An enterprise network is one that connects an entire organization. For example, an enterprise network may connect all branches of a bank or a corporation with a chain of factories and stores. This type of network will often cover a wide area, and may even transcend national boundaries. For example, an enterprise network may include everything from mainframes to palmtops or subnotebook computers. As a consequence, enterprise networks usually require routers or gateways.
Enterprise networks are both an attraction and a challenge.
The challenge is to make very different and incompatible environments compatible with each other, or at least able to communicate. Existing environments were created without any thought to networking or integrating beyond the local group or department. The attraction is to succeed in unifying all the various means of communicating and computing. Achieving Interoperability in Enterprise Networks Interoperability refers to the ability of two different networks to communicate and work together, regardless of whether these networks use the same network architecture. This is vital to the success of enterprise networks.