The evolution of IT network silos mirrors the development of IT networks over the last thirty years or so. Back in the day, networks were constructed on a hub and spoke model. The data centre providing IT advice and support lay at the centre, and a well-defined network edge was where the business units operating […]

Fibre optic networks are becoming the transmission medium of choice in today’s networks. The traditional copper-based cabling is on the way to not supporting the high-bandwidth requirements of multi-media sites. Coupled with its life span of about 10 to 15 years, many copper-based UTP installations are needing to be replaced or upgraded. A further motivator […]

As business networks have evolved, they have become increasingly complex as digital convergence requires that they support different applications, including data, voice, and other media content.  In addition, separate applications like CCTV and Access Management may also run on the same infrastructure. Network management from design and configuration onwards is no longer a simple task. […]

The current drive by the major network equipment manufacturers and software houses towards network automation is driven by several, potentially competing factors.   These factors include the inevitable budget pressure on IT departments to do more with less. Current pressures include moves towards a Cloud environment, and the demands of the mobile warrior who needs access […]

The big buzzword nowadays in IT is 5G.  Many companies are rushing pell-mell to tell everyone how much better their technologies will work under 5G.  However, a lot of this chatter is smoke and mirrors.  Part of the chatter that is not heard so much is that 5G is a migration, not an epoch-changing event […]

There is a new concept coming through IT Networking.  Software Defined (“SD-WAN”) networks provide a self-configuring self-healing environment.  The design is such that SD-WAN will lead ultimately to Intent Based networks, where the network will add self-learning to the mix where the network will define its own architecture and redefine it as usage changes and […]

Like most new professions, ICT has undergone a process of growing maturity.  At the outset, it was possible to know virtually all things ICT, and experience and a willingness to learn were the major employment criteria.  Certifications in various disciplines became available as the profession split into areas of specialism and they gradually became accepted […]

Simply put, a wireless mesh is a wireless network without the cables.   The concept is not really that new, the military, hospitals and some commercial enterprises have been using similar technologies for many years to create ad-hoc radio networks.  It can include a wireless internet gateway or a gateway to an upstream network, but sometimes […]

Copper-based network cabling has been with us since day one.   The first networks used TV style coax cabling and connectors because it already existed and was known to work. In many cases, manufacturers had already used that style of cabling to connect terminals to mainframes.    Some manufacturers, particularly IBM, developed their own cabling styles, but […]

With smaller networks, the core/distribution/access layer topology is generally sufficient. This three-layer architecture is especially efficient in “North-South” data transfer, that is, traffic that comes into and leaves the Data Centre.   The transmission latency between two internal points of the network is generally not a great concern.  However, in Enterprise and Campus networks with a […]