Volume 9 Number 1

2 Technology Navigator
 Technology Navigator
© 2015 CMS Special Interest Publications. All rights reserved.
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Ken Banks, CEO kbanks@ipctech.com 804-622-7288
• Automated 24x7 network monitoring • Automatic, daily security and antivirus
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and problem detection updates to your systems
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an operational service of IPC Technologies, Inc.
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Vol. 9 No. 1 3
 Going the Distance
Unified communications
solutions combine with
SIP trunking to deliver a
great experience to users
anywhere.

T
oday’s consumers have more in-
formation, more choices and more
power than ever. There are thou-
sands of applications and services
available that can make their lives
easier, and those tools can be accessed in a mat-
ter of seconds on mobile devices. This has led to
the consumerization of IT in the workplace.
The consumerization of IT means empow-
ered employees are using their personal devices
at work and provisioning their own IT solutions
to help them do their jobs, from cloud storage to
project management to videoconferencing. They
are also coming to the workplace with a new
set of expectations — the user experience they
are accustomed to as consumers. Popular con-
sumer technology tools are user-centric, solving
a problem in a way that’s simple, intuitive and
effortless.
“A lot of business technology is just the
opposite — it demands that users adapt their
processes to fit the device or applications,” said
Jonathan Anderegg, IPC-ShoreTel CTO. “Orga-
nizations have invested in monolithic applica-
tions that have long lists of features that almost
no one uses. The tools people do need to do their
jobs are fragmented, leading to inefficiency and
aggravation.”
The business telephone is often singled out as
ill-suited to today’s work styles. Over time, fea-
tures have been added but the phone remains
largely the same as it was 100 years ago.
Continued on page 6

4 Technology Navigator
Vol. 9 No. 1 5
 “In the consumer realm, the telephone has evolved into
a smart device that enables different modes of communica-
tion from almost any location,” Anderegg said. “The smart-
phone is representative of what the consumerization of IT
is all about. In order to remain competitive, organizations
need to embrace this way of thinking and adopt technol-
ogies that streamline communications and deliver an opti-
mum user experience.”
All Together Now
Unified communications (UC) has been touted as the
platform for this transformation. Uniting voice, video, chat,
presence and other technologies within a single interface, UC
is designed to streamline communications by enabling users
to shift easily between the various channels. When users can
move seamlessly and transparently from chat to voice to vid-
eoconferencing, UC has delivered a great user experience.
However, business adoption of UC remains stuck in the
past. Implementation projects are initiated by the IT depart-
ment, and the technology itself is viewed as an extension of
the voice over IP (VoIP) phone system.
That stems in part from UC’s roots in unified messaging,
which was a technology that put voice mail, email and fax
into a common inbox. While UC has grown far beyond that
humble origin, many organizations still view it from a tech-
nology-centric perspective, as a collection of functions with
voice as the essential, unifying element.
“Industry research has shown that IT professionals have
a poor understanding of what UC is, and tend to adopt dis-
crete components of UC in a piecemeal fashion,” Anderegg
said. “While many organizations are looking to deploy UC,
they often get hung up prioritizing features.
“Features are still important — you need to have certain
core capabilities for it to be considered a UC solution. But
end-users have a different perspective. They are looking for
technology tools that are convenient and easy to use and
make them more productive. The best UC solutions enable
a user to determine whether a colleague is available and her
preferred mode of communications, initiate a chat session,
shift to a videoconference and move seamlessly from a desk
phone to a mobile device. That’s effortless, user-centric com-
munication.”
Integration Is Key
In order to achieve that nirvana, UC solutions must dis-
guise a great deal of complexity. The success of the illusion
depends upon the tight integration of the individual compo-
nents, and many UC systems fall short of the mark.
That often leads to slow or limited user adoption of the
UC solution. Unless UC delivers an enhanced experience,
users will continue to rely upon the tools they are familiar
with, including cloud-based products.
6 Technology Navigator
What Is Session Initiation Protocol?
Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is a signaling pro-
tocol that supports multimedia applications such
as IP voice/video conferencing, instant messaging
and presence. It is an agreed-upon method of com-
municating that enables different types of devices
to “talk” with each other seamlessly. In essence, its
job is to say, “I’m calling you using this device and
application. Are you available and what device and
applications would you prefer to use?”
IP telephony solutions based upon SIP can deploy
services to users depending upon what they need
rather than their location, the system to which they
are connected or the device they are using. By de-
coupling applications from the network, SIP makes
it easier to integrate communications and deliver a
rich blend of voice, video, data and mobile services
to employees anywhere.
“Many UC vendors take a VoIP system and bolt on dis-
parate pieces — sometimes from other vendors,” Anderegg
said. “The functionality may be there but the user experience
is far from ideal. The best UC solutions are purpose-built
from the ground up and offer a consistent, natural feel
across all applications.”
In order to extend these features to mobile and remote
users, organizations need to implement SIP trunking. Based
upon Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), it enables the delivery
of IP phone services and unified communications over the
traditional Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).
“SIP trunking replaces physical, wired connections to
the PSTN with connectivity via the Internet,” said Anderegg.
“As a result, SIP trunks can offer significant cost savings by
eliminating the need for local PSTN gateways and legacy
interfaces, further enhancing the value of a well-architected,
widely adopted UC solution.”
Businesses require multiple communications technol-
ogies to operate effectively, and UC systems can integrate,
coordinate and manage those technologies. For maximum
ROI, organizations should involve users in the decision-mak-
ing process, and ensure that the selected system delivers the
experience users have come to expect.
“Forward-thinking companies view UC as a build-
ing block for enhanced communication and collaboration.
That’s the real value proposition of unified communica-
tions,” said Anderegg.
Virtualized phone system?

It’s for you!

ShoreTel allows companies of all sizes to deploy a ShoreTel communications system in a

virtual environment. With ShoreTel virtualization, customers can select the UC deployment

model that best suits their business and infrastructure needs – virtual, physical or any

combination of both. The benefits are immediate – reduced hardware and operational

complexity, higher application availability, increased scalability and reliability. ShoreTel

virtualization is currently available from IPC Technologies. Contact us today to learn more.

www.ipctech.com
877-9-IPCTEK
(877-947-2835)

Copyright © 2015 ShoreTel. All rights reserved. SHR-14

Vol. 9 No. 1 7
User-Driven Design
Microsoft is counting on unprecedented user collaboration to
help deliver platform unification with upcoming Windows 10.

W
hen Microsoft re-
leased Windows
8 in late 2012, it
marked a radical
departure from the
company’s operating system legacy,
featuring a new interface designed for
touchscreen, mouse, keyboard and pen
input. It was Microsoft’s response to
the “post-PC era” — an OS that would
unify desktops, laptops, tablets, smart-
phones and gaming consoles.
To date, however, neither business-
es nor consumers have been overly en-
thusiastic. Windows 8 and version 8.1
combined currently have only about 12
percent of the OS market share, trailing
Windows 7 (53 percent) and the out-
of-support Windows XP (24 percent).
Surveys show users have been confused
over Windows 8’s dual user interfaces,
have trouble accessing installed applica-
tions and can’t always figure out what
apps they have open.
In an effort to address such user
satisfaction issues, Microsoft changed
its entire approach to the development
of Windows 10, which is expected to
launch in late summer 2015. The com-
pany’s new “Windows Insider” program
represents its largest-ever open collabo-
rative development effort, and it is de-
signed specifically to produce a much
more intuitive final product.
Program participants receive the
technical preview of Windows 10 and
a steady stream of revisions, and they
will be able to give feedback throughout
the development cycle. There are vari-
ous ways for these “insiders” to engage
in a two-way dialogue with Microsoft,
including a Windows Feedback app
for sharing suggestions and issues and
a Windows Technical Preview Forum
for interacting with Microsoft engineers
and fellow Insiders.

8 Technology Navigator
 Even the name of the product rep-
resents an important shift for Microsoft.
Terry Myerson, executive vice president
of the company’s operating systems
group, said they decided not to call this
version Windows 9 because they con-
sider it to be substantially more than an
incremental product update.
Platform Unification
Windows 10 adapts to the devices
customers are using — from Xbox to
PCs and phones to tablets and tiny gad-
gets — and what they’re doing with a
consistent, familiar and compatible ex-
perience, enabling greater productivity.
Windows 10 will run across the broad-
est range of devices ever, from the Inter-
net of Things to enterprise data centers
worldwide. Microsoft is also delivering
a converged application platform for
developers on all devices with a unified
app store. Developers will be able to
write an application once and deploy it
easily across multiple device types, mak-
ing discovery, purchase and updating
easier than ever for customers.
Windows 10 builds nearly every-
thing that businesses need right into
the core of the product — including
enterprise-grade security, identity and
information protection features — in
ways that can reduce complexities and
provide better experiences than other
solutions. One area of advancement is
in the work Microsoft has done with
user identities to improve resistance to
breach, theft or phishing. Windows 10
will also help advance data loss preven-
tion by using containers and data sepa-
ration at the application and file level,
enabling protection that follows the
data as it goes from a tablet or PC to a
USB drive, email or the cloud.
Management and deployment have
been simplified to help lower costs, in-
cluding in-place upgrades from Win-
dows 7 or Windows 8 that are focused
on making device wipe-and-reload
scenarios obsolete. Businesses will also
have the flexibility to choose how quick-
ly they adopt the latest innovations and
influence continued improvements. In
Vol. 9 No. 1
Pirated XP Ripe for Botnets
Although Microsoft ended support for the XP operating system in April
2014, the decade-old OS still holds the No. 2 spot in the global desktop OS
market. Industry watchers say many of those still using XP are running pirat-
ed copies from China.
It is estimated that millions of computers in China are running pirated
copies known as “Ghost XP.” This refers to copies of the OS made using the
Norton Ghost backup utility. Because the ghost image includes all necessary
drivers and software, it can be installed from disk in only about 15 minutes.
Experts say all those unsupported XP machines in China could pose a
threat to the Internet in general if they become compromised by bot-herders,
who could use the infected PCs to launch digital attacks. Recent events indi-
cate that XP machines are a popular target for cybercriminals.
Researchers at the security firm Proofpoint recently reported gaining ac-
cess to a server being used by a group of Russian-speaking hackers to control
a botnet consisting of 500,000 hacked PCs — more than half of which were
running XP. The Citadel botnet taken down by the FBI in 2013 was running
primarily on machines using pirated versions of XP.
addition, organizations will be able to new quadrant layout allows up to four
customize an app store specific to their apps to be snapped on the same screen.
needs and environment. The intent is an Windows will also show other apps and
app store that will allow for volume app programs running for additional snap-
licensing, flexible distribution, and the ping, and it will even make smart sug-
ability for organizations to reclaim or gestions on filling available screen space
reuse licenses when necessary. with other open apps.
New Task view button. The new
Early Reviews Task view button on the task bar en-
ables one view for all open apps and
The early technical preview of Win-
files, allowing for quick switching and
dows 10 demonstrates new levels of
one-touch access to any desktop creat-
flexibility, navigation and familiarity
ed.
throughout the Windows experience.
Multiple desktops. Instead of too
Features include:
many apps and files overlapping on a
Expanded Start menu. The familiar
single desktop, it’s easy to create and
Start menu is back, providing quick one-
switch between distinct desktops for dif-
click access to the functions and files
ferent purposes and projects — whether
that people use most, and it includes a
for work or personal use.
new space to personalize with favorite
“Windows 10 represents the first
apps, programs, people and web sites.
step of a whole new generation of Win-
Apps that run in a window. Apps dows, unlocking new experiences to
from the Windows Store now open in give customers new ways to work, play
the same format that desktop programs and connect,” said Myerson. “This will
do. They can be resized and moved be our most comprehensive operating
around, and have title bars at the top system and the best release Microsoft
allowing users to maximize, minimize has ever done for our business custom-
and close with a click. ers, and we look forward to working
Snap enhancements. Working in together with our broader Windows
multiple apps at once is easier and more community to bring Windows 10 to life
intuitive with snap improvements. A in the months ahead.”
9
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Our Competency Awards
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2014
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www.ipctech.com
Our Customers
“We really enjoy working with IPC ... They are
providing our long-term support and we are very
comfortable with their capabilities.”
— COURTNEY CARPENTER,
CIO, College of William and Mary
“IPC did a terrific job on the (ShoreTel) installation.
We had no major incidents whatsoever. It was a
excellent install for us.”
— GEORGE DUFOR,
CIO (former), CBIZ
“In IPC, we found not just a vendor but a business
partner who had our best interests in mind.”
— BYRON MCCOOK, ED.D.,
Director of IT, Radnor Township School District
“IPC is providing ongoing monitoring and support
as well as implementation services. It makes more
sense to use IPC’s managed services than to main-
tain an army of people in-house.”
— RAJIV PERERA,
CTO (former), Hilb Rogal and Hobbs
(now part of Willis Group)
“The IPC staff was great, from the sales person
down to the technicians who were here on site
helping our staff. And whenever we have a minor
problem and feel we need to call them, they’re very
responsive.”
— TERRY HALL,
VP of Operations & Information Systems,
National Community Pharmacists Association
“The deployment schedule was fairly short — we ran
the system out quickly without disrupting opera-
tions. We had live cutover right on schedule and
were ready to support The Who concert that same
day.”
— GORDON ARMSTRONG,
CIO, Monumental Sports & Entertainment,
The Verizon Center, home of the NHL Capitals
“IPC Implemented the ShoreTel system with profes-
sionalism and extensive knowledge. They addressed
tough challenges with a ‘we are all a team’ mentality,
and offered to lend a hand when they felt they could
contribute.”
— MICHAEL ABATE,
Senior Network Engineer (former), Guilford Mills
 Should Your Phone System
Move to the Cloud?
It’s important to carefully compare cloud and on-premises
solutions before choosing a phone system platform.
I
n today’s’ highly competitive business
environment, organizations need any-
time, anywhere access to commu-
nication and collaboration tools.
Waiting hours or even minutes
for information is a luxury no busi-
ness can afford. The communications
platform must enable employees to
collaborate in real time and quickly
respond to customers.
Legacy phone systems fall
short of the mark. While highly re-
liable, they typically provide limit-
ed functionality and lack the ability
to support the needs of remote and
mobile workers. Modern voice over
IP (VoIP) systems offer more features
and greater flexibility, but an on-premis-
es solution isn’t always the best alternative
for highly dynamic businesses.
A cloud-based phone system is becom-
ing the solution of choice for orga-
nizations that require on-demand
communications from any loca-
tion on any device. The cloud often
offers greater flexibility and agility
without sacrificing the capabilities
or reliability delivered by on-prem-
ises VoIP and unified communica-
tions (UC) solutions.
“Almost all businesses are us-
ing some kind of cloud services,
such as storage, disaster recovery
and email systems. The company
phone system can be moved to the
cloud as well,” said Jeff Andrews,
Executive Vice President, IPC.
“When you break it down, phone
system functionality is just an ap-
plication and voice transmissions
are a form of data. As a result,
12
your phone system can be cloud-based just like
virtually any other component of your IT in-
frastructure.”
Like other cloud services, a cloud-based
phone system offers a number of business
advantages, including minimal upfront
costs, streamlined operations and a
scalable, pay-as-you go model. Not all
cloud solutions are created equal, how-
ever, and there are some disadvantages
organizations should consider before
moving their phone systems to the
cloud.
Benefits of the Cloud
With a cloud-based phone sys-
tem, organizations don’t have to in-
vest in VoIP hardware and software.
They can take advantage of the service
provider’s enterprise-class technology
and gain sophisticated features they
might not otherwise be able to afford.
They also pay for only the seats and
services they need today, with the abil-
ity to grow the system as business con-
ditions warrant.
“When you invest in an on-prem-
ises phone system you have to consider
how much capacity you’ll need in the
future,” Andrews said. “With the cloud
you don’t have to tie up cash in excess
capacity. The cloud solution can scale as
your business grows.”
Changing to cloud-based VoIP te-
lephony is simple, fast and seamless,
enabling organizations to quickly de-
ploy the new system and its productiv-
ity-boosting features. It also enables
organizations to get out of the busi-
ness of managing the phone system.
Technology Navigator
The cost and effort of maintenance, upgrades, support and
security become the responsibility of the service provider.
One common misconception about cloud-based IP te-
lephony is that the voice quality is inferior to a traditional
copper line. Most of those problems are more accurately at-
tributable to connectivity issues. A network with Quality of
Service (QoS) capabilities can prioritize voice traffic to ensure
high-quality calls.
“As with anything else, you get what you pay for,” said
Andrews. “Some vendors rely solely on the public Internet
for voice transmission, which can make quality unpredict-
able. When evaluating cloud-based phone systems you should
look for solutions that provide direct, managed connections
and choose a vendor capable of aligning the system with your
business needs.”
Weigh the Options
A cloud-based IP telephony solution comes with a dif-
ferent set of considerations than an on-premises system. Or-
ganizations should carefully evaluate whether the subscrip-
tion-based model makes sense given the number of users,
feature set, usage patterns and frequency of upgrades.
“Organizations with large numbers of users that tend to
hang onto their phone systems for a number of years might
be better served with an on-premises system,” Andrews said.
“The same holds true for growing companies — if the cloud
provider charges per seat, costs grow as your business grows.
While cost isn’t the only reason to choose a cloud solution
over an on-premises system, organizations should carefully
evaluate the total cost of ownership of both options.”
Third-party control is another factor to consider. Or-
ganizations that move their phone system to the cloud are
essentially turning over control to the cloud provider, and
are locked into that vendor’s solution for all aspects of the
system. Connectivity is vital as users are dependent upon the
cloud provider’s network or the public Internet to keep their
phones working.
“With an on-premises system, you have total control of
your phone system,” said Andrews. “A growing business has
the flexibility to make changes whenever necessary. If you
have well-defined processes, on-premises telephony ensures
that your system is aligned with those processes. If you need
contact center functionality, cloud-based solutions haven’t
quite caught up to their on-premises counterparts.”
Cloud-based and on-premises VoIP telephony both have
their pros and cons. Organizations that are looking to reduce
capital costs, conserve strained IT resources and take advan-
tage of state-of-the-art phone system features will want to
consider a cloud-based solution.
Vol. 9 No. 1
The Hybrid Cloud Model
O
rganizations weighing cloud versus on-prem-
ises phone system options now have a third
possibility to consider — the hybrid cloud. As
the name implies, a hybrid cloud enables organizations
to move certain functions to a third-party cloud while
keeping others in-house.
“In the phone system context, this could mean
augmenting the features of an on-premises system with
a cloud-based solution,” said IPC-ShoreTel CTO Jon-
athan Anderegg. “It also means unifying on-premises
and cloud systems into one integrated, company-wide
platform.”
ShoreTel has taken an early lead in the develop-
ment of a true hybrid cloud solution. ShoreTel 14.2
allows customers to deploy the ShoreTel Unified Com-
munications system in a virtual environment, bringing
greater flexibility and cloud-like characteristics to its
on-premises solution. The company has also intro-
duced ShoreTel Connect, a gateway that integrates its
on-premises phone systems with cloud-based applica-
tions.
The ShoreTel Connect applications suite includes
ShoreTel Sky Scribe, an integrated voicemail transcrip-
tion service that converts voice messages into text files
and emails them automatically. ShoreTel Sky Fax en-
ables users to send and receive faxes from their desk-
top or mobile devices, removing dependence on stand-
alone fax machines.
ShoreTel is also taking the hybrid model to the
next level, enabling organizations to combine cloud
and on-premises solutions in ways that best meet their
unique needs. For example, a company might choose
a ShoreTel on-premises system for its headquarters lo-
cation and deploy ShoreTel Sky for its remote offices.
“On-premises and cloud phone systems are being
used simultaneously in many cases, but they’re seldom
connected. In a true hybrid cloud model, these solu-
tions are integrated in order to optimize the environ-
ment and streamline management,” Anderegg said.
According to a recent TechTarget Cloud Pulse
Survey, 39 percent of organizations that utilize cloud
computing have deployed a hybrid cloud. Organiza-
tions like the control of on-premises systems, while the
cloud provides flexibility and scalability and shifts the
burden of day-to-day administrative tasks to a service
provider. Because on-premises and cloud phone sys-
tems both have advantages, a hybrid cloud environ-
ment is the future of phone system deployment.
13
 A well-managed phone system feels easy. It just works. With ShoreTel Sky, you get a system that
is managed by a vendor that specializes in enabling a mobile workforce. ShoreTel drives revenue,
delivers important business metrics and designs a service that doesn’t impact IT.

Call IPC to learn more.

www.ipctech.com
877-9-IPCTEK
(877-947-2835)

14 Technology Navigator
Copyright © 2015 ShoreTel. All rights reserved. SHR-15

Optimizing Telecom Costs
Vendor-neutral telecom analysis from IPC experts
helps customers eliminate waste and improve service.
T
he telecommunications
marketplace is notoriously
confusing. Complex bill-
ing practices, hard-to-un-
derstand contracts, billing
errors, late-payment penalties and other
factors contribute to ballooning costs.
Furthermore, industry surveys consis-
tently show that organizations typi-
cally lack any kind of formal program
for auditing contract compliance — an
oversight that routinely leads to over-
payment rates ranging from 3 percent to
10 percent.
Given the increasingly important
role telecom carrier services play in to-
day’s technology environment, that level
of waste is simply not sustainable. To
effectively manage critical connectivity
for customers, mobile employees, re-
mote offices, offsite data centers and the
cloud, organizations must take steps to
collect critical information, organize the
data, manage spend and reduce costs.
That’s why it is important to peri-
odically evaluate voice and data con-
Vol. 9 No. 1
nectivity services and consider alterna-
tives that can improve performance and
availability while reducing costs. Peri-
odic reviews can also help ensure that
you aren’t paying for unneeded services
and that telecom providers are meeting
contractual SLAs.
Growing Complexity
That’s a tall order given the increas-
ing complexity of the telecom market-
place. Massive consolidation through
mergers and acquisitions have left just
a handful of major players. At the same
time, new technologies and services have
dramatically increased the number of
options, leaving organizations to puzzle
over the best mix of price, performance
and availability.
Organizations have contributed
to the challenge with ad-hoc procure-
ment practices. They often provision
carrier services to meet immediate de-
partment-level needs with little consid-
eration of future growth or changing
demands. And because of the headaches
associated with provisioning, those ser-
vices tend to remain in place long after
their useful life has ended.
Organizations that lack the time or
expertise to conduct a telecom analysis
can turn to IPC for help. Through its
Light Path Open (LPO) division, IPC
employs telecom experts who can con-
duct a thorough audit of existing carrier
services with an eye toward simplifying
the environment and reducing costs.
“We take a vendor-neutral ap-
proach that is designed to minimize
complexity and ensure that you’re get-
ting the best bang for your buck,” said
Jeff Andrews, Executive Vice President,
IPC. “We’ll analyze your phone bills and
recommend services that deliver better
performance at a lower cost. On aver-
age, IPC/LPO has been able to save cus-
tomers 12 percent to 15 percent.”
Call on the Experts
Detailed audits often reveal a vari-
ety of issues. It is not uncommon in larg-
er organizations to receive several dozen
monthly invoices for voice and data ser-
vices. Audits often reveal unauthorized
charges, expensive long-distance calling
rates and line features that are not being
used. According to Aberdeen Group, up
to 18 percent of telecom billings are in
error, with the majority of them in the
carrier’s favor.
“Companies that need to bring tele-
com under control should strongly con-
sider having an outside consultant such
as IPC evaluate their systems,” said An-
drews. “We are very familiar with con-
tract negotiations and carrier selection,
we understand the terms of the agree-
ments, and we know what to expect and
what pitfalls to look for.
“We will also lend our expertise
and experience to make the transition
as smooth as possible. By working with
IPC/LPO, you gain a team of experts
who will help ensure that you get the
best deal and guide you through the
provisioning and installation process.”
15

The Future of Networking
Although software-defined networking is gaining traction,
work needs to be done before it can go mainstream.
I
T departments are evolving from
technology caretakers to IT service
providers in order to ensure that
users have the business services and
applications they need. However, in-
creasingly complex enterprise networks
have made management equally com-
plex, which forces IT departments to
revert to caretaking mode. At the same
time, large volumes of data are straining
network bandwidth and storage capac-
ity.
Software-defined networking (SDN)
promises to overcome these obstacles.
SDN separates control from individual
switches and routers, which previous-
ly had to be configured based on ven-
dor-specific protocols — a time-con-
suming, resource-intensive process.
With SDN, IT can centrally control traf-
fic and manage how applications and
services are delivered by programming
all physical and virtual devices through
a single SDN controller.
SDN makes management much
more efficient and improves scalability,
16
providing the flexibility to add band-
width and devices on demand. Because
network resources are automatically
provisioned and allocated based upon
current business needs, SDN makes it
easier to deal with unpredictable net-
work demands without disruption to
operations.
Platform for Growth
Legacy network protocols were de-
signed to address specific problems, cre-
ating network architectures with a high
degree of complexity. Any change to the
network requires multiple updates to
protocol-based mechanisms using de-
vice-level management tools.
The SDN approach arose from a
six-year research collaboration between
Stanford University and the Universi-
ty of California at Berkeley. Essential
to SDN are two basic components: a
software interface called OpenFlow for
controlling how packets are forwarded
through network switches, and a set
of global management interfaces upon
which more advanced management
tools can be built. This innovative archi-
tectural model is capable of delivering
automated provisioning, network virtu-
alization and network programmability
to data center and enterprise networks.
As a result of breaking the hardware
layering of legacy networks, SDN en-
ables organizations to enhance network
performance, route data based on busi-
ness needs, and support Internet-scale
communication. These capabilities are
made possible by applications that par-
ticipate in defining the network’s behav-
ior. SDN thus offers specific and mea-
surable improvements in cost, speed of
deployment and operational efficiency.
Challenges Ahead
Of course, the initial hype sur-
rounding SDN has blinded many to
the obstacles preventing organizations
from transitioning to SDN. While open-
source standards such as OpenFlow are
a step in the right direction, more stan-
dards are needed.
Legacy infrastructures can be prob-
lematic if they aren’t highly virtual-
ized and don’t support SDN protocols.
SDN also presents short-term security
concerns that have given organizations
pause. Software-defined security appli-
cations are still maturing, and the cen-
tralization of control in SDN creates a
single point of vulnerability.
Still, the business benefits are clear
and SDN deployments have begun. Al-
though forecasts for the SDN market
vary considerably, all point to substan-
tial interest in SDN. Various research-
ers have forecast the SDN market to be
worth between $18 billion and $35 bil-
lion by 2018.
That’s because legacy network ar-
chitectures have become a huge prob-
lem in virtualized environments, where
IT must manually configure hundreds
or thousands of virtual machines. Orga-
nizations should begin investigating this
new model for network management
and preparing for the ultimate transi-
tion to SDN.
Technology Navigator
 Campus Networking Data Center Networking Software-Defined Networking
Wired and wireless solutions Network fabric that provides A complete solution with apps,
with unified management. connectivity for virtualized infrastructure and technology to
compute, storage and cloud. enable network automation.

Contact IPC to learn more.

www.ipctech.com
877-9-IPCTEK
(877-947-2835)
Vol. 9 No. 1 © 2015 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. 17
HP-230
 Speeding Up Wi-Fi
The 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard delivers up to Gigabit speeds,
making wireless networks as fast as their wired counterparts.
A
wireless network was once a “nice-to-have”
technology that companies set up in the
conference room for executives with lap-
tops. No longer. Organizations of all sizes
have come to rely upon their wireless LANs
(WLANs) for day-to-day operations. More
than a mere convenience, WLANs enable greater efficiency,
productivity and customer service, all of which contribute to
a bigger bottom line.
WLANs give employees anytime, anywhere access to the
business applications and data they need from their favorite
mobile devices. No longer tied to their desks to do their jobs,
they become more accessible, available and collaborative.
But simply having a WLAN is not enough. Much of the
value derived from the WLAN comes from access to band-
width-intensive applications and collaboration tools such as
videoconferencing. Many organizations are finding that their
existing wireless networks lack the speed, coverage, capacity
and reliability to meet today’s business demands. To help sat-
18
isfy the hunger for ever-faster WLANs, the Institute of Elec-
trical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) ratified the 802.11ac
Wi-Fi standard, which is capable of delivering Gigabit speeds.
That means 802.11ac can provide data speeds compa-
rable to or even greater than many wired networks. Actual
performance is dependent upon a number of technological
and environmental variables. But organizations will see dra-
matic performance improvements with 802.11ac compared
to older Wi-Fi protocols.
The Nth Degree
In order to understand the technology behind 802.11ac,
you have to look at its predecessor, 802.11n. It gave a real
boost to WLAN performance, with theoretical raw data rates
of 500Mbps or more.
While older 802.11g technology provides real WLAN
throughput in the 20Mbps to 25Mbps range, 802.11n de-
livers at least 100Mbps by improving the efficiency of data
communication. It also uses more of the wireless spectrum,
Technology Navigator
when available, to enhance performance. While 802.11g uses
22MHz-wide channels, 802.11n supports up to 40MHz-
wide channels. In addition, it is designed to resist interfer-
ence from neighboring Wi-Fi systems and 2.4GHz devices.
But the heart of 802.11n is a technology called MIMO
— short for multiple input, multiple output — that employs
multiple antennas and radios to transmit and receive data.
This not only increases bandwidth but provides greater cov-
erage, enabling very high-speed connections over distances
of 150 feet or more. As a result, a state-of-the-art 802.11n
WLAN can achieve speeds of 300Mbps using two spatial
streams, and speeds of up to 600Mbps using three or four
spatial streams.
The 802.11ac standard features these proven technol-
ogies along with a further increase in the radio channel.
Just as 802.11n increased throughput by doubling channel
width from 22MHz to 40MHz, 802.11ac provides even
greater speeds thanks to wide 80MHz channels. In addi-
tion, 802.11ac uses the 5GHz band, easing congestion in the
crowded 2.4GHz band used by most wireless devices.

Catching the Wave

802.11ac products are being introduced in two “waves.”
Wave 1 products, which are available now, use the less-crowd-
ed 5GHz band and 20MHz, 40MHz and 80MHz channels.
Although Wave 1 access points (APs) generally support
three spatial streams, many tablets and smartphones are sin-
Ruckus Smart Wi-Fi is a collection of technologies, all designed
gle-stream devices, resulting in a wide variety of data rates.
to extend the range and reliability of wireless signals. These
Wave 2 products support a new technology called
technologies eliminate much of the cost and complexity of con-
multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) that maximizes the number
ventional wireless LAN (WLAN) deployments.
of megabits transmitted per megahertz of spectrum. MU-MI-
MO improves upon the capabilities of the 802.11n technolo- Indoor, outdoor, meshed, video, voice, data — take your pick.
gy by supporting up to four simultaneous user transmissions Everything you need is uniformly managed as a single, central-
on each spatial stream. 802.11ac also doubles the number
ized Wireless LAN. And our Smart Wi-Fi products support even
of spatial streams from four to eight. This allows for much
the most rigid, latency-sensitive applications—offering carri-
higher user density and throughput exceeding 1Gbps.
er-level quality and ironclad security to enterprises and service
That means that older wired networks will likely be
providers everywhere.
slower than 802.11ac devices. Organizations that have 1
Gigabit switches and Cat53 cabling will need to consider Contact LPO to learn more about how Ruckus Smart Wi-Fi can
network upgrades in order to capitalize on 802.11ac per-
improve your wireless network performance.
formance gains. In addition, 802.11ac devices require 30W
Power over Ethernet Plus (PoE+) but many organizations
have only 15W PoE capabilities.
The adoption strategy for 802.11ac depends upon your
technology roadmap. If you’ve deployed 802.11n and haven’t
noticed any bottlenecks, you might want to wait for Wave 2
equipment, which will be available sometime in 2015. But
if you need better performance, have adopted 802.11ac de- an operational service of IPC Technologies
vices or are still using older Wi-Fi protocols, Wave 1 equip- www.ipctech.com
ment may make good sense. Either way, 802.11ac is a must- 877-9-IPCTEK (877-947-2835)
have technology for any organization that depends upon its
Copyright © 2015, Ruckus Wireless, Inc. All rights reserved. RUK-02
WLAN.

Vol. 9 No. 1 19
Your IT Compass
IP Communications – LPO
 Blended Business Communications
 Cloud or On-Premises
 Highest Customer Satisfaction Rating
 Lowest Total Cost of Ownership
 Best Mobile Workforce Solution

Cloud Contact Center – LPO

 Intelligent Multichannel Routing IPC Technologies points you in the right
 Open API framework
 Live Monitoring and Controls direction with the broadest range of IT
 Interactive Voice Response solutions for the widest variety of industries.
 High-Quality Call Recording

IP Commercial Security Professional Services – LPO

 Expert System Design-Implementation  Consulting
 IP Access Control Security Systems  Design
 Feature Rich Camera Management  Implementation
 Single/Multiple Access Worldwide  Project Management
 1 to More Than 10,000 Cameras  ShoreTel Training

Virtualization Technologies Consulting Services – StaffFirst TM

 Flexible, Scalable Enterprise Storage  Application Design & Development
 VM Ware Consolidation  Network Design & Management
 SANS Design & Implementation  Certified IT Audit Specialists
 Automatic Load Balancing  Certified VM Ware Experts
 Non-Disruptive Scalability  IT & Engineering Staffing

Infrastructure Products and Services Managed Services – TechFirst TM

 Carrier Services  24 Hours a Day – 365 Days a Year
 Smart Virtual Devices  On Site & Remote Support-Maintenance
 Data Centers  Desktops, Servers, Switches & Routers
 Cloud Services  IP Telephony Moves-Adds-Changes
 Wireless  Intrusion Detection Review & Audit
 Hubs, Routers, Switches  #1 Rated Help Desk Services

www.ipctech.com
877-9-IPCTEK
(877-947-2835)

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