Subudhi Consulting Group

SCG attended the Social Media Club of Richmond, VA’s (SMCRVA) September event, The Ford Story with Craig Daitch. Held at the Science Museum of Virginia, the event provided a great opportunity to catch up with other creative professionals in Richmond. The highlight of the event was a captivating presentation delivered by Craig Daitch, United States social media manager for Ford Motor Company. The presentation, which discussed Ford’s social media successes and how the company plans on using new platforms in the future, was both interesting and informative.

Craig, who manages the United States social media initiatives for Ford Motor Company, shared many insights into Ford’s social media strategy. Last year, Ford gave 100 people its European Fiesta for six months, as part of the company’s Fiesta Movement Campaign. During this time, these 100 people used social media platforms to share information and opinions about their experiences with driving the car. Social media marketing campaigns such as the Fiesta Movement are paying off for Ford, as the company’s Facebook page receives an average of 8,447 new Fans each week. Ford has been able to reach a larger audience through social media, which has helped change public perception of its cars from “bland” to “innovative.”

Ford Motor’s social media strategy is proof that social media is quickly becoming society’s new avenue for communication; no longer is it merely a way for young people to socialize. Rather, all demographics of society – from grandparents to large corporations such as Ford – are using online social platforms to connect and share ideas.

Light Reading partnered with SCG to produce IPv6 2011: The Time Is Now!, a conference that addressed key issues and opportunities involved in the transition to IPv6. SCG worked with Light Reading to conceptualize the event and write the agenda for the conference, as well as identify topics that needed to be addressed. SCG also secured many of the top speakers and facilitated sponsorships for the event.

Taking place at The Hilton New York, IPv6 2011: The Time Is Now! featured industry leaders from the service provider and vendor community. Speakers included Latif Ladid, President of the IPv6 Forum; John Curran, President & CEO of the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN); Doug Junkins, CTO of NTT America, an SCG client; and Erica Johnson, Director of the University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL), also an SCG client.

“The conference was very informative, as it provided a forum for IPv6 thought leaders from around the globe to discuss worldwide IPv6 implementation,” said Christine Carlson, account executive at SCG. “Overall, the event was a great success.”

Check out this Scientific American article featuring the UNH-IOL, an SCG client. In the article Timothy Winters, IPv6 expert and senior manager for the UNH-IOL, talks about the significance of World IPv6 Day!

Computer Crash Test: Will Your Internet Access Come to a Screeching Halt on June 8?

A 24-hour evaluation will determine whether millions of people worldwide can connect to the new 128-digit Internet protocol address system

By Mark Fischetti and Larry Greenemeier | June 8, 2011 |
Scientific American

Every computer, modem, server and smart phone that connects to the Internet has a unique Internet protocol (IP) address, so users can find it. The address format, known as IPv4, was standardized in 1977 as a 32-digit binary number, making a then-seemingly unlimited 4.3 billion addresses (2^32) available.

They’re all used up.

How? Well, for decades the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority has doled out blocks of IPv4 addresses, as needed, to five Regional Internet Registries around the world, which then assign addresses to users one by one. In February, however, the authority gave each registry one final block of 16 million addresses. The regions are burning through them now, and one region—Asia–Pacific—has already hit zero.

Since 1999 the authority has offered blocks of newer IPv6 addresses that are 128 digits long, resulting in an unimaginable 340 undecillion possible addresses (that’s 340 followed by 36 zeroes). But until 2008 or so, few organizations bothered to ask their registries for them. Now Internet carriers, Web companies and Internet service providers (ISP) large and small are sucking up IPv6 addresses for their old and new machines, but in most cases without making the IPv6 addresses live. So a moment of truth has arrived—Google, Yahoo, Facebook, Comcast and others are turning IPv6 on for 24 hours to see what happens. The exact start time for Global IPv6 Day varies depending upon location (in some places, the test actually began on Tuesday). To find out when testing begins in your region, consult this Web site.

All but the oldest computers and phones have been configured to handle both schemes, but “home gateways—the DSL modems or cable modems—may not be,” says Geoff Huston, chief scientist for the Asia–Pacific regional registry. And the IPv6 option in your computer or phone may not be turned on. In these cases, if you try to access an IPv6 address on June 8, you will either experience a delay of up to 75 seconds, as your system finds its way to the IPv4 address for the site you’re trying to reach—or you may just never connect.

“We’re hoping that on IPv6 World Day we’ll see v6 traffic go up, so we’ll have a better idea of how many users are capable of using IPv6,” says Timothy Winters, a senior manager at the University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL), which offers broadband service–providers and network equipment–makers the facilities and expertise for testing their products. “Right now, when users go to sites like Google or Facebook we’re not getting good statistics because users can only get there via IPv4.”

On the flip side, testers also expect problems with IPv6 to surface during this daylong stress test. “Some things are going to break, and when that happens it gives us some idea of how many users can’t use v6,” Winters says. The best evidence for determining just how many people’s systems are not IPv6-compatible will come from calls to ISPs complaining of poor service, or none at all. “If Google or Facebook did this testing on their own, you’d have all of these Internet users calling their ISPs, but the ISPs wouldn’t know the IPv6 test might be behind their customers’ problems,” he adds. “[June 8] is a nice day for us to try out v6 and then we can shut it down and fix all of the problems that may arise.”

Click here to read the full article.

The University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL), an SCG client, is helping broadband providers and customer premises equipment (CPE) vendors to prepare for the delivery of reliable, uninterrupted Internet service to their customers using IPv6 and by verifying IPv6 readiness in home networking equipment, and is also playing a key role in World IPv6 Day.

UNH-IOL Pushes IPv6 to the Consumer Edge

Lab Plays Key Role in World IPv6 Day Preparations and Deployments

June 06, 2011 08:03 AM Eastern Daylight Time

DURHAM, N.H.–(EON: Enhanced Online News)–The University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL), an independent provider of broad-based testing and standards conformance services for the networking industry, today announced it is helping broadband providers and customer premises equipment (CPE) vendors to prepare for the delivery of reliable, uninterrupted Internet service to their customers using IPv6, and enabling end-user connectivity by verifying IPv6 readiness in home networking equipment. Last month, the lab hosted the UNH-IOL IPv6 CE Test Event for Consumer Edge (CE) vendors looking to validate IPv6 product support. As an extension of the CE Test Event, the UNH-IOL is preparing CE router vendors and operators for participation in World IPv6 Day by hosting interoperability testing in advance of the 24-hour IPv6 test flight.

June 8, 2011 is World IPv6 Day, an initiative organized by the Internet Society (ISOC). On June 8, Internet service providers, hardware manufacturers, operating system vendors and other web companies will enable IPv6 on their main servers for 24 hours. According to ISOC, the vast majority of users should be able to access services as usual, but in rare cases, misconfigured or misbehaving network equipment, particularly in home networks, may impair access to participating websites during the trial. End users can visit an IPv6 test website to check if their connectivity will be impacted; if their home router is the problem, the UNH-IOL has posted a list of compatible devices. The UNH-IOL’s CE Router Tested List identifies vendors that tested their devices during the UNH-IOL IPv6 CE Test Event, as well as vendors that passed 100 percent of the IPv6 Ready Logo CPE Router Interoperability Test Scenario at the UNH-IOL. When making recommendations or purchasing decisions, operators and consumers alike may refer to the CE Router Tested List, which will be updated as vendors continue to test IPv6 CE devices at the UNH-IOL, to find out what routers will work in homes using IPv6.

In addition to participating in the initiatives of leading industry organizations such as ISOC, the UNH-IOL maintains ongoing relationships with industry forums to help make full IPv6 adoption a reality. Highly involved in the IPv6 Forum’s IPv6 Ready Logo Program as the North American regional officer and a technical contributor, the UNH-IOL offers accredited testing for the IPv6 Ready Logo Program. The UNH-IOL is currently working in conjunction with the IPv6 Forum on the creation of the IPv6 CPE Logo Program, announced in May 2011. The program, designed to cost-effectively accelerate adoption of IPv6 in the broadband industry, will provide manufacturers and operators with a common set of testing requirements for deployment and indicate via the IPv6 CPE Logo which products have met the basic requirements of IPv6 functionality.

“2011 is the year that many operators and ISPs will move decisively toward offering IPv6 services,” said Danny Dicks, analyst for Heavy Reading. “As more operators begin to offer their services over IPv6, the need for CE routers that are IPv6-capable is imperative to guarantee connectivity to the deployed services.”

“Six months ago, CE routers were not compatible with IPv6, but since then the industry has made great progress,” said Timothy Winters, senior manager for the UNH-IOL. “In a sense, with our extensive leadership in IPv6 testing, the UNH-IOL has been readying companies for World IPv6 Day for the past 15 years, and our recent effort to make CE router vendors ready for IPv6 deployment is just one example of how the lab is helping companies stay competitive.”

As part of the lab’s ongoing industry involvement, UNH-IOL executives frequently offer their perspectives based on first-hand experience working with IPv6 at various technology forums. Erica Johnson, director of the UNH-IOL, will moderate the panel, “The Consumer Broadband Transition to IPv6,” at Light Reading’s IPv6 2011: The Time is Now! Conference in New York, New York. The panel, which is taking place July 14, 2011 from 3:45 to 4:45 p.m. EDT, will examine the steps that must be taken to protect consumer broadband service and enable all customers and all websites to remain connected after the transition to IPv6.

The UNH-IOL collaborative testing model distributes the cost of performing trusted, independent testing and validation through an annual membership. The fee for participation in the IPv6 Consortium is $25K. More information on becoming a member of the IPv6 Consortium at the UNH-IOL can be found at http://www.iol.unh.edu/services/testing/ipv6/.

About the UNH-IOL

Founded in 1988, the UNH-IOL provides independent, broad-based interoperability and standards conformance testing for data, telecommunications and storage networking products and technologies. Combining extensive staff experience, standards bodies participation and a 32,000+ square foot facility, the UNH-IOL helps companies efficiently and cost effectively deliver products to the market. For more information, visit http://www.iol.unh.edu/, or connect with the UNH-IOL on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/UNHIOL, on Twitter at @UNH_IOL and on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/company/unh-interoperability-lab.

Click here to view the press release on Business Wire

While the Tohoku Earthquake on March 11th damaged transpacific communications systems, Pacific Crossing has not only met the challenge of recovering the PC-1 North route which links Japan and the United States, but the company has also upgraded and enhanced the system’s transpacific capacity and Ethernet service offering.

Pacific Crossing is owned by NTT Communications, the parent company of SCG client NTT America.

Pacific Crossing Announces PC-1 North Route Repair and Recovery Completion

May 26, 2011 12:25 PM Eastern Daylight Time

Leading Transpacific Submarine Cable Upgraded to Meet Exponential Growth Requirements

SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Pacific Crossing, a wholly owned subsidiary of NTT Communications Corporation and operator of the transpacific submarine cable system PC-1, has completed repair on the PC-1 North route which links Ajigaura, Japan with Harbour Pointe, Washington. The North and West routes of PC-1 were damaged during the Tohoku Earthquake on March 11, 2011. The West route is expected to be restored in late June.

“The PC-1 North route not only recovered from the earthquake, but we increased capacity to support further traffic growth, especially for financial industry customers who deploy time sensitive applications on our cable systems.”

Pacific Crossing is experiencing exponential demand for bandwidth on the PC-1 cable system due to the industry leading low latency it offers between the United States and Japan. To keep ahead of customer demand, the cable restoration is accompanied by an upgrade of the system capacity and the enhancement of the company’s Ethernet service offering. Following the upgrade of the PC-1 system in 2010, which pushed the lit capacity of the cable over the 1.3Tbps (terabits per second) mark, Pacific Crossing has now added additional wavelengths to boost transpacific capacity to 1.8Tbps.

“Pacific Crossing has successfully recovered its service on PC-1 North route despite its extensive damage near the epicenter of the Tohoku earthquake on March 11,” said Mr. Takahiro Sumimoto, chief executive officer of Pacific Crossing. “The PC-1 North route not only recovered from the earthquake, but we increased capacity to support further traffic growth, especially for financial industry customers who deploy time sensitive applications on our cable systems.”

As an NTT Communications company, Pacific Crossing provides the highest quality network infrastructure with the lowest latency between the United States and Japan, including extensive backhaul and Internet networks at both ends.

Mr. Sumimoto added, “We will continue the restoration work on PC-1 West until we fully recover our cable system. Pacific Crossing will keep investing in our network infrastructure and services in order to further strengthen our high quality offerings.”

Key specifications of the PC-1 Trans-Pacific System

Total length: 21,000km
Configuration: Protected ring & wavelengths
Systems architecture: DWDM on 4 fiber pairs
Landing stations: Harbour Pointe, WA; Grover Beach, CA; Ajigaura, Japan; Shima, Japan

About Pacific Crossing

Pacific Crossing owns and operates the transpacific, subsea fiber-optic network ring, PC-1, connecting the United States and Japan. The 21,000km PC-1 submarine cable system offers the highest reliability and the lowest latency across the Pacific. Supported by extensive backhaul into major U.S. and Japanese cities, Pacific Crossing’s infrastructure offers seamless interconnection to virtually every major international network operator for onward global access. The company delivers state-of-the-art capacity and managed network services at competitive prices to a growing customer base of carriers and media and information transport-intensive enterprise customers. The company is registered in the United States and Japan, with principal offices in San Francisco, United States and Tokyo, Japan. For more information, please visit www.pc1.com.

About NTT Communications Corporation

NTT Communications provides a broad range of global networks, management solutions and IT services to customers worldwide. The company is renowned for reliable, high-quality security, hosting, voice, data and IP services, as well as expertise in managed networks and leadership in IPv6 transit technology. NTT Communications’ extensive infrastructure includes Arcstar Global IP-VPN and Global e-VLAN, as well as a Tier 1 IP backbone reaching more than 150 countries in partnership with major Internet service providers, and secure data centers in Asia, North America and Europe. NTT Communications is the wholly-owned subsidiary of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, one of the world’s largest telecoms with listings on the Tokyo, London and New York stock exchanges.

Please visit http://www.ntt.com/index-e.html.

Click here to view press release on Business Wire

The University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL), the networking industry’s premier independent third-party proving ground for developing technologies, and an SCG client, recently launched “Testing the Limits,” a blog featured on the Test & Measurement World website.

Written by the technical staff of the UNH-IOL, “Testing the Limits” gives insight into interoperability and standards conformance for data communications, telecom and storage technologies. Each week, the UNH-IOL will post on topics discussing various technologies tested by the Lab.

The inaugural post of “Testing the Limits,” “Tales from the Test Lab,” introduces readers to the UNH-IOL and addresses the Lab’s goals and objectives for the blog. Providing an instructive point of view, the blog will share the Lab’s testing experience in networking and data storage technologies. Readers are encouraged to participate by sharing their thoughts and comments.

The UNH-IOL’s partnership with Test & Measurement World is a result of the Lab’s public relations program.