| In today's business world it is critical
for companies to deploy supply-chain
management (SCM) systems to enhance
efficiency across the product
lifecycle by streamlining procurement,
production, fulfillment, and distribution
processes. Deploying an SCM solution
that provides the intended return
on investment requires that the
applications, servers, and enterprise
network infrastructure work together
seamlessly. This is easier said
than done and will necessitate
a thorough evaluation of your
bandwidth needs to meet the demand.
SCM solutions require integration
of applications and data across
multiple geographically dispersed
supply chain partners, as well
as internal integration with legacy
systems. To ensure success, your
organization must deploy robust,
end-to-end dedicated bandwidth
that delivers highly reliable
and strictly monitored QoS (Quality
of Service). An SCM solution is
only as strong as the weakest
link in the chain. Access to SCM
applications and data must be
guaranteed for all of your users,
inside and outside the enterprise.
Your company must provide sufficient
bandwidth to support constant
data flow between desktops and
servers at the company headquarters,
geographically dispersed suppliers
and partners, manufacturers, distributors,
customer service call centers,
and for mobile users and teleworkers.
Connections between servers and
desktops must provide the necessary
bandwidth to deliver resource-intensive
services, real-time application
data to all users, and enable
integration of disparate data
sources. At your headquarters
office, where corporate Web, application,
and database servers reside and
WAN links converge, availability
and security are key. A redundant
backbone switching architecture
with Gigabit Ethernet connectivity
to servers and access switches
is often indicated, along with
a modular, enterprise-class routing
platform that supports advanced
security features and WAN bandwidth
management. In order to ensure
availability over time, a successful
SCM solution should be built on
an application design, server
architecture, and network infrastructure
that can grow easily as your business
grows. This is called scalability.
The solution must provide the
ability to easily provision more
WAN bandwidth to meet peak needs,
to scale with fluctuating traffic
between vendors and partners,
and to adapt quickly as supply
chain partners are added or replaced.
To accomplish this, the solution
should readily accommodate new
server connections, partners,
and locations. Network routers
should provide enough capacity
to easily and economically provision
additional bandwidth as traffic
increases, or to add new locations
as the geographic reach of the
supply chain expands. Each location
involved in your SCM infrastructure
will require dedicated bandwidth
to meet the functions conducted
at that location. This likely
will involve some combination
of the following choices and is
dependent on the complexity of
the deployed SCM system and the
size of your organization: - DS3
bandwidth, also known as a T3,
is the reliable, all-purpose,
digital connection for extremely
high-volume requirements. Operating
at 45 Mbps (equivalent to 28 DS1
circuits, or 672 DS0 channels),
DS3 can provide a cost-effective
solution for smaller locations
in the SCM network. With DS3,
you can link your high-volume
host computers for resource sharing
and load balancing. - OC3 bandwidth
is a fiber optic line delivering
155 Mbps (equivalent to 3 DS3
circuits) designed for those who
expect constant, high bandwidth
requirements. For a mid to large
size business implementing a SCM
system....this will likely be
your choice for infrastructure
backbone (e.g. headquarters) bandwidth.
- Gigabit Ethernet is a version
of Ethernet, which supports data
transfer rates of 1 Gigabit (1,000
megabits) per second. Large scale
deployment of SCM systems and
larger organizations will likely
consider this solution. The process
to determine and than find the
appropriate bandwidth solution
for your SCM application can be
a daunting task. Use of an unbiased
professional bandwidth broker
will save your IT staff countless
hours of effort and headaches
while guiding them through the
technology minefields towards
the best choice for system reliability
and cost. I strongly suggest you
take advantage of their expertise.
Michael is the owner of FreedomFire
Communications....including DS3-Bandwidth.com
Michael also authors Broadband
Nation where you're always welcome
to drop in and catch up on the
latest BroadBand news, tips, insights,
and ramblings for the masses.
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