Page 492 - Handbook of Modern Telecommunications

Network Organization and Governance 4-23

4.2.6.3 Networks and Network Equipment
Networking infrastructures differentiate between transport and access networks. The media are identi-
cal in both cases: wire, coax, fiber, and airwaves.
Typical examples of transport network equipment are: switches, bridges, multiplexers, routers, ampli-
fiers, activators, fault diagnostic tools, and element managers.
The access segment consists of two principal groups: provider equipment and customer equipment.
The line of demarcation is usually drawn by ownership. Often, Customer Premises Equipment (CPEs)
are managed by telecommunications service providers.
On the provider side, the following equipment is common: edge routers traffic shapers, load balanc-
ers, gatekeepers, gateways, firewalls, and Web switches.
4.2.6.4 Real-Time Infrastructure (RTI) solutions
Real-time infrastructures can bring substantial IT benefits, but many issues remain. When selecting
vendors, the following ten questions may be very helpful.
A real-time infrastructure (RTI) is an IT infrastructure shared across customers, business units,
or applications, where business policies and service-level agreements drive its dynamic and automatic
optimization. A benefit promised by automating IT systems includes a self-optimizing, self-healing, and
self-configuring shared infrastructure.

4.2.6.4.1 What will the RTI implementation cost? How will its return on investment be measured?
The various pricing methodologies that vendors apply to leading management products present a chal-
lenge to many operations and procurement departments. An RTI is likely to be even more difficult to
calculate. A return on investment analysis of an RTI needs to look at alternatives. Compare the cost of
current solutions (such as less-expensive commodity hardware that relies on expensive human labor) to
the cost of complex and potentially fragile software that likely will prove to be of higher value over time.
An RTI implementation will consist of many parts, including monitoring systems, resource allocation
technologies, data repositories, policy engines, and developer tools. Keep in mind what all these ele-
ments will cost. Ensure that you also include product, service, operational, and maintenance costs.

4.2.6.4.2 What is the vendor’s road map for deliverables?
A vendor may require years to create and evolve a fully implemented RTI strategy. All of the components
may not be in place when you evaluate a vendor’s products and services. Nevertheless, as early as pos-
sible, you should ask the vendor for specific information regarding its intended deliverables and release
schedule. You cannot plan an RTI road map for your enterprise or manage the risks involved in this
expensive, elaborate undertaking unless you know how the vendor intends to develop and release the
technology to market. To ascertain whether the vendor understands what will be necessary to fulfill its
vision of the RTI, you should also discuss how much it plans to deliver through organic development
and acquisitions.

4.2.6.4.3 How will the vendor’s product integrate with RTI initiatives from other suppliers?
Few, if any, enterprises rely on a single vendor for their entire IT infrastructure. For example, many
companies combine offerings from IBM and Microsoft. Yet these two vendors tout competing visions
and technologies for the RTI. If you use both vendors’ products and services, then ensure that their
policies and automation actions are able to flow seamlessly across each other’s RTI fabrics. The dilemma
posed by such integration is reminiscent of the problems that enterprises encountered with manage-
ment frameworks. To this day, these frameworks fail to interoperate effectively. In addition, the archi-
tectural complexity embedded within the RTI furthers “lock in” with the vendors you initially select.
Thus, you need to weigh the benefits and drawbacks of having fewer options with regard to third-party
management vendors.