SONY EXHIBIT 1040- Page 1
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`SONY EXHIBIT 1040- Page 2
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`OCTOBER 3, 1994 • PC WEEK
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`PC WEEK/NETWEEK
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`Nn
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`Gonferencing
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`frompageN/ 1
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`simplify this task by importing current user
`names into the conferencing system.
`
`DATABASE MAINTENANCE TASKS
`Once the conferencing system is up and run(cid:173)
`ning, one of the main administrative tasks en(cid:173)
`tails monitoring the size of the databases: Prun(cid:173)
`ing databases of old material can free up valua(cid:173)
`ble disk space on the server and improve system
`performance.
`Some of the newer systems, among them Col(cid:173)
`labra Share and OpenMind, have taken more
`proactive steps to limit the size of databases by
`allowing managers to restrict the size of mes(cid:173)
`sages or attached files that users can submit.
`In addition, most of the systems on the market
`provide a mechanism for automatically "aging"
`material and purging it from the database after
`a period of administrator-defin_ed tim_e.
`Indexing exerts one of the b1ggest 1m pacts on
`system performance. Indexi~g, a
`mechanism that lets users qmckly
`search and retrieve specific items,
`can consume a lot of processor time
`and disk space. For instance, Lotus
`officials estimate that indexing 20M
`bytes of text can take as long as an
`hour, depending on document
`length. In fact, the indexes them(cid:173)
`selves can eat up a sizable chunk of
`space: Depending on the amount of
`information indexed, the index of
`an 8M-byte file can be nearly 75 per(cid:173)
`cent of the original file size.
`To minimize the impact of index-
`ing, administrators should limit the amount of
`information that is indexed. Rather than index(cid:173)
`ing the full text, only key words should be in(cid:173)
`dexed, such as title, author, and company or
`product name.
`Compared with OpenMind and Collabra
`Share, Notes has the most extensive administra(cid:173)
`tive controls over indexing. Administrators can
`run indexing con tinuously, on an hourly basis,
`or on an administrator-chosen schedule. In con(cid:173)
`trast, OpenMind and Collabra Share expect that
`indexing will always be operating.
`Using these indexing and aging utilities will
`ensure that the conference database is always
`being turned over, with fresh information tak(cid:173)
`ing the place of older material.
`
`VOCALCHAT
`NOT ONLY
`made it
`simple to
`contact
`others
`on our
`network via
`quick-dial
`keys, but
`also eased
`voice-mall
`navigation.
`
`ly offered proprietary 13-bit recording at 8KHz,
`which made noticeably better-sounding vocal re(cid:173)
`cordings in files of approximately the same size
`as standard 8-bit recordings. With typical sound
`cards, the difference in perceived quality be(cid:173)
`tween 8KHz and 11KHz was not enough to justify
`the extra disk space or network traffic generated
`by the higher sample rate.
`The Vocal Chat software goes one step further
`to minimize its impact on network traffic by us(cid:173)
`ing Adaptive Delta Pulse Code Modulation to
`compress voice when communicating in real
`time across the network. We noticed slightly less
`than the 2-1 compression ratio claimed by Vocal(cid:173)
`Tee in our testing, but the bottom line is that
`workgroups and small offices should not incur
`any noticeable performance hit to their network
`once users start sending voice messages.
`Although VocalChat's overall sound quality
`wasn't as good as our telephone-based voice
`mail, testers didn't have any complaints.
`If you're looking for a cool multimedia appli(cid:173)
`cation that helps you see where the future inter(cid:173)
`action between telephony and personal comput(cid:173)
`ing is headed, you may want to check out Vocal(cid:173)
`Chat. But until such software can service your
`outside telephone system, it won't suffice as an
`adequate replacement product.
`Small offices or workgroups lacking a voice(cid:173)
`messaging system may find all the voice-mail fea(cid:173)
`tures they need in VocalChat, and if your office
`has employees who are still using tape-recorder(cid:173)
`style dictation systems, you're a likely benefactor
`ofVocalChat's capabilities.
`VocalTec, of Northvale, NJ. , can be reached
`at (201) 768-9400. g
`
`Win View
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`ing independent Web servers at the same time.
`None of our users had an IP address of their
`own, and none of them had TCP / IP software in(cid:173)
`stalled on their PCs.
`Win View is also a dial-up applications server,
`which means that remote users can dial in to the
`network via Citrix's Remote Link software and
`connect to the Intern et.
`Because only screen-redraw information is
`transmitted across the phone line, remote con(cid:173)
`trol of an applications server should provide us-
`rs with b -tter obs rvabl p rformance tha
`if
`they used a remote IP solution, such as PPP or
`SLIP. We did not test this scenario to determine
`if this theory was correct.
`
`A FINE SOLUTION FOR SOME
`If you have been considering adding a Win View
`appli ation server to your network, or you al(cid:173)
`ready have one, TCP/ IP for WinView is an op(cid:173)
`tion y u w n 't want to b without.
`For companies that want to provide services
`
`via the Internet, WinView allows the develop(cid:173)
`ment of customized Windows application-based
`solutions that look and behave noticeably differ(cid:173)
`ent from those on typical Web servers. The fact
`that these services can be accessed by PCs with
`slow CPUs and limited memory is a terrific bo(cid:173)
`nus.
`Although most network administrators would
`still prefer users to have individual IP addresses
`to make complete use of Internet- or TCP l iP(cid:173)
`based tools, Citrix's solution may suffice in many
`instances.
`For example, th e T P / IP for Win View offer(cid:173)
`ing is a solid choice for those who don 't want
`to deal with the hassles of configuring multiple
`n etwork protocol stacks on client PCs, th se
`who want to provide remote users with Inter(cid:173)
`n et connectivity, or those who can't afford to
`buy TCP / IP software for everyone on the net(cid:173)
`work.
`For additional information about WinView,
`Citrix; of Coral Springs, Fla., can be reached at
`(800) 437-7503. !;I
`
`Scott Kahn is a project leader at ZD L abs.
`
`EARLY TOOL AGE
`Managers must make
`sure discussion informa(cid:173)
`tion is properly stored,
`archived, and distributed
`to remote offices and
`workgroups. But the tools
`used to administer
`conferencing systems not
`only vary considerably
`but are also in the early
`stages of evolution.
`
`However, avoid the temptation to merely
`it often contains the
`toss the old material-
`critical historical context of how a decision was
`made or a policy was developed. Saving the
`context is useful in bringing new hires up to
`date on previous corporate decisions.
`Administrators should find a way to save
`such data by archiving older material rather
`than simply deleting it.
`
`THE NEED FOR ARCHIVING
`Unfortunately, conferencing products have yet
`to come up with a satisfactory method of stor(cid:173)
`ing old messages. Old data is either deleted
`from the system or archived to a backup tape,
`and archiving material to a backup system
`makes the data unavailable to users searching
`for information.
`What is needed are links to HSM (hierarchi(cid:173)
`cal storage management) systems, where older
`data is automatically moved, or migrated, from
`a server's hard disk to off-line optical disks or
`tape libraries. Long used in mainframes and
`now moving into LAN backup ar(cid:173)
`chitectures, HSM technology calls
`for leaving a shadow file behind
`that automatically restores the orig(cid:173)
`inal file once a user requests the mi(cid:173)
`grated file. Such an option would
`be very useful for larger documents
`and attached fil es, particularly in
`conferencing systems that are ori(cid:173)
`ented toward document manage(cid:173)
`ment.
`Managing a conferencing data(cid:173)
`base would be difficult enough if it
`were confined to only one network.
`But as context-oriented discussion
`systems find new life as document-management
`and workflow-automation systems, they spread
`throughout an organization, requiring manag(cid:173)
`ers to synchronize information that resides on
`distributed systems.
`Lotus Notes and some of its competitors, such
`as OpenMind, solve this problem by replicating
`information between servers, with administra(cid:173)
`tors determining which databases should be syn(cid:173)
`chronized and how often synchronization
`should occur. OpenMind has a particularly de(cid:173)
`tailed replication scheme that allows managers
`to determine which subsections of a database
`have greater priority in replication.
`
`SHORTCOMINGS TO ADDRESS
`Replication, though powerful, is still in the early
`evolutionary process. While Notes does support
`specialized servers that can be dedicated to rep(cid:173)
`lication services, there is no mechanism for
`dealing with communications failures between
`servers that prevent replication. What's needed
`are mechanisms that automatically provide an
`alternative communications path for replication
`between servers.
`Notes offi ials sugg sted that adrnini ·trators
`establish redundant links between several serv(cid:173)
`ers to ensure that material is replicated if one
`of the links should fail.
`Administrators also need the ability to man(cid:173)
`age remote servers easily. Most systems require
`them to log on to each server individually to per(cid:173)
`form management tasks. Though remote-access
`devices and direc t dial-in asyn hronous s rvi
`make this possible, a central managemen t con(cid:173)
`sole that can monitor all of the servers should
`be an option.
`De ktop confer ncing sy t m also n ed bet(cid:173)
`ter monitoring functions. Today, if a remote
`server fails, no alarm or alert informs managers
`of this calamity. Finally, vendors should tie th
`in yst -rrc into u h n -tw rk-man-
`n£ r
`agement services as SNMP. g
`SONY EXHIBIT 1040- Page 3
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