At Networld+Interop in Las Vegas next week, FTP Software Inc will reveal a set of IP products that use what it calls real push technology, as opposed to all that Marimba-like publish and subscribe technology. Andover, Massachusetts-based FTP’s using its Java-based push stuff that uses agent technology to cut out the leg-work associated with managing and maintaining an IP network. IP Auditor dispatches an agent to do an inventory of a network’s hardware, system software and configuration that could be used to assess the cost of an upgrade. IP Distributor can be used to push drivers, patches, DLLs, upgrades and so on down to each client. The clients must have FTP’s Agent responder technology installed, which has some security stuff licensed from RSA Data Security and fires up the Java virtual machine whenever an agent arrives. FTP’s agent technology product line manager Chris Vasko reckons FTP’s security model is stronger than that of JavaSoft’s. Further down the line, FTP will release IP Manager that can reassign and delete network addresses. It uses FTP’s own protocol to do this, as the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) shortly to be adopted as a standard by the NC Reference Profile (OR 43) is unsafe, according to Vasko. He says it would allow the client to assign their own addresses independently of the network manager, and it doesn’t work well with domain name servers (DNS). IP Monitor, like IP Manager due to be released in the second half, polls the network looking for actual and potential security breaches such as easy-to-crack passwords, such as the user’s last name. IP Auditor and IP Distributor will cost in the $25-$50 range in volume, and will ship within 60 days, according to Vasko. FTP also announced that some of its products, including the Agent Responder are included in IBM’s eNetwork Communications Suite set of products, but are not a result of the development agreement struck between the two

February, which FTP is very tight-lipped about (OR 37). Meantime, FTP’s first quarter results showed how much of a push its business needs as they were at the bad end of its estimate just last week (OR 45). The company reported first quarter net losses of $11.0m, against profits of $2.2m last time, on revenues that fell 20.4% to $21.4m. It had predicted losses of $9m to $11m and revenues between $21m and $23m. The company reckons it will be difficult to achieve its internal goal of 25% to 30% revenue growth this fiscal. Last year it did $101m sales. The main reason for the shortfall given last week was lower than expected sales of its IPX/IP gateway line. http://www.ftp.com

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