8 Tips for Better Networking in a Capital Constrained Environment

5. Make it work harder -- consider virtualisation

There is a lot of noise these days from vendors and service providers about the value of storage and server virtualisation. When you do the sums it is clear the concept behind the enabling technology is sound and the cost/benefit equation looks pretty attractive so long as you have a quality network underpinning it.

The fundamental principle behind virtualisation is to optimise the use of available processing power and storage capacity. Many organisations have an array of dispersed servers performing differing tasks. They are often only ever using about 5-10 percent of available CPU cycles and 10-20 percent disk space. Clearly this is an ineffective use of your computing resources.

Server virtualisation effectively uses a larger computer, subdividing the pool of its processing power and memory into an array of internally partitioned “computers” that run diverse applications inside the one box, thus achieving higher resource usage.

Similarly, virtualised storage solutions -- such as SAN (Storage Area Networks), NAS (Network Attached Storage) and CAS (Content Address Storage) -- consolidate disk space into centralised, larger storage devices. These concepts are not new, but they have matured significantly and make good sense in tougher economic times.

As well as savings in the actual physical infrastructure, benefits include reduced power requirements, lower administrative overheads and less maintenance. Virtualisation has a pretty good business case on bottom line benefits alone but it also has the really important side-effect of setting you down a path towards more responsible and environmentally friendly IT operations.

6. Converged communications are here

Convergence is another commonly evangelised technology concept that has been largely misunderstood in the past. Most organisations have in some form or manner integrated the carriage of voice, video and data over the same network. If you haven’t done this yet, then you are missing out on potentially significant cost savings.

Moving all of your data traffic onto one network is easier and more affordable than ever and there is little or no doubt that VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is here to stay. This is because the business case stacks up so well for organisations with multiple, dispersed locations.

It is a well-known fact, that for network voice and video to match up to their traditional counterparts, a capable network must be used. Thankfully, the advent of affordable, high-performance Ethernet-based Layer 2 VPNs brings flexible, high-capacity, self-manageable networks well within reach with flat fees and limited added costs.

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