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Large Scale Interconnects

Wide Area Network (WAN)

Agenda
LAN/WAN Introductions Real-World Example Wireless WANs WAN Potential

Network Topology

Bus Network with Backbone

Interconnections Between Different Network Types

Star Network Topology

Token Ring Network Topology Self-healing Ring Topology Two rings

Token Ring In 1984, IBM introduced the 4 Mbit/s Token Ring network. Instead of the normal plug and socket arrangement of male and female gendered connectors, the IBM data connector (IDC) was a sort of hermaphrodite, designed to mate with itself. Although the IBM Cabling System is to this day regarded as a very high quality and robust data communication media, its large size and cost - coupled with the fact that with only 4 cores it was less versatile than 8-core UTP - saw Token Ring continue fall behind Ethernet in the popularity stakes. It remains IBM's primary LAN technology however and the compatible and almost identical IEEE 802.5 specification continues to shadow IBM's Token Ring development.

FDDI Developed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards committee in the mid-1980s - at a time when high-speed engineering workstations were beginning to tax the bandwidth of existing LANs based on Ethernet and Token Ring - the Fibre Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) specifies a 100 Mbit/s tokenpassing, dual-ring LAN using fibre-optic cable.

Ethernet Ethernet was developed in the mid 1970's by the Xerox Corporation, and in 1979 Digital Equipment Corporation DEC) and Intel joined forces with Xerox to standardise the system. The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) released the official Ethernet standard in 1983 called the IEEE 802.3 after the name of the working group responsible for its development, and in 1985 version 2 (IEEE 802.3a) was released. This second version is commonly known as "Thin Ethernet" or 10Base2, in this case the maximum length is 185m even though the "2" suggest that it should be 200m. Fast Ethernet Fast Ethernet was officially adopted in the summer of 1995, two years after a group of leading network companies had formed the Fast Ethernet Alliance to develop the standard. Operating at ten times the speed of regular 10Base-T Ethernet, Fast Ethernet - also known as 100BaseT - retains the same CSMA/CD protocol and Category 5 cabling support as its predecessor higher bandwidth and introduces new features such as full-duplex operation and autonegotiation.

Client-Server Client-server networking architectures became popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s as many applications were migrated from centralised minicomputers and mainframes to networks of personal computers. The design of applications for a distributed computing environment required that they effectively be divided into two parts: client (front end) and server (back end). The network architecture on which they were implemented mirrored this client-server model, with a user's PC (the client) typically acting as the requesting machine and a more powerful server machine - to which it was connected via either a LAN or a WAN - acting as the supplying machine.

FDDI: Fiber Distributed Data Interface 100 Mbps

Ethernet LAN

Peer-to-peer In a Peer-to-peer networking architecture each computer (workstation) has equivalent capabilities and responsibilities. There is no server, and computers simply connect with each other in a workgroup to share files, printers, and Internet access. It is practical for workgroups of a dozen or less computers, making it common in many SOHO environments, where each PC acts as an independent workstation that stores data on its own hard drive but which can share it with all other PCs on the network.
P2P computing By early 2000 a revolution was underway in an entirely new form of peer-topeer computing. Sparked by the phenomenal success of a number of highly publicised applications, "P2P computing" - as it is commonly referred to heralded a new computing model for the Internet age and had achieved considerable traction with mainstream computer users and members of the PC industry in a very short space of time. The Napster MP3 music file sharing application went live in September 1999, and attracted more than 20 million users by mid-2000

Gigabit Ethernet The next step in Ethernet's evolution was driven by the Gigabit Ethernet Alliance, formed in 1996. The ratification of associated Gigabit Ethernet standards was completed in the summer of 1999, specifying a physical layer that uses a mixture of proven technologies from the original Ethernet Specification and the ANSI X3T11 Fibre Channel Specification: Use of the same variable-length (64- to 1514-byte packets) IEEE 802.3 frame format found in Ethernet and Fast Ethernet is key to the ease with which existing lower-speed Ethernet devices can be connected to Gigabit Ethernet devices, using LAN switches or routers to adapt one physical line speed to the other.

Network Topology

FDDI- Fibre Distributed Data Interface specifies a 100 Mbit/s tokenpassing, dual-ring LAN using fibre-optic cable.
Self Healing Net Dual Ring

WAN Introductions

WAN Introductions
LAN (local area network) - Network that links computers, printers and other devices located in an office, a building or even a campus

WAN (wide area network) - System that extends for greater distances and is used to connect LANs together.

Interconnections To link LANs into a WAN


DSL - Speeds up to a very fast 1.54 Mbps T1- A digital transmission link with a total signaling speed of 1.544 Mbps T3 - Comprised of 28 T1 lines - 45 Mbps OC1 - 51.85 Mbps OC3 - 155.52 Mbps Frame Relay - A telecommunication service designed for cost-efficient data transmission for intermittent traffic between LANs and between endpoints in a WAN

Key Components of a WAN I


Access Router the gateway devices connected to LANs

WAN connections - the actual connectivity between sites

Key Components of a WAN II


DSL (Digital Subscriber Line)
1.54 Mbps

To delivers reliable, high-speed office-to-office connectivity over traditional copper wires Affordable to most small businesses

Security - Prevent any unauthorized people from accessing communications between sites

Real-World Example

WAN (Real-World Example)


Large architecture firm
4 offices
Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles, Washington DC

Reasons for implementing a WAN


Share Internet connection Access email Transfer files Foster the sense of one firm but four offices

The Past
Frame Relay
Past to 2002 Hub-and-spoke topology
Portland was hub 64 Kbps, 128 Kbps, 256 Kbps to other offices

Issues
Expensive Inflexible Requires routers which needed maintenance No way to manage Difficult to troubleshoot

The Past
Frame Relay
Portland
768K

Local Telco

T1
T1
Internet

Frame Relay Non-Meshed

768K

T1

25

Local Telco

Local Telco

256 K

6K

38

4K

Local Telco

256K

256K

T1 K 384

Seattle

Los Angeles

Washington D.C.

The Recent Past


Leased Lines
2002 to 2003 Time Division Multiplexed Leased Lines 50% cost savings over Frame Relay
Increased speed to 1.544Mbp for all offices

Issues
Still hub-and-spoke No more flexibility, just higher speeds and lower costs

The Recent Past


Leased Line
T1 (Internet) T1 (leased line)
Local Telco

Seattle

T1

(In te rn e

t)

T1
T1 (Internet) T1 (Leased Line)
Local Telco

T1 (Leased Line)

T1 (

Int e

Portland

rne

t)

T1 (Internet) T1 (Leased Line)

Local Telco

Los Angeles

T1

(L

ea

se

Lin

e)

T1

(L
n ter (In

ea se d Lin
et)
Internet

e)
Telco

T1 (In te

rne t)
Local Telco

T1 (Internet)
T1 (Leased Line)

T1 (Leased Line)

Washington D.C.

The Present and Future


MPLS Multi-Protocol Label Switching
2003 to Future Fully meshed - 3 Mbps Layer 2 label switching
A label is added to the packet

Benefits
QOS Quality of Service Complete control end-to-end No IP routing so pre-defined path, no hops Extend Ethernet No routers More secure Cost savings Converged network (voice, data, video)

The Present
Partially converged MPLS Network
isdn back up
Videoconferencing Public Internet

Seattle
Local Telco (Qwest)

3M

pbs
i sd n bac ku p

i sd

nb

ac

ku p
Wide Area Network Provider

Portland

9Mbps up ck a b n i sd

3Mbps

D.C.
s
Public Switched Telephone Network Local / Long Distance Local Telco (Verizon)

3M

bp

Los Angeles

Local Telco (PacBell)

The Future
Fully converged MPLS Network (voice/ video/data)
10/10 0
Metro Ethernet Videoconferencing Public Internet

Seattle
ck
ku p

up

bac

k ac

backup

ba

up

Wide Area Network Provider

backup

10/1

00

ba

ck

up
Public Switched Telephone Network Local / Long Distance

10/100

Metro Ethernet

Los Angeles

bac

Portland

ku p

Metro Ethernet

Metro Ethernet

10 10/

D.C.

Why not use a VPN?


Issues
Quality, flexibility, management and ease of use when compared to a private WAN Internet is stable but not a priority in downtime
Vendors cannot guarantee Service Level Agreements (SLAs)

Requires advanced knowledge of IP Security (IPSec) Required special routers with VPN accelerators

WAN enhancement
Riverbed Steelhead appliance
Reduces the latency of the WAN
Latency is the reason why you dont get your full bandwidth
For example, 1.544 Mbps is actually 900 Kbps

TCP/IP has inherent limitations

Reduces 87% of protocol overhead and unnecessary roundtrips.


Increasing bandwidth by 2.6 times

Uses special data sequencing to cache data and only send across changes Transaction prediction Examples
Users in DC connecting to Portland like LAN Backup warm servers across the WAN and replicate the changes

http://www.riverbed.com/

Wireless WANs

Enabling Mobile Users


Mobile Users and Wireless Technology: The Beginning
Started with proprietary wireless technologies Applied to Automated Data Collection years before 802.11a/b/g 802.11b is still most common in industry Small, hand-held wireless computing allow workers to work throughout an entire plant or warehouse, collecting and receiving data real-time Referred to as Wireless Local Area Networking (WLAN)

Wide Area Applications of Wireless Technology


IP Tunneling Wireless Hops Wireless Wide Area Networking (WWAN)

IP Tunneling: Roaming Across Networks


What if users want to work wirelessly across multiple sites?
Could use DHCP and have wireless infrastructure installed at each site IP Tunneling can provide static IP addressing and session persistence Generally uses privately owned networks

IP Tunneling: Roaming Across Networks


What is IP Tunneling?
IP Tunneling uses encapsulation to carry entire original packets across a router using IP The outer IP and other header information is then stripped and the original packet is provided on the wired network Mobile IP is a similar method, defined by TCP/IP Most implementations require a client and/or server to manage Our solution uses encapsulation and spanning tree to extend the wireless network across routers Allows roaming across subnets seamlessly

IP Tunneling Example

Wireless Hops: Extending Wired Networks


Wireless Hops can connect and extend networks
Alternative to wired options for connecting buildings that are 100s of feet or even miles apart Saves trouble and expense Usually 802.11bs range is a few hundred feet, but vendors use high power directional antennas to extend significantly Must have LOS (Line of Sight)

Wireless Hops Example

Wireless WANs

Butwhat if users need to work across a much wider geographic area such as a whole city, or even several states???

Wireless Wide Area Networks:


Helping bring your favorite stuff to a store near you! A well-known customer

Wireless WANs
Some WWAN Fun Facts
This technology allows route drivers to receive and transmit realtime data wherever they are (Earlier solutions involved batched data, sent by modem) Latest networks are shared use, packets-as-needed rather than circuit-based, making them cheaper Several providersmust match standard and provider Must subscribe to providers service Some interfaces use SIM cards for activation, just like mobile phones Basically a cellular technology used for mobile phones as well Limited bandwidths, speed depending on technology and number of channels used Similar to modem speeds: 14.4 Kbps to 114 Kbps Some newer technologies promising 384 Kbps (EDGE)

Wireless WANs
Some Service Types
Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA) Uses multiplexing, which allows numerous signals to occupy a single transmission channel General Packet Radio Services (GPRS) Packet-basedused to provide data to phone and laptops Global System for Mobile communication (GMS) Most widely used worldwide and is the de facto standard in Europe Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE) Newer faster service available since around 2001

Wireless WANs
WWAN Enables Mobile Users to:
Download the days deliveries and orders Enter new orders Track inventory a store has on hand Capture signatures Print receipts Run reports Close out day

Other Customers Include:


UPS DHL Blue Dart (Fedex) Camera based device allowed real estate agents and appraisers to collect property photos

Local and Wide Area Wireless

WAN Potential

Upgrade Fast WAN, More Storage


SEC upgrades infrastructure Increased traffic in imaging and optical character-recognition files System will handle 30 to 50 terabytes of data in first year 2 high-speed 45-Mbps pipes at every office

Cisco, 3Com fire up new WAN routers


Cisco faces more competition than ever Complete refresh of enterprise WAN access routers for 2004 Addresses security concerns/ obsolescent technology will combine VoIP, VPN, firewall and intrusion-detection system (IDS) support

Start-up crams more data onto WAN


Orbit boosts throughput on WAN connections 10 times over TCP TCP can lead to throttled-back connections, Orbit uses a feedback mechanism to use full network connection Sold in pairs with one at each end of a WAN link Pricing ranges from $12,000 for T-I throughput to $50,000 for 200M bit/sec throughput

VoIP for Global Companies


Potential saving of 95%, VoIP averages 2 cents per minute International long distance rates average 53 cents per minute International teleconferencing rates average 20-35 cents per minute Three year window of opportunity

How some rural communities are installing high-speed Internet connections


Cable franchises are not interested in wiring rural areas for broadband 70 small communities are bridging the digital divide on their own Kutztown PA, spent $5 million to bring residents cable TV, telephone and Internet service Fiber-optic lines connect the entire town to the internet; costs is less than half that of private carriers

Thank You

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