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Consider the following scenario: What would happen if all such devices automatically communicated with each other? The demands on the network become fairly clear. For this example, consider that no fundamental changes have occurred from a business or humanistic perspective.
Let’s say I received an e-mail message informing me that a friend is flying into the local airport at noon. I received the message at 10 a.m., and I’ve just gone to a meeting.
What if the network allowed a parser (a program that scans text) in my e-mail application to identify this message as being important—beyond the scope of urgent used today. The application could connect to my PDA over a wireless link and determine that I had just entered a meeting. Rather than disturbing me, the application could also determine that I had no plans for lunch. The application could send a response to my friend noting that I was unavailable to confirm, but that I would tentatively agree to lunch. Another application could propose three restaurants in the area.
My friend would respond to the e-mail and note that the $100-hamburger place at the airport was fine (ask a pilot if you don’t get the reference). My calendar (possibly as part of my PDA) would automatically receive the update and, when my meeting was over, pop up a confirmation. An application could also automatically make a reservation at the restaurant, again over the network.
Notice how much of this exchange relied on the application layer and not the network. However, the applications required complete interconnectivity between devices—wireline and wireless—in order to complete the process.
It is likely that the majority of the hurdles in the foreseeable future will be based in Layer 8—politics. Even the end-user financial issues will pale in comparison, according to many researchers. As the model migrates toward services rather than transport, network designers will likely need to concern themselves less with the minutiae of packet flows and more with the interoperability of the services themselves. Stated another way, the challenge will be to explain and address corporate needs in nontechnical ways while also understanding the interoperability of the applications and their individual links. Billing for packets, for example, may become one of many new areas that require attention from the designer.
Few would argue that the computer revolution has just begun. There are legitimate concerns regarding the ability of the marketplace to continue support of such rapid and massive change. However, it appears probable that change will continue at a rapid pace.
This chapter dealt with some of the issues that confront network designers but that are not part of the Cisco exam objectives. In reality, this chapter could continue for quite some length, as the release of new products requires an ever-increasing dialog regarding the functionality that can be exploited from network technology.
I hope that you’ve enjoyed this text and wish you luck on both your exam and future endeavors. I sincerely believe that this text, coupled with some real-world experience, will easily prepare you for the CID exam. I also hope that this text will also become part of your permanent library for reference and reflection—Todd and I have both worked to add value that will transcend the short-term goal of certification.
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