Future Enhancements: 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10 GE), LAN Telephony, Storage Area Networks (SANs)

Future Enhancements
Future enhancements for data communication networks include increased data transmission speed, LAN telephony, and storage area networks (SANs).

10 Gigabit Ethernet (10 GE)
10 Gigabit Ethernet (10 GE) is a data communication system that combines Ethernet technology with fiberoptic cable transmission to provide data communication transmission at 10 Gbps (10,000 Mbps). The specifications for 10 GE are being developed by the Gigabit Ethernet Alliance. The Gigabit Ethernet Alliance is a group of companies that was formed in January 2000.

LAN Telephony
LAN telephony (sometimes called TeLANophy) use LAN systems to transport voice communications. LAN telephone technology is a merging of packetized voice with the high-speed data transmission ability of LAN systems. The ability to share data networks with voice systems offers significant cost reduction for telephone services.

LAN telephone system consists of LAN telephones, a data network, a LAN call processing system, and a voice gateway to the PSTN. LAN telephones convert audio into digitized packets that are transferred on the LAN to the call processing computer (CTI system). Each LAN telephone has its own network data address that is related to its telephone number or extension number.

LAN telephones can be integrated into computers or they can be standard along telephones that use LAN protocols that communicate with the systems. In 2001, there were several manufacturers producing IP telephones.

Storage Area Networks (SANs)
Storage area networks (SANs) distribute data and other information to multiple storage devices that are interconnected by data networks. SANs allow for the sharing of resources and pooling of information in the form of shared files at both the server level and the client (individual PC) level. Storage area networks (SAN’s) provide fault-tolerant operation through the use redundant data storage in multiple locations. If a failure occurs in one data storage device, other redundant data storage devices may automatically be used as the backup source of information.