The company is using Packeteer's PacketShaper for establishing WAN traffic priorities. That's how you're going to be able to continue to maintain your commitment levels and your service-level objectives, as well as when you need to grow. PeopleSoft is using Cisco routers and IOS software, which includes QoS and policy-based routing capabilities. But in many cases, observers caution, the implementation hassles of policy networking might outweigh the benefits. And given that companies tend to upgrade their networks every three to five years, cost really isn't an issue, either.
Users have to ensure that each element in their networks can support and enforce the policy.
Say I'm going to allocate a streaming video pipe between a server and client. Then all of my bandwidth policies just went into the toilet. In this regard, the policy networking fervor is a lot like the virtual LAN craze of three years ago. Vendors were quick to extol the virtues of VLANs, but they didn't tell users that the full potential of VLANs could only be realized in a single-vendor environment. McConnell says a unified directory for multiple vendors' products could alleviate the implementation issues of policy networking.