| Token-Ring networks have been around for about 20 years . When the technology was first developed, PCs were not as an important a business tool as they are today. The main rationale for hooking a PC to a corporate network in the early days was to provide access to larger computer systems, such as mainframes and minicomputer systems. In that kind of scenario, most of the data flow was within a small workgroup of computers with only a small percentage of network traffic from PCs traveling over a backbone to a larger wide area network. In today's client/server atmosphere, in which intensive traffic loads can be generated by applications such as multimedia or Web servers, this might not be the case. Some vendors , however, produce Token-Ring equipment that operates at speeds faster than the 4Mbps and 16Mbps standard speeds (such as 100Mbps), so this might not be the case in your network. Such faster equipment comes with a price, and as Ethernet bandwidth continues to grow, you probably should consider upgrading to Ethernet rather than upgrading a slower Token-Ring network to a faster one. One of the reasons, besides the cost, is that the future of Token-Ring is uncertain at this point. Tip There are hard- core Token-Ring gurus who do not want to see the technology go away. Because faster, newer Ethernet equipment has already incorporated functionality that makes it a better choice than Token-Ring, Token-Ring will not see a lot of new feature development. For the curious , there is the Wireless Token-Ring Protocol (WTRP). You can find out more about this at http://eecs.berkeley.edu/~ergen/WTRP/wtrp.ppt. And who would you expect to be selling WTRP? Just visit http://pc.ibm.com/us/accessories/ comms .html. It seems that some companies never give up. You probably won't find WTRP hardware for home or SOHO use. You won't even find it in your local computer store. If you need this type of hardware, scan the Web or use the IBM URL just mentioned. | Some might argue that Token-Ring has built-in mechanisms for handling heavy traffic loads because its basic frame structure includes bits set aside for prioritization. However, in reality not many manufacturers have implemented priority-based schemes using these bits. Although there have been some technological improvements in Token-Ring over the years, they are a far cry from the changes that have been made to Ethernet standards. If your network is already made up of Token-Ring equipment, you will have to justify maintaining that environment. Today, Ethernet far surpasses Token-Ring in the LAN area. When justifying the cost of upgrading a Token-Ring network to Ethernet, consider the following: -
The cost of the hardware portion, both now and in the future. Can you be sure that there will be a sufficient number of vendors producing Token-Ring devices in the future to keep prices in a reasonable range? Will there be enough vendors involved to promote the development of new and innovative additions to the technology? Ethernet devices, from network cards to switches, along with most other equipment, are much cheaper than equivalent Token-Ring items. The large marketplace of Ethernet vendors makes it easy to get quality devices that are targeted to specific markets. For example, Ethernet network adapter cards can be had for under $100, and usually for under $20. Small switches for a departmental LAN are available for a few hundred dollars, and even smaller ones (four ports) are now going for $50 “$100. -
Will you be able to continue to find technicians who are proficient in Token-Ring technology, or will you find yourself spending additional funds training new employees ? Because it is so pervasive in the world today, Ethernet gives rise to better support options ”from vendor support to the pool of technicians that you hire to manage your network. -
Will you be forced to find some kind of interoperability solution in the near future if your business merges with another that already has a large installed base of Ethernet equipment? -
Ethernet has been an ongoing project of the IEEE 802 Committee. Whereas most Token-Ring equipment still runs at 4 “16Mbps, Ethernet can span from 10Mbps or 100Mbps on the desktop, to gigabit (and now Gigabit Ethernet) in larger networks. IEEE 802.5 does provide for a 100Mbps Token-Ring network adapter, but don't expect the cost to be cheap. In May 2000, the IEEE 802.5 committee decided to "hibernate," saying its business was complete. Since then some new developments have been done on creating standards for faster Token-Ring networks. You can visit the Web site at www.8025.org/, where you'll find that a gigabit standard was completed (P802.5v), but that "there are no known implementations ." To put the preceding point more succinctly, it appears as if Token-Ring is at the end of the road. There are fewer and fewer manufacturers each year of Token-Ring networking gear, and there is little incentive to produce new equipment ”if you can find a gigabit Token-Ring network adapter, this author would like to be informed! |
