Networking's 50 greatest arguments

Perhaps the only thing more fun than working on and playing with network technologies is arguing about them. Macs vs. PCs. Ethernet vs. Token Ring. Outsourcing vs. keeping it in-house. Here's our take on the nastiest, most colorful and in some cases, still unresolved network industry arguments. Read up and weigh in.

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Perhaps the only thing more fun than working on and playing with network technologies is arguing about them. Macs vs. PCs. Ethernet vs. Token Ring. Outsourcing vs. keeping it in-house. Here's our take on the nastiest, most colorful and in some cases, still unresolved network industry arguments. Read up and weigh in.

• Mac vs. PC
• MicroChannel vs. EISA and PCI
• DEC vs. IBM
• Centralized vs. distributed data center
• Tape backup vs. disk backup
• NAS vs. SAN
• Fibre Channel vs. iSCSI
• Intel vs. AMD
• VMware vs. Xen  

• Outsourcing vs. in-house
• Standards vs. proprietary
• X.500 vs. LDAP
• Agent software vs. agentless software
• Net management frameworks vs. net management point products

• IPv4 vs. IPv6
• X2 vs. K56flex modem
• Ethernet vs. Token Ring
• OSI and SNA vs. TCP/IP
• AT&T vs. U.S. Justice Department
• Routing vs. switching
• Bells vs. CLECs
• Frame relay vs. ATM
• Cisco vs. Juniper/3Com/Cabletron/Bay Networks
• Packet switching vs. circuit switching
• PBX vs. Centrex  
• Network neutrality vs. tiered services
• Frame relay vs. VPNs
• VoIP vs. TDM voice
• WAN Ethernet vs. MPLS network services
• QoS vs. throwing bandwidth at the problem
• DSL vs. cable

• Immediate flaw alerts vs. disclosing with patches
• IDS vs. IPS
• IPSec vs. SSL
• Perimeter security vs. inside security

• Software-as-a-service vs. packaged applications
• Open source software vs. commercial software
• NetWare vs. Microsoft networking
• Windows vs. OS/2
• Microsoft vs. U.S. Justice Department
• Microsoft IE vs. Netscape Navigator
• Windows vs. Unix
• Java vs. .Net
• Lotus Notes vs. Microsoft Exchange

• Corporate-controlled devices vs. employee-owned devices
• BlackBerry vs. Palm
• Municipal Wi-Fi vs. 3G
• Fat wireless LAN access points vs. thin wireless LAN access points
• CDMA vs. GSM
• Wireless LANs vs. wired LANs

• 10 ALL-TIME GREATEST ARGUMENTS
• 1. Mac vs. PC
• 2. Open source software vs.
  Commercial software
• 3. Ethernet vs. Token Ring
• 4. NetWare vs. Microsoft networking
• 5. Standards vs. proprietary
• 6. DEC vs. IBM
• 7. Routing vs. switching
• 8. Outsourcing vs. in-house
• 9. Immediate flaw alerts vs. disclosing with patches
• 10. Wireless LANs vs. Wired LANs
• 10 HOTTEST NETWORKING ARGUMENTS
• 1. Open source software vs. commercial software
• 2. Outsourcing vs. in-house
• 3. Software-as-a-service vs. packaged applications
• 4. Perimeter security vs. inside security
• 5. IPv4 vs. IPv6
• 6. Corporate-controlled devices vs. employee-owned devices
• 7. Wireless LANs vs. Wired LANs
• 8. Network neutrality vs. tiered services
• 9. Fibre Channel vs. iSCSI
• 10. Agent software vs. agentless software

Read more about lans & wans in Network World's LANs & WANs section.