Steps to take: assess, RFP, implement

Document the following:

1. Number of sites and bandwidth to each.

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Step 1: Assess your network needs

Document the following:

1. Number of sites and bandwidth to each.

2. Devices and device configurations.

3. Your applications. How many applications do you have? What are they? How often are they used, and by whom?

Click to see: Go with the flowchart

4. Application characteristics. Describe the network characteristics of your applications. Are they store-and-forward (i.e., latency insensitive)? Or interactive? How “chatty” are they? In typical usage scenarios, how much bandwidth do they consume? How does that vary by time of day/week/month/year?

5. Other networks. Be sure to include applications that may be on other networks — particularly video and voice). You’ll want to document your current and planned voice, video and conferencing use.

6. Future plans. Network capacity requirements may change dramatically when that new ERP application rolls into production in 2009. Be sure to include any upcoming application .

7. Document to the best of your abilities your current availability and service guarantees. You’ll need them to craft meaningful SLAs with your providers downstream.