Introduction
Business requirements for modern enterprise and service provider networks are in a constant state of flux. From software upgrades to network mergers and acquisitions, the complexity of adapting business requirements to the network spans from trivial cable moves between adjacent devices to dismantling or repurposing a complete location.
Networking has evolved exponentially over the past 30 years. From a business point of view, networking did not exist 30 years ago, except for some private networks or IBM mainframes. Newer technologies have led to the evolution of features so that they are better fits for business applications. Some of our daily technologies such as mobile communications or the worldwide span of the Internet were inconceivable even 15 years ago, and they are now the cornerstone of business-critical services.
The drivers for network migrations are not simply technological evolution, politics, and organizational changes. A simple review of networking wireline and mobile service providers shows how many company acquisitions, joint ventures, integrations, and mergers have taken place across the globe over the last ten years. An indirect result of such business transactions is the need for integration, ranging from complete network mergers to a simple peering or interconnection.
Integration challenges are not limited to service providers. Enterprise networks are also eligible for integration scenarios as a result of internal turbulence and acquisitions, ...
