By Steven Shepard, Contributing Columnist

If you read my prior story on this topic, and appreciate my love of conversations with cab drivers, then you’ll understand this cryptic note:

hi Steve, how are u, its been long time,

this is cab driver Masud from Vancouver, I drop at the airport, we discus many issue, I hope u remember me.

Any way if u have any thing to shear on new thinks, please don’t hegited.

That message is why I travel, and why I work in this field.

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Tags: globalization, internet, mobile phone, network infrastructure, telephone network

2011 is shaping up to be the year of the tablet. As seen by overwhelming consumer demand, the trend that started in 2010 continues to rapidly gain momentum.  More and more people see value in the advanced video and collaboration capabilities combined with the mobility that tablets offer.

Within the enterprise, mobile tablets are positioned to be a critical part of a company’s suite of collaboration and communications tools.  Organizations can leverage the unified communications and collaboration capabilities of the tablet to enhance productivity for an increasingly mobile workforce.  Cisco saw the power of this tool and responded with the release of the first mobile tablet made specifically for businesses, the Cisco Cius™.

Today, May 11, AT&T announced plans to offer the Cisco Cius to its business customers, and Cisco expects the Cius to be available for AT&T’s HSPA+ network in the fall of 2011. The purpose-built Cius delivers virtual desktop integration with anywhere, anytime access to the full range of Cisco collaboration and communication applications, including full interoperability with Cisco TelePresence®. The Cius will move easily between wired connectivity to Wi-Fi and mobile broadband networks, including AT&T’s HSPA+ network.

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Tags: 4G, 4G network, AT&T, Cius, collaboration, enterprise mobility, HSPA+, mobile tablet, network infrastructure, Service Provider, tablet, unified communications, video

You can make your named network services available via IPv6 with a few simple steps.  First, your DNS server or DNS service provider should first hand out AAAA DNS records (pronounced quad-A record) which map hostnames to IPv6 addresses.  Second, you should provide PTR records to allow IPv6 Reverse DNS (rDNS) lookups.  Finally, you should take steps to make the DNS server itself reachable via IPv6.

Setup your DNS Server to start serving AAAA records

To allow resolution of hostnames to IPv6 addresses, your DNS Server must respond to requests for AAAA records.  Adding AAAA records to your forward zones will enable clients with IPv6 connectivity to learn the IPv6 addresses of your resources. Be aware there is a small risk that if a requesting client is among the minority with broken IPv6 connectivity, it can appear to the client that your website is down.  Some companies use DNS whitelisting to mitigate such issues, but there are concerns around that approach.

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Tags: AAAA, CNR, dns, IPv6, network infrastructure, PTR

Are you ready for the next bandwidth crunch? All of a sudden, the low-profile topic of mobile service provider backhaul network infrastructure has quickly moved to the forefront of telecom industry dialogue. Why all the fuss? Two words -- data explosion.Pent-up demand for data services has created a sense of urgency. While 3G radio technologies such as HSPA have already driven enormous data growth, 4G technologies LTE and WiMAX will exacerbate the problems. Therefore, to help U.S. wireless carriers stay ahead of the growing demand for high-bandwidth wireless services, Verizon has begun offering its advanced fiber-optic network to provide backhaul links between cell towers and mobile switching offices. Read More »

Tags: 4G, LTE, mobile backhaul, network infrastructure, RAN, Service Provider, wimax