New approaches to Unified Network Management

I've noticed a recent trend among wireless equipment companies to provide both cloud-based and premises-based management mechanisms for campus wireless networks. There are advantages and disadvantages to both; cloud offering "easy management from anywhere" and easy scaling and support, on-premises providing direct control to the network should cloud access drop or become otherwise unavailable.

Now, Netgear has taken the bull by the horns and is offering networking management that will use whatever model, or combination of models, the customer prefers. They obviously "get it!" I expect to see more vendors moving in this direction, too.

Meshed up

Here's an interesting article about the development of low-power wide area networks for monitoring water conservation and facilitating irrigation management. I just hope they don't directly feed it back to the grid controllers, since if someone or something hacks it, it could literally unleash a flood - not to mention wasting valuable water on a grand scale.

Things to come

The Open Innovation Forum shares some interesting perspectives on how technology is changing the human race and will continue to do so ahead.

Cisco's Networking Forecast

Cisco has published an interesting forecast on network growth and traffic evolution for the next decade (2009 - 2013).

iPhone++ (the hallmarks of the new device revolution)

The success of the iPhone shows how including API access for a consumer device will give it a long reach. An predecessor that also leveraged this approach was the original Palm Pilot (which enabled a basic five-function device to become much more).

Including compact database capability is also a compelling feature, since it allows storage of data sets and relational capabilities.

Network access is a "must have", too.

Bonus points: A virtual version of the device (allowing developers and testers to be productive without requiring actual hardware).

Conclusion: Look for devices that include network access, accessible APIs, compact database capability, and virtual simulation to go a long way.