Convergence – You Really Must Investigate.
IP Converged Network
What is IP Convergence?
IP Convergence is the marriage of different types of internet traffic such as voice, data, video, and images over a single network. The integrated network is based on the Internet Protocol (IP).
Businessmen have long desired a single network that would allow them to transfer both voice and data. Information and Communication is now the key assets and companies realize the importance of investing in networks that facilitate all enterprise telecommunications. Enterprise networks that are based on the Internet Protocol network technology are today at the forefront of answering businesses’ requirement for a useful and cost-effective network that can serve as the backbone for all enterprise communication needs. Along with meeting the challenges posed by the physical integration of the network, it is also important to ensure that the aggregated flow of traffic meets acceptable quality of service and functionality requirements as fulfilled by the discrete networks.
The core aspects that dictate the implementation and operation of an IP convergent network include integrating discrete network elements; staying up-to-date with IP and its associated protocols; and having systems in place to manage voice, data, and video traffic for multimedia applications.
Benefits of IP Convergence
A converged IP network is a single platform on which interoperable devices can be run in innovative ways. IP is an open standard, it is vendor independent and this helps in fostering interoperability and improving network efficiency in terms of time and cost. The sphere of IP convergence encompasses networks, devices, and different technologies and systems that can be operated on a unified network.
Convergence will allow excellent support for multimedia applications. Improved connectivity means that devices can be assigned specific tasks; the number of devices required is less which makes installation and operation an easier task. A converged IP network is easier to manage because of the uniform setup in which the system resources operate. Training users is easy.
An IP convergent network is capable of making use of the developments in class of service differentiation and QoS-based routing. This leads to better utilization of resources and also allows for capacity redundancy to take care of an increase in the number of users. If you can measure it, you can manage it!
Companies can achieve flexibility in terms of tailoring its communication strategies to its management practices. This is a dynamic process that can be progressively improved with collaboration from network partners.
IP networks have proven to be outstandingly progressive and this has been one of the prime reasons that even large companies have gone ahead with implementing IP. Applications that run on IP networks are available all over the world; in fact most new business applications include inbuilt IP support.
Business applications have different tolerance levels for transit delays, dropped packets, and error rates. IP architecture is capable of handling these so that the QoS reflects the requirements of the different applications. Be assured, IP technology is now bullet proof.
Security management is seeing continuous development taking place, and networks now are safe.
A converged IP network offers a business tremendous cost savings in terms of hardware and space utilization. It opens up more markets that can be reached, more products that can be introduced, increases employee productivity and mobility, and enables even smaller companies to compete with larger ones because of faster information relay.
The initial and most obvious consequence of integrating secure and discrete network elements is that with a reduction in the number of nodes in a network, the operating and maintenance costs go down. A converged IP network means that there are always opportunities available for efficient bandwidth utilisation. Routing PSTN traffic over an IP network is one sure way of improving network effectiveness and capacity use. Facsimiles have for long presented a problem for routing over an IP network but recent advances have made it possible to transfer faxes as IP packets and they present another excellent avenue for maximizing IP network capacity. Connectivity and wiring costs, whether to the user’s work station or to the provider’s facility, are reduced.
The emergence of VoIP has played a major role in pushing enterprises to evolve toward introducing IP networks. Converging communications technology through IP protocol means that you can link sub-systems and networks that include shared Ethernet LANs, dedicated WAN links and ATM networks. IP convergence also implies various legacy technologies resulting in a consistent and uniform experience at the user interface; where a single device is used to access applications like telephony and video. Thus, IP convergence also leads to application or device convergence.
