Introduction to Network Devices

This WSSRA guide provides a network devices lifecycle guidance as part of the Windows Server System™ Reference Architecture (WSSRA).

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	Executive Summary
	Using the Network Devices Implementation Guides
	Summary

Executive Summary

Computer networks are the circulatory system of any modern information system. They provide the means to deliver and receive information across the multitude of devices and locations needed to run a large enterprise or a small business. The two primary and critical components of any corporate network are routers and switches. These devices are at the core of the network linking together all the local area network (LAN) and wide area network (WAN) segments. Proper selection of these key devices is vital to ensuring that the network meets the business needs for fast, agile service and can adapt to fast changing business needs.

High levels of reliability are also required as customers become more dependent on critical services such as online purchasing and rapid delivery of purchased products. Poor reliability can lead to loss of customer goodwill and potential business; conversely, good reliability helps ensure customer satisfaction and retention.

A well-designed network, with properly placed routers and switches, can help reduce the operational costs and improve the availability, manageability, reliability, and utilization of expensive resources such as telephone links.

Who Should Read This Document Set

The Network Devices document set is written to meet the requirements of information technology (IT) professionals who are responsible for the planning, design, deployment, and operations of network infrastructure in the enterprise, corporate, or branch office environments. The readers of this document set are expected to have an understanding of its technical details; however, service-level expertise is not needed to follow the enterprise-level discussions and to understand the decisions that are made. The document set is broken up into the following five (5) sections:

Each of the four (4) content sections is written for consumption across all IT roles, but each section also holds a specific level of relevance to the varied architecture, planning, building, and operating roles in a typical enterprise IT environment.

What Should Readers Get From This Document Set

This set of service guidance helps the reader through the process of making the best design and implementation decisions based on common business criteria as well as unique needs found in every organization. No design can be a “one size fits all”, so the emphasis of this documentation set is on empowering others through proven and tested best practice standards for an optimized solution.

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Using the Network Devices Implementation Guides

Windows Server System™ Reference Architecture (WSSRA) provides lifecycle guidance for network devices as part of the following documents:

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Summary

The WSSRA service guidance set is intended to help readers understand the available design options, scenario-based design decisions, and then the build, test, and operations specifics for implementing the design for an enterprise-class solution. While the specific design and implementation may not be what is required for your scenario or organization, the process followed can be reapplied in your context to help you make good conscious decisions for the most optimized design to suit your needs.

The network devices guidance includes documents that provide guidance on identifying and understanding issues that are inherent in designing an enterprise-class network device solution that is reliable, secure, scalable, and manageable.

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