10.8 Conclusion

In this chapter, we discussed the process of selecting network technologies for your design. There are numerous sources of information that you can use in this process, information that you have gathered, derived, and developed as part of the analysis and architecture processes. This information—including user, application, device, and other requirements; maps of location-dependent information; flows and the flow specification; architectural and design goals; design criteria; and guidelines—will be helpful in making technology selections. In particular, developing a set of design goals and evaluation criteria is critical to making technology choices.

In this chapter, we also discussed how to segment the network into areas, based on geography/topology, flow hierarchies, or user concentrations, and how to focus on each particular area using black boxes to conceal details of selected areas.

Although this book attempts to be vendor independent, a listing of potential vendors may need to be included in the technology selection process. As you proceed through the design process (and on into procurement and implementation), technology selection will evolve into product selection. Technology selections that start as vendor independent will evolve to incorporate vendor information, even if it is nothing more than potential vendors of that technology.

Having made technology selections for our network, we will learn in the next chapter how to interconnect these technologies, thus bringing the network design together.