 Network ArchitectureNetwork World's Network Architecture Newsletter, 10/30/07A long history of strong feelingsBy Jeff CarusoNetwork World recently introduced its list of 50 greatest networking arguments of all time, and needless to say there are some classic battles of network architecture on the list. Many of the arguments have been settled, but it's fun to go back and revisit them. Many others on the list haven't been settled yet. You can see the full list by category here, and you may notice that the category of LANs & WANs is the largest. Yes, it shows Network World's historical bias toward covering the networkiest of IT issues. But it also lays bare the fact that the technologies to make networking happen, to make the act of connecting one computer to another as good as it could be, were incredibly important - and therefore worth fighting over.
On our narrower list of 10 all-time greatest arguments are a couple of network architecture issues: Ethernet vs. Token Ring, and routing vs. switching. A bit of historical perspective reveals that the routing vs. switching argument contributed greatly to the rise of Cisco. As my colleague Jim Duffy writes, you had Cisco on the side of routing and many others on the side of switching. But when switching grew up into Layer 3 switching, Cisco was able to profit the most from the merging of the two worlds and to cement its lead in enterprise networking. Ethernet vs. Token Ring was the main event, but Ethernet has taken on many networking technologies over the years, and has won. Token Ring was just the biggest, most obvious target. When an attempt to update Token Ring (with so-called "High Speed Token Ring") failed in the late '90s, the writing had already been on the wall. We compiled a list of the 10 "hottest" networking arguments as well - these are the arguments that haven't yet been settled. On that list are such network architecture-related battles as IPv4 vs. IPv6, wired LANs vs. wireless LANs, and Fibre Channel vs. iSCSI. Carolyn Duffy Marsan's story points out that IPv6 was finalized almost a decade ago, but widespread adoption still hasn't happened. Still, the dwindling number of IP addresses is a stark, undeniable fact, and a migration to IPv6 and its larger address space is starting to take place. IPv6, it would seem, is eventually going to win. In our story on wireless vs. wired LANs, John Cox asks, "Will 802.11n, the next generation high-throughput Wi-Fi, make the RJ-45 connector in the office wall as obsolete as gaslights?" He points to examples where this is already the case, and gives reasons for why wireless will become the new wired. The debate over Fibre Channel vs. iSCSI seems to be coming to a head lately. Deni Connor puts it into perspective, saying that while iSCSI has recently only captured 3% of the market for external disk storage systems, that number is expected to rise to 21% in just a few short years. Check out our full list. Reminisce about the old battles and let us know what you think about the new ones. Editor's note: Starting the week of Nov. 12, you will notice a number of enhancements to Network World newsletters that will provide you with more resources and more news links relevant to the newsletter's subject. Beginning 'Tues., Nov. 13, the Network Architecture Newsletter, written by Jeff Caruso, will be merged with the LAN News Alert and will be named the Network Architecture Alert. You'll get Jeff's analysis of the Network Architecture market, which you will be able to read in full at NetworkWorld.com, plus links to the day's network architecture news and other relevant resources. This Alert will be mailed on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We hope you will enjoy the enhancements and we thank you for reading Network World newsletters.
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| Contact the author: Jeff Caruso is site editor at Network World. Contact him. ARCHIVEArchive of the Network Architecture Newsletter. BONUS FEATURE90% of IT Managers are leaving their company at risk for a DNS ATTACK. Get the tools and resources you need to keep your DNS healthy and secure. Run a DNSreport on your domain today - 56 critical tests run in 8 seconds. Visit www.dnsreport.com to learn more. (apply coupon NWW2007NLA for a 25% membership discount) PRINT SUBSCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE International subscribers, click here. SUBSCRIPTION SERVICESTo subscribe or unsubscribe to any Network World newsletter, change your e-mail address or contact us, click here. This message was sent to: networking.world@gmail.com. Please use this address when modifying your subscription. Advertising information: Write to Associate Publisher Online Susan Cardoza Network World, Inc., 118 Turnpike Road, Southborough, MA 01772 Copyright Network World, Inc., 2007 |
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