The VAR Guy

Networking solutions provider Westcon has announced the opening of their “virtual demonstration lab,” which lets resellers and their customers test F5 Networks-delivered hosted solutions in a virtualized network environment. Here’s the scoop.

The prevalence of wide-area networks has made network optimization by way of MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching) a $16 billion industry. Talari Networks has been taking a bite out of that market since late 2009 with their Adaptive Private Network (APN) solution, which provides MPLS-like functionality over the public Internet. And with the launch of Talari’s partner program last week, resellers potentially can too. Here’s how.

The VAR Guy is on a road trip today… wearing his $10 jacket and exploring rumors involving a software company pumping $20 million into the managed services market. In the meantime, here are six blog entries The VAR Guy didn’t have a chance to write for the week ending Jan. 22, 2010.

First, F5 Networks delivered strong Q1 financial results. Now, the company is preparing to announce the BIG-IP Edge Gateway. F5’s goal is to deliver “LAN-speed application performance for remote and mobile workers.” Here are the details.

Potential good news for government VARs: F5 Networks, Inc says their BIG-IP Global Traffic Manager (GTM) complies with DNSSEC 2009 (domain name system security extensions) compliance requirements. Not sure what all that technical jargon means? Here’s the scoop.

Hewlett-Packard’s ProCurve division has expanded its Open Network Ecosystem (ONE) by more than five new vendors, further positioning itself as a one-stop shop for its channel partners. ProCurve ONE, combined with HP’s pending buyout of 3Com, are the latest steps in HP’s efforts to compete more effectively against Cisco Systems. Here are the details.

Hey Monty, who made key channel partner program deals for the week ending Aug. 7, 2009? Here’s a look at new alliances, reseller agreements and partner program initiatives, as tracked by The VAR Guy.

Dean Darwin knows how to play an encore. Back at F5 Networks for the second time as channel chief, Darwin today described an expanded F5 relationship with Hewlett-Packard’s ProCurve ONE team. Here’s the scoop from The VAR Guy.

The VAR Guy looks scared today. Sure, he’s optimistic about his own media site and the long-term benefits of IT. But short term, the economy is going from bad to worse. Intel today said it expects Q4 revenue to drop 23% year over year. And something is up over at Lenovo, where trading in company shares were halted today.

Hello again Dean Darwin, goodbye Steve Hale. Darwin (not pictured) has rejoined F5 Networks as channel chief, replacing Hale (pictured), according to The VAR Guy (not pictured). Details about the change are sketchy but here are some early details.

When The VAR Guy heads to CompTIA Breakaway, he’ll be sure to poke around to see what Dell’s up to at the show. In the meantime, here’s some color commentary regarding Dell and its managed service strategy from our sister site, MSPmentor.

David just threw a rock at Goliath. During a 20 minute keynote at F5 Networks’ Partner Conference in New Orleans, CEO John McAdam delivered an upbeat view of his company’s business outlook. And he casually mentioned why he believes F5 is beating Cisco Systems in the data center.

About a year ago, Cisco CEO John Chambers predicted his company’s competitive landscape would shift from networking firms to software and Web 2.0 companies. Apparently, Chambers was right: Recent financial results from numerous networking companies suggest many of Cisco’s old rivals are falling off a cliff. Here’s a look behind the numbers.