NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: STEVE TAYLOR AND JOANIE WEXLER ON WIDE AREA NETWORKING 10/26/04 Today's focus: Common causes of downtime in IP networks
Dear [EMAIL PROTECTED], In this issue: * Router misconfigs are often downtime culprit * Links related to Wide Area Networking * Featured reader resource _______________________________________________________________ This newsletter is sponsored by Nokia NW Special Report: Preparing an Infrastructure for Mobile Applications. Mobility, properly done, increases productivity and decreases operating costs. So get up to date information about building a mobile infrastructure, dealing with security issues, the latest networking options, connectivity alternatives and operational support enhancements. http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=85581 _______________________________________________________________ Announcing a Powerful New Resource for Small Businesses from NW Fusion and PC World! Find Small Business resources, tools, and advice on Security, Broadband, Networking, Hardware, Software and Wireless & Mobile Technology at: http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=85510 _______________________________________________________________ Today's focus: Common causes of downtime in IP networks By Steve Taylor and Joanie Wexler Performance management products abound and we regularly discuss them here. In general, these products look at network performance in a "steady state." That is, they are designed to measure performance for networks that are configured correctly. At that point, the performance-related issues come down to variation in traffic load, traffic types and application performance. But what happens when networks are not properly configured? We are accustomed to hearing that the primary cause of failures is a physical circuit break. We don't dispute that, and it is indeed the primary cause at the transport layers. However, a recent study by the University of Michigan and Sprint, as we learned in a recent briefing from route-analytics company Packet Design, showed that more than half of the problems causing downtime in IP networks - 59% - pertain to routing management issues. Digging a bit more deeply, 36% of these problems are attributable to router misconfigurations, and 23% come from a category broadly described as "IP routing failures." By contrast, of the remaining 41% of problems, link failures of some form account for 32%, and "other causes" comprise the remaining 9%, according to the study. Those familiar with the relatively nailed-up world of frame relay and ATM will find this to be a departure. In a traditional frame/ATM PVC environment, the forwarding tables that tell various network switches where to send traffic and when are relatively static. By contrast, in an IP-centric network, the reachability information passed from control-plane protocols is much more dynamic, so there is much more opportunity for configuration mistakes to be made. In a world of "private IP" where the enterprise uses more traditional services like ATM, frame relay, and even private lines between routers, the impact of misconfiguration is annoying but seldom catastrophic. The data that is intended to stay company-confidential remains within the organization. However, in an IP-based MPLS VPN, a misconfiguration can cause a breach of security. Next time we'll explain why. RELATED EDITORIAL LINKS Managing Layer 3 routes boosts IP net performance Network World Wide Area Networking Newsletter, 07/01/03 http://www.nwfusion.com/newsletters/frame/2003/0630fr1.html Route analytics solve age-old IP problem Network World Wide Area Networking Newsletter, 07/03/03 http://www.nwfusion.com/newsletters/frame/2003/0630fr2.html _______________________________________________________________ To contact: Steve Taylor and Joanie Wexler Steve Taylor is President of Distributed Networking Associates and Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Webtorials.Com. For more detailed information on most of the topics discussed in this newsletter, connect to Webtorials.Com <http://www.webtorials.com/>, the first Web site dedicated exclusively to market studies and technology tutorials in the Broadband Packet areas of Frame Relay, ATM, and IP. He can be reached at <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Joanie Wexler is an independent networking technology writer/editor in California's Silicon Valley who has spent most of her career analyzing trends and news in the computer networking industry. She welcomes your comments on the articles published in this newsletter, as well as your ideas for future article topics. Reach her at <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. _______________________________________________________________ This newsletter is sponsored by Nokia NW Special Report: Preparing an Infrastructure for Mobile Applications. Mobility, properly done, increases productivity and decreases operating costs. So get up to date information about building a mobile infrastructure, dealing with security issues, the latest networking options, connectivity alternatives and operational support enhancements. http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=85581 _______________________________________________________________ ARCHIVE LINKS Archive of the WAN newsletter: http://www.nwfusion.com/newsletters/frame/index.html _______________________________________________________________ FEATURED READER RESOURCE NW FUSION'S LIVING BUYER'S GUIDES Updated constantly, NW Fusion's Buyer's Guides give you the latest information on product capabilities, features, requirements, pricing and more. Check out NW Fusion's Buyer's Guides on security, instant messaging, enterprise routers, anti-spam, NAS Appliances and more at: <http://www.nwfusion.com/reviews/bg.html> _______________________________________________________________ May We Send You a Free Print Subscription? 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