January 25-27, 2000 - Unique "Special Interest" Areas Offer Valuable Hands-On Opportunities At ComNet 2000

Business Wire, Dec 17, 1999

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 17, 1999--

Several special interest areas offering unique opportunities for hands-on product demonstrations, technical resources and interaction with industry experts will be featured at ComNet 2000, the largest technology conference and exposition dedicated to the global networking and communications industries. ComNet will be held at the Washington, D.C. Convention Center, January 25-27, 2000.

Organized by several industry-leading organizations, the seven new and four established special interest areas and show features provide a broad cross section of networking and communications professionals with a comprehensive overview of the latest products, services and technologies they need to meet today's challenges. Several of these areas are "proving grounds" or labs that provide attendees with objective evaluations of a variety of competing products and technologies.

These special feature areas include:

New in 2000

Web Site Accelerator Proving Ground: Tools to Build Mission-Critical Web Sites - Presented by The Tolly Group, this new area will feature the foremost vendors of load balancers, traffic shapers and Web caching products demonstrating their solutions for creating reliable and responsive e-commerce Web sites. The Tolly Group will verify the functionality of these products to help net managers determine which products to use and how to implement them.

VPN Proving Ground: Which Products Make the Grade? - Also presented by The Tolly Group, the proving ground allows visitors to examine leading-edge solutions from the industry's top VPN vendors. Testing will focus on IPSec technology and will verify the VPN functionality of both LAN-to-LAN and dial-up products.

Wireless Solutions Proving Ground: Information Without Limits - Presented by The Tolly Group, explore the functionality of the latest wireless network solutions. The Tolly Group will provide a package of deliverables that includes Tolly Verified certification, international advertising, direct mail, presentations and the posting of test results on The Tolly Group's Web page.

CMP's Real-World Voice Over IP/DSL Test Lab - Sponsored by Network Computing, this new lab will enable visitors to observe the testing process first-hand and to question lab technicians and follow up with the vendors of the reviewed products.

New Venture Alley(SM) - Spotlighting the industry's bright newcomers, this new area will feature the innovative products of hot young entrepreneurs--the superstars of tomorrow. The companies exhibiting in the alley are privately held and less than three years old.

Network Operating Systems Shootout - Sponsored by NetworkWorld and presented by Centennial Networking Labs of North Carolina State University and, the new shootout will provide a hands-on evaluation comparing various network operating systems in terms of how they perform in file, database and network tests. Win2000, NetWare 5, SCO Unixware, RedHat Linux and Sun Solaris will compete in the shootout.

The Ovations - Sponsored by CMP Media's tele.com Magazine and ComNet 2000, this new industry award program will honor the leaders of service provider innovations. Ovation honors will be presented for individual achievements in technology, products, services, business, and legislative policy. Ten winners will be selected by a panel of judges and tele.com editors from nominations made by the public.

Returning Features:

New Product Achievement Awards - Sponsored by InfoWorld, this area will offer visitors the chance to vote on the hundreds of never-before-seen products featured on the show floor.

ComNet Book Store - Managed by Reiters Scientific & Technical Books, this area will offer an enormous selection of the latest books on telecommunications and the hot topics discussed in the ComNet presentations and seen on the exhibit floor.

Career Fair - Sponsored by IT Careers and NetworkWorld, InfoWorld, and Computerworld, the Career Fair gives network executives and technical professionals the opportunity to meet with leading companies seeking top talent to manage their enterprise networks. The Fair is managed by Shaker Advertising.

User Excellence Awards - Sponsored by NetworkWorld, this prestigious award honors end-user organizations that have made innovative and effective use of network technology.

"These 'special interest' areas are extremely valuable because they allow attendees to compare and evaluate the performance characteristics of the latest products and technologies," said Don Berey, ComNet Show Director. "Attendees can now receive objective, third person evaluations of the various products and services offered at ComNet".

For more information on ComNet, visit www.comnetexpo.com.

ComNet

ComNet, produced by IDG Expo Management Company, is the largest technology conference and exposition dedicated to global communications networks. In 2000 more than 450 manufacturers and suppliers of networking and communications hardware, software, services, and solutions participate in ComNet. ComNet attracts the planners, builders and buyers of communications networks, both public and private. Founded in 1977, ComNet/Washington, D.C. has served the IT market for two decades as the premier information source for networking professionals. ComNet/D.C. will be held at the Washington, D.C. Convention Center, January 25-27, 2000. For more information on ComNet, call 800-545-EXPO or visit www.comnetexpo.com.