How To Build Networks With ZipHow To Build Networks With Zip

Quick! What are the top technologies any real-time network needs to perform reliably and responsively? Answer too quickly and your network may be destined to fail. Business-technology executives must take considerable time to assess everything from servers to bandwidth, avoiding potential choke points that can poison any real-time business strategy.

Only 32% of business-technology executives say they have an infrastructure capable of supporting instantaneous data delivery, according to an information Research survey. Yet 74% say senior company executives have asked IT to reduce the time it takes for key operational data to reach their desks.

"Real-time data is a huge advantage from a customer standpoint," says Ron Berger, managing director of IT for freight shipper Emery Forwarding. It's no surprise that 57% of IT executives say network upgrades are the most significant investment their companies have made in the past year to improve real-time flow of data. Several key components help businesses operate in real time.

Fault-tolerant servers are the engine for real-time computing, ensuring that systems will continue to operate despite any single hardware failure. When a server fails, the whole real-time machine is threatened. One way to prevent this is to cluster servers so that jobs are rerouted to other servers if one link in the chain goes down. Another option is to invest in a system, such as Dell Computer's PowerVault, Hewlett-Packard's NonStop, or IBM's p690, with built-in fault-tolerance.

Storage is key in making sure that data is easily accessible. If customers need superfast access to stored data, they should assess solid-state disk storage. Working from silicon instead of spinning spindles in a hard-disk drive, solid-state disk drives will move data at least five times faster than conventional drives.

Advanced routers and switches are the traffic lights of the network that quickly and efficiently direct data from one point to the next with minimal delays. LAN switches should support Fast Ethernet and routers should have forwarding speeds of about 100,000 packets per second. Vendors such as Cisco Systems, Efficient Networks, Foundry Networks, and Juniper Networks provide routers that also prioritize packets, sending the most important ones first. Content cache, load balancing, and media streaming servers help lighten the load of routers.

High-speed bandwidth and plenty of alternative paths linking employees, partners, and data centers keeps data from getting stuck in traffic jams. Few large companies get by without a DS-3 or OC-3 access line to the Web; remote offices need a minimum of T1. Most businesses have this problem licked, but 18% say they don't have enough network bandwidth to handle real-time data needs.

Handheld devices let real-time businesses give their mobile employees access to customer, inventory, and product information. "The earlier we can give them data, the better," Emery's Berger says. Handhelds from vendors such as Compaq, HP, and Palm, coupled with wireless services give businesses access to information wherever their employees are located.

Business-continuity planning is also a crucial element for real-time business. Companies must install redundant access lines, mirror data in separate locations using replication software and 200 Mbyte-per-second Fibre Channel switches, and use management software to detect problems before network performance suffers.

A secure network is also crucial for network performance. Firewalls and intrusion-detection systems are a must, but also consider tokens, such as RSA Security Inc.'s SecureID, to control access.