customer and visibility of the customer experience.
The compact ICE test probe is managed by Tollgrade's LoopCare(TM) Test OSS, a key software component of this deployment. It is designed to support a full suite of physical layer measurements and prequalification tests for ADSL and ADSL2+ service delivery.
"As Integra continues to grow, we are constantly striving to maintain our high standards of quality customer service and reliability across our entire system," said Steven Fisher, Integra's Vice President of Operations. "Upon completion, this test system will further ensure the service reliability of our entire network, a key metric of our customer service programs," he added.
"We worked closely with Integra to identify the right testing solution for its expanding footprint and service offerings," said Paul Lloyd, Tollgrade's Director of Product Management. "DigiTest ICE and LoopCare will provide the capability of identifying, validating and locating trouble sources in the customer's current and next generation telco networks, therefore reducing unnecessary service dispatches," he added.
This test system deployment initiative is expected to be completed before the end of 2008.
Thursday, 21 August 2008
Objectivity
Objectivity, Inc. is a provider of distributed, real-time, SOA-enabled database management solutions for mission-critical applications. The company's flagship product, Objectivity/DB, is used by government, security, complex manufacturing, commercial services, science, and engineering organizations to increase speed, precision and productivity. Objectivity remains on the cutting edge of innovation by working directly with clients to build customized programs, find solutions to complicated challenges and seamlessly integrate technology across multiple platforms and languages.
Panasas and Objectivity Boast of Benchmarking
Panasas, Inc., a vendor of parallel storage solutions, and Objectivity, Inc., a provider of data management solutions for software applications with complex data requirements, announced impressive benchmark testing results that verify interoperability between Objectivity/DB and the Panasas ActiveStor Parallel Storage System and demonstrate the highest performance available for disk based object-oriented database applications. The integration of these two best-of-class technology solutions will benefit customers who need very high data throughput and unmatched scalability to achieve the fastest possible time to results when running large, complex database applications.
Benchmarking tests demonstrated that queries were completed four times faster than using local storage when deployed on a combination of ActiveStor parallel storage and Objectivity/DB. This performance boost was characterized by a 35 percent enhancement in navigation times and a 400 percent increase in data scanning speeds. Using the combined solution will allow commercial organizations to reduce costs, achieve faster results and maintain optimum performance that scales as capacity requirements grow.
"We have been tracking Panasas through the industry for a long time and saw a shared philosophy between our two companies," said Leon Guzenda, Objectivity's chief technology officer. "Parallel processing is no longer confined to the scientific or technical markets and is increasingly being adopted in high-performance commercial markets. Any system that has heavy computational needs, high data flow requirements and needs to handle complex database queries is ideally suited for this solution."
The presence of larger-scale clustered computing and the need for parallel storage solutions are increasing within commercial industries such as energy, financial markets, manufacturing, life sciences and entertainment. The combination of Objectivity/DB's scalable, distributed processing architecture and the Panasas ActiveScale object-oriented storage system provides an ideal foundation for complex, data-intensive applications running on distributed computing systems.
"Many organizations are solving large, real world problems with high performance computing whether the data is for seismic processing and modeling in the energy industry, for simulating automotive or aerospace designs or analyzing the data that drives complex financial markets," said Len Rosenthal, chief marketing officer at Panasas. "Our partnership with Objectivity is in complete alignment with our commitment to providing our customers with the ability to effectively access, manage, and process large amounts of data and information while decreasing the time and ultimately, the cost, it takes to solve these problems."
Benchmarking tests demonstrated that queries were completed four times faster than using local storage when deployed on a combination of ActiveStor parallel storage and Objectivity/DB. This performance boost was characterized by a 35 percent enhancement in navigation times and a 400 percent increase in data scanning speeds. Using the combined solution will allow commercial organizations to reduce costs, achieve faster results and maintain optimum performance that scales as capacity requirements grow.
"We have been tracking Panasas through the industry for a long time and saw a shared philosophy between our two companies," said Leon Guzenda, Objectivity's chief technology officer. "Parallel processing is no longer confined to the scientific or technical markets and is increasingly being adopted in high-performance commercial markets. Any system that has heavy computational needs, high data flow requirements and needs to handle complex database queries is ideally suited for this solution."
The presence of larger-scale clustered computing and the need for parallel storage solutions are increasing within commercial industries such as energy, financial markets, manufacturing, life sciences and entertainment. The combination of Objectivity/DB's scalable, distributed processing architecture and the Panasas ActiveScale object-oriented storage system provides an ideal foundation for complex, data-intensive applications running on distributed computing systems.
"Many organizations are solving large, real world problems with high performance computing whether the data is for seismic processing and modeling in the energy industry, for simulating automotive or aerospace designs or analyzing the data that drives complex financial markets," said Len Rosenthal, chief marketing officer at Panasas. "Our partnership with Objectivity is in complete alignment with our commitment to providing our customers with the ability to effectively access, manage, and process large amounts of data and information while decreasing the time and ultimately, the cost, it takes to solve these problems."
Surgient
Surgient a provider of self-service virtualization automation and lab management. The Surgient Virtual Automation Platform(TM) is a powerful, flexible and mature solution that enables enterprise IT organizations to effectively manage diverse virtual resources and eliminate physical server and VM sprawl, while delivering self-service computing resources to users. With policy-driven automation and a robust, guaranteed reservation system, users have on-demand access to their resources, and IT is freed up from manual administrative tasks to work on mission-critical projects. Using Surgient Virtual Automation Platform, world-class companies including Merck, Raymond James, HP, Halliburton, EMC, CA, Iron Mountain, IBM, GE, SAP, Microsoft, Intuit and others are accelerating their growth and profitability by automating virtual infrastructure in support of their business initiatives. Surgient is a private, venture-backed company based in Austin, Texas.
NetworkTester
NetworkTester – An Integrated Solution
By taking an integrated approach to testing, the Agilent NetworkTester accelerates the development or deployment of your next-generation Multi-Play devices, systems, services and network security equipment.
Triple-Play - NetworkTester is the first application test solution to offer high-speed data, VoIP and video testing on a single port, within a single test system. Emulate thousands of real users, change the traffic application mix, and measure the impact of data applications on voice and video performance.
Multi-Play - NetworkTester allows you to add other multi-play applications, such as Instant Messaging, to complete the Multi-Play application mix. Emulate realistic mixes of application traffic to characterize system performance limits and Quality of Experience under expected loads.
Proprietary Applications - Proprietary protocols such as network games and P2P applications can be simulated and scaled using NetworkTester's superior bi-directional, stateful Capture/Replay capability. Multiple sessions can be simulated on many different addresses to multiply application clients and servers. Simulate many users playing games, sharing files and using common messaging services. With P2P traffic now dominating the Internet, NetworkTester's proprietary protocol capabilities enable you to quantify the effectiveness of the latest Application Traffic Management methods such as P2P rate limiting, layer-7 "deep packet" classification and tagging, and application prioritization. For example, you can measure the real-time performance impact of application-aware firewalls that can recognize and filter undesirable traffic.
Denial of Service Attacks - A triple-play or multi-play system is not complete until it is performance-tested while subjected to attack traffic. With NetworkTester, you can add DoS attacks, spam and virus attachments to your application traffic mix. Ramp-up attack packet rates while you observe, in real time, the degradation in your system's performance. How rapidly does Quality of Experience degrade? Does VoIP call set-up time suffer, or can your system detect attacks and maintain the priority of real-time traffic? How much headroom do end users need, during Capacity Planning, to allow for malicious traffic? Can your network equipment still meet the performance expectations of your customers, to satisfy SLAs? NetworkTester answers these questions to help you improve intrusion prevention to make you look better than your competitors.
Access Protocols - Other so-called solutions offer separate test applications for access protocols such as IPsec. This is not an acceptable solution for triple-play performance testing. Only NetworkTester fully integrates VLANs and access protocols such as IPsec, IPsecv6, DHCP, PPPoE and 802.1x into a single NetPressure application, allowing you to easily emulate your voice, video and data applications, including proprietary protocols and attack traffic, over combinations of access protocols, VPN tunnels, VLANs, and IPv4 plus IPv6 address ranges. All at the same time. Just like many real users would.
Set it up in Minutes - The innovative NetPressure application goes beyond traditional telephony test tools, packet blasters, and legacy client-and-server test systems. It takes only minutes to configure seemingly complex test scenarios involving data, voice, video and attack traffic. On a single port, or on multiple ports. From the same test system. Without writing a single script. And you can correlate all of your client and server measurements to rapidly find and diagnose performance bottlenecks or tune system performance.
By taking an integrated approach to testing, the Agilent NetworkTester accelerates the development or deployment of your next-generation Multi-Play devices, systems, services and network security equipment.
Triple-Play - NetworkTester is the first application test solution to offer high-speed data, VoIP and video testing on a single port, within a single test system. Emulate thousands of real users, change the traffic application mix, and measure the impact of data applications on voice and video performance.
Multi-Play - NetworkTester allows you to add other multi-play applications, such as Instant Messaging, to complete the Multi-Play application mix. Emulate realistic mixes of application traffic to characterize system performance limits and Quality of Experience under expected loads.
Proprietary Applications - Proprietary protocols such as network games and P2P applications can be simulated and scaled using NetworkTester's superior bi-directional, stateful Capture/Replay capability. Multiple sessions can be simulated on many different addresses to multiply application clients and servers. Simulate many users playing games, sharing files and using common messaging services. With P2P traffic now dominating the Internet, NetworkTester's proprietary protocol capabilities enable you to quantify the effectiveness of the latest Application Traffic Management methods such as P2P rate limiting, layer-7 "deep packet" classification and tagging, and application prioritization. For example, you can measure the real-time performance impact of application-aware firewalls that can recognize and filter undesirable traffic.
Denial of Service Attacks - A triple-play or multi-play system is not complete until it is performance-tested while subjected to attack traffic. With NetworkTester, you can add DoS attacks, spam and virus attachments to your application traffic mix. Ramp-up attack packet rates while you observe, in real time, the degradation in your system's performance. How rapidly does Quality of Experience degrade? Does VoIP call set-up time suffer, or can your system detect attacks and maintain the priority of real-time traffic? How much headroom do end users need, during Capacity Planning, to allow for malicious traffic? Can your network equipment still meet the performance expectations of your customers, to satisfy SLAs? NetworkTester answers these questions to help you improve intrusion prevention to make you look better than your competitors.
Access Protocols - Other so-called solutions offer separate test applications for access protocols such as IPsec. This is not an acceptable solution for triple-play performance testing. Only NetworkTester fully integrates VLANs and access protocols such as IPsec, IPsecv6, DHCP, PPPoE and 802.1x into a single NetPressure application, allowing you to easily emulate your voice, video and data applications, including proprietary protocols and attack traffic, over combinations of access protocols, VPN tunnels, VLANs, and IPv4 plus IPv6 address ranges. All at the same time. Just like many real users would.
Set it up in Minutes - The innovative NetPressure application goes beyond traditional telephony test tools, packet blasters, and legacy client-and-server test systems. It takes only minutes to configure seemingly complex test scenarios involving data, voice, video and attack traffic. On a single port, or on multiple ports. From the same test system. Without writing a single script. And you can correlate all of your client and server measurements to rapidly find and diagnose performance bottlenecks or tune system performance.
LogicVision, Inc. a provider of semiconductor built-in-self-test (BIST) and diagnostic solutions, today announced it has expanded its sales and customer service by the addition of Avant Technology Inc. as exclusive distributor for LogicVision products in Taiwan. LogicVision provides complete silicon test IP and methodology that spans SoC design and manufacturing test based on proprietary built-in-self-test (BIST) technologies for logic, memory and high-speed I/O. LogicVision's technologies enable SoC design teams to achieve single-digit DPM (defects-per-million) quality levels, accelerate time to working silicon by reducing silicon bring-up times from months to days, lower test preparation costs and reduce device test times, thus significantly improving product margins.
"Avant is a leader in providing IP and EDA solutions to the Taiwan semiconductor community," said James T. Healy, CEO of LogicVision. "Avant is expected to drive the adoption of LogicVision's tools in the rapidly growing Taiwan semiconductor market, enabling companies to realize significant competitive advantage through the adoption of LogicVision's test solutions."
"The addition of LogicVision solutions to our IP and EDA offerings will enable us to provide a broader set of solutions and services to our customers," said Yao-Chang Chang, General Manager of Avant Technology. "We are excited to add LogicVision's unique test solution to our portfolio of products to help Taiwan semiconductor companies address the increasing challenges of designing and testing complex semiconductor SoCs."
"Avant is a leader in providing IP and EDA solutions to the Taiwan semiconductor community," said James T. Healy, CEO of LogicVision. "Avant is expected to drive the adoption of LogicVision's tools in the rapidly growing Taiwan semiconductor market, enabling companies to realize significant competitive advantage through the adoption of LogicVision's test solutions."
"The addition of LogicVision solutions to our IP and EDA offerings will enable us to provide a broader set of solutions and services to our customers," said Yao-Chang Chang, General Manager of Avant Technology. "We are excited to add LogicVision's unique test solution to our portfolio of products to help Taiwan semiconductor companies address the increasing challenges of designing and testing complex semiconductor SoCs."
Shunra Joins HP Software Referral Program
Shunra Software has joined the HP Software Marketplace Referral Program to accelerate the adoption of its WAN emulation solution, Shunra VE Desktop for HP Software. This Windows-based solution tests the impact of networks on applications in all stages of development by emulating a wide area network (WAN) and detailing network conditions seamlessly during load testing. VE Desktop removes the need to install load generators globally, saving countless administration and deployment costs for HP LoadRunner customers. This enables a powerful, integrated solution offering customers highly accurate network performance testing through integration with HP LoadRunner. Additional information on VE Desktop can be found at http://www.shunra.com/loadrunner_integration.aspx.
"Shunra worked with HP LoadRunner customers on the integration of our market-leading solutions to enable IT professionals to add the real world network to their load tests, and develop and deploy truly network-aware applications," said Thomas Charlton, CEO, Shunra. "This relationship further validates the value WAN emulation provides to existing HP LoadRunner tests and processes. We are pleased to be in this group of companies that can provide HP customers with value-added solutions and services."
Shunra VE Desktop is ideal for development, testing and networking teams, and anyone who needs to quickly check whether their code or application will perform as expected once deployed. This complete picture of user response times, load, and WAN impact provides the information necessary to predict the success of application rollouts, data center relocation projects, virtualization initiatives, and server consolidation projects.
"Businesses reduce risk and increase customer satisfaction by delivering more accurate load test results that take into account the network performance from global locations," said Alan Ota, director, strategic business development, Software, HP. "The certified combination of HP LoadRunner with Shunra VE Desktop for HP Software allows customers to deploy network-aware applications for an exceptional end-user experience."
"Shunra worked with HP LoadRunner customers on the integration of our market-leading solutions to enable IT professionals to add the real world network to their load tests, and develop and deploy truly network-aware applications," said Thomas Charlton, CEO, Shunra. "This relationship further validates the value WAN emulation provides to existing HP LoadRunner tests and processes. We are pleased to be in this group of companies that can provide HP customers with value-added solutions and services."
Shunra VE Desktop is ideal for development, testing and networking teams, and anyone who needs to quickly check whether their code or application will perform as expected once deployed. This complete picture of user response times, load, and WAN impact provides the information necessary to predict the success of application rollouts, data center relocation projects, virtualization initiatives, and server consolidation projects.
"Businesses reduce risk and increase customer satisfaction by delivering more accurate load test results that take into account the network performance from global locations," said Alan Ota, director, strategic business development, Software, HP. "The certified combination of HP LoadRunner with Shunra VE Desktop for HP Software allows customers to deploy network-aware applications for an exceptional end-user experience."
Wednesday, 20 August 2008
SafeData
SafeData, LLC is a technology company focused on helping businesses protect their data, minimize downtime and recover and restore data quickly. Offering Business Continuity Hosting Services via its data centers, SafeData provides cost-effective, subscription-based data protection services to support and protect businesses during a man-made or natural disaster, a technology failure, a power or utility outage or routine maintenance. SafeData's suite of high availability and disaster recovery offerings allows companies to choose the solution that matches their specific needs. Some of SafeData's clients include: Ahlstrom, American Steel & Aluminum Corp., Celadon Trucking, The Colibri Group, FGX International, Military Car Sales, Nypro, Inc., Pentron Clinical Technologies, J. Polep Distribution Services, Sperian Protection and Wachovia Mortgage. Founded in 2005, SafeData is headquartered in Warwick, R.I. For more information on SafeData, visit www.safedata.net.
Tuesday, 19 August 2008
VT iDirect, Inc. (iDirect), a subsidiary of VT Systems Inc (VT Systems), been awarded the global telecommunications industry's prestigious TL 9000-HV Quality Management System certification. The award assures that iDirect's hardware and customer service meet a rigorous set of best practices, methods and processes governing the manufacture, test, delivery, installation, and maintenance of telecommunications products and services. iDirect is a world leader in satellite-based IP communications technology.
The TL 9000 Quality Management System was created by the QuEST Forum, an independent association of telecommunications industry leaders, to establish and maintain universal product quality requirements for the worldwide telecommunications industry that improve on ISO 9001 standards. The certification is gaining increasing importance as telecommunications networks integrate a widening set of diverse products to meet growing demands for constant connectivity.
"iDirect's satellite technology plays a pivotal role in major IP networks managed by the world's leading network operators and terrestrial carriers. Being TL 9000 compliant is fast becoming a non-negotiable requirement for doing business with telecommunications companies. For iDirect, it's now a key differentiator and a necessary step to securing the continued confidence and business of telecom leaders."
The TL 9000 Quality Management System was created by the QuEST Forum, an independent association of telecommunications industry leaders, to establish and maintain universal product quality requirements for the worldwide telecommunications industry that improve on ISO 9001 standards. The certification is gaining increasing importance as telecommunications networks integrate a widening set of diverse products to meet growing demands for constant connectivity.
"iDirect's satellite technology plays a pivotal role in major IP networks managed by the world's leading network operators and terrestrial carriers. Being TL 9000 compliant is fast becoming a non-negotiable requirement for doing business with telecommunications companies. For iDirect, it's now a key differentiator and a necessary step to securing the continued confidence and business of telecom leaders."
Siemens Certification at Microsemi
Siemens Communications, Inc.'s HiPath(R) Wireless 802.11n and Outdoor Access Points have been certified at Microsemi Corporation's PowerDsine(R) testing facility as the first 802.11n or Outdoor access points available today that are able to operate at the low power ratings specified in IEEE 802.3af standards for Power over Ethernet (PoE).
Microsemi, whose PowerDsine technology pioneered Power over Ethernet, conducts comprehensive testing of PoE end devices to assure successful installation of PowerDsine Midspan systems using certified devices. Siemens' 802.11n APs and Outdoor Access Points were the first to meet the requirements for PowerDsine Certification at the low power specified in 802.3af PoE standards for such deployments.
Siemens created HiPath(R) Wireless 802.11n APs to plug into existing PoE-enabled Ethernet ports. This allows enterprises to enjoy dual-band 3x3 MIMO and 802.11n high performance while offering the opportunity to save on deployment costs, thereby helping to increase their return on investment from network infrastructures built for the 802.3af PoE standard.
"To qualify for PowerDsine certification, we put PoE end devices through long and exhaustive testing," said Steve Litchfield, Microsemi Executive Vice President and President of Analog Mixed Signal Group. "It is a noteworthy achievement for Siemens to handle 802.11n requirements within the maximum 12.95 watts allowed by IEEE 802.3af."
Microsemi, whose PowerDsine technology pioneered Power over Ethernet, conducts comprehensive testing of PoE end devices to assure successful installation of PowerDsine Midspan systems using certified devices. Siemens' 802.11n APs and Outdoor Access Points were the first to meet the requirements for PowerDsine Certification at the low power specified in 802.3af PoE standards for such deployments.
Siemens created HiPath(R) Wireless 802.11n APs to plug into existing PoE-enabled Ethernet ports. This allows enterprises to enjoy dual-band 3x3 MIMO and 802.11n high performance while offering the opportunity to save on deployment costs, thereby helping to increase their return on investment from network infrastructures built for the 802.3af PoE standard.
"To qualify for PowerDsine certification, we put PoE end devices through long and exhaustive testing," said Steve Litchfield, Microsemi Executive Vice President and President of Analog Mixed Signal Group. "It is a noteworthy achievement for Siemens to handle 802.11n requirements within the maximum 12.95 watts allowed by IEEE 802.3af."
Monday, 18 August 2008
Httperf
Httperf is a tool for measuring web server performance. It provides a flexible facility for generating various HTTP workloads and for measuring server performance. The focus of httperf is not on implementing one particular benchmark but on providing a robust, high-performance tool that facilitates the construction of both micro- and macro-level benchmarks. The three distinguishing characteristics of httperf are its robustness, which includes the ability to generate and sustain server overload, support for the HTTP/1.1 and SSL protocols, and its extensibility to new workload generators and performance measurements.
Tektronix In IZT Win
Tektronix, Inc., a provider of test, measurement and monitoring instrumentation, announced that the Innovationszentrum fur Telekommunikationstechnik GmbH (IZT), a German manufacturer of advanced digital signal processing (DSP) technologies, has selected its DSA70000 and DPO7000 high-performance Digital Phosphor Oscilloscopes (DPOs) and P7313 Z-Active(TM) probes for testing advanced telecommunications systems that employ high-speed serial buses.
Equipment operating at multi-Gbps data rates, now widely used in the mobile, broadcasting and satellite communications sectors, are increasingly making use of high-speed serial buses based on standards including Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA). Testing these systems requires very high-performance measurement instruments. IZT has invested in a range of Tektronix oscilloscopes to conduct projects in the high frequency RF domain, developing demodulators and filters using FPGAs up to 3Gbps, and also to develop communications and broadcast equipment, satellite receivers and DAB transmitters.
"There are very few test and measurement suppliers who produce instruments that can meet our exacting requirements -- from SATA (3Gbps and 6Gbps) and DDR timing measurements to general purpose lab measurements," said Andreas Klose, Group Leader, Firmware Development Group, IZT. "We selected the Tektronix products for their powerful triggering capabilities, unique DPX technology, large display, general ease of use, and the probing system, which uses solder-in tips and digital signal processing. Overall, we found the Tektronix offerings provide the best available signal integrity for our demanding applications."
The products purchased by IZT are the DSA71254 12.5 GHz Digital Serial Analyser (DSA), P7313 Z-Active(TM) low-load probes and the 2.5 GHz DPO7254 Oscilloscope. The higher-speed instrument is used for measurements on high-speed serial data transmission at over 3 Gbit/s, speeds at which signal integrity can be compromised within very short distances on a backplane or circuit board. The DPO7254 is typically used to test circuits including field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and DDR (double data rate) memory devices.
Equipment operating at multi-Gbps data rates, now widely used in the mobile, broadcasting and satellite communications sectors, are increasingly making use of high-speed serial buses based on standards including Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA). Testing these systems requires very high-performance measurement instruments. IZT has invested in a range of Tektronix oscilloscopes to conduct projects in the high frequency RF domain, developing demodulators and filters using FPGAs up to 3Gbps, and also to develop communications and broadcast equipment, satellite receivers and DAB transmitters.
"There are very few test and measurement suppliers who produce instruments that can meet our exacting requirements -- from SATA (3Gbps and 6Gbps) and DDR timing measurements to general purpose lab measurements," said Andreas Klose, Group Leader, Firmware Development Group, IZT. "We selected the Tektronix products for their powerful triggering capabilities, unique DPX technology, large display, general ease of use, and the probing system, which uses solder-in tips and digital signal processing. Overall, we found the Tektronix offerings provide the best available signal integrity for our demanding applications."
The products purchased by IZT are the DSA71254 12.5 GHz Digital Serial Analyser (DSA), P7313 Z-Active(TM) low-load probes and the 2.5 GHz DPO7254 Oscilloscope. The higher-speed instrument is used for measurements on high-speed serial data transmission at over 3 Gbit/s, speeds at which signal integrity can be compromised within very short distances on a backplane or circuit board. The DPO7254 is typically used to test circuits including field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and DDR (double data rate) memory devices.
Sunday, 17 August 2008
SIte Tester
An easy-to-use tool to test web servers and web applications against stress. Are you looking for a tool that let you simulate exactly, what hundreds of users doing on your servers? Are your web application codes really tested for full load, before you actually deploy them? Try SiteTester, the newest tool to test server performance easily...
SiteTester1.0 is a JDK1.2 (or later) compatible Java application and now is available for the Windows and UNIX environments.
Click here to find more about SiteTester
Click here to evaluate SiteTester
IRun RTF Converter v1.20
IRun is a utility that can convert your RTF documents, which are created with word processors like Word and WordPerfect, to web page(s) in HTML or XML format.
The DLL component allows developers to add conversion functionality to their applications.
IRun is a freeware. You can download and use it for free.
Click here for more information on IRun.
Click here to download IRun
IRun-J RTF Converter For Java v1.04 - New!
IRun-J is the Java version of the popular RTF to HTML converter. It is available as a Java SDK 1.4 (or later) compatible java library (JAR), that can convert RTF to XML or HTML with CSS option. IRun-J also has the API functions to convert WMF/EMF images to SVG and BMP images to GIF or PNG.
Features:
RTF to XML or HTML conversion with CSS styling option.
WMF/EMF images and OLE objects (standalone files or embedded into RTF) to SVG conversion
Windows BMP/DIB images (standalone files or embedded into RTF) to PNG/GIF/JPG conversion
Embedding images into the final HTML with Base64 encoded represenation
Allowing custom converters through a callback style API
SiteTester1.0 is a JDK1.2 (or later) compatible Java application and now is available for the Windows and UNIX environments.
Click here to find more about SiteTester
Click here to evaluate SiteTester
IRun RTF Converter v1.20
IRun is a utility that can convert your RTF documents, which are created with word processors like Word and WordPerfect, to web page(s) in HTML or XML format.
The DLL component allows developers to add conversion functionality to their applications.
IRun is a freeware. You can download and use it for free.
Click here for more information on IRun.
Click here to download IRun
IRun-J RTF Converter For Java v1.04 - New!
IRun-J is the Java version of the popular RTF to HTML converter. It is available as a Java SDK 1.4 (or later) compatible java library (JAR), that can convert RTF to XML or HTML with CSS option. IRun-J also has the API functions to convert WMF/EMF images to SVG and BMP images to GIF or PNG.
Features:
RTF to XML or HTML conversion with CSS styling option.
WMF/EMF images and OLE objects (standalone files or embedded into RTF) to SVG conversion
Windows BMP/DIB images (standalone files or embedded into RTF) to PNG/GIF/JPG conversion
Embedding images into the final HTML with Base64 encoded represenation
Allowing custom converters through a callback style API
Saturday, 16 August 2008
RTI Biologics Selects Pilgrim
Pilgrim Software, Inc., a provider of Enterprise Compliance and Quality Management (ECQM) software solutions, today announced that RTI Biologics, Inc., a global provider of sterile biological implants for surgeries, has selected Pilgrim’s integrated SmartAudit™, SmartCAPA™, and SmartComplaints™ modules to drive enterprise-wide productivity improvements and cost reductions.
In February 2008, Regeneration Technologies, Inc. merged with Tutogen Medical, Inc., forming RTI Biologics. The transaction combined RTI’s expertise for science, safety and innovation in biologics for orthopedics with Tutogen’s leadership in sterile biologic implants for dental, hernia and other specialty surgeries. Following the merger, RTI had various manual and paper-based processes for corrective and preventive action, complaints and audit management and sought standardized processes for the entire organization.
The company also was looking to implement stringent and automated audit and CAPA processes to maximize regulatory requirements and minimize risk and enable rapid responsiveness should any compliance or quality issues arise.
“We spent several months evaluating and comparing similar programs. The Pilgrim software modules seemed to have the best functionality, integration capability and work flows by far,” said Karen Norman, RTI’s Executive Director of Quality Assurance. “Although we have just begun our relationship with Pilgrim, the service has been excellent to date and we have high expectations going forward.”
“With a common workflow in place across all its sites and divisions, RTI Biologics looks to maintain ongoing management oversight into quality and compliance issues,” said Prashanth Rajendran, Pilgrim’s Chief Operating Officer. With further improvements to its auditing, CAPA and complaints process efficiencies, the company should sustain a high level of customer satisfaction, further solidifying its reputation as a reliable provider.”
In February 2008, Regeneration Technologies, Inc. merged with Tutogen Medical, Inc., forming RTI Biologics. The transaction combined RTI’s expertise for science, safety and innovation in biologics for orthopedics with Tutogen’s leadership in sterile biologic implants for dental, hernia and other specialty surgeries. Following the merger, RTI had various manual and paper-based processes for corrective and preventive action, complaints and audit management and sought standardized processes for the entire organization.
The company also was looking to implement stringent and automated audit and CAPA processes to maximize regulatory requirements and minimize risk and enable rapid responsiveness should any compliance or quality issues arise.
“We spent several months evaluating and comparing similar programs. The Pilgrim software modules seemed to have the best functionality, integration capability and work flows by far,” said Karen Norman, RTI’s Executive Director of Quality Assurance. “Although we have just begun our relationship with Pilgrim, the service has been excellent to date and we have high expectations going forward.”
“With a common workflow in place across all its sites and divisions, RTI Biologics looks to maintain ongoing management oversight into quality and compliance issues,” said Prashanth Rajendran, Pilgrim’s Chief Operating Officer. With further improvements to its auditing, CAPA and complaints process efficiencies, the company should sustain a high level of customer satisfaction, further solidifying its reputation as a reliable provider.”
Thursday, 14 August 2008
Synopsys Intel Certification
Synopsys, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNPS) , a vendor of software and IP for semiconductor design and manufacturing, today announced that Synopsys' DesignWare(R) IP for PCI Express(R) with PCI-SIG(R) I/O Virtualization (IOV) technology has completed testing at Intel's labs and will be used as the gold standard to demonstrate single root IOV (SR-IOV) running on the latest Intel hardware platforms at next week's Intel Developer Forum (IDF).
The silicon-proven DesignWare digital controller and PHY IP for PCI Express with PCI-SIG IOV technology has been thoroughly tested using Intel's SR-IOV hardware platforms and Independent Hardware Vendor (IHV) test software, demonstrating that the IP is interoperable and functions in accordance to the PCI-SIG IOV specification. Proven interoperability of the DesignWare IP for PCI Express allows designers to lower the risk of integrating PCI-SIG IOV technology into their system-on-chips (SoCs) and helps speed adoption of the standard.
"Demonstrating interoperability between the DesignWare IP for PCI Express with Intel's hardware platform is an example of how Synopsys continues to actively promote and support the latest industry standards," said John Koeter, Vice President of Marketing for IP and Services at Synopsys. "As a leader in PCI Express IP, we provide proven, interoperable and high quality IP for SR- IOV, which helps designers quickly deliver differentiated blades, servers and storage systems to the market."
"SR-IOV is a key technology that is being driven for enterprise computing customers to lower costs and increase performance of virtualized systems," said Jim Pappas, Director of Initiative Marketing for Intel Corporation. "By working closely with leading technology companies such as Synopsys, Intel is contributing to an ecosystem that consists of the latest tools, IP and platforms that support the PCI-SIG IOV technology."
The silicon-proven DesignWare digital controller and PHY IP for PCI Express with PCI-SIG IOV technology has been thoroughly tested using Intel's SR-IOV hardware platforms and Independent Hardware Vendor (IHV) test software, demonstrating that the IP is interoperable and functions in accordance to the PCI-SIG IOV specification. Proven interoperability of the DesignWare IP for PCI Express allows designers to lower the risk of integrating PCI-SIG IOV technology into their system-on-chips (SoCs) and helps speed adoption of the standard.
"Demonstrating interoperability between the DesignWare IP for PCI Express with Intel's hardware platform is an example of how Synopsys continues to actively promote and support the latest industry standards," said John Koeter, Vice President of Marketing for IP and Services at Synopsys. "As a leader in PCI Express IP, we provide proven, interoperable and high quality IP for SR- IOV, which helps designers quickly deliver differentiated blades, servers and storage systems to the market."
"SR-IOV is a key technology that is being driven for enterprise computing customers to lower costs and increase performance of virtualized systems," said Jim Pappas, Director of Initiative Marketing for Intel Corporation. "By working closely with leading technology companies such as Synopsys, Intel is contributing to an ecosystem that consists of the latest tools, IP and platforms that support the PCI-SIG IOV technology."
AQtime
AQtime is AutomatedQA's award-winning performance profiling and memory and resource debugging toolset for Microsoft, Borland, Intel, Compaq and GNU compilers.
The latest version of AQtime, AQtime 5, includes dozens of productivity tools that help you easily isolate and eliminate all performance issues and memory/resource leaks within your code by generating comprehensive and detailed reports for your .NET and Windows applications. AQtime supports .NET 1.0, 1.1, 2.0, 3.0 applications (including ASP.NET applications) and Windows 32- and 64-bit applications.
AQtime is built with one key objective - to help you completely understand how your programs perform during execution. Using its integrated set of performance and debugging profilers, AQtime collects crucial performance and memory/resource allocation information at runtime and delivers it to you both in summarized and detailed forms, with all of the tools you need to begin the optimization process. This is all done without modifying the application's source code!
AQtime can run as a stand-alone application, or it can be integrated into Microsoft Visual Studio or Borland Development Studio, which gives you the power to optimize your applications without leaving the IDE.
With AQtime's intuitive and user-friendly interface and instrumentation in hand, you will quickly know the exact speed, memory usage, and application usability issues in your programs. As you optimize and improve your code, AQtime provides all the tools to compare and merge results so that over time, an exact and accurate "picture" of your application's state takes shape:
Monitor and report on all areas that could degrade your project’s performance and quality.
Assess the thoroughness of your tests by using Coverage Profiling.
Ensure that you make the right code improvements from day one.
Helps drill down to the exact line of source code that is responsible for performance or memory allocation inefficiencies.
AQtime is a TOTAL solution for professional Windows and .NET developers that want to eliminate guesswork during development and deliver rock solid programs when the project is complete. Via its unrivaled reporting and test result analysis architecture, AQtime does not just tell you that there are bugs and bottlenecks in your project - it shows you exactly which module, class, routine or line of code is causing the problem so you can go to work and quickly eliminate it!
Buy AQtime 5
The latest version of AQtime, AQtime 5, includes dozens of productivity tools that help you easily isolate and eliminate all performance issues and memory/resource leaks within your code by generating comprehensive and detailed reports for your .NET and Windows applications. AQtime supports .NET 1.0, 1.1, 2.0, 3.0 applications (including ASP.NET applications) and Windows 32- and 64-bit applications.
AQtime is built with one key objective - to help you completely understand how your programs perform during execution. Using its integrated set of performance and debugging profilers, AQtime collects crucial performance and memory/resource allocation information at runtime and delivers it to you both in summarized and detailed forms, with all of the tools you need to begin the optimization process. This is all done without modifying the application's source code!
AQtime can run as a stand-alone application, or it can be integrated into Microsoft Visual Studio or Borland Development Studio, which gives you the power to optimize your applications without leaving the IDE.
With AQtime's intuitive and user-friendly interface and instrumentation in hand, you will quickly know the exact speed, memory usage, and application usability issues in your programs. As you optimize and improve your code, AQtime provides all the tools to compare and merge results so that over time, an exact and accurate "picture" of your application's state takes shape:
Monitor and report on all areas that could degrade your project’s performance and quality.
Assess the thoroughness of your tests by using Coverage Profiling.
Ensure that you make the right code improvements from day one.
Helps drill down to the exact line of source code that is responsible for performance or memory allocation inefficiencies.
AQtime is a TOTAL solution for professional Windows and .NET developers that want to eliminate guesswork during development and deliver rock solid programs when the project is complete. Via its unrivaled reporting and test result analysis architecture, AQtime does not just tell you that there are bugs and bottlenecks in your project - it shows you exactly which module, class, routine or line of code is causing the problem so you can go to work and quickly eliminate it!
Buy AQtime 5
Wednesday, 13 August 2008
SourceLabs Self-Support Tools Released
SourceLabs, has released SourceLabs' Self-Support Tools with hardware recognition and advanced tagging. The new features represent a substantial expansion to the company's Support Suite technologies that enable engineers and IT professionals to quickly discover issues and find solutions for open source software. With this new release, SourceLabs' search engine now correlates hardware data to all known bugs and dependences, creating the most accurate and precise service for troubleshooting and researching open source software. Additionally, SourceLabs' 19 million+ object repository can be combined with any internal data stores specific to your environment.
"The biggest challenge for open source, or any other kind of software development for that matter, is finding the right information to solve a problem. Adding automatic hardware tagging to our search data not only improves the relevance of our support, but also gives IT developers the most reliable information faster, and with the analytical tools to make the right decision based on their exact environment. No phone calls into support. No trouble tickets. Just search on your desktop," said Byron Sebastian, CEO and cofounder of SourceLabs. "Our innovations in search technology, combined with our sophisticated data gathering and diagnostics tools free technologists from waiting on hold for minutes, or hours for support."
SourceLabs' search technology represents a significant breakthrough in discovering, navigating, ranking and quickly filtering all known issues, bugs and software updates for the most popular open source Java and Linux software projects (a complete list of covered projects is available here: http://www.sourcelabs.com/?page=supported). Collecting the most up-to-date information available from all relevant sources, SourceLabs' Intelligence Engine automatically indexes, tags, manages, and stores the information in a repository based on the relevance to users' specific environment and configuration. Using its data gathering tools together with sophisticated pattern matching and natural language processing, SourceLabs' predictive analysis algorithms then match data against the Information Repository to provide immediate answers.
While industry data shows that most developers and IT professionals begin their searches with Google, SourceLabs' advantage is search technology tuned specifically to the task of automating support for open source Java and Linux developers, IT professionals, and solution providers. Often users are able to discover a solution to their problem with their first search, while retrieving no relevant results from other search engines. A complete integrated search and software support service, SourceLabs is unique in a market saturated with general search engines and code repositories that deliver irrelevant results, no rankings of the possible solutions available and no ability to filter data based on extracted entities like hardware that have direct relevance to the user.
"The biggest challenge for open source, or any other kind of software development for that matter, is finding the right information to solve a problem. Adding automatic hardware tagging to our search data not only improves the relevance of our support, but also gives IT developers the most reliable information faster, and with the analytical tools to make the right decision based on their exact environment. No phone calls into support. No trouble tickets. Just search on your desktop," said Byron Sebastian, CEO and cofounder of SourceLabs. "Our innovations in search technology, combined with our sophisticated data gathering and diagnostics tools free technologists from waiting on hold for minutes, or hours for support."
SourceLabs' search technology represents a significant breakthrough in discovering, navigating, ranking and quickly filtering all known issues, bugs and software updates for the most popular open source Java and Linux software projects (a complete list of covered projects is available here: http://www.sourcelabs.com/?page=supported). Collecting the most up-to-date information available from all relevant sources, SourceLabs' Intelligence Engine automatically indexes, tags, manages, and stores the information in a repository based on the relevance to users' specific environment and configuration. Using its data gathering tools together with sophisticated pattern matching and natural language processing, SourceLabs' predictive analysis algorithms then match data against the Information Repository to provide immediate answers.
While industry data shows that most developers and IT professionals begin their searches with Google, SourceLabs' advantage is search technology tuned specifically to the task of automating support for open source Java and Linux developers, IT professionals, and solution providers. Often users are able to discover a solution to their problem with their first search, while retrieving no relevant results from other search engines. A complete integrated search and software support service, SourceLabs is unique in a market saturated with general search engines and code repositories that deliver irrelevant results, no rankings of the possible solutions available and no ability to filter data based on extracted entities like hardware that have direct relevance to the user.
inTEST Q2 Results
inTEST Corporation (NASDAQ:INTT) , an independent designer, manufacturer and marketer of semiconductor automatic test equipment (ATE) interface solutions and temperature management products, today announced results for the quarter ended June 30, 2008.
Net revenues for the quarter ended June 30, 2008 were $11.5 million, compared to $11.3 million in the first quarter of 2008. Our net loss for the second quarter of 2008 was $(1.4) million or $(0.15) per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $(1.3) million or $(0.14) per diluted share for the first quarter of 2008.
Robert E. Matthiessen, President and Chief Executive Officer of inTEST commented, "The weakening of the macroeconomic environment in the second quarter posed significant challenges to our overall profitability and growth. Bookings decreased in the second quarter of 2008 to $10.0 million, compared to $12.5 million in the first quarter of 2008. Our negative results for the second quarter were driven by the Manipulator and Docking Hardware product segment. At the end of the second quarter we implemented a restructuring of this product segment and reduced headcount by 18% and shortened the workweek for certain employees. We will continue to concentrate on this segment's cost structure, new product releases and sales efforts during the third quarter of 2008."
Net revenues for the quarter ended June 30, 2008 were $11.5 million, compared to $11.3 million in the first quarter of 2008. Our net loss for the second quarter of 2008 was $(1.4) million or $(0.15) per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $(1.3) million or $(0.14) per diluted share for the first quarter of 2008.
Robert E. Matthiessen, President and Chief Executive Officer of inTEST commented, "The weakening of the macroeconomic environment in the second quarter posed significant challenges to our overall profitability and growth. Bookings decreased in the second quarter of 2008 to $10.0 million, compared to $12.5 million in the first quarter of 2008. Our negative results for the second quarter were driven by the Manipulator and Docking Hardware product segment. At the end of the second quarter we implemented a restructuring of this product segment and reduced headcount by 18% and shortened the workweek for certain employees. We will continue to concentrate on this segment's cost structure, new product releases and sales efforts during the third quarter of 2008."
Monday, 4 August 2008
Panasas
Panasas, Inc., a provider of parallel storage solutions, helps commercial, government and academic organizations accelerate their time to results leading to faster breakthroughs in solving real world problems that improve people's lives. Panasas' high-performance storage systems enable customers to maximize the benefits of clusters by eliminating the storage bottleneck created by legacy network storage technologies. Panasas(R) ActiveStor Parallel Storage Solutions, in conjunction with the ActiveScale(R) Operating Environment and PanFS(TM) parallel file system, offer the most comprehensive platform of parallel storage solutions for data intensive environments.
Sunday, 3 August 2008
QTRAX
QTRAX (http://www.qtrax.com/) is an innovative, legal digital music service that is free to fans. QTRAX showcases an innovative ad-supported delivery model that easily directs revenue back to artists and rights holders. QTRAX is available for browsing now and soon will provide fans with access to a colorful and diverse catalog with millions of high-quality digital music files representing the broadest artist-based fan-directed array of products available anywhere. Based in New York City, QTRAX is a subsidiary of Brilliant Technologies Corporation (OTC:BLLN.PK) , a publicly traded technology holding company.
Automated Build Studio
Automated Build Studio is a powerful build and release management system that provides an easy way to automate the software development build, test and release processes. Its intuitive interface and unprecedented flexibility allows even inexperienced users to create complex visual macros which can automate repetitive or day-to-day tasks with the single click of a button.
Macro runs can be scheduled for automatic execution with the built-in Task Scheduler. This makes Automated Build Studio the ultimate solution to create reliable automatic daily builds of your software. Automated Build Studio lets you automate each step of the build process: from retrieving files from a version control system, to building installation packages, running automated tests and deploying the latest release of your software projects.
Automated Build Studio is tightly integrated with other AutomatedQA products - AQtime, TestComplete and AQdevTeam. This allows you to not only automate your builds, but in fact automate the entire quality assurance and release processes adopted by your organization. Automation of builds, test runs, memory leak and performance bottleneck searches, creation of bug reports, and finally, releases and deployment can all be accomplished using Automated Build Studio.
Even though the product name includes the word “build”, you can use Automated Build Studio to automate any common or everyday tasks in your organization. Automated Build Studio contains over 540 built-in operations that will help you:
Compile applications
Create installation packages
Perform automated builds as scheduled tasks
Get and put files from/into version control systems
Label sources in version control systems
Compile help files
Create, modify and delete registry keys and INI file settings
Copy and move files to a location (network drive, Web site, FTP server, etc.)
Extract and pack files from/to ZIP and RAR archives
Run automated test scripts and profilers
Post bug reports to issue-tracking systems
Send and receive e-mail, ICQ and newsgroup notifications
Burn CDs and DVDs
Register COM and .NET components
Perform scripting operations in any of 3 scripting languages (VBScript, JScript or DelphiScript) or many other operations...
With Automated Build Studio you can:
Automate your software builds
Perform distributed builds
Automate the process of application testing and profiling.
Create deployment packages and write them to CD and/or DVD.
Automate back-up processes.
Automate data and system consistency checks (for example, you can automate checking the free disk space or the availability of a Web service).
Macro runs can be scheduled for automatic execution with the built-in Task Scheduler. This makes Automated Build Studio the ultimate solution to create reliable automatic daily builds of your software. Automated Build Studio lets you automate each step of the build process: from retrieving files from a version control system, to building installation packages, running automated tests and deploying the latest release of your software projects.
Automated Build Studio is tightly integrated with other AutomatedQA products - AQtime, TestComplete and AQdevTeam. This allows you to not only automate your builds, but in fact automate the entire quality assurance and release processes adopted by your organization. Automation of builds, test runs, memory leak and performance bottleneck searches, creation of bug reports, and finally, releases and deployment can all be accomplished using Automated Build Studio.
Even though the product name includes the word “build”, you can use Automated Build Studio to automate any common or everyday tasks in your organization. Automated Build Studio contains over 540 built-in operations that will help you:
Compile applications
Create installation packages
Perform automated builds as scheduled tasks
Get and put files from/into version control systems
Label sources in version control systems
Compile help files
Create, modify and delete registry keys and INI file settings
Copy and move files to a location (network drive, Web site, FTP server, etc.)
Extract and pack files from/to ZIP and RAR archives
Run automated test scripts and profilers
Post bug reports to issue-tracking systems
Send and receive e-mail, ICQ and newsgroup notifications
Burn CDs and DVDs
Register COM and .NET components
Perform scripting operations in any of 3 scripting languages (VBScript, JScript or DelphiScript) or many other operations...
With Automated Build Studio you can:
Automate your software builds
Perform distributed builds
Automate the process of application testing and profiling.
Create deployment packages and write them to CD and/or DVD.
Automate back-up processes.
Automate data and system consistency checks (for example, you can automate checking the free disk space or the availability of a Web service).