IS605/606: Information Systems Instructor: Dr. Boris Jukic Managing Telecommunications

Evolving Telecommunications Scene  Infrastructure of Old is Analog: PTSN Public Switched Telephone Network (POTS, Plain Old Telephone System)  Infrastructure of New: Digital, Packet Switched From Focus on Voice To Focus on Data Everything can be treated as data packets, but with different traffic parameters  Web (medium bandwidth, medium response time, some packet loss tolerable)  (low bandwidth, slow response time, packet loss tolerable)  audio, video streaming, (very high bandwidth, minimum response time, some packet loss tolerable)  real time telephony and video conferencing (medium to high bandwidth, minimum response time, some packet loss tolerable)  real time gaming (high bandwidth, minimum response time, very little to no packet loss tolerable)

Internet as the Network of Choice Origin in 1960’s: ARPANET Until 1994,mostly a research and scientific network 1994: WWW (T. Berners Lee) – First web sites, browsers appear Internet: the global network Internet Protocols are the network protocols of choice in many corporate networks as well

XYZ company: An Educational Example, Integrating all the technologies Remote Access: traveling staff, telecommuters, etc. – Dial up modem available everywhere where regular telephone line exists Low data rate (speed): 56Kbps – DSL Also uses local telephone lines, however at much higher data rates (outside the regular voice frequency spectrum): 1-2 Mbps Additional equipment installation at user’s premises Distance limitations: user must be within a few miles form telephone company’s switching facility Always on: no data transmission set-up is needed – Cable Uses cable system infrastructure Additional equipment installation at user’s premises: cable modem High data rate : 10 Mbps, however this bandwidth is ‘shared” by other users sharing the same switching facility (a residential subdivision for example)

XYZ company: An Educational Example, Integrating all the technologies LAN: (Local Area Networks): choice of equipment – Hubs: broadcast mode only, when a sender sends something, it is broadcast to all other machines on the network, works well with small networks, but causes too much congestion in larger ones – Switches: direct sender – to - receiver (PC to PC, PC to Server) communication within one LAN – Routers: direct communications between a sender and receiver across multiple LAN’s, even if they are based on many different technologies Choice of LAN technologies – Ethernet: regular (10MBps), Fast (100Mbps) or Dual (10/100 Mbps) De facto LAN “standard” for wire based networks Based on” collision detection” principle – Token Ring More predictable performance, no collisions; “better mousetrap” Much smaller market share: equipment not as inexpensive or as widely available – Wireless ( standards) Instant network, no costly wire installation, physical issues, still exits and careful planning is needed: obstacles, dead zones Decent bandwidth, however, it is shared and performance drops drastically with higher number of users

National Semiconductor Case – Key product: “Information Appliance” technology – Product is used un many different devices made by many different manufacturers – An extensive “Extranet” was needed – Initial Solution: two “mirrored” servers in Hong Kong and Germany Further in-house expansion very expensive – Current Solution: Third Party Data Center (by Cable & Wireless) Lower cost “Edge servers” provide wide coverage with fast downloads Added services; Language Translation and local content adaptation

Voice Over IP Option 1: Use standard telephone equipment and local loop – use VoIP only for long distance portion of the transmission (corporate WAN, or third party WAN and/or telecommunication provider) Option 2: PC to PC conversation – Transmission over the public Internet: Net2Phone, Skype Option 3: IP telephone (an information appliance) – Transmission over the public Internet; low or no cost – Transmission over the third party provider’s IP network: better quality, charges involved, but still much less than the standard phone call Combination of all three options

Bandwidth Abundance Discussion Prediction: bandwidth (measured in bps: bits per second) will grow at rate that is 10 times faster than growth in computing power (measured in MIPS, and historically following Moore’s Law) Will we reach the era of “bandwidth abundance” – Laying fiber optic cables and installing fiber optic equipment is expensive: very high up front, fixed cost – Does demand exist for such technology that justifies the investment? Telecomm. Companies got burned in “dark fiber”; lots of unused capacity

Value of Wireless Transmission Network: cases Louisville Metro Sewer District – Real time on site customer record access BMW – Real time inventory data collection on the plant floor through RF tags – Real time data transferred to suppliers over the wired network for accurate, real time inventory information update throughout the supply chain

Role of IT department in managing communications infrastructure Create and update telecom architecture – Connectivity: mechanisms, technologies and policies – Interoperability: between computers, software applications and network technologies Operate and manage the network resources – Third party SLA (Service Level Agreement) monitoring – Chargeback, other accounting issues – Security monitoring – Repair, maintenance, upgrades, new installations – Priority mechanisms, unauthorized usage monitoring Staying informed about new and changing communications technologies – New opportunities, and threats – Strategic and tactical focus