Ups and downs

Enterprise-wide IP integration might be a distant goal, but the advent of the multi-protocol router made it possible for companies to realize a degree of integration by collapsing different types of traffic onto a single backbone. While there are benefits to this level of integration, there are also drawbacks.

The benefits:

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Enterprise-wide IP integration might be a distant goal, but the advent of the multi-protocol router made it possible for companies to realize a degree of integration by collapsing different types of traffic onto a single backbone. While there are benefits to this level of integration, there are also drawbacks.

The benefits:

• Routing non-IP protocols in IP routers means these protocols are administered by the same IT staff that administers IP protocols, thus reducing duplication of effort and resources.
  
  

• IP isn't always the most efficient way for a LAN to operate. For example, Novell NetWare (IPX) and Banyan Vines provide more efficient file and print services for PCs than does IP's Network File System.
  
  

• Routing non-IP protocols increases your network's flexibility.
  
  

• When push comes to shove, most network protocols share many similarities. If a router can handle one efficiently, it can generally handle others.
  
  

The drawbacks:

• Multi-protocol network design is more demanding. Each protocol has its own rules for routing and address assignment, and these rules often conflict with each other.
  
  

• A multi-protocol router is significantly more complex than a single-protocol router, so weaknesses in the implementation of one protocol might affect the stability of others.
  
  

• Some protocol families don't scale as well as others and might not work well in a WAN.
  
  

• IT groups need an expert in each protocol they route to understand its capabilities and troubleshoot problems.
  
  

• Each routed protocol demands its own routing table (and possibly a dynamic routing protocol as well), putting extra load on router equipment.
  
  

Read more about voip & convergence in Network World's VoIP & Convergence section.