Abstract: Systems are provided for costing service proposals, each comprising a set of proposal elements (OEs) selected from a predetermined group of proposal elements. A proposal costing system has a proposal formulator for selecting a set of proposal elements (OEs) for a new service proposal from the predetermined group of proposal elements in response to user input. The system includes a cost controller for maintaining, for each OE, service data indicative of service tasks associated with that proposal element. The system is adapted for determining a total cost for a new service proposal in dependence on the service data for the selected proposal elements and cost data indicating a cost of service tasks indicated by the service data. In addition, the cost controller is adapted for automatically updating the service data for OEs in the group in dependence on maintenance data indicative of service tasks performed in operation of real services.

Abstract: A security system for a communication system that includes an IP network and groups of servers in a farm, wherein each group is associated with a customer. A user connected to the network can access information provided by a customer from a server within the group of servers associated with this customer through a dispatching device. The security system comprises setting means in each of the switches which are located between the dispatching device and the customer servers for setting a field of bits in the IP header of potentially irregular packets transmitted from a customer server and the dispatching device, means in the dispatching device for identifying any packet wherein the field of bits has been set to the predefined value, and means for deleting or logging the potentially irregular packet when the destination of the packet is not the dispatching device.

Abstract: Systems are provided for costing service proposals, each comprising a set of proposal elements (OEs) selected from a predetermined group of proposal elements. A proposal costing system has a proposal formulator for selecting a set of proposal elements (OEs) for a new service proposal from the predetermined group of proposal elements in response to user input. The system includes a cost controller for maintaining, for each OE, service data indicative of service tasks associated with that proposal element. The system is adapted for determining a total cost for a new service proposal in dependence on the service data for the selected proposal elements and cost data indicating a cost of service tasks indicated by the service data. In addition, the cost controller is adapted for automatically updating the service data for OEs in the group in dependence on maintenance data indicative of service tasks performed in operation of real services.

Abstract: A security system for a communication system that includes an IP network and groups of servers in a farm, wherein each group is associated with a customer. A user connected to the network can access information provided by a customer from a server within the group of servers associated with this customer through a dispatching device. The security system comprises setting means in each of the switches which are located between the dispatching device and the customer servers for setting a field of bits in the IP header of potentially irregular packets transmitted from a customer server and the dispatching device, means in the dispatching device for identifying any packet wherein the field of bits has been set to the predefined value, and means for deleting or logging the potentially irregular packet when the destination of the packet is not the dispatching device.