Data Communications Rolls Out Online Lab Test Center; Award-Winning Networking Magazine Adds 'One-Stop Shop' for Testing to Web SitePRNewswire Data Communications magazine has launched Lab Test Center, the latest addition to its Web site at http://www.data.com/. Billed as a "one-stop shop" for network testing, the online component gives visitors the opportunity to review and comment on the magazine's test methodologies, download the same scripts used in its engineering-caliber evaluations, and read its award-winning Lab Tests. "We're not just posting our test results," said David Newman, senior technology editor (testing). "We're giving the networking community a way to help shape our test methodologies. And by putting our test scripts online, we're making it possible for network architects worldwide to recreate our tests -- or modify the scripts to create tests of their own." The online Lab Test Center has earned the unqualified support of Data Communications' testing partners, Midnight Networks (Waltham, Mass.) and Netcom Systems (Calabasas, Calif.) -- makers of high-end network testing equipment. Netcom Systems created several custom test suites for Lab Test Center. In addition, the vendor has trained its tech support team to field any questions that Data Communications readers may have when using its routines. Phone and online support are available free of charge; the hotline listing and e-mail address are both available on Lab Test Center (http://www/. data.com/testcenter/index.html). "I'm not surprised that our testing partners have rallied behind our effort," said editor in chief Lee Keough. "Lab Test Center exemplifies our testing philosophy, which calls for industrial-strength, repeatable tests. We work with both vendors and end-users to create methodologies that then become public, so they can be used by our readers and the industry." Keough continued, "We're very tough on the products we test -- we've raised stress-testing to a fine art. In many cases we push products harder than the vendors do themselves. They may not like it when we discover flaws, but they know that our methodology is meticulous. And with Lab Test Center, that same methodology and our test scripts are available online." Data Communications' switch-testing methodology has been ratified as a standard (RFC 2285) by the IETF, the international organization that defines Internet standards. The IETF also has ratified Data Communications' test methodology for measuring firewall performance. Keough indicates that by enabling readers to review and comment on the magazine's methodologies, Lab Test Center gives them a chance to influence the standards they actually use when building networks. One of Data Communications' pioneering lab tests, "Corporate-Class Internet: Don't Count On It," was recently honored with a Computer Press Award for Best Print Product Review. The first performance evaluation of the Internet backbones of the biggest ISPs in U.S., this test was published in November 1998 and can be viewed online at http://www.data.com/issue/981107/isp.html. Data Communications, which is published by CMP Media Inc., earned two Computer Press Awards in 1999. It also has received six Jesse H. Neal outstanding editorial achievement awards in the past five years, a record unmatched by any other publication. Data Communications is the only technology magazine that addresses critical issues concerning IP infrastructure and is written exclusively for the network architects who design, build, and manage public nets or private networks at large companies worldwide. CMP Media Inc. is the leading high-tech media company providing essential information and marketing services to the entire technology spectrum -- the builders, sellers, and users of technology worldwide. With its portfolio of newspapers, magazines, custom publishing, Internet products, research, consulting and conferences, CMP is uniquely positioned to offer marketers comprehensive, integrated solutions tailored to meet their individual needs. On-line editions of the company's print publications, along with products and services created exclusively for the Internet, can be found on CMPnet at http://www.cmpnet.com/. SOURCE: CMP Media Inc. Contact: Michelle Somers of Data Communications, 516-562-7697; or Website: http://www.cmpnet.com/ Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/181993.html or fax, |