The Performance Zone

Spring Interop in Las Vegas 2006

So here in New England, you know its spring when the snow has melted, the flowers begin to bloom, lawn mowers start to hum, and all my friends at high tech companies start packing for Interop in Las Vegas.

Yes, NetScout is going to be at Interop next week, Tuesday through Thursday May 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. We will be in the exhibit hall at the Mandalay Bay,  booth number 2249.  We will be demonstrating how to deliver High Definition application visibility for performance management and troubleshooting in your MPLS, VoIP, and QoS enabled networks. 

Stop by our booth a few times next week; you may hear something new each of the days, in fact.  Or register to win a High Definition TV after you see one of our demos.  It will be worth your stop.  Who knows, maybe you will end up finding the performance management solution you need for your enterprise!

For a free pass to the show, click here

I am looking forward to seeing those of you who have been reading this blog at the show as well.  Please tap me on the shoulder if you see me, or ask one of my colleagues in the booth to find me.  I want to hear your impressions of the show.

Tornadoes, Hurricanes, Terrorism & Disaster Recovery

Wow! I was watching the news last night about the swarms of violent thunderstorms and tornadoes that devastated communities across eight states. This reminded me of an article that I read in Network Computing Magazine. The cover story “What If?” on disaster recovery in the March 2, 2006 issue.  Right there on the front cover was the advice:  “Don’t bet your business on a weak disaster-recovery plan.” 

In January, Processor Magazine was also talking about what makes for a good disaster recovery plan. 

I’m not surprised to see network, systems, and storage oriented press media focusing on this topic.  After last summer’s truly disastrous hurricane season, experts are suggesting more fervently than every, that enterprises and government agencies must regularly evaluate and implement plans to ensure business continuity during catastrophic events.  Look at the news this week alone – severe tornadoes and storms destroyed homes and buildings across parts of Tennesee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinios, Ohio and Arkansas.

There is no predicting where natural disasters or even human errors might disrupt normal business activity.  Human error or computer viruses have impacted the energy grid – remember the blackout in August 2003 affecting power service from the Northeast to the Ohio Valley? Ensuring your business services, network communications, and mission critical applications are operational regardless of these types of disruptive situations is clearly essential because of the overwhelming dependency we have on them.

What is your business continuity plan?  Does it include redundant data centers?  Are you outsourcing to a 3rd party disaster recovery company?