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NEED
Networks are designed to support applications that can make businesses operate
more effectively and efficiently. However, a combination of factors such as
server consolidation, rich media types, bandwidth-hungry applications -- create
situations in which the demand for applications outstrips the available
bandwidth. When this occurs, the network acts like a “funnel” where workgroups
compete for bandwidth or are kept off the network altogether.
The choke points in these “funnel” networks are at the workgroup
switching/routing level -- the aggregation points where performance and services
intersect. Legacy Ethernet routers, which have traditionally occupied these
aggregation points, were never designed for enormous traffic loads. Fast
Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, and multi-layer switching solutions eliminate these
choke points.
However, adding bandwidth is only one part of the solution. As the mix of
applications in a network becomes more complicated, organizations need the
ability to manage the traffic flowing through their network.
Matters are becoming all the more complicated as a result of the need for
workgroups to be more mobile. Wireless networks have become more affordable and
versatile. They are valuable for companies that have a mobile workforce or
work-at-home employees who need access to the company network and its resources.
Ironically, the same versatility that makes wireless LANs so attractive also
poses the greatest risks to organizations. Chief among these risks is the
realization that no matter how strong an organization's networking rules and
procedures, any employee can compromise the safety of corporate data by plugging
a wireless access point into any available network tap.
Segmenting the network into sub groups, called workgroups, is key to achieving
performance, availability, security, mobility, cost control, and future
extendibility. The right partitioning of the network into workgroups is in many
cases a trade-off between the above parameters. Most Small/Medium Businesses
(SMBs) already have some network in place and want to maintain their investment.
The challenge is a combination of the following:
- Careful evaluation of the above parameters/requirements
- Measurement and knowledge of the current network traffic/behavior
- Future business and technology evolution
- Selection of the right workgroup switches and routers
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(800) SMC-4YOU (800-762-4968) |
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