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The key requirements placing pressure on
the emerging campus designs are as follows:
- Fast convergence - This
requirement stipulates that the network must be able to adapt
very quickly to changes in the network topology, such as failed
links and insertion of new devices on the network. Fast
convergence becomes even more critical as the campus network
grows in geographic scope. This is illustrated in the animation,
where you see an example of link failure.
- Deterministic paths - This
requirement allows for a device or an administrator to make a
decision based on the desirability of a given path to a
destination for certain applications or user groups.
- Redundancy - This
requirement specifies that a mechanism (such as redundant links
or devices) is in place to ensure the network is operational at
all times. In the graphic, you can see that every switch has
redundant links.
- Scalable - This requirement
states that as the network grows and new applications are added,
the infrastructure must be able to handle the increased traffic
demands. The graphic illustrates a highly scalable hierarchical
design.
- Centralized applications -
This requirement dictates that centralized applications are
available to support most or all users on the network. In the
graphic, the server farm is in a centralized location using the
same hop count for each area of the network.
- The new 20/80 rule - This
requirement focuses on the shift in traditional traffic
patterns.
- Multiprotocol support -
This requirement specifies that campus networks must be able to
support multiprotocol environments.
- Multicasting - This
requirement demands that campus networks be able to support IP
multicast traffic in addition to IP unicast traffic.
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