Many installations have sought to achieve better LAN performance by purchasing extra bandwidth where their efforts would have been better expended by managing the LAN in a more intelligent manner ensuring that the different traffic types are subject to the appropriate levels of priority. Network management software at the enterprise level has improved with the wider deployment of intelligent agents, the incorporation of real world influences and the ability to manage networks remotely. The management of WANs is outsourced by many organisations and some employ outside contractors to monitor, manage and maintain their LAN systems. Manufacturers Stefan Callery, business development manager with 3Com, said that 1Gb is easily achievable over copper that is installed to full Cat 5 or 5e specification. Switches are replacing hubs where the bandwidth to users can be guaranteed within given situations.
Switches also allow separate VLANs to be set up making for greater network efficiency and security.
Runs of greater than 100 metres require fibre optic cable. 1Gb connections are only required around servers equipped with a 1Gb NIC card costing about 500. Application prioritisation is critical and some switches are Layer 4 aware. Thus the packets from known applications can be sent at one of four priority levels with applications like VoIP being set at the highest level. Wireless LANs are starting to make some inroads with the wide adoption of the 802.11b standard.