Chapter 10. Other Enabling Technologies

This chapter briefly discusses four technologies and includes the following sections:

• IP Multicast

• Increasing Network Availability

• Storage Networking

• IP Version 6

This chapter briefly describes four technologies that can be incorporated into your network design. In addition to the information provided in this chapter and because these topics are only briefly covered here, references to additional information on each of these topics are also included.

The chapter first introduces how IP multicast technology enables networks to send data to a group of end stations in the most efficient way. Next, the chapter describes the factors that affect the availability of a network and ways that it can be improved. Storage networking, that is, enabling storage devices to be accessed over the network, is then explored. The chapter concludes with a discussion of IP version 6 (IPv6), the next generation of the Internet Protocol.

Note

Appendix B, "Network Fundamentals," includes material that we assume you understand before reading the rest of the book. Thus, we encourage you to review any of the material in Appendix B that you are not familiar with before reading the rest of this chapter.