Lans and Mans: Driving Enterprise

¶ … LANs and MANs: Driving Enterprise Cloud Computing

The economics of enterprise networking are going through a disruptive period of innovation, driven by the increasing adoption of cloud computing and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) software applications. The continual evolution of Local Area Networks (LANs) and Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs) continue to accelerate the use of private cloud computing throughout enterprises as well. The cost advantages of cloud computing, including the relatively low operating expense (OPEX) levels relative to traditionally high capital expense (CAPEX) costs of traditional enterprise applications are also accelerating innovation in LANs and MANs.

Creating Large, More Diverse Global Networks

The ubiquity of cloud computing is also driving a major shift in the protocols, including error checking and speeds attainable with LAN and MAN-based command structures (Menachi, Avin, Giladi, 2012). The trend towards greater levels of protocol configuration is making it possible to create MAN configurations that can scale across more locations in a given metro region with a greater versatility of user-based options and parameters (de Mello, Goularte, Dodonov, Yang, Park, Kim, 2009).

The continual growth of cloud computing and data centers is also enabling entirely new applications to be created and used across enterprises as well. Video streaming as both a learning platform and a core component of marketing strategies continues to accelerate. The corresponding demands of LAN and MAN performance specifically for video streaming are also accelerating the trend of cloud optimization, using these two networking protocols (de Mello, Goularte, Dodonov, Yang, Park, Kim, 2009). In conjunction with these changes in application mix and use there is a corresponding increase in how LANs and MANs are configured to support a broader and more varied base of content recipients as well.

This aspect of configuring the LAN and MAN networks to better support individualized, often highly customized configuration for a given group or segment of users is accelerating as well. A case in point is how many enterprises are using video streaming to increase multi-audience broadcasting of their video content for training, marketing or services-related goals (de Mello, Goularte, Dodonov, Yang, Park, Kim, 2009).