10.1 Objectives

In this chapter, you will learn the process of selecting network technologies for your design. You will learn to apply the various sources of information that you have gathered, derived, and developed, including requirements, flows, goals, criteria, and guidelines, to making technology selections. Developing a set of design goals and evaluation criteria are critical to making technology choices, and most of this chapter focuses on these areas. You will also learn about tools to help with the technology selection process, in particular how to segment a design into areas and how to apply the black-box method to focus on each area of the design.

10.2 Preparation

To be able to understand and apply the concepts in this chapter, you should be familiar with the various technologies used in networks, including the varieties of Ethernet, ATM, frame relay, and packet over synchronous network (SONET) (PoS). The following is a recommended source of more information:

• Interconnections: Bridges, Routers, Switches, and Internetworking Protocols, 2nd edition, Radia Perlman, Addison-Wesley Publishing, October 1999

• Essentials of ATM Networks and Services, by Oliver Chukwudi Ibe, Addison-Wesley Publishing, January 1997

• ATM and SONET Basics, by George Dobrowski and Donald Grise, APDG Publishing, January 2001

• Switched, Fast, and...