SAP Hardware Solutions: Servers, Storage, and Networks for mySAP.com

Summary

This chapter addressed the design of the long-range data transmission part of an SAP infrastructure. Wide area networks provide the communications pathway between geographically dispersed sites in a corporate network infrastructure. In most cases, long distance connections have to be leased from telecommunication providers. Bandwidth over long distances is still a rare and therefore expensive resource, especially across national borders. The costs for transmission capacity can be a major part of the total operating cost of an enterprise-wide SAP system. Because the wide area network connection is truly a lifeline for a remote office, plant, subsidiary, or affiliate, high-availability considerations and failure-tolerant architectures are ...