Cisco has announced a bunch of Gigabit and Power-over Ethernet (PoE) switches at its annual Networkers beanfest in Cannes.

The new switches include the Catalyst 3750-E stackable, its standalone sibling the 3560-E, and the fan-less and silent 2960 and 3560 Compact models. Cisco also announced a stonking 8700W power supply for the Catalyst 6500, enabling it to supply 420 devices with 15.4W of PoE each.

The 3750-E and 3560-E have 24 or 48 Gig ports, all of them powered, plus optional Gig or 10Gig uplinks via a slot which takes either an SFP adapter for Gig fibre or a X2 module for 10G fibre. The 3750-E also supports the same proprietary 64Gbit/s stack interconnect as older 3750 family members.

Cisco released three security advisories on Wednesday designed to fix multiple vulnerabilities in its core Internetwork Operating System Software (IOS).

Worst of the trio is a "Crafted IP Option" vulnerability that creates a potential means for hackers to load hostile code onto a range of Cisco routers and switches running IOS. Attacks would have worked by sending certain ICMP, PIMv2, PGM or URD packets with a specific IP option set to a Cisco device, thereby causing the hardware to either crash or load in such a way that arbitrary code is executed. The flaw applies to most of the code base of IOS 12.0, 12.1 and 12.2.

The second vulnerability means that malformed TCP Packets can tie up the memory of vulnerable devices eventually causing them to crash. The third flaw also involves a denial of service risk, triggered by a packet containing crafted IPv6 Type 0 Routing headers.

Routers are often boring, but ASUS proves that doesn't have to be the case. The WL-500g is a very fast WiFi router that offers USB connectivity and even the ability to download while your computer is turned off!

It's clear to see that VOIP is the future of telephone calls, but with Skype the future is here today. Linksys is a major piece of the Skype puzzle as the CIT200 is one of the best solutions out there to make Skype act and feel like a real phone system...

Wireless Internet is becoming more commonplace in all our lives. However, sometimes we need a high-speed connection for HD content, gaming, and other devices. Netgear's new RangeMax 240 router solves a lot of the problem, but not all of it. You'll find its high speeds are great and it does broadcast farther than any other router around. But with only a USB adaptor and a PC Card available to take advantage of this new technology, is it really worth it? Read on to find out more and decide if RangeMax is right for you.

Sipura was one of the first manufacturers to make a name for themselves in the VoIP arena. Sipura's analog telephone adapters (ATA) helped put Sipura on the map. Sipura's first foray into an actual phone (the SPA-841) was met with a lukewarm reaction. Shortly after the 841 was released, Cisco-owned Linksys, who was already licensing much of Sipura's technology, took a big jump into the game by purchasing Sipura. With the rebranding of the Sipura products we have been waiting to see what would come out next. The time has finally come it was worth the wait.

I've gotten past the whole reviewing video cards thing. At my age, I'm more about the coolness factor, the utility, or the handiness of a gadget. Which is why I rather enjoy the occasional package from the folks at X-Micro. They seem to share my love of tiny packages that pack a lot of use, coming up with products that maybe don't always have the wide mainstream appeal of the latest GPU but offer up a handy way of dealing with typical real world issues.

Now, fun is all relative, and I have to admit that yes, I'm pretty easy to amuse. So while some folks maybe don't see the point in driving around town, looking for wireless spots, to me that's a pleasant afternoon. That's a good time right there. So a product like the WLan 11g Combo Finder Adapter is right up nerd alley as far as I'm concern. Geek Nirvana.

While planning for your wireless network you might be asking what is the difference between a router and an access point. You need to think of a router as more of a server because it performs many functions like a server. An access point only provides a portal for wireless client to connect to your existing LAN.

Routers can perform many functions. Routers can connect many different WLANs together acting like a traffic cop. Routers also act as a DHCP server. A DHCP server assigns dynamic IP address to your computer every time your computer starts up. If you don't have a DHCP server then you will have to assign each computer on your network a permanent IP address.

You've set up your Boingo account, you're hanging out at the Home Turf sports bar in LAX and you figure you'll do a little business or check your e-mail while sipping a Chardonnay. Well, that's the point of Wi-Fi hotspots; being able to take care of a few things while in a relaxing atmosphere.

Don't, however, get so relaxed that you ignore security and give all your confidential information to some unscrupulous hacker. Yeah, you see the guy. He's over in the corner wearing that fake nose and glasses with the ridiculous Bozo the Clown cap. Yep, drinking a Blatz. Dead give away.

Sorry, they won't be that obvious, I doubt they ever drink Blatz and very seldom wear clown caps. When you're thinking back, trying to remember who was around when your password was stolen, you probably won't remember the woman in the tastefully tailored business suit, and if, by chance, you do, she won't be the one you suspect. The best defense is to implement some simple security practices and measures that will safeguard your business and personal information.

Hey, another cool product from X-Micro, and I really mean it, this is a cool little device. When I first heard I was getting it for review, I didn't pay attention and I thought it was just a WiFi finder, but it is actually a WiFi 802.11g USB adapter as well. My router died recently, and I had to get a new one, so I opted to get one with 802.11g built in so I could use my laptop without hooking an Ethernet cable to it. My other computers I use for reviews etc all need to have Ethernet cables run to them to be on my network, but now I can just plug the X-Micro into any computer and instant wireless access is mine.

WiMax (802.16e) is is a newer standard of wireless networking designed to provide the last mile of high speed internet access to the end user. Some people would call Wimax WiFi on steroids but this would be to broad of an assessment. Wifi was and still will be used in LAN environments for the foreseeable future. WiMax was designed to provide (MAN) Metropolitan Area Access, to homes and businesses.

WiMax base stations will have the ability to provide approximately 60 businesses with T1 access and hundreds of homes with DSL/Cable speed access!in theory. Engineers are stating that WiMax has the capability of reaching 30 Miles but real world testing has shown 4-8 mile working radius.

Media, over the past few years all different types have been flooding our lives, from music to video we see it everyday. There are services to download music and video now. We have MP3 players and media players. This past year we have seen the introduction of network media players. These players are very big and most of them do not support wireless networks. Well today we are going to take a look at a network music player that is extremely small, and works perfectly with your wireless network. So without further ado let's check out the Slim Devices Squeezebox Network Media Player.

The purpose of this article is two-fold. First, to enable you to set up your own home network and share files between your computers, and second to make you comfortable with basic computer networking terminology and practice. Internet sharing deserves its own article, and so is not part of this one.

Broadband routers are the easiest way for you to build your own network. Using them, you can automatically share your broadband Internet connection among all computers on your network, as well as files and printers. Since they also work as a hardware firewall, it is also the safest way to be connected to the Internet nowadays. The installation is really fast and you can literally build your own network in just a few minutes. In this tutorial we will show you how to build your own network using a broadband router.

This article is intended to deal with creating Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to connect a home network with the outside world. In the course of this slightly more advanced PCstats guide we will discuss the nature of VPNs, the dangers of the Internet, and the encryption methods involved in securing yourself from them. It is assumed that you have a basic knowledge of the meaning behind networking terms such as IP addresses, Local and wide area networks, firewalls, etc. A VPN incorporates two features, encryption and tunneling , to ensure that the data is delivered safely and privately across the public space.

The first thing that you should ask yourself is, "What is this computer for?" For example, if this computer is only going to be used for surfing the web and writing documents, do you really need it to be able to run network games? After we have decided what we are going to use our computer for, we should begin locking out the features we don't need. Read on for a few useful examples related to networking...

In this Beginners Guide, PCSTATS is going to walk you through setting up a personal website on the web using Apache web server for Windows. We'll introduce you to the terms and concepts you need to understand in order to host a website, show you how to prepare a system for web hosting, then go through the steps of configuring Apache server and hosting a website.

In 1993, Actiontec Electronics was founded and has since been dedicated to enriching consumers' lives with great connectivity solutions with products including DSL modems, wireless networking devices, home gateways, routers, VoIP devices, and digital entertainment set-top-boxes. The 802PSG is their Multiport wireless print server with 54Mbps transfer capability. With small businesses and home users now having more than one printer in a location and wireless networks more frequent it is very common to see wireless print servers popping up. The 802PSG is different than most on the market by having 2 USB 1.1 ports and one parallel port to control 3 printers on one device.