The FDDI backbone provides a high-speed backup for redundancy in case one link breaks down. Approximately 23 people are on each shared Ethernet segment attached to a switch port. Doubleday Direct's creative services department designs the company's many brochures listing the available products by using the applications available on the network and through the Internet. The staff relies on the network for multimedia, storage, e-mail and file sharing. The company uses Lotus Notes 4.1 as its e-mail application.
Employees depend on e-mail for document sharing, scheduling and communication.
Doubleday Direct also communi cates with publishers via Internet e-mail rather as well as the telephone. Domanico says his greatest challenge lies with managing a robust and expandable network while keeping costs and downtime under control and meeting managers expectations. You don't design something that you'll throw out in a few months. The network services staff encourages employees to know as much as they can about the network. A Web site is under development for future commerce.