Disconnected no more: Wi-Fi when you fly

Aircell, a provider of airborne communications, based in Itasca, Illinois, will be rolling out their new in-flight broadband offering on domestic flights in the next couple of months. Yes, mobile broadband while in flight. Aircell will cover the U.S., delivering mobile broadband service on an exclusive 3-MHz air-to-ground (ATG) frequency (which the company won in the FCC’s spectrum auction in 2006) to communicate to and from aircraft.

“The airplane is one of the last disconnected places left, if not the only place, where you can’t really be on the Internet – until now,” says Fran Phillips, Aircell’s SVP of Airline Solutions. “This will be a landmark year for air travelers who value staying connected to what matters most.” The company recently completed its build-out of the Aircell Network, which covers the U.S., delivering a mobile broadband service. The Aircell Network and its in-flight Internet service, known as Gogo, promises to revolutionize the passenger experience, delivering the Internet at 35,000 feet.

This solution was created with Oakbrook-based service provider generationE Technologies, and combines IBM Tivoli management tools, Tivoli Netcool Omnibus and Impact with the familiar Google Maps visuals to provide a tracking system that manages Web access on a plane-by-plane basis (see illustration in Figure A).

Figure A

Click to view larger image.

American Airlines wired the first of fifteen aircraft in January to be outfitted with Aircell’s mobile broadband hardware and has recently moved into the production phase on the remaining fourteen aircraft. Initially, Aircell will offer the Gogo service to American Airlines’ passengers on all of its B767-200 aircraft, which are primarily dedicated to transcontinental flights. Virgin America is also moving to offer in-flight Internet. Virgin America will be bringing mobile broadband service to all of the carrier’s passengers later in 2008 and will set another first by integrating with Virgin America’s current In-Flight-Entertainment (IFE) system, Red.

So what will this new perk cost? In contrast to earlier pricing of Boeing’s now-defunct Connexion service, which was $30 per flight, Aircell’s price for Gogo is very affordable. Pricing will be similar to what consumers pay on the ground at a Wi-Fi hot spot with a cup of coffee. At launch, the service will be offered only on longer routes (above three hours in duration) and will be priced at $12.95. In the future, the service on more typical flights can be expected to be around the $10 mark.

Aircell’s President and CEO Jack Blumenstein describes the advantages of the air-to-ground system and the company’s co-developed solution with generationE by saying, “As the leader in airborne communications for business and commercial aviation, we believe our air-to-ground wireless network is the most economically and technologically sound choice today and in to the future. With the help of generationE, Aircell is able to offer the most reliable, robust, and cost-effective service to airline customers and their passengers.”

Configure secure wireless networking on SonicWALL routers

Wireless networking is a business necessity within most organizations. From traveling employees to guest visitors, wireless networks often prove the best method for connecting these users to e-mail, the Internet and local file shares.

Numerous challenges arise when wireless networks are deployed. Besides ensuring a wireless access point produces sufficient radio strength throughout a work area, such network communications also must be secure. In addition to making it difficult for unauthorized users to access the wireless network, organizations must take steps to encrypt data that passes between wireless devices and the wireless access point itself.

Several SonicWALL routers boast wireless connectivity. As with most any wireless-enabled router today, SonicWALL models also feature security technologies aimed at protecting wireless transmissions.

Wireless-specific versions of SonicWALL’s TZ 150, TZ 170, TZ 180 and TZ 190 models support wireless networks. All of SonicWALL’s latest PRO series devices (including the 1260, 2040, 3060, 4060, 4100 and 5060 models) support optional 802.11 wireless networking.

Combined with an appropriate TZ or PRO model, SonicWALL SonicPoint devices enable extending secure wireless technology throughout an entire facility. A TZ 170 appliance, for example, automatically detects SonicPoints deployed on the network. Security settings can then be configured from the TZ 170’s interface, which enables centralized administration. Here’s what’s involved configuring wireless network settings and security using a SonicWALL TZ 170 appliance.

SonicWALL Wireless Configuration Wizard

To access SonicWALL’s Wireless Configuration Wizard, log on to the SonicWALL router, then click the Wireless button found within the left navigation bar of SonicWALL’s Web-based management interface. The Wireless Status page will be displayed. Click the Wireless Wizard button that appears toward the top-right of the screen.

The SonicWALL Wireless Configuration Wizard will appear. Click the Next button to proceed with the wireless administration utility.

The wizard’s first step will appear as seen in Figure A. Step one addresses wireless local area network (WLAN) network settings. You must specify the WLAN IP address and subnet mask before continuing. In addition, a checkbox is provided for enabling Windows networking support between the wired local area network and the WLAN. Be sure to check the box to enable communication between the LAN and WLAN. Then, click Next.

Figure A

Step one of the Wireless Configuration Wizard requires specifying a WLAN IP address and subnet mask.

Step two requires setting the Service Set ID (SSID), radio mode, country code and channel. The SonicWALL wizard provides a blank field for specifying the SSID. The default SSID is sonicwall. Consider changing the SSID to a value that reveals nothing about the organization or office in which it is deployed. I typically deploy SSIDs as HomeNetwork and BusinessNetwork, as doing so provides potential hackers with less information about a network (particularly in more heavily populated areas such as apartments and office parks).

On most SonicWALL routers, including the popular TZ 170 wireless model, three radio modes are available: 2.4GHz 802.11 b, 2.4GHz 802.11g or 2.4GHz 802.11g and b Mixed mode. Using the provided drop-down menu, select the mode you wish to use within your organization.

Figure B

It’s a good idea to change the default SSID when deploying any wireless network.

Units shipped within North America typically feature two country codes: United States (US) and Canada. Using the Country Code drop-down menu, specify the appropriate code.

The last item to configure within Step 2: WLAN 802.11b/g Settings is the channel. Channels one through 11 are available options. Or, AutoChannel is an alternative choice and, in fact, the default. Choosing AutoChannel allows the wireless network equipment to automatically negotiate the best channel settings. Once the channel is specified, clicking Next continues to the next step.
Step 3: WLAN Security Settings enables configuring one of three security modes for the

SonicWALL wireless router. The three security mode choices are:

• WiFiSec VPN Security – The default selection, WiFiSec VPN Security creates an IPSec-powered VPN over which the wireless traffic travels.
• WEP + Stealth Mode – Utilizes Wired Equivalent Protection (WEP) to secure wireless communications.
• Connectivity – Implements wireless communications featuring no encryption or access controls.

When selecting WiFiSec VPN Security and clicking Next, the Step 4: WiFiSec – VPN Client User Authentication page appears. This step helps create a user name and password for a new user with VPN client access privileges. The WLAN WiFiSec security setting will enable the SoniCWALL Group VPN feature. If you wish to edit user privileges, you can log on to the SonicWALL router’s Web-based administrative interface and edit user permissions by clicking Users | Settings.

After a user name and password are supplied, click Next to proceed to the wizard’s fifth step. The Step 5: Wireless Guest Services screen allows you to enable guest wireless access while also specifying the guest account name, password and account and session lifetimes.

Once these values are supplied, click Next to view a Wireless Configuration Summary. Clicking Apply prompts the SonicWALL Configuration Wizard to apply the settings and configuration parameters you’ve entered into the wizard. When the wizard completes, a confirmation page should then appear (with a Finish button being the only available option).

Figure C

The Wireless Configuration Summary confirms settings, and enables administrators to review configuration details, before the wizard makes changes.

If, when completing the Wireless Configuration Wizard, you select WEP + Stealth Mode in Step 3, the wizard’s fourth step will prompt you to provide WEP information. The Step 4: WEP + Stealth Mode Settings screen enables configuring 64- or 128-bit WEP encryption. Select the value you require from the WEP Key Mode drop-down box. Once the WEP mode is specified, you must enter the actual WEP key, which you can do using alphanumeric or hexadecimal text. Select the appropriate radio button and click Next. Completing the wizard, using WEP and Stealth Mode Settings, then completes the same as when selecting WiFiSec VPN Security.

Wireless Status Information

With the wizard complete, the SonicWALL’s wireless network configuration goes live. You may confirm proper configuration by logging on to the SonicWALL appliance and clicking Wireless. The Wireless | Status page appears. In addition to displaying WLAN Settings, the menu also displays WLAN Statistics and Station Status information as shown in Figure D.

Figure D

The SonicWALL Wireless Status screen displays critical WLAN information.

Within WLAN Settings, the SonicWALL Web-based administration interface tracks whether the WLAN is enabled, as well as the active SSID, WLAN IP address, WLAN subnet mask, channel in use, radio transmission rate, authentication type, MAC filter status and more.
The WLAN Statistics menu tracks receive and transmission statistics for unicast and multicast frames, total packets, total bytes, discards, aborted frames and more.

Station Status, meanwhile, lists the names, signal strength and authentication status, among other items, for all wirelessly connected systems.

Editing wireless settings

In the event preconfigured wireless network settings must be changed, repeating the Wireless Configuration Wizard is unnecessary. Instead, you can manually edit required settings. To manually update WLAN settings, log on to the SonicWALL router and click Wireless from the SonicWALL Web-based management console. Six items appear within the Wireless sub-navigation menu: Status, Settings, WEP/WPA Encryption, Advanced, MAC Filter List and IDS. Figure E shows what it looks like.

Figure E

SonicWALL’s Wireless Settings sub menu enables tweaking the WLAN IP address, subnet mask, SSID and more.

To disable the wireless LAN, change security and encryption parameters or update the radio role (Access Point and Wireless Bridge are the two options), change SSID or re-configure WLAN IP address, radio mode, country code or channel, click Settings. Make the required changes within the Settings menu, then click the Apply button to save and enable the changes.

To actually change encryption authentication type (such as migrating from WEP to WPA), click the WEP/WPA Encryption button found on the SonicWALL’s left navigation bar. Using the WEP/WPA Encryption menu, you can configure encryption level and security keys.

From the Advanced menu, reached by clicking the Advanced button from within the Wireless sub-navigation menu, you can adjust beacon interval (and hid the SSID within the beacon). You can also specify the maximum number of permitted client associations (the default is 32 on the TZ 170). Other Advanced settings include antenna diversity and transmission power. Once changes are made, remember the Apply button must be pressed to save and implement any updates that are made. Should you wish to return Advanced settings to factory presets, click the Restore Default Settings button, which is found at the very bottom of the page.

Organizations wishing to allow or deny wireless connections to specific systems can implement MAC filtering. When MAC addresses are entered into the SonicWALL’s MAC Filter List, you can choose to Allow or Block communications for each device that is entered. You can also enter comments, such as Guest system or Unknown workstation from neighboring company, within a Comment field to help other IT professionals better understand why certain systems have been allowed or denied specific wireless access.

To filter devices based on their media access control addresses, click MAC Filter List and then click the Add button. Supply the MAC address of the system, supply any relevant comment, and then (using the Action drop-down menu) specify Allow or Block. When you’re done, click OK to add the entry to the MAC Filter List.

SonicWALL’s wireless-equipped routers also include intrusion detection capabilities. Click IDS from the Wireless sub menu to access the feature. Besides logging nearby access points (within the Discovered Access Points section), the IDS page allows you to enable probing, flood detection and rogue access points. Using the Authorized Access Points menu, you can add specific entries for access points for which you wish to allow WLAN operation. Just click the Add button, enter the station’s BSSID and any relevant comment, then click OK.

Summary

SonicWALL routers provide excellent security by enabling secure communications with remote employees and wireless users. The device’s wireless configuration wizard simplifies the task of configuring secure wireless communications. Sometimes settings must be tweaked or customized, however. The SonicWALL’s Web-based management interface simplifies the process of not only monitoring active WLAN connections, but customizing wireless communications as required.

Your VoIP vision could win you a 56-inch Samsung HD DLP TV

Texas Instruments’ new Vision for Voice contest asks individuals to submit a short video that describes a specific VoIP product, improvement to a current voice technology, or a new voice technology they would like to see within the next 20 years. Viewers can watch the submitted videos on TI’s Vision for Voice Web site and vote for their favorite. A panel of judges will select contest winners from the ten finalist videos that received the most viewer votes. TI will give one grand prize winner a 56″ Samsung HD DLP TV with 1080p resolution. Three runner-up entrants will receive Slacker portable Internet radios. The contest ends May 13, 2008.

In the following video, the entrant suggested voice enabled search for Web sites.

While attending VoiceCon Orlando 2008, I stopped by the Texas Instruments booth, where they were busy filming entries for the contest. I decided not to submit a video, but was captivated by TI’s idea. When it comes to VoIP technology, TI isn’t the first company that comes to my mind. I assume TI hopes to change that fact with this contest.

According to a March 18, 2008 press release, “TI designs voice solutions that address the real-world challenges manufactures and consumers face,” said Brian Glinsman, general manager of TI’s communications infrastructure and voice group. Glinsman believes the Vision for Voice contest gives TI “the opportunity to hear from customers and end users alike about what innovations they envision for voice” and helps ensure TI is “responding to their needs and working toward making their vision a reality”.Whether you’re an IT professional, technology enthusiast, or IT power user, I encourage you to share your ideas in this post’s discussion thread or take the plunge and enter TI’s contest. If you win, I expect an invite to watch your new TV.

Virtual worlds invade the average business meeting

While video conferencing and telepresence seem to be the up-and-coming collaboration technologies, IBM is keeping its options open and exploring alternatives.

During his VoiceCon Orlando 2008 keynote, Rhodin demonstrated a 3D virtual meeting room complete with conference phone, presentation screen, and faux leather chairs. (Okay, the chairs might have been real “virtual” leather.) Meeting attendees appeared in the room as avatars-think Second Life without the purple hair and wacky clothes. Partnering with Forterra Systems, a developer of virtual environments, IBM plans to integrate Forterra’s On-Line Interactive Virtual Environment (OLIVE) 3D platform with Lotus Sametime.

“We are committed to meeting the requirements of both public and private sector organizations for an easy-to-use, trusted, secure collaboration platform, and we are confident that this announcement allows us to take the lead in meeting the demands of a new market trend,” said Dave Rolston, CEO of Forterra Systems, in a March 20 press release.

Forterra Systems and IBM demonstrate 3D meeting room within Lotus Sametime

Credit: Bill Detwiler/TechRepublic.com

I admit the demonstration was eye-catching, but I’m unconvinced businesses are ready to accept a meeting room that looks and feels like a “computer game”. I put this question to Robert Gehorsam, Forterra Systems President, during an interview after Rhodin’s keynote. Gehorsam cited the success of virtual 3D environments in training and collaboration among intelligence agencies as evidence many organizations recognize that virtual worlds can be used for more than social networking or gaming.

Despite, Gehorsam’s enthusiasm, I’m still not convinced a virtual 3D environment and human avatars will ever be more effective than video conferencing or telepresence for the average office meeting. As an avid computer gamer, I understand the allure of online virtual worlds. But, I also like seeing the faces of the people I’m meeting with. Even photo-realistic avatars can’t accurately replicate the fully emotional range of the human face.

Virtual 3D environments are excellent training tools for situations that would be too costly, too dangerous, or impossible to regularly reproduce-battlefield operations, tactical response scenarios, flight simulations, emergency response exercises, and so forth. But, the average office meeting seems better served by face-to-face interaction-even if it’s through a video conferencing system.

I applaud IBM and Forterra for pushing the boundaries of collaboration and exploring new uses for virtual environments, but I’m skeptical that people will prefer holding business meetings through an avatar. What do you think?

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

WiMAX’s slow rollout may be technical

There have been all sorts of possible explanations as to why WiMAX is not readily available. Most refer to business plans and political issues. Some recent news may very well point to the real reason for the slow rollout. Quite simply, providers are having problems trying to get “big enough pipes” to the cell towers. The InfoWorld article, “Backhaul woes slow Sprint’s WiMAX rollout,” mentions:

“What’s holding Sprint back is simply the logistics of building the network, and specifically the problem of provisioning “backhaul” connections to the Internet. Mobile operators typically lease T-1 lines from their cell sites for these backhaul links, but those lines only provide 1.5Mbps. WiMax is designed to deliver more than that to every subscriber.”

Existing cell tower bandwidth

Some history might be in order here. A typical cell tower that was in a fairly active area would have 3 to 4 T1s aggregate bandwidth. If that particular tower was upgraded to 3G then usually one or two more T1’s were added to the mix, bringing the total bandwidth to approximately 9Mbps.

Bandwidth and range advertised by WiMAX

WiMAX has a theoretical maximum bandwidth of 75Mbps using 64QAM 3/4 modulation. WiMAX has a theoretical maximum range of 31 miles with a direct line of sight. It’s not too hard to see why WiMAX backhaul may become a real issue. Requiring almost ten times the bandwidth that exists at each cell tower is a very significant increase. I also wonder if the increased range was factored in. A larger coverage area does not increase the bandwidth required per user, but it does increase the aggregate bandwidth as more users could be in each cell’s coverage area.

What’s the solution?

As a network engineer, increasing bandwidth to a facility is my bread and butter. A typical solution is to jump up to the next T-carrier, which in this case would be a T3. The bandwidth supplied by a T3 is approximately 45Mbps. One challenge with T3 cabling is that it’s not just your simple two twisted pairs of wire anymore. The copper solution for T3 is a pair of coaxial cables — one to transmit and one to receive — with BNC connectors. Another challenge is that T3 signals can only run short distances — standard distance is 380m-over copper.

Service providers are well aware of this and now have two challenges to overcome, increased bandwidth needs and expensive circuit extension challenges. There are two viable approaches being considered, and ultimately, it appears the answer will be a combination of both.

Since there is still some question as to what the ultimate bandwidth requirements will be, the logical choice is to just run fiber circuits to the cell tower. That will allow almost unlimited bandwidth, if implemented properly, by having extra dark fiber. There is major sticker shock with this approach, though. I have heard figures in the range of US$50,000 to $100,000 to run fiber to the cell tower, and that dollar amount is based on having a fiber network reasonably close to the cell tower.

A more logical and cost-effective approach would be to use microwave backhaul instead of fiber or even a composite of both. For example, one topology would have each remote cell tower connecting to a centrally located cell tower via an OC-3 microwave link. The distribution cell tower would be chosen or located so as to facilitate quality microwave links with all of the remote cell towers as well as the most cost-effective fiber run to the system’s fiber network.

One interesting tidbit about this topic is that the rest of the world is significantly ahead of the U.S. when it comes to using microwave links for network backhaul. According to that same InfoWorld article:

“So the carrier wants to use point-to-point microwave wireless connections. Though these are used widely in other parts of the world -about half of all backhaul in Europe is microwave, and more than that in Asia, IDC analyst Godfrey Chua estimates-Sprint is practically treading on virgin territory by seeking it in the U.S., according to West. There are few engineers well-versed in setting it up, and Sprint has to overcome zoning issues for many installations, he said. The procedures of setting it up are also quite different, with the need to find an unobstructed line of sight through the air and deal with zoning issues.”

Final thoughts

One has to wonder why this is even an issue. Isn’t it logical to think that this should have been looked at right away? Is it possible that a technical oversight may be turning into a major business headache for Sprint and others? The recent interest of Comcast and Time Warner Cable in Sprint and WiMax, as pointed out by TechRepublic Executive Editor Jason Hiner in his post, “Sprint CEO stays the course on WiMAX, but launch won’t happen in April” may be coincidental, but both players have access to significant fiber networks and that might help Sprint’s cause. Hmmmm.

I also did a little poking around, and I see that Clearwire — on and off WiMAX partner of Sprint — is advertising for microwave engineers. In fact, there seems to be a significant number of openings for microwave engineers. Hmmmm.

CTIA Wireless 2008: Less regulation, open networks, and a growing demand for data

I’m in Las Vegas this week covering CTIA Wireless 2008, which runs April 1-3 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. During the Day 1 keynotes, speakers discussed the wireless industries top concerns and current trends.

Open networks and calls for less government regulation

During his keynote, Lowell McAdam, President and CEO of Verizon Wireless and CTIA Chairman, explained that the “industry is at a critical crossroads.” He asked attendees to embrace new entrants into the market (Apple, Google, and others) and said the wireless industry must eliminate industry practices and policies that don’t make sense for customers. Not only would this benefit consumers, but help avoid additional government regulation.

Lowell McAdam, President and CEO of Verizon Wireless, at CTIA Wireless 2008
Credit: Bill Detwiler/TechRepublic.com

As lobbying efforts for phone companies to open their networks grow, several wireless carriers have taken preemptive steps to avoid government regulation. In November 2007, Verizon announced plans to let consumers use any compatible phone on the Verizon network, and let owners run any application on their phones. Other carriers are following along. AT&T has also announced an open network offering. T-Mobile and Sprint Nextel are working with Google in its Open Handset Alliance.

In an apparent nod to the industry’s open network efforts, Kevin Martin, Federal Communications Commission Chairman, expressed his hope that the wireless industry would play a larger role in communications and government less. Martin said 93 percent of people in the US can choose from three wireless providers in their area and 90 percent can choose from four. “Wireless is the poster child for competition,” Martin said.

Kevin Martin, Chairman of the FCC, at CTIA Wireless 2008
Credit: Bill Detwiler/TechRepublic.com

In closing, Martin offered a reward to the incumbent carriers. He said it was premature to require any additional regulation, and said he would circulate a proposal among the four other FCC commissioners to dismiss Skype’s petition to apply Carterfone rules to the wireless industry. In 1968, the FCC ruled that the Carterfone and other devices could be connected directly to the Bell telephone network, so long as they did not damage the system. Martin’s comments drew cheers and applause from many keynote attendees.

Higher-speed networks that can transmit more data

As customers expect instant access to data-intensive applications, the wireless industry must respond. Dan Hesse, Sprint Nextel’s President and CEO, said data was the wireless industry’s future. He outlined Sprint Nextel’s plans to focus on instantaneous communication by:

• Offering push-to-talk on the company’s CDMA network later this year
• Allowing user to reach groups of individuals through push-to-talk
• Launching the push-to-X feature which expands the push-to functionality into e-mail and other applications.

Dan Hesse, President and CEO of Sprint Nextel, at CTIA Wireless 2008
Credit: Bill Detwiler/TechRepublic.com

Hesse also mentioned Sprint’s Simply Everything plan, which allows customers to use unlimited data, text messaging, voice, and more for a flat $99 monthly fee-excluding taxes. Discussing Sprint’s desire to lead the way in broadband wireless, Hesse spoke about the company’s WiMax initiative through XOHM-a new Sprint business unit focused on WiMax. Sprint currently owns WiMax licenses that cover 80 percent of the U.S. population, and Hesse believes WiMax will be part of a winning strategy for the company.

IBM predicts demise of traditional offices

During his VoiceCon Orlando 2008 keynote, Mike Rhodin, General Manager of IBM Lotus software, predicted five future trends that IBM believes “reshape the way businesses and workers communicate and collaborate.”

Considering IBM said earlier this month it will invest $1 billion over the next three years in the unified communications market, the company better hope their predictions come true and lead to a “fast-growing unified communications market.”

In a March 19 press release, IBM outlined Rhodin’s predictions. Here’s the list and my take on whether I think they’re likely to come true. I’d love you hear your opinions.

1. The Virtual Workplace will become the rule. This is probable, but not a guarantee. According to IBM, “social networking tools and virtual world meeting experiences will simulate the feeling of being there in person.” In a May 30, 2007 press release, Nemertes Research published the results of in-depth interviews with 120 IT executives. Nemertes found that 62 percent of participants plan to increase the number of their branch-office locations, and on average, branch offices will grow 11 percent in 2007. Furthermore, more than 80 percent of companies have at least some employees who work away from their supervisor and/or workgroups, and on average, classify 27 percent of their employees as virtual. Nemertes believes global expansion, employee attraction and retention, merger and acquisitions, cost savings, and environmental concerns are all driving the growth of branches offices. Yet, some companies have recently scaled back their virtual workforce. In mid-2006, HP required that some IT workers return to an office. In late 2007, AT&T recalled scores of teleworkers. As with most new technologies and systems, telecommuting isn’t right for every workplace or worker.
2. Instant Messaging and other real-time collaboration tools will become the norm, bypassing e-mail. I agree with IBM on this one and believe two factors are driving this trend. First, when compared with IM, group chat, and desktop sharing, e-mail is an inefficient means of quick communication or group interaction. Second, younger individual joining the workforce are more comfortable with and even prefer real-time communication tools like texting and IM.
3. Beyond Phone Calls to Collaborative Business Processes. IBM believes “companies will go beyond initial capabilities like click-to-call and presence to deep integration with business process and line-of-business applications, where they can realize the greatest benefit.” Wow. That’s a mouthful. But, I think IBM is predicting that organizations will integrate UC functionally in other software such as sales applications, supply chain systems, accounting systems, and so forth. This is already being done, and I see no reason the current trend won’t continue. I agree with IBM on this one.
4. Interoperability and Open Standards will tear down proprietary walls across business and public domains. I’d like to see this happen, but I’m more pessimistic than IBM. Standards like IP networking and the Internet’s decentralized model have spurred innovation and fueled tremendous growth. But, when there’s money at stake-large amounts of money. Companies tend promote their own standards and leverage their monopolies to protect profits.

New meeting models will emerge. This prediction is a given. It’s actually not a predication, but an acknowledgement that things change. Regardless, the trick is to know which models will succeed and then offer products and services that support those models.

So that’s IBM’s list of five predictions for the future of unified communications and my take on the likelihood each will come true. What do you think?

Managing mobile devices the Microsoft way

We live in an increasingly mobile world, and enterprise IT administrators must now deal with a wide array of devices connecting to the corporate network. In addition to users’ home computers and both company-issued and personally-owned laptops, many of today’s workers expect to be able to access their email, contacts, calendars and more with their handheld devices (PDAs and smart phones).

These take-everywhere connectivity devices offer a large degree of convenience, but they present a challenge to IT departments in terms of security and manageability, even when they’re issued and owned by the company. There are various management solutions out there, such as CA’s Mobile Device Management (MDM) for BlackBerry devices.

Microsoft’s solution for centralized management of Windows Mobile devices, to be available in the second half of 2008, is the System Center Mobile Device Manager (SCMDM) 2008. SCMDM was introduced by Steve Ballmer last October at CTIA in San Francisco. Currently it only works with a limited number of devices (a software upgrade is required), but we can expect compatibility with many more in the future. In fact, all Windows Mobile phones that come out after mid-year 2008 are expected to have SCMDM support built in and updates are expected to be available for such current phones as the AT&T Blackjack II and Tilt, the HTC Mogul and Touch, the Samsung i760 and the Palm Treo 750, among others.

Let’s take a look at how it works.

Making Mobile behave more like a real Windows client

When it comes to mobile clients, one item on the IT administrator’s wish list is to be able to exert the same controls over them that we have over Windows PCs in the enterprise. That is, we want to be able to quickly see what mobile devices can access domain resources, apply Group Policy for consistency and protection, and distribute software automatically (or prevent users from installing/running software that may pose a security threat). There are also special needs when it comes to mobile devices, such as the need to prevent a lost mobile device from resulting in divulgence of sensitive corporate information or breaches of the network.

SCMDM 2008 is a recent addition to the System Center product line that takes on all of these issues and more. Despite its somewhat unwieldy acronym, this is a pretty exciting package for those concerned with mobile device security on a Microsoft network. It’s certainly scalable enough for the enterprise, with a single SCMDM installation being capable of handling more than 20,000 mobile devices. Built in reporting tools help you to keep an accurate inventory of devices.

SCMDM interoperates with other Microsoft server products, such as Windows Software Update Services (WSUS), SQL Server, Exchange and IIS.

Better security with Group Policy

With SCMDM, you enroll devices that you want to manage into the domain (similarly to joining PCs to the domain) and they become objects in Active Directory. That means you can apply Group Policy to them as you do with your Windows servers and workstations. For example, you can enforce password policies on mobile devices or set a policy that forces full file encryption on the devices. In addition to the out-of-the-box policies that come with SCMDM, you can create your own policies using administrative templates. More than 130 policies are included.

Devices can quickly be enrolled by any user with Active Directory credentials through an “easy enrollment” web site on the Mobile Device Manager server. On the administrative side, management of devices is done via the familiar Microsoft Management Console (MMC) interface. Here you can view the status and history of each enrolled device.

You can even prevent the use of selected communications protocols on specific devices. For example, you could prevent a particular device from being able to send and receive email or disable Bluetooth on a device. Or you could disable the cameras built into Windows Mobile smart phones in situations where you don’t want users to have picture-taking capability.

Protection in case of theft or loss

The theft or loss of a mobile device can have dire consequences if users have confidential company information stored on the devices or if a thief is able to use the device to connect to the corporate network.

SCMDM makes it possible for IT administrators to conduct a remote wipe on a lost or stolen device, to eliminate the possibility of misuse by a thief.

Distributing software to mobile devices

A great benefit of SCMDM is the software distribution feature. Administrators are used to being able to push applications and updates to the PCs on their networks. Now they can do the same thing with mobile devices. This allows you to ensure that mobile software is consistent across the organization, or that particular devices have specific applications installed. The software packages that you select are distributed over the air so that users don’t have to deal with downtime while programs are being installed on their devices. You can make the software packages mandatory or optional.

Providing for secure VPN connections from mobile devices

Yet another feature of SCMDM is its Mobile VPN access. For best security, you can use IPsec authentication and SSL encryption to provide mobile users with a very secure way to connect their devices to the corporate network. They can access line of business applications on internal servers behind the corporate firewalls.

And if the session gets disconnected (as often happens with cellular connections or when using an unreliable wi-fi connection), SCMDM has a “fast reconnect” feature that keeps the session history and doesn’t require reauthenticating.

Managing mobile devices in an enterprise environment presents a big challenge, but companies can leverage their existing Microsoft network infrastructures and Windows Mobile smart phones by deploying System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008 to solve many of the problems associated with mobility.

Viewing your documents on-the-move with RepliGo

Ever tried viewing a complex document on your handheld device, but ended up frustrated by the reflowed formatting needed to fit it into the smaller screen? If skewed document layout really gets on your nerves, perhaps Cerience Corporation’s RepliGo might be just what the doctor ordered.

In Cerience’s own words, RepliGo Server allows users “to view documents and email attachments in their full fidelity without compromise.” There is also a hosted version called RepliGo Professional that is meant for users not on a BES (BlackBerry Enterprise Server).

It should be noted that both server-based and hosted products are currently a BlackBerry-only solution. According to Cerience spokesperson Dave Cho, the company has no plans at the moment to bring it to other mobile platforms.

“Full fidelity” document viewing

The RepliGo experience is made possible by means of a small client-side install. When the user attempts to view a supported document type using RepliGo, the backend server component kicks into action and opens the file instead. It then pushes the rendered screen image wirelessly to the client-side component to be displayed.

In the above scenario, the user starts out with a zoomed-out rendition of the actual document. It is a trivial matter to zoom in or to switch to another page. I have been using the full-featured trial of RepliGo Server for the last three weeks, and I can attest to its simplicity as well as incredible usefulness.

RepliGo Server supports PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, WordPerfect, RTF, CSV, OpenOffice files, zip archives, and fax as well as image files. Do note that while RepliGo Server version does support Microsoft Office 2007 file formats, you will need to have a copy of Office 2007 installed on the server itself. The other formats work right out of the box.

RepliGo Server is compatible with all recent BlackBerry models, including the BlackBerry Series 7100, 7200, 7500, 7700, 8100, 8300, 8700, and 8800.

Other features in brief

“True” document viewing aside, both RepliGo Server and RepliGo Professional gives the ability to fax or e-mail attachments directly from your BlackBerry. You can also print via Bluetooth to compatible HP PLC Bluetooth printers.

RepliGo comes with a host of other interesting features:

RepliGo Server

• Network access to documents with personal document storage
• BlackBerry browser integration to support documents on intranets and the Internet
• Central Web administration
• Scalable backend architecture; availability of SDK

RepliGo Professional

• Online storage with up to 500 megabytes of free storage

Viewing versus editing

If you have been following mobility news, you will know that a version of DataViz’s popular Documents To Go is due to be released soon for the BlackBerry platform. So does Cerience see its business threatened by this development?

In an e-mail, Dave Cho of Cerience wrote:

“Docs To Go is for the category of companies that want editing of Office documents. This is a much smaller category than those who want high fidelity viewing of all types of documents, especially PDF… and want a complete solution including access to documents on networks, printing, faxing and emailing.”

In essence, Cerience sees its product as addressing a different niche altogether. As such, the release of Documents To Go will have little effect or no effect on their products. Having used RepliGo for a few weeks myself, I am in agreement here.

Below is a possible checklist that IT managers or CTOs might want to check against when considering RepliGo against Office-centric products:

• Is there a need for PDF viewing on the BlackBerry platform?
• Is there a need for a page layout view of MS Word documents?
• Is there a need for advanced features such as network access to documents, printing, faxing, etc.?
• Would users really want to work with native Office documents on their devices? (Think multi-megabyte PowerPoint files)?

The road ahead

Despite being literally the only contender in this niche that it has carved out, Cerience is certainly not resting on its laurels.

In our correspondence, Dave told TechRepublic that additional features currently in the works include enhanced network and SharePoint access. In the pipeline is the ability to do network printing, support for the media card, and enhanced administration for access to company resources. Also, work is on-going in terms of enhancing the client integration with the RIM OS.

In the meantime however, is RepliGo worth paying good money for? I will be stepping through some of its key functionality in a later post. You can decide for yourself then.

Use Excel’s built-in features to simplify data entry

Entering data into a worksheet can be time-consuming, and mistakes often find their way in — but with the right tools, both speed and accuracy can be improved. Here’s a look at several Excel features that facilitate data entry.

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Chances are, many of your users spend at least some of their time entering data into Excel worksheets. The easier you make the task, the more users will enter accurate data. You can create user forms and write VBA to help the process along. But before you do, review a few of the built-in features that ease the data entry burden. Excel’s list, AutoComplete, and data validation features will reduce keystrokes and prevent errors.

Note: This article is also available as a PDF download.

Use lists to reduce keystrokes

One of the simplest ways to control data entry is to let Excel enter as much of the data as possible using the list feature. Lists reduce keystrokes and typos. Creating a list is simple enough, and you can work with an existing worksheet or create a new one. The only requirement is that each list (column) heading be unique. If there are no headers, Excel will create generic ones.

To demonstrate the process, we’ve imported the sample Access database, Northwind. Here are the steps for creating a list:

1. Select any cell inside the worksheet for which you want to define a list.
2. Choose List from the Data menu and then select Create List. Or press [Ctrl]+L. Excel will display the Create List dialog box and display the range for the worksheet, as shown in Figure A. (If the range isn’t correct, check for a blank row in the worksheet. Excel’s list feature can accommodate blank cells, but Excel interprets a blank row as the end of the active data.) If necessary, select the My List Has Headers option. (Usually, it’s selected by default.)

Figure A

Excel intuitively selects the list range, which usually consists of multiple columns.

1. Click OK, and Excel will create the list shown in Figure B by adding drop-down controls to each header cell. (The arrows are an AutoFilter feature.)

Figure B

The lists drop-down arrows let you quickly filter records by existing values.

To use the list to enter data, navigate to the bottom of the worksheet, where an asterisk character (*) serves as a placeholder for the new record row. That’s where you’ll enter the next record. As you enter data, Excel searches the existing list (column) items, looking for an item that uniquely matches the characters you enter. When it finds a match, the AutoComplete feature finishes the entry. For instance, Figure C shows what happens when you enter the characters Mo into the ProductName cell in the new record row. Excel completes the entry — Mozzarella di Giovanni. To accept the completed item, press Enter; to reject it, just keep typing.

Figure C

Excel’s AutoComplete feature can enter data for you.

When you reach the end of the new record, Excel is smart enough to know you’ve completed the record. When you press Enter, Excel selects the first cell in the newly inserted record row — this is one of the few times Excel ignores the cursor movement setting (see the next section). If AutoComplete doesn’t work, someone has probably disabled it. To check, choose Options from the Tools menu and click the Edit tab. The Enable AutoComplete For Cell Values option must be checked for AutoComplete to work.

Control cursor movement

When inserting data, pressing Enter moves the cursor down one cell by default. When entering new records, that behavior can be counterproductive. Most likely, users will want to complete each record by moving to the right. Fortunately, you can change the cursor’s movement pattern. First, choose Options from the Tools menu. Then, click the Edit tab and do one of these things:

• Choose Move Selection After Enter and then select a direction.
• Clear the Move Selection After Enter check box to inhibit any movement when pressing Enter.

Restrict users to list items

Providing efficient data entry methods is great, but validating data is also important. You can control both by restricting data entry to a specific list, thereby limiting possible entries. First, you need a list like the one shown in Figure D. This list identifies all the possible categories for the worksheet — each record will have a category value and it will be restricted to the items in this list. In other words, users will be allowed to enter only those items in this list.

Figure D

Enter only the items you want the list to store.

Be sure to create this list in an out-of-the-way spot. If you delete it or accidentally write over it, the restricted list will stop working. However, the list items must reside in the same sheet as the restricted list or you must assign a range name to the list items.

With the list in place (see steps 1 and 2 in the section “Use lists to reduce keystrokes”), select the list you want to restrict. In this case, that’s column D, or cells D2:D80. With the list selected, you’re ready to enable data validation as follows:

1. Choose Validation from the Data menu to display the Data Validation dialog box.
2. Click the Settings tab.
3. Choose List from the Allow drop-down list.
4. Use the point-and-click tool (to the right of the Source control) to select the original list. In this case, that’s cells M2:M9, as shown in Figure E. Or enter a range name, including an equals sign. Click OK to return to the worksheet.

Figure E

Identify the list of items that determine the items the list will store.

Now, go to the new record row and click the category cell (column D). As you can see in Figure F, the list (which you can see in Figure D) is available for data entry. (If you imported the example data from Northwind, as we did, the original numeric values will generate an error once you enable data validation. Simply delete the imported values.)

Figure F

Use the drop-down list to enter a category for each record.

Not only is the list available to facilitate data entry, the feature rejects any entry that’s not in the list. Excel displays the error shown in Figure G if you try to enter invalid data (an item not in the list).

Figure G

Excel rejects invalid entries.

This feature doesn’t force users to use the drop-down list; users can manually enter an existing item via the keyboard if they prefer. If you want the drop-down list in a particular order, sort the original list (Figure D). You can do so before or after enabling validation.

Create a data entry form

Lists are great for reducing the amount of data users have to re-enter. But to enter different items, users might benefit from a data entry form. Start with a list. (Again, just repeat steps 1 and 2 from the “Use lists to reduce keystrokes” section.) Then, choose Form from the Data menu. Excel will construct a data entry form, like the one shown in Figure H.

Figure H

Many users find a data entry form easier to use than entering data directly into a worksheet.

Initially, the form displays the first record in the list. Click New to display a blank form, enter data, and press Enter. Excel will transfer the data from the form to the list (worksheet) and expand the list by one record. You can use a data entry form to enter new records, edit existing data, and delete existing records.

Unfortunately, Excel’s automated data entry forms don’t support AutoComplete the way lists do. However, your data entry form will inherit data validation settings. In the case of the example list, the data entry form’s CategoryID field will reject invalid data, just as the worksheet does.

Easy data entry

Users who spend a lot of time entering new data will appreciate your efforts to increase their productivity and accuracy. Combine Excel’s list, AutoComplete, and data validation settings to reduce keystrokes and restrict entries to protect the validity of your data. Or use a quick data entry form to automate a data entry task.

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