Networks don't just ferry packets around your office anymore. We look at some of the latest developments in networking that allow your network to manage itself more intelligently.
With everything from intelligent switched routers to self-diagnosing servers, networks are getting smarter and better at ferrying your packets around the place. How are vendors putting more smarts into networks?
According to Cisco Systems distinguished engineer Michael Boland, intelligence comes into the basic task of routing when the behaviour of a router changes according to the packets it is forwarding, for example based on where they originated or their age.
With policy-based routing, anything can trigger a policy. An unpaid bill might relegate traffic to a low-performance link, a network failure would lead to rerouting around the fault, or traffic from certain classes of user might always be sent over encrypted links.
This can even extend to the core network, for example to put more bandwidth at the disposal of a particular part of the network.
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