Look Deeply Into My Packet

Joining network diagnostics as a theme for next week's Networld + Interop show will be packet-based application acceleration, a technology idea being tackled on a number of different fronts.

From XML accelerators from DataPower to SSL offloaders from Radware, application-accelerating appliances will be all the rage on the show floor (don't you just love cliches like that), as vendors try to convince buyers that through the purchase of a single, non-intrusive box, you can speed network throughput, increase end-user performance, and enjoy a tasty, low-carb dessert without guilt or onerous capex increases.

OK, we're lying. There is no such thing as a tasty, low-carb dessert.

But to IT professionals looking to boost their network performance, the packet-based appliances might be worth a look. Maybe an experienced chef

can use the heat output from the appliance to whip up a show-floor souffle. Can you tell it's past time for lunch here at blog central?

And, It's FridayThat means it's humor time. Courtesy of our friends at Network Computing, we give you the Data Duckie. A USB drive that's nothing to quack at.