Evolution of network architectures

The ability to transport large volumes of data over a terrestrial infrastructure cost-efficiently opens the potential for performing enterprise (or military) functions and operations in new, and innovative ways. The paper describes the evolution of transport networks, driven by advances in technology and customer demands for increased reliability/survivability, reduced cost, and greater capacity between locations. The challenge for the designer of wide area, high-speed transport networks is to ensure that the infrastructure provides the reliable and survivable transport needed to satisfy the operational needs of the enterprise by examining approaches to the design of wide area networks and how leading-edge technologies interact to achieve network reliability and survivability. Finally, this paper describes the numerous factors that must be considered when migrating customer services from one transport technology to another transport technology particularly in terms of network survivability and system reliability