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Ideally, end users
with common interests or work patterns are placed in the same
logical network as the servers they access most. Most of the traffic
within these logical networks is contained on the local LAN segment.
This simple task effectively minimizes the load on the network
backbone.
As shown in the Figure, the 80/20
rule states that in a properly designed network, 80 percent of the
traffic on a given network segment is local. No more than 20 percent
of the network traffic should move across the backbone of the
network. Backbone congestion is an indication that traffic patterns
are not meeting the 80/20 rule. In this case, rather than adding
switches or replacing hubs with switches, network administrators can
improve network performance by doing one of the following:
- Moving resources such as
applications, software programs, and files from one server to
another to contain traffic locally within a workgroup.
- Moving users logically, if not
physically, so that the workgroups more closely reflect the
actual traffic patterns.
- Adding servers so that users can
access them locally without having to cross the backbone.
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