Abstract
This chapter discusses some of the key local and metropolitan area media technologies for constructing network designs. In local area networks (LANs), several driving forces have influenced the evolution of cabling, topologies, and bandwidth provision. Applications such as scientific modeling, network backup, publications, data warehousing, real-time video conferencing, and multimedia all contribute to the need for more resources. Shared media approaches are giving way to dedicated media per user, which in turn leads to many more network segments with many more nodes per segment, significantly increasing the complexity by introducing more intricate topologies with a greater number of components. All these factors affect cost of ownership and network reliability. This chapter primarily deals with the key technologies used in commercial networks today, including Ethernet, Token Ring, FDDI, Wireless LANs, Gigabit Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, and 100BaseVG. It also discusses some of the Structured Cabling System (SCS) standards introduced by collaborative efforts between bodies such as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), Telecommunications Industries Association (TIA), and the Electrical Industries Association (EIA). Finally, this chapter discusses wireless LANs that have the potential to greatly simplify installation and reduce costs in the enterprise. At present, the key factors holding back this new technology are bandwidth, segmentation, and interoperability.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call