INFORMATIONWEEK REPORTS
Strategy Session: Next-Gen LAN
Next-Gen LAN: Everything Except the Kitchen Sink
If your day is anything like most of our clients’ days, you spend a lot of time putting out fires, trying to shape IT direction from the network outward, and preparing for technologies that your group or others in your organization are preparing to pile on. In fact, there’s a dizzying array of new applications looking to the LAN as home; among the most challenging in terms of performance and design are videoconferencing, videosurveillance, instant messaging, virtual desktops and storage traffic. We’ll need to blend technology and technique to deliver these services effectively.
What’s that? A UC or VDI vendor told you that your network will handle its systems just fine? We’ve heard that before—just before the help desk lines lit up. You must ferret out issues now and build in plenty of room to grow because the math for sensitive traffic is not nearly as easy as vendor reps would have you believe, and end users tend to give you only one shot to get them on board with new services. Here's how to make the most of your network.
