Broadband Developments

I have to say that I really like working with Infoblox -solid company with solid products. Infoblox supports this blog and social media.  What a refreshing change from the old way of doing things. The new model is to connect with people in the community - peers and collegues.

Thanks Infoblox.

Here is a post from Greg Ness’ blog on their new bloxNews. Below is the note from Greg Ness

Infoblox Monthly eNewsletter now Online

We started bloxNews(TM) at Infoblox a couple of months ago as a way to collect and share industry developments related to core network services, IP address management as well as relevant trends in networking, security, virtualization and cloud computing. It goes out monthly to more than 10,000 readers.

Would love to hear what you think. We place a heavy content emphasis on industry news and commentary that we think are worth following. We also sprinkle in a bit of bloxTV and bloxRadio on topics like DNS, DNS security, DNSSEC and upcoming episodes on IPAM (IP address management).

I’ve been blogging recently about Infrastructure 2.0, or a dynamic infrastructure capable of keeping up with new initiatives, from RFID and consolidation to virtualization, wireless, VoIP and cloud. I think the automation of core network services (including DNS, DHCP and IPAM) will be strategic to the build-outs of dynamic infrastructure and the establishment of economies of scale. Many of these services are managed manually today, driving up network TCO while eroding availability and flexibility and security.

Without automation of these core network services enterprise networks will experience diseconomies of scale.

You can subscribe to bloxNews here.

Infoblox Inc. today announced that Interwoven, a global leader in content management solutions, has deployed Infoblox appliances for delivery of core network services, including internal domain name resolution (DNS) and IP address assignment (DHCP).

Domain name resolution and IP address assignment services are essential for all IP networks; without them, the network and applications can grind to a halt. And, when they are not robust enough or integrated properly, application malfunctions can be the result.

The Interwoven IT team recognized this first-hand when they implemented a network access control (NAC) solution with a legacy Windows-based core network services infrastructure that did not allow for effective dynamic DNS updates, producing data inconsistency. As a result, when certain users attempted to access the network, they were erroneously instructed to scan their system and/or update their end point security software, compromising productivity and causing many end-user frustrations.

Interwoven looked at several core network services solutions and selected Infoblox as its new next-generation infrastructure.

“NAC was the driver to upgrade our entire core network services system,” said Raymond Lockley, CORE systems manager at Interwoven. “And now, our NAC solution is much more effective; since installing Infoblox, we have not had any DNS-based network connectivity issues.”

Yonas Hambissa, senior systems administrator at Interwoven, concluded, “We looked at several competitors, but only Infoblox met our security, reliability and management needs. Simple code propagation, real-time data updates, along with tools for accurate data entry, and reliable service delivery are the real advantages.”

Interwoven purchased and deployed 13 Infoblox appliances running the DNSone package with Infoblox’s unique grid technology that links the distributed appliances into a unified system for central management, one-button upgrades and resilience benefits. In addition to Interwoven’s San Jose, Calif. headquarters, Infoblox appliances are also deployed in their Australia, Singapore, Bangalore, Atlanta, Chicago, Austin, New York, Maryland and UK offices.

Level 3 is in a tough market and the question is how will they deal.  They were effective in cutting expenses but the stock is taking a pounding.  The bright spots were the cost cutting and the Core Communications Services piece.  Core Communication Services segment recorded revenues of $964 million, a rise of 6% from $909 million in the third quarter of 2007.

Level 3 Communications Inc. reported a loss for the third quarter that narrowed from last year, benefiting from lower expenses during the period. Level 3 also said it lowered its outlook for revenue growth in Core communications services and narrowed guidance for adjusted EBITDA, for the fiscal year.

The stock is currently trading down almost 39%.  The communications services provider posted a third quarter net loss of $120 million or $0.08 per share, compared to a loss of $174 million or $0.11 per share in the same period last year.

On average, 14 analysts polled by First Call/Thomson Financial expected the company to report a net loss of $0.09 per share for the third quarter.

Total revenues for the quarter were $1.07 billion, up from $1.06 billion recorded in the prior-year quarter. Analysts anticipated revenues of $1.07 billion for the quarter.

Segment wise, Level 3’s Core Communication Services segment recorded revenues of $964 million, a rise of 6% from $909 million in the third quarter of 2007. Revenues from Core Network Services stood at $791 million, up around 5% from $756 million last year, while Wholesale Voice Services revenues rose 13% from prior year to $173 million.

Total costs and expenses were $1.06 billion, down from $1.12 billion a year ago.

Level 3 now expects a revenue growth of 7.5% in its Core Communications Services for the full year, compared to the initially expected growth in the range of 8% to 13%.

Additionally, Level 3 noted that it has recently completed several liability management transactions, reducing its outstanding maturities by $179 million, and reducing net cash interest expense by approximately $10 million on an annualized basis.