VoIP Hopper, A VoIP Security Testing Tool

VoIP Hopper http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/

VoIP Hopper is intended for network engineers, VoIP administrators, and professional security testers to assess the security of networks they have permission to test / assess. Even though VoIP Hopper is a VoIP infrastructure security testing tool, it could effectively be used to test the security status of VLANs as well.

The tool is GPLv3 licensed  and is written in C. One needs a Linux based system, a C compiler and good old libpcap to make and run. The tool is designed to run a VLAN Hop into the Voice VLAN on targeted Ethernet switches. VoIP Hopper mimics an IP Phone, in Cisco, Avaya, Nortel, and Alcatel-Lucent environments.  IP Phone emulation requires discovery of the correct 12 bit Voice VLAN ID (VVID) used by the IP Phones and is accomplished via multiple protocol discovery methods (CDP, DHCP, LLDP-MED, 802.1q ARP). Once the initial stem is accomplished, VoIP Hopper creates a virtual VoIP Ethernet interface on the OS.  It then inserts a spoofed 4-byte 802.1q vlan header containing the 12 bit VVID into a spoofed DHCP request.  Once it receives an IP address in the VoIP VLAN subnet, all subsequent Ethernet frames are "tagged" with the spoofed 802.1q header.

There are many uses of the tool for a VoIP engineer or professional and needs to invest some time learning the tool. VoIP Hopper site provides a swath of information, including code download, instructions and video tutorials (Of on which is embedded below). Happy ethical hacking.


 

Shoretel Mobility, Work From Wherever With Your Smart Phone.

ShoretelMobility, http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
ShoreTel has been a formidable force in the Phone and UC (Unified Communications) market and now they extent the capabilities to the ever growing mobile market. Shoretel Mobility sets the user free to communicate from any location (office, home, hotspots) with their smartphones by enabling access to any network (cellular or Wi-Fi), simply and cost effectively.

ShoreTel Mobility is offered as a component of the ShoreTel Unified Communications system, with capability to integrate easily with other PBX systems from Cisco, Avaya, Alcatel-Lucent, and UC systems such as Microsoft OCS, to name a few. To find out more fillow the link after the jump.



Shoretel Mobility

British Telecom (BT) Selects Cisco Content Delivery System As It's "Content Connect" Backbone.

Content Connect, BT Collaborates With Cisco for broadband TV http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
BT has announced that it has chosen Cisco content delivery system to form the backbone of BT's Content Connect, an online video delivery network. Content Connect will improve the experience of consuming digital content on the net.
The Cisco CDS, content delivery system, will aid BT to establish form broadband as another TV delivery platform. Content COnnect is an open system that will deliver digital content such as TV programs, to any computer, TV set or a mobile devices such as smartphones, irrespective of the ISP or the technology, as long as there is a broadband connection.
"Our industry is witnessing a significant growth in content delivery over broadband – driven by the consumption of video services at home, at work and on the move. Working with Cisco enables us to offer an efficient, long-term solution and bringing the power of broadband and content together leads to exciting, innovative end user experiences. It will allow all players – including content service providers – to extract more value from content services in the future while pleasing end users." voiced Simon Orme, BT Wholesale's Strategy Director of Content Services.
Cisco CDS will enable BT's content connect service to offer a country wide service with QOS assurance paired with detailed reporting and analytics as to how the content delivered is consumed.
"Because of the variety of content available on the Internet, consumers are now accustomed to choice; they want to access entertainment content, anytime, anywhere. The Cisco Content Delivery System will help BT work more closely with content providers to meet the demands from today's savvy consumers." said  Kip Compton, general manager of video & content platforms business unit at Cisco,
BT expects to introduce its Content Connect service in early 2011
BT

1000 Schools In Victoria, Australia Get Ultranet, Connected Learning Experience, Demoed At Connections 2010

Connected Learning Experience With Cisco http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
The State of Victoria Department of Early Education and Child Development (DEECD) has decided to standardise on Cisco® wired and wireless networking to bring together and provide service from and to 1,000 primary and secondary schools across Victoria. The network will support demands like one-to-one computing, mobility for flexible learning spaces, HD video, digital content and the Ultranet, a secure online learning system, connections 2010.
Oracle, IBM, Cisco and many others partnered with DEECD to bring this effort to being.
The Ultranet is a statewide, secure site that students, parents and teachers can access via the internet. It will provide a new learning space and more opportunities for information sharing across the Victorian government school system.
According to a press release by the Ministry of Education, the system has been put to use by students and a school 8000KMs apart.  The students at both the ends chatted live to celebrate the opening of the Connections 2010 classroom exhibit at the World Expo in Shanghai, China. Education Minister Bronwyn Pike joined Year 9 students from Hume Central Secondary College at the Hume Global Learning Centre's ideaslab to connect with the classroom in Shanghai via Cisco WebExTM.

"The Ultranet brings to mind the concept of a ‘classroom without walls’ – a space that students, parents and teachers can connect to anywhere, anytime. It will build a dynamic profile of every learner as they move from class to class, year to year and school to school. This is why having one online system for every Victorian government school is so important" said the Minister of Education, Hon Bronwyn Pike, speaking about the Ultranet.

DEECD's initiative for schools will help create media-rich and highly engaging online curricula across the Victoria state. The new experience created with Cisco is centered around video and collaboration, automate administrative processes, security, and enhance the learning process for students and teachers in many a ways. With the mobility provided by Cisco wireless, students and teachers are not confined to the classroom, they will be connected either they are in the playground or anywhere within the reach of wireless network and of course a device with wireless capacity. The concept of wall-less classrooms should be the theme of education every where.

"To ensure Victorian Government school students remain at the forefront of a rapidly changing digital world, the State Government is investing more than $120 million this year on information and communication technologies. In the classroom this means students will have access to more computers which are linked to high-speed broadband provided through the VicSmart initiative. The Ultranet – a 21st century online learning platform that will connect students, teachers and parents in every Victorian government school is now up and running. Cisco has been integral to this Government's ICT investment that will help strengthen our education system to build the workforce of the future." said Jeff Rosewarne, deputy secretary, Office for Resources and Infrastructure of DEECD.

"It is the combination of technology coupled with innovative teaching and learning approaches that makes this deployment so exciting for Cisco. By bringing innovative wired and wireless networking solutions to 1,000 Victorian schools, we are providing a connected learning experience that prepares students for the demands of a fast-paced, global world." echoed Les Williamson, vice president Cisco Australia and New Zealand.

The Minister for Education, Victoria Press release;
Cisco Press release

FIFA World Cup™ Kick-Off Celebration Concert With Cisco's Digital Media Suite

FIFA World Cup™ Kick-Off Celebration Concert With Cisco's Digital Media Suite http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Cisco announced today that it worked with "Control Room", Global music producer, to present the capabilities of  Cisco® Digital Media Suite (DMS) solution at the FIFA World Cup™ 2010 Kick-Off Celebration Concert. The concert was attended by thousands of people who were entertained by the likes of Alicia Keys, Black Eyed Peas, John Legend, Shakira, and the Parlotones.
The concert proceeds benefited  "20 Centers for 2010", the official campaign of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa and other programs.

"This year marked the first time the FIFA World Cup tournament was played in Africa, so it seemed fitting to celebrate this momentous occasion with a festival of live music from Africa and beyond. Cisco helped us to deliver this experience to over 30,000 at the Orlando Stadium." said the founder of Control Room, Kevin Wall.

Cisco, South Africa managing director, David Meads also lauded;

"The FIFA World Cup™ Kick-off Celebration Concert in South Africa proved to be the ultimate global entertainment event and experience in the 2010 calendar so far.  Everyone around the world wanted to be a part of it. Cisco's strategy is about connecting people, information, and teams, providing context so they can find the right information and people quickly and securely and our DMS solution demonstrates this capability. We are confident that we now have a winning formula that can be replicated across other stadia in South Africa."

Following key facts were prominent in bringing the showcase;

• For this musical extravaganza Cisco provided 42-inch high-definition screens, 25 in all, as well as the local area network and wireless access points to some sections of the stadium.  This enabled broadcast to several other levels and hospitality areas in the stadium. After the concert Cisco donated portions of the wireless solution to Orlando Stadium. 
• The Cisco Digital Media Suite is an integrated platform for video collaboration, digital signage, and live and on-demand IPTV applications. Cisco DMS streams broadcasts to entertainment venues to provide audiences with the flexibility to access live and on-demand content. It is designed to deliver compelling global communications as well as an improved user, marketing and branding experience.
• As an integral part of the Cisco DMS large format, professional-quality Cisco LCD Professional Series Displays provide complete end-to-end solutions for Cisco Digital Signs and Cisco Cast applications. Cisco LCD Professional Series Displays offer 32-, 40- and 52-inch models with full 1080p resolution as well as centralized, remote management through the Cisco Digital Media Manager to control on and off, volume, contrast, and brightness.
• Produced by the Emmy Award-winning producer Kevin Wall and his company Control Room, in partnership with local promoter Showtime Entertainment, the event featured musical performances by major international superstars and popular African artists collaborating together, along with special appearances by Patrick Vieira, Lucas Radebe and other football legends.
• The event, which proved to be the 'must have' ticket for audiences not only across the African continent but globally, was televised to tens of millions of viewers worldwide.

Cisco

European Commission Approves Ciscos Tandberg Acquisition

European Commission Approves Cisco Tandberg Acquisition snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Cisco announced today that it has received anti trust approval from European Commission and awaiting the US DOJ approval to complete the Ciscos acquisition of Tandberg for $3 Billion.
The EC approval is conditional based on appointment of monitoring trustees. Department of Justice has announced that it will not challenge the proposed acquisition in light of the commitments Cisco has made to the European Commission. Cisco and Tandberg is also awaiting the ongoing discussions in Brazil.

"We appreciate the thorough and efficient manner in which the Justice Department and the European Commission conducted their review of this transaction, and we are grateful for the leadership and close cooperation between the agencies throughout this process," said Marthin De Beer, senior vice president of Cisco's Emerging Technologies Business Group.  "Cisco has always strongly believed that industry expansion and growth is best fostered through open standards and interoperability, and our commitments to the Commission formalize our approach in this area.  Our commitments will promote multi-vendor interoperability and contribute to the ubiquity of video communications, which will benefit customers, competitors and the industry as a whole." 

Cisco's commitments to the EC also include divesting its TelePresence Interoperability Protocol (TIP) ownership and the library of open source software useful to implementers of TIP to an independent third party.  Cisco will also provide the third party, the industry body with all other rights necessary to implement TIP and authorize the industry body to license those rights to any interested party, royalty-free. 
 Cisco

Cisco Space Router (IRIS) Is Orbiting The Earth Now

A Space Systems/Loral technician attaches the IRIS boxes to the Intelsat-14 satellite

Cisco Space Routersnapvoip.blogspot.com

Cisco has successfully launched it's first IP router in space abroad Intelsat's IS-14 satellite on Nov. 23, 2009. The satellite and the router attests a major milestone in  Internet Routing in Space (IRIS) technology.

"This milestone is another step in our strategy to expand borderless networks into space and redefine how satellite communications are delivered.  This technology can help transform satellite communications around the world by reducing latency and increasing the efficiency," said Steven Boutelle, vice president, Cisco Global Government Solutions Group.

Some facts about the Cisco Space Router;

• The IRIS payload will support network services for voice, video and data communications, helping enable government agencies, military units and allied forces to communicate with one another using Internet Protocol and existing ground equipment.
• IRIS offers several enhancements over conventional satellite technology. With IRIS, users will be able to experience a true mobile network — one that helps enable them to connect and communicate how, when and where they want, and that continuously adapts to their needs without a reliance on  predefined, fixed infrastructure.
• IRIS can route data to multiple ground receivers in a single step, eliminating the need to double-hop to a teleport and therefore reducing latency and increasing transponder utilization. The software on the Cisco®  router and onboard modem can be upgraded in orbit, which increases flexibility and the return on investment.
• The IRIS program is a Department of Defense Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (JCTD) managed by Cisco and Intelsat General Corp. The IRIS payload will convert to commercial use following the three-month JCTD ending in April 2010.
• The in-orbit test was conducted using SEAKR Engineering Inc.'s Application Independent Processor (AIP) which was used to host the router and software-defined radio functions necessary for on-board routing, enabling satellite routing capabilities to be reconfigured and updated dynamically from the ground.
• Cisco will work with satellite manufacturers, system integrators and end users to help enable them to deliver services globally to points outside traditional ground-based networks. 
• Intelsat, the world's leading provider of satellite services, will operate the IS-14 satellite carrying the IRIS hosted payload both during the JCTD test period and following the demonstration when the payload converts to commercial use.

Cisco And IRIS Program information

Cisco And The Sheep Of Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley Sheep snapvoip.blogspot.com
Few times a week, I pass freeway 237 on both the directions. There were many farmlands in this area before likes of Cisco, Marvel started building server and router farms. Now there are even golf courses.  Actually when Cisco began 25 years ago, it's march towards to become the networking giant, I doubt they thought of that one day they will be dealing flip video cameras. The following was recorded with one of those flip video cameras and reported by a Ciscoer, John Earnhardt. Yes there are sheep in the valley and I have seen them. But never thought of their connection to networking, until now.

VoIP Security, Asterisk, SIP, Brute Force Attacks, Explained By John Todd Of Digium.

VoIP Security snapvoip.blogspot.com
My thoughts when I read the article saying  “Asterisk attacks are endemic” were ????*&^ and I also knew that John Todd knew what he is doing. So I let the article pass as I was certain it was not the case.
Today Todd has posted an article explaining the misinterpretation of his thoughts and the verbalization of the same.

My comment in the article was not that “Asterisk attacks are endemic”, but that SIP-based brute force attacks are endemic.  Every SIP system that is open to the “public” Internet is seeing large numbers of brute-force attacks.  Sites that have weak username and weak password control will be compromised – this is little different than email accounts being taken over by password-guessing systems and used for sending floods of email.  The significant difference is that when someone takes over a SIP platform to make outbound calls, there is usually a direct monetary cost, which gets people’s attention very quickly.

We all know that Asterisk is used world over and is the favorite SIP based telephony platform is likely to attract people who are interested in hacking or attacking the system. But we also have seen security measures taken by Asterisk as well. Just like the one released day before yesterday, AST-2009-07, where the advisory and the fix was released simultaneously.
But what Todd wrote makes sense and as Asterisk, Broadsoft, Cisco, Kamailio, OpenSER, FreeSwitch, Avaya are all vulnerable to brute force attacks and every bit of  information will help. Whether it is news worthy or not.
Asterisk and SIP Security Redux

Brazil's Broadband Progress On A Upward Curve!

Brazil Grows Broadband Coverage snapvoip.blogspot.com
Now with Brazil on the map with Olympics, many people are looking that direction. While I think that the Olympics in Brazil will shine a light on the region, Brazil has be lighting up dark corners of the land with broadband access.
Cisco's he 12th edition of the Cisco Broadband Barometer report notes a 16% growth in connections. Now it has reached 13.6 million marks and continue to grow.

The report also suggest that the tax reduction on computers has made the progress accelerate at a higher rate and also the following key factors!

• The broadband penetration in Brazil increased slightly from the previous Barometer edition, going from 5.16 percent to 5.8 percent. The state of São Paulo still holds the highest number of connections, with 11 percent share of the connections in Brazil.
• In the 12-month period between June 2008 and June 2009, the registered broadband growth was 36.5 percent.
• Mobile broadband continues to show strong growth. The quantity of broadband subscribers using mobile connections accounted for 2.6 million subscribers in June 2009, a 34.2 percent increase from the previous six months. IDC estimates that the number of mobile connections used on desktops, notebooks or netbooks reached 2.6 million in this period.
• Brazil is just 1.4 million connections from the goal of 15 million set by the Cisco Broadband Barometer for 2010.
• The average navigation speed continues to increase, albeit slowly. A growth of more than 3 percent was registered for speeds of more than 2 Mbps, the highest growth among available speeds in Brazil. Connections of 2 Mbps currently account for 16 percent of the Brazilian connections.
• The state of São Paulo increased its share in the total number of connections, when compared to Brazil as a whole, following the trend also seen in the second half of 2008. The greater 3G coverage contributed to this growth.
• São Paulo also leads in the "residential access" segment with 33 percent of penetration. The national average for Brazil at 17.85 percent continues to increase, though more improvements are necessary to achieve the substantial benefits afforded by broadband connectivity.
• Once again, residential use was significantly higher than corporate use in the mobile broadband market. Residential access grew five percent compared to December 2008, reaching 76.6 percent of the connections.  This is compared to 23.4 percent of corporate connections, highlighting the appeal of this kind of connection for personal use.
• Broadband prices remained stable during the quarter. Some companies have increased the bandwidth offered maintaining similar price offerings.
• According to the latest National Survey by Household Sample, from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), 17.95 million Brazilian households have computers, 31.2 percent of total households versus 5.6 percent penetration for all habitants.

Go Brazil! The Linux Land
Cisco

Cisco Offers To Acquire Tandberg For 3 Billion.

Cisco Acquires Tandberg
Cisco Made an acquisition offer to Tandberg today. TANDBERG, based in Oslo, Norway, and New York, is a global leader in video communications, including a broad range of  video endpoint and network infrastructure solutions with intra company and multi-vendor interoperability.
The acquisition will aid Cisco reaching even further into the collaboration and teleprecense market, specially small business sector. It will also open more doors for Cisco globally for it's communications products.

Under the terms of the agreement, Cisco will commence a cash tender offer to purchase for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $3.0 billion.  This represents an 11.0% premium to the previous day closing price of TANDBERG's stock, and a 25.2% premium to the 3-month volume weighted average closing price for TANDBERG's stock.  The proposal was recommended unanimously by TANDBERG's board of directors.
The parties expect the acquisition to close during the first half of calendar year 2010 and Cisco expects the acquisition to be accretive to Cisco's non-GAAP earnings in fiscal year 2011.
On the occation, Cisco's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, John Chambers said,

"Cisco and TANDBERG have remarkably similar cultures and a shared vision to change the way the world works through collaboration and video communications technologies," said Cisco Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Chambers. "Collaboration is a $34 billion market and is growing rapidly—enabled by networked Web 2.0 technologies.  This acquisition showcases Cisco's financial strength and ability to quickly capture key market transitions for growth."

while  CEO, TANDBERG Fredrik Halvorsen,said

"Cisco and TANDBERG share a vision of changing the way people communicate and collaborate," said TANDBERG Chief Executive Officer Fredrik Halvorsen. "This transaction is a vote of confidence, not just in TANDBERG but in our technology and our people.  The combination of world-class technologies, Cisco's global scale, and exceptional people from both organizations will enable us to accelerate innovation and market adoption."

"Skype for SIP" Offering Will Interoperate With Cisco Systems’ Unified Communications 500 System.

"Skype for SIP"
Yes that is what Giga Om is telling us and I am sure it will be a real boost to Skype for Business plans and Skype for SIP infrastructure. Skype partnered with Shoretel to provide similar service only a little while ago and brains at Cisco must have smelled the aroma ans now joining the barbeque party.
We have numerous Cisco equipments deployed along with Cisco Unified Communication related services and software. The trunk run right out to carriers and would love to have one of those connect to Skype backbone. The Skype for Asterisk also under the belt, I think Skype will do well. Perhaps one day UN will have to tear apart Skype for monopolistic practices.
I am really looking forward to hear the news.

While he wouldn’t get into product specifics, Silverman dropped enough hints about Skype’s enterprise future. “We are working to develop an enterprise software product that is built around productivity vs. simply cost savings,” he said. That’s a very telling statement: At present, Skype’s only utility is that it’s a cheap calling service that can leverage about 480 million subscribers and its ability to buy long distance minutes on the cheap.

Read more from Giga Om.

Cisco Ships 22 millionth Cisco Unified IP Phone.

Cisco Unified IP Phone 7900 Series

Foster's Group Ltd, a premium global drinks company, that is famous for giving us it's drink in a large keg like can, is joining Cisco to make a better collaboration and unified communications solution including IP communications to increase productivity, better operating efficiencies across its global enterprise.

As a part of the process, Foster's is migrating from a collection of legacy voice communications systems to Cisco Unified IP Phone 7900 Series endpoints across contact centers, offices and production locations worldwide.

So the 22nd millionth Cisco Unified Phone got shipped to them in the process!.

Steve Slattery, vice president for the IPCBU at Cisco, said: "Shipping our 22 millionth phone to Fosters highlights the speed at which Cisco Unified Communications and Collaboration solutions are being adopted and the benefits it brings to customers. The system deployed by Fosters will help it meet the communication needs of a growing business, reduce costs and encourage collaborative working, which will help increase the productivity of its employees."

The new communication platform for the Foster, is expected to reduce the maintenance cost significantly. In addition to its IP communications system from Cisco, Foster's plans on deploying video to employee desktops, and Cisco WebEx web conferencing in support of its "Enterprise Architecture" project, which aims to bring together hundreds of software applications.

"We selected Cisco because they demonstrated to us that they could satisfy our communications needs cost effectively. Their solution is helping us improve communications, reduce our spending by simplifying our communications infrastructure and make a quick and simple transition to an IP-based Unified Communications platform," said Andrew Leyden, chief information officer, Fosters Group Limited. "The deployment will reduce our costs over the long term, and improve productivity. Effective communication systems that encourage collaboration and help improve company efficiency are key to our business objectives. "

Cisco Press Release

Tags: WebEx, Cisco Unified IP Phone, cisco, Foster, Unified Communications

Cisco Digital Cribs Video Camera Challenge, Just Tweet To Win.

Cisco Digital Cribs

TreeHugger.com founder Graham Hill

Cisco has launched Cisco Digital Cribs promotion on twitter. It is simple challenge to win fifteen Flip Video camcorder for correctly answering a daily question relating to one of the three Digital Cribs videos. I like those Flip Video Cameras as I can use them as a video camera and as a web / conference camera, when away from my cribs, home and office.
The challenge and the "Cisco Digital Cribs Watch! Tweet! Win!" promotion which began on 3rd August, challenges viewers to answer questions about three newly released Cisco Digital Cribs webisodes that convey the connected life.

The current Digital Cribs webisodes examin the connected lives of electronic dance music DJ Paul van Dyk, TreeHugger.com founder Graham Hill, and Lastminute.com co-founder Martha Lane Fox.
So if you like to get one of those video cameras, first watch the three Digital Cribs webisodes located at www.digitalcribs.com. Then, follow @DigitalCribs on Twitter and reply to the daily question, asked from www.twitter.com/DigitalCribs. In your reply, you must include the hashtag #DigitalCribs.
Daily Digital Cribs questions will be announced at 12:00 p.m. PDT, Monday through Friday, August 3 - August 21, 2009.
Winners are chosen at random and will be announced daily by @DigitalCribs, just before the new daily trivia question. There is a limit of one entry per daily question. Prizes include a selection of Flip Video^TM camcorders: five Flip MinoHD^TM five Flip Ultra^TM, and five Flip UltraHD^TM cameras

Follow liks below for more information.

• Complete Official Rules
• Check out the new Web series, "Digital Cribs"
• Digital Cribs is on Facebook, Myspace and Friend Feed
• Catch excerpts of "Digital Cribs" on You Tube
• Follow @Digital Cribs on Twitter
• Read more on the DigItAll Consumer Blog and Cisco Consumer Web sites

Tags: cisco, digital cribs, DigitalCribs on Twitter, twitter, Flip Ultra, Flip MinoHD

Cisco Service Provider Mobility Community Network

Social network for service providers
I learned about a fantastic new portal at Cisco, Service Provider Mobility. With projected wireless slated to be growing 66 times the current level or equivalent of 120% annually and 4G networks looking to make us more productive on the go or otherwise, service provider community is going to be a very busy crowd.
So as usual, Cisco has stepped into fill a gap, a community portal for service providers to gather and discuss issues, wishes and achievement etc. Basically a social network for serive providers.
Perhaps the following should invoke your interest in mobile space;

1. New innovative applications such as YouTube, Flickr, WebEx
2. Exciting integrated devices such as the iPhone and Blackberry
3. Roll out of higher performance networks such as LTE, WiMAX
4. New business models enabled, and
5. Unprecedented levels of personalization and ease of use

Links after the Kittur Nagesh welcome message to visitors at Cisco's Service Provider Mobility Community

Follow the link and join the Service Provider Mobility Community.
[via CISCO SP360 ]

Tags: CISCO SP360, social network for serive providers, cisco, Service Provider Mobility, YouTube, Flickr, WebEx, iPhone, Blackberry, LTE, WiMAX

Cisco teleworker / telecommuting survey, June, 2009.

Teleworker / Telecommuting Survey

"In the age of a global market, time and distance separates people and workspaces. Cisco has long recognized that telecommuting and collaborative technologies are effective in breaking down separation barriers and enabling the transition to the borderless enterprise. In addition, as demonstrated by our recent study, a properly executed program for telecommuting can be extremely effective at unlocking employee potential by increasing work-life balance, productivity and overall satisfaction."
Rami Mazid, vice president, Global Client Services and Operations, Cisco

Cisco released the results and findings of its Teleworker Survey, of about 2000 it's own workers which was actually an in-depth study of almost 2,000 company employees. The study, researched the social, economic and environmental benefits and short falls of telecommuting at Cisco. The results were not a surprise to me as a Telecommuter, there were significant increases in work-life flexibility, productivity and overall satisfaction as a result of their ability to work remotely. Personally in addition to working from home for three days of the week, I have greatly reduced international travel as well.
Cisco's Internet Business Services Group, the company's global strategic consulting arm, the company has generated an estimated annual savings of $277 million in productivity by allowing employees to telecommute and telework. In addition, with the steady adoption of enterprise-class remote connectivity solutions like Cisco® Virtual Office, the recently announced Cisco OfficeExtend, and virtual collaboration tools like Cisco WebEx^TM, (I am a big fan of WebEx for iPhone)Cisco anticipates that employees and employers will continue to see a rise in the benefits associated with telecommuting.
You can read the full report at Cisco.

Tags: Teleworker, Telecommuting Survey, cisco, Cisco TelePresence system, telecommuter, Cisco® Virtual Office, Cisco OfficeExtend, Cisco WebEx, Cisco, Telecommuting, Work-Life Balance, Work from Home, Flexible Work, Employee Satisfaction, Productivity, Collaboration, Mobility, Unified Communications

AT&T 3G MicroCell Coming At The End Of 2009!

AT&T 3G MicroCell
Since we reported about the AT&T's debut into femtocell market, the original page where the above logo came from has been locked away. If you are wondering what this femtocell and microcell is read, AT&T 3G MicroCell Out But Where?

According to unstrung, AT&T's executive director for radio access network delivery, Gordon Mansfield at the Femtocells World Summit in London has confirmed that about 200 users are testing the femto service in targeted customer trials.I am sure those are happy as rabbits with their bars on cell phones multiplying and staying top. Unstrung also mentioned that the device is, as we thought it was femtocell device is supposed to have been made by Cisco.

Mr.Mansfield has also mentioned, "we will expand that into a marketing trial of the AT&T-branded 3G Microcell, which will be open to customers through our AT&T stores… in a handful of cities.

"We're on track for a full national launch by the end of 2009."

Mansfield also confirmed that AT&T will launch with a standalone 3G femtocell, (as opposed to a femtocell that's integrated into a residential gateway). But integrated femtocells are not out of the picture either, "Certainly we're looking at integrated femtocells," said Mansfield "Some people think that integration is putting a femto into a residential gateway, and that's one aspect."

Unstrung

Tags: femtocell, AT&T 3G MicroCell, Cisco

Visual Networking (TV, VoD, Internet Video, and P2P) will increase 8 fold between 2008-2013, Cisco Visual Network Index.

Cisco Visual Network Index
Recently released, Cisco Visual Network Index (VNI) is carrying some interesting predictions for our communication needs in the near future. VNI is Cisco’s ongoing effort to forecast the growth and use of IP networking worldwide.

Highlights from the current Cisco VNI forecast include the following:

• Global IP traffic will increase by a factor of five from 2008 to 2013, approaching 56 exabytes per month in 2013, compared to approximately 9 exabytes per month in 2008.
• By 2013, annual global IP traffic will reach two-thirds of a zettabyte (673 exabytes). A zettabyte is a trillion gigabytes.
• By 2013, the sum of all forms of video (TV, VoD, Internet Video, and P2P) will exceed 90 percent of global consumer traffic.
• By 2013, global online video will be 60 percent of consumer Internet traffic (up from 32 percent in 2009).
• Mobile data traffic will roughly double each year from 2008 through 2013.

You will find the complete white paper at Cisco's VNI Forecast(PDF).

Tags: Cisco VNI forecast, cisco, Cisco Visual Network Index, Global IP traffic, annual global IP traffic, consumer Internet traffic, Mobile data traffic

Cisco Edge Quest 2 Mobile On iPhone & iPod

Cisco Edge Quest 2 Mobile
The famous online game based of edge router is available for iPhone and iPod users now, fro free. You can download it from iTunes App store for free.
The mobile version of the famous online game is not different from its Web Cousin and equally enjoyable, with six lanes to jump and collect packets from!. But remember there is no leader board like on the web version where top scorers are ranked and listed.
You will be able to find the online version at Cisco.
The game is based on the versatile Cisco ASR 9000 router and I think it is a very nice way to introduce the one of a kind router capable of handling simple data packets to torrents of streaming video.
Learned about this at Cisco SP360.

Tags: Cisco Edge Quest 2, cisco, Cisco SP360, iTunes App store, iPhone, iPod

Cisco to Acquire Pure Digital Technologies, Makers of Flip Video

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Cisco has announced that it intent to Acquire San Francisco based Pure Digital Technologies, Makers of Flip Video brand targeting mass market with consumer appealing video products. When I first saw their video camera, Mino HD, I was surprised at the price but later realized that the product did what I wanted for it's price. I used it as a hidef webcam.
"The acquisition of Pure Digital is key to Cisco's strategy to expand our momentum in the media-enabled home and to capture the consumer market transition to visual networking," said Ned Hooper, senior vice president of Cisco's Corporate Development and Consumer Groups. "Pure Digital has revolutionized the way people capture and share video with Flip Video. This acquisition will take Cisco's consumer business to the next level as the company develops new video capabilities and drives the next generation of entertainment and communication experiences."

Upon the close of the acquisition, the Pure Digital team will become part of Cisco's Consumer Business Group, which includes Linksys® by Cisco® home networking, audio and media-storage products.
Home Video Phones from Cisco? Cisco is looking at VoIP / communication consumer market like it did with Linksys regarding consumer networking.
Eitherway happy to see happy San Franciscans!

Tags: cisco, linksys, VoIP, Hidef Webcam, Pure Digital Technologies, Flip Video