By Tim Young

“The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over.”

The network edge is a touchy bit of real estate. It’s the area where the core network begins to touch the end user, and it represents potential and danger in one little package. The network edge is notoriously problematic from a network visibility standpoint, and growing complexity on the edge brings with it new challenges for operators. Security. Bandwidth management. Parameter management. All of these concerns are present on the edge, and all deserve commentary.

In this issue of Pipeline, we’ll take a look at a view from… or at least of… the edge. We bring you perspective from Sergio Pellizzari of Nakina and Walt Bowers of Hitachi, who are looking at the changes taking place on the edge every day. We hear from Tal Eisner of cVidya on how network management entails challenges that make highway planning look like child’s play. And, Chris Hoover at Openet explains why the bandwidth crunch demands action now.

In addition, we bring you Pipeline’s own coverage of the network edge, AT&T’s approach to VoIP, and RIM’s woes, as well as all of the news and opinion that you have come to expect from us.