An enterprise network comprises all the interconnected resources that belong to a corporation, regardless of the network operating system (NOS), traffic types, protocols, transmission media, and applications at each location. Specifically, an enterprise network includes:
■ All the devices connected over LANs or attached to legacy systems at every office location
■ All the devices connected over LANs or attached to legacy systems
■ The high-speed backbone within a building, campus, or metropolitan area that interconnects multiple LANs and legacy systems
■ The facilities and services that extend these resources to remote users over a wide-area network (WAN), which can span international locations
■ The management systems, help desks, directory services, security systems, and other tools that administrators use to keep the enterprise network operating at peak performance
Most enterprise networks have been cobbled together over the years to meet specific operational demands. Often data, voice, and video requirements were satisfied with different types of lines and services. This made network management difficult and inflated the cost of doing business. Now, corporate intranets that combine voice, data, and video traffic are becoming enterprise networks.
Last Word
In recent years, the trend has been to converge traditionally separate voice, data, and video networks over IP-based intranets, which companies had previously been using for routine tasks, such as e-mail, file transfers, and Web site access. The Internet Protocol (IP) packetizes any type of traffic, allowing voice, data, and video to share the same network and even be integrated into the same application. This convergence permits the development and implementation of new applications such as collaborative computing, unified messaging, and multimedia call centers. IP/PSTN gateways even allow traffic to pass between the intranet and public switched telephone network.
