HYBRID NETWORK How Hybrid Networks Work:

Wires are for work. Wireless is for play. A few years ago, that was the conventional wisdom on wired versus wireless networks. Wi-Fi was great for checking e-mail at Starbucks, but it wasn't fast enough or secures enough for an office setting -- even a home office. For speed and security, Ethernet cables were the only way to go.

Things are changing. Now people are viewing Ethernet and Wi-Fi as important components of the same local area network (LAN). Wires are great for linking servers and desktop computers, but Wi-Fi is ideal for extending that network seamlessly into the conference room, the lunch room, and yes, evens the bathroom.

Think about the typical college or university LAN. According to a 2007 survey, 73.7 percent of college students own a laptop [source: Educause Center for Applied Research]. And they expect to be able to access the Internet and share files across the college network, whether they're in the physics lab or sunbathing in the quad. That's the role of a hybrid network.

A hybrid network refers to any computer network that contains two or more different communications standards. In this case, the hybrid network uses both Ethernet (802.3) and Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g) standards. A hybrid network relies on special hybrid routers, hubs and switches to connect both wired and wireless computers and other network-enabled devices.

How do you set up a hybrid network? Are hybrid routers expensive? Is it hard to configure a Wi-Fi laptop to join an existing wired network? Read on to find out more about hybrid networks.

Understanding Hybrid Networks:

In a wired computer network, all devices need to be connected by physical cable. A typical configuration uses a central access point. In networking terms, this is called a star topology, where information must travel through the center to reach other points of the star.

The central access point in a wired network can be a router, hub or a switch. The access point's function is to share a network connection among several devices. All the devices are plugged into the access point using individual Ethernet (CAT 5) cables. If the devices want to share an Internet connection as well, then the access point needs to be plugged into a broadband Internet modem, either cable or DSL.

In a standard wireless network, all networked devices communicate with a central wireless access point. The devices themselves need to contain wireless modems or cards that conform with one or more Wi-Fi standards, either 802.11 a, b or g. In this configuration, all wireless devices can share files with each other over the network. If they also want to share an Internet connection, then the wireless access point needs to be plugged into a broadband modem.

A standard hybrid network uses something called a hybrid access point, a networking device that both broadcasts a wireless signal and contains wired access ports. The most common hybrid access point is a hybrid router. The typical hybrid router broadcasts a Wi-Fi signal using 802.11 a, b or g and contains four Ethernet ports for connecting wired devices. The hybrid router also has a port for connecting to a cable or DSL modem via Ethernet cable.

When shopping for a hybrid router, you might not see the word "hybrid" anywhere. You're more likely to see the router advertised as a wireless or Wi-Fi router with Ethernet ports or "LAN ports" [source: About.com]. Hybrid routers start at around $50 for a basic model with four Ethernet ports and a network speed of 54Mbps (megabits per second).

There are several different possible network configurations for a hybrid network. The most basic configuration has all the wired devices plugged into the Ethernet ports of the hybrid router. Then the wireless devices communicate with the wired devices via the wireless router.

But maybe you want to network more than four wired devices. In that case, you could string several routers together; both wired and wireless, in a daisy chain formation. You'd need enough wired routers to handle all of the wired devices (number of devices divided by four) and enough wireless routers -- in the right physical locations -- to broadcast a Wi-Fi signal to every corner of the network.

Computers aren't the only devices that can be linked over a hybrid network. You can now buy both wired and wireless peripheral devices like printers, Web cams and fax machines. An office worker with a laptop, for example, can print a document without plugging directly into the printer. He can send the document over the hybrid network to the networked printer of his choice.

Now let's look at the advantages and disadvantages of traditional wired and wireless networks and how hybrid networks offer the best of both worlds.

Hybrid Networks: Wired vs. Wireless

The chief advantage of a wired network is speed. So-called "Fast Ethernet" cables can send data at 100Mbps while most Wi-Fi networks max out at 54Mpbs [source: About.com]. So if you want to set up a LAN gaming party or share large files in an office environment, it's better to stick with wired connections for optimum speed. Take note, however, that the upcoming 802.11n Wi-Fi standard claims throughput speeds of 150 to 300Mbps [source: Network World].

The chief advantage of a wireless network is mobility and flexibility. You can be anywhere in the office and access the Internet and any files on the LAN. You can also use a wider selection of devices to access the network, like Wi-Fi-enabled handhelds and Pads.

Another advantage of wireless networks is that they're comparatively cheaper to set up, especially in a large office or college environment. Ethernet cables and routers are expensive. So is drilling through walls and running cable through ceilings. A few well-placed wireless access points -- or even better, a wireless mesh network -- can reach far more devices with far less money.

Other than that, both wired and wireless networks are equally easy (or difficult) to set up, depending on the organization's size and complexity. For a small office or home network, the most popular operating systems -- Windows XP, Vista and Mac OS 10 -- can guide you through the process with a networking wizard. Installing and administering a large office or organizational network is equally tricky whether you're using wired or wireless. Although with wireless connections, you don't have to go around checking physical Ethernet connections.

As for security, wired is generally viewed as more secure, since someone would have to physically hack into your network. With wireless, there's always a chance that a hacker could use packet-sniffing software to spy on information traveling over your wireless network. But with new wireless encryption standards like WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) and WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) built into most Wi-Fi routers, wireless networking is nearly as secure as wired.

A hybrid wired/Wi-Fi network would seem to offer the best of both worlds in terms of speed, mobility, affordability and security. If a user needs maximum Internet and file-sharing speed, then he can plug into the network with an Ethernet cable. If he needs to show a streaming video to his buddy in the hallway, he can access the network wirelessly. With the right planning, an organization can save money on CAT 5 cable and routers by maximizing the reach of the wireless network. And with the right encryption and password management in place, the wireless portion of the network can be just as secure as the wired.

Network topology is the layout pattern of interconnections of the various elements (links, nodes, etc.) of a computer[1][2] or biological network.[3] Network topologies may be physical or logical. Physical topology refers to the physical design of a network including the devices, location and cable installation. Logical topology refers to how data is actually transferred in a network as opposed to its physical design. In general physical topology relates to a core network whereas logical topology relates to basic network.

Topology can be understood as the shape or structure of a network. This shape does not necessarily correspond to the actual physical design of the devices on the computer network. The computers on a home network can be arranged in a circle but it does not necessarily mean that it represents a ring topology.

Any particular network topology is determined only by the graphical mapping of the configuration of physical and/or logical connections between nodes. The study of network topology uses graph theory. Distances between nodes, physical interconnections, transmission rates, and/or signal types may differ in two networks and yet their topologies may be identical.

A local area network (LAN) is one example of a network that exhibits both a physical topology and a logical topology. Any given node in the LAN has one or more links to one or more nodes in the network and the mapping of these links and nodes in a graph results in a geometric shape that may be used to describe the physical topology of the network. Likewise, the mapping of the data flow between the nodes in the network determines the logical topology of the network. The physical and logical topologies may or may not be identical in any particular network.

Topology

There are two basic categories of network topologies: [4] 1 Physical topologies 2 Logical topologies

The shape of the cabling layout used to link devices is called the physical topology of the network. This refers to the layout of cabling, the locations of nodes, and the interconnections between the nodes and the cabling.[1]

The physical topology of a network is determined by the capabilities of the network access devices and media, the level of control or fault tolerance desired, and the cost associated with cabling or telecommunications circuits.

The logical topology, in contrast, is the way that the signals act on the network media, or the way that the data passes through the network from one device to the next without regard to the physical interconnection of the devices. A network's logical topology is not necessarily the same as its physical topology. For example, the original twisted pair Ethernet using repeater hubs was a logical bus topology with a physical star topology layout. Token Ring is a logical ring topology, but is wired a physical star from the Media Access Unit.

The logical classification of network topologies generally follows the same classifications as those in the physical classifications of network topologies but describes the path that the data takes between nodes being used as opposed to the actual physical connections between nodes. The logical topologies are generally determined by network protocols as opposed to being determined by the physical layout of cables, wires, and network devices or by the flow of the electrical signals, although in many cases the paths that the electrical signals take between nodes may closely match the logical flow of data, hence the convention of using the terms logical topology and signal topology interchangeably.

Logical topologies are often closely associated with Media Access Control methods and protocols. Logical topologies are able to be dynamically reconfigured by special types of equipment such as routers and switches.

The study of network topology recognizes eight basic topologies: [5]

Point-to-point

Bus

Star

Ring or circular

Mesh

Tree

Hybrid

Daisy chain

Point-to-point

The simplest topology is a permanent link between two endpoints. Switched point-to-point topologies are the basic model of conventional telephony. The value of a permanent point-to-point network is unimpeded communications between the two endpoints. The value of an on-demand point-to-point connection is proportional to the number of potential pairs of subscribers, and has been expressed as Metcalfe's Law.

Permanent (dedicated)

Easiest to understand, of the variations of point-to-point topology, is a point-to-point communications channel that appears, to the user, to be permanently associated with the two endpoints. A children's tin can telephone is one example of a physical dedicated channel.

Within many switched telecommunications systems, it is possible to establish a permanent circuit. One example might be a telephone in the lobby of a public building, which is programmed to ring only the number of a telephone dispatcher. "Nailing down" a switched connection saves the cost of running a physical circuit between the two points. The resources in such a connection can be released when no longer needed, for example, a television circuit from a parade route back to the studio.

Switched:

Using circuit-switching or packet-switching technologies, a point-to-point circuit can be set up dynamically, and dropped when no longer needed. This is the basic mode of conventional telephony.

Bus

Main article: Bus network

Bus network topology

In local area networks where bus topology is used, each node is connected to a single cable. Each computer or server is connected to the single bus cable. A signal from the source travels in both directions to all machines connected on the bus cable until it finds the intended recipient. If the machine address does not match the intended address for the data, the machine ignores the data. Alternatively, if the data matches the machine address, the data is accepted. Since the bus topology consists of only one wire, it is rather inexpensive to implement when compared to other topologies. However, the low cost of implementing the technology is offset by the high cost of managing the network. Additionally, since only one cable is utilized, it can be the single point of failure. If the network cable is terminated on both ends and when without termination data transfer stop and when cable breaks, the entire network will be down.

Linear bus

The type of network topology in which all of the nodes of the network are connected to a common transmission medium which has exactly two endpoints (this is the 'bus', which is also commonly referred to as the backbone, or trunk) – all data that is transmitted between nodes in the network is transmitted over this common transmission medium and is able to be received by all nodes in the network simultaneously.[1]

Note: The two endpoints of the common transmission medium are normally terminated with a device called a terminator that exhibits the characteristic impedance of the transmission medium and which dissipates or absorbs the energy that remains in the signal to prevent the signal from being reflected or propagated back onto the transmission medium in the opposite direction, which would cause interference with and degradation of the signals on the transmission medium.

Distributed bus

The type of network topology in which all of the nodes of the network are connected to a common transmission medium which has more than two endpoints that are created by adding branches to the main section of the transmission medium – the physical distributed bus topology functions in exactly the same fashion as the physical linear bus topology (i.e., all nodes share a common transmission medium).

Notes:

1. All of the endpoints of the common transmission medium are normally terminated using 50 ohm resistor.

2. The linear bus topology is sometimes considered to be a special case of the distributed bus topology – i.e., a distributed bus with no branching segments.

3. The physical distributed bus topology is sometimes incorrectly referred to as a physical tree topology – however, although the physical distributed bus topology resembles the physical tree topology, it differs from the physical tree topology in that there is no central node to which any other nodes are connected, since this hierarchical functionality is replaced by the common bus.

Star:

Main article: Star network

Star network topology

In local area networks with a star topology, each network host is connected to a central hub with a point-to-point connection. The network does not necessarily have to resemble a star to be classified as a star network, but all of the nodes on the network must be connected to one central device. All traffic that traverses the network passes through the central hub. The hub acts as a signal repeater. The star topology is considered the easiest topology to design and implement. An advantage of the star topology is the

simplicity of adding additional nodes. The primary disadvantage of the star topology is that the hub represents a single point of failure. However, according to O'Brien and Marakas, 2011, multiprocessor architecture has been commonly used as a solution to combat this disadvantage.[6]

Notes

1. A point-to-point link (described above) is sometimes categorized as a special instance of the physical star topology – therefore, the simplest type of network that is based upon the physical star topology would consist of one node with a single point-to-point link to a second node, the choice of which node is the 'hub' and which node is the 'spoke' being arbitrary.[1]

2. After the special case of the point-to-point link, as in note (1) above, the next simplest type of network that is based upon the physical star topology would consist of one central node – the 'hub' – with two separate point-to-point links to two peripheral nodes – the 'spokes'.

3. Although most networks that are based upon the physical star topology are commonly implemented using a special device such as a hub or switch as the central node (i.e., the 'hub' of the star), it is also possible to implement a network that is based upon the physical star topology using a computer or even a simple common connection point as the 'hub' or central node. [citation

needed]

4. Star networks may also be described as either broadcast multi-access or no broadcast multi-access (NBMA), depending on whether the technology of the network either automatically propagates a signal at the hub to all spokes, or only addresses individual spokes with each communication.

Extended star

A type of network topology in which a network that is based upon the physical star topology has one or more repeaters between the central node (the 'hub' of the star) and the peripheral or 'spoke' nodes, the repeaters being used to extend the maximum transmission distance of the point-to-point links between the central node and the peripheral nodes beyond that which is supported by the transmitter power of the central node or beyond that which is supported by the standard upon which the physical layer of the physical star network is based.

If the repeaters in a network that is based upon the physical extended star topology are replaced with hubs or switches, then a hybrid network topology is created that is referred to as a physical hierarchical star topology, although some texts make no distinction between the two topologies.

Distributed Star

A type of network topology that is composed of individual networks that are based upon the physical star topology connected in a linear fashion – i.e., 'daisy-chained' – with no central or top level connection point (e.g., two or more 'stacked' hubs, along with their associated star connected nodes or 'spokes').

Ring:

Main article: Ring network

Ring network topology

A network topology that is set up in a circular fashion in which data travels around the ring in one direction and each device on the right acts as a repeater to keep the signal strong as it travels. Each device incorporates a receiver for the incoming signal and a transmitter to send the data on to the next device in the ring. The network is dependent on the ability of the signal to travel around the ring.[4]

Mesh

Main article: Mesh networking

The value of fully meshed networks is proportional to the exponent of the number of subscribers, assuming that communicating groups of any two endpoints, up to and including all the endpoints, is approximated by Reed's Law.

Fully connected

Fully connected mesh topology

The number of connections in a full mesh = n (n - 1) / 2.

Note: The physical fully connected mesh topology is generally too costly and complex for practical networks, although the topology is used when there are only a small number of nodes to be interconnected (see combinatorial explosion).

Partially connected

Partially connected mesh topology

The type of network topology in which some of the nodes of the network are connected to more than one other node in the network with a point-to-point link – this makes it possible to take advantage of some of the redundancy that is provided by a physical fully connected mesh topology without the expense and complexity required for a connection between every node in the network.

Note: In most practical networks that are based upon the partially connected mesh topology, all of the data that is transmitted between nodes in the network takes the shortest path between nodes,[citation needed]

except in the case of a failure or break in one of the links, in which case the data takes an alternative path to the destination. This requires that the nodes of the network possess some type of logical 'routing' algorithm to determine the correct path to use at any particular time.

Tree:

Tree network topology

The type of network topology in which a central 'root' node (the top level of the hierarchy) is connected to one or more other nodes that are one level lower in the hierarchy (i.e., the second level) with a point-to-point link between each of the second level nodes and the top level central 'root' node, while each of the second level nodes that are connected to the top level central 'root' node will also have one or more other nodes that are one level lower in the hierarchy (i.e., the third level) connected to it, also with a point-to-point link, the top level central 'root' node being the only node that has no other node above it in the hierarchy (The hierarchy of the tree is symmetrical.) Each node in the network having a specific fixed number, of nodes connected to it at the next lower level in the hierarchy, the number, being referred to as the 'branching factor' of the hierarchical tree. This tree has individual peripheral nodes.

1. A network that is based upon the physical hierarchical topology must have at least three levels in the hierarchy of the tree, since a network with a central 'root' node and only one hierarchical level below it would exhibit the physical topology of a star.

2. A network that is based upon the physical hierarchical topology and with a branching factor of 1 would be classified as a physical linear topology.

3. The branching factor, f, is independent of the total number of nodes in the network and, therefore, if the nodes in the network require ports for connection to other nodes the total number of ports per node may be kept low even though the total number of nodes is large  – this makes the effect of the cost of adding ports to each node totally dependent upon the branching factor and may therefore be kept as low as required without any effect upon the total number of nodes that are possible.

4. The total number of point-to-point links in a network that is based upon the physical hierarchical topology will be one less than the total number of nodes in the network.

5. If the nodes in a network that is based upon the physical hierarchical topology are required to perform any processing upon the data that is transmitted between nodes in the network, the nodes that are at higher levels in the hierarchy will be required to perform more processing operations

on behalf of other nodes than the nodes that are lower in the hierarchy. Such a type of network topology is very useful and highly recommended.

Definition: Tree topology is a combination of Bus and Star topology.

Hybrid:

Hybrid networks use a combination of any two or more topologies in such a way that the resulting network does not exhibit one of the standard topologies (e.g., bus, star, ring, etc.). For example, a tree network connected to a tree network is still a tree network topology. A hybrid topology is always produced when two different basic network topologies are connected. Two common examples for Hybrid network are: starring network and star bus network

A Starring network consists of two or more star topologies connected using a multistation access unit (MAU) as a centralized hub.

A Star Bus network consists of two or more star topologies connected using a bus trunk (the bus trunk serves as the network's backbone).

While grid and torus networks have found popularity in high-performance computing applications, some systems have used genetic algorithms to design custom networks that have the fewest possible hops in between different nodes. Some of the resulting layouts are nearly incomprehensible, although they function quite well. [Citation needed]

A Snowflake topology is really a "Star of Stars" network, so it exhibits characteristics of a hybrid network topology but is not composed of two different basic network topologies being connected. Definition: Hybrid topology is a combination of Bus, Star and ring topology.

Daisy chain

Except for star-based networks, the easiest way to add more computers into a network is by daisy-chaining, or connecting each computer in series to the next. If a message is intended for a computer partway down the line, each system bounces it along in sequence until it reaches the destination. A daisy-chained network can take two basic forms: linear and ring.

A linear topology puts a two-way link between one computer and the next. However, this was expensive in the early days of computing, since each computer (except for the ones at each end) required two receivers and two transmitters.

By connecting the computers at each end, a ring topology can be formed. An advantage of the ring is that the number of transmitters and receivers can be cut in half, since a message will eventually loop all of the way around. When a node sends a message, the message is processed by each computer in the ring. If a computer is not the destination node, it will pass the message to the next node, until the message arrives at its destination. If the message is not accepted by any node on the network, it will travel around the entire ring and return to the sender. This potentially results in a doubling of travel time for data.

Centralization

The star topology reduces the probability of a network failure by connecting all of the peripheral nodes (computers, etc.) to a central node. When the physical star topology is applied to a logical bus network such as Ethernet, this central node (traditionally a hub) rebroadcasts all transmissions received from any peripheral node to all peripheral nodes on the network, sometimes including the originating node. All peripheral nodes may thus communicate with all others by transmitting to, and receiving from, the central node only. The failure of a transmission line linking any peripheral node to the central node will result in the isolation of that peripheral node from all others, but the remaining peripheral nodes will be unaffected. However, the disadvantage is that the failure of the central node will cause the failure of all of the peripheral nodes also,

If the central node is passive, the originating node must be able to tolerate the reception of an echo of its own transmission, delayed by the two-way round trip transmission time (i.e. to and from the central node) plus any delay generated in the central node. An active star network has an active central node that usually has the means to prevent echo-related problems.

A tree topology (a.k.a. hierarchical topology) can be viewed as a collection of star networks arranged in a hierarchy. This tree has individual peripheral nodes (e.g. leaves) which are required to transmit to and receive from one other node only and are not required to act as repeaters or regenerators. Unlike the star network, the functionality of the central node may be distributed.

As in the conventional star network, individual nodes may thus still be isolated from the network by a single-point failure of a transmission path to the node. If a link connecting a leaf fails, that leaf is isolated; if a connection to a non-leaf node fails, an entire section of the network becomes isolated from the rest.

To alleviate the amount of network traffic that comes from broadcasting all signals to all nodes, more advanced central nodes were developed that are able to keep track of the identities of the nodes that are connected to the network. These network switches will "learn" the layout of the network by "listening" on each port during normal data transmission, examining the data packets and recording the address/identifier of each connected node and which port it is connected to in a lookup table held in memory. This lookup table then allows future transmissions to be forwarded to the intended destination only.

Decentralization

In a mesh topology (i.e., a partially connected mesh topology), there are at least two nodes with two or more paths between them to provide redundant paths to be used in case the link providing one of the paths fails. This decentralization is often used to advantage to compensate for the single-point-failure disadvantage that is present when using a single device as a central node (e.g., in star and tree networks). A special kind of mesh, limiting the number of hops between two nodes, is a hypercube. The number of arbitrary forks in mesh networks makes them more difficult to design and implement, but their decentralized nature makes them very useful. This is similar in some ways to a grid network, where a linear or ring topology is used to connect systems in multiple directions. A multi-dimensional ring has a steroidal topology, for instance.

A fully connected network, complete topology or full mesh topology is a network topology in which there is a direct link between all pairs of nodes. In a fully connected network with n nodes, there are n (n-1)/2 direct links. Networks designed with this topology are usually very expensive to set up, but provide a high degree of reliability due to the multiple paths for data that are provided by the large number of redundant links between nodes. This topology is mostly seen in military applications.

Wireless Routers Support Hybrid Networks:

A hybrid network is a local area network (LAN) containing a mix of both wired and wireless client devices. In home networks, wired computers and other devices generally connect with Ethernet cables, while wireless devices normally use Wife technology. Consumer wireless routers obviously support Wife clients, but do they also support the wired Ethernet ones? If so, how?

Answer: Most (but not all) consumer WiFi wireless routers support hybrid networks that include Ethernet clients. Traditional broadband routers that lack WiFi capability, however, do not.

To verify whether a particular model of wireless router supports a hybrid network, look for the following specifications on these products:

"10/100 Ethernet ports" or

"N-port Ethernet switch" (where N is a number such as "4" or "5") or

"wired LAN ports"

A mention of any of the above specs (and slight variations on these) indicate hybrid network capability.

The majority of hybrid network routers allow connection of up to four (4) wired devices. These can be 4 computers or any combination of computers and other Ethernet devices. Connecting an Ethernet hub to one of the router's ports allow more than 4 wired devices to be joined to the LAN through the method of daisy chaining.

Finally, note that wireless routers offering only one Ethernet port are generally incapable of hybrid networking. This one port will typically be reserved for use by the broadband modem and connection to the wide area network (WAN).

Wired vs Wireless Networking:

Computer networks for the home and small business can be built using either wired or wireless technology. Wired Ethernet has been the traditional choice in homes, but Wi-Fi wireless technologies are gaining ground fast. Both wired and wireless can claim advantages over the other; both represent viable options for home and other local area networks (LANs).

Below we compare wired and wireless networking in five key areas:

ease of installation

total cost

reliability

performance

security

About Wired LANs

Wired LANs use Ethernet cables and network adapters. Although two computers can be directly wired to each other using an Ethernet crossover cable, wired LANs generally also require central devices like hubs, switches, or routers to accommodate more computers.

For dial-up connections to the Internet, the computer hosting the modem must run Internet Connection Sharing or similar software to share the connection with all other computers on the LAN. Broadband routers allow easier sharing of cable modem or DSL Internet connections, plus they often include built-in firewall support.

Installation

Ethernet cables must be run from each computer to another computer or to the central device. It can be time-consuming and difficult to run cables under the floor or through walls, especially when computers sit in different rooms. Some newer homes are pre-wired with CAT5 cable, greatly simplifying the cabling process and minimizing unsightly cable runs.

The correct cabling configuration for a wired LAN varies depending on the mix of devices, the type of Internet connection, and whether internal or external modems are used. However, none of these options pose any more difficulty than, for example, wiring a home theater system.

After hardware installation, the remaining steps in configuring either wired or wireless LANs do not differ much. Both rely on standard Internet Protocol and network operating system configuration options. Laptops and other portable devices often enjoy greater mobility in wireless home network installations (at least for as long as their batteries allow).

Cost

Ethernet cables, hubs and switches are very inexpensive. Some connection sharing software packages, like ICS, are free; some cost a nominal fee. Broadband routers cost more, but these are optional components of a wired LAN, and their higher cost is offset by the benefit of easier installation and built-in security features.

Reliability

Ethernet cables, hubs and switches are extremely reliable, mainly because manufacturers have been continually improving Ethernet technology over several decades. Loose cables likely remain the single most common and annoying source of failure in a wired network. When installing a wired LAN or moving any of the components later, be sure to carefully check the cable connections.

Broadband routers have also suffered from some reliability problems in the past. Unlike other Ethernet gear, these products are relatively new, multi-function devices. Broadband routers have matured over the past several years and their reliability has improved greatly.

Performance

Wired LANs offer superior performance. Traditional Ethernet connections offer only 10 Mbps bandwidth, but 100 Mbps Fast Ethernet technology costs little more and is readily available. Although 100 Mbps represents a theoretical maximum performance never really achieved in practice, Fast Ethernet should be sufficient for home file sharing, gaming, and high-speed Internet access for many years into the future.

Wired LANs utilizing hubs can suffer performance slowdown if computers heavily utilize the network simultaneously. Use Ethernet switches instead of hubs to avoid this problem; a switch costs little more than a hub.

Security

For any wired LAN connected to the Internet, firewalls are the primary security consideration. Wired Ethernet hubs and switches do not support firewalls. However, firewall software products like ZoneAlarm can be installed on the computers themselves. Broadband routers offer equivalent firewall capability built into the device, configurable through its own software.

How to Build a Wireless Home Network:

The building blocks of a wireless LAN are network adapters, access points, wireless routers, add-on wireless antennas and signal boosters. Of these, only network adapters are truly required to build a wireless home network. However, many wireless LANs also utilize some of the other equipment, as explained below.

Wireless Network Adapters

Each computer you wish to connect to a WLAN must possess a wireless network adapter. Wireless adapters are sometimes also called NICs, short for Network Interface Cards. Wireless adapters for desktop computers are often small PCI cards or sometimes card-like USB adapters. Wireless adapters for notebook computers resemble a thick credit card (see Page 1 sidebar for illustration). Nowadays, though, an increasing number of wireless adapters are not cards but rather small chips embedded inside notebook or handheld computers.

Wireless network adapters contain a radio transmitter and receiver (transceiver). Wireless transceivers send and receive messages, translating, formatting, and generally organizing the flow of information between the computer and the network. Determining how many wireless network adapters you need to buy is the first critical step in building your home network. Check the technical specifications of your computers if you're unsure whether they contain built-in wireless adapter chips.

Wireless Access Points

A wireless access point serves as the central WLAN communication station. In fact, they are sometimes called "base stations." Access points are thin, lightweight boxes with a series of LED lights on the face (see Page 1 sidebar for illustration).

Access points join a wireless LAN to a pre-existing wired Ethernet network. Home networkers typically install an access point when they already own a broadband router and want to add wireless computers to their current setup. You must use either an access point or a wireless router (described below) to implement "hybrid" wired/wireless home networking. Otherwise, you probably don't need an access point.

Many access point products are available on the market; see the following supplementary article for some good examples:

Best 802.11b wireless access points for home

Wireless Routers

A wireless router is a wireless access point with several other useful functions added. Like wired broadband routers, wireless routers also support Internet connection sharing and include firewall technology for improved network security. Wireless routers closely resemble access points (see Page 1 sidebar for illustration).

A key benefit of both wireless routers and access points is scalability. Their strong built-in transceivers are designed to spread a wireless signal throughout the home. A home WLAN with a router or access point can better reach corner rooms and backyards, for example, than one without. Likewise, home wireless networks with a router or access point support many more computers than those without one. As we'll explain in more detail later, if your wireless LAN design includes a router or access point, you must run all network adapters in so-called infrastructure mode; otherwise they must run in ad-hoc mode.

Wireless routers are a good choice for those building their first home network. See the following article for good examples of wireless router products for home networks:

Best 802.11g wireless routers for home

Wireless Antennas

Wireless network adapters, access points, and routers all utilize an antenna to assist in receiving signals on the WLAN. Some wireless antennas, like those on adapters, are internal to the unit. Other antennas, like those on many access points, are externally visible. The normal antennas shipped with wireless products provide sufficient reception in most cases, but you can also usually install an optional, add-on antenna to improve reception. You generally won't know whether you'll need this piece of equipment until after you finish your basic network setup.

Wireless Signal Boosters

Some manufacturers of wireless access points and routers also sell a small piece of equipment called a signal booster. Installed together with a wireless access point or router, a signal booster serves to increase the strength of the base station transmitter. It's possible to use signal boosters and add-on antennas together, to improve both wireless network transmission and reception simultaneously.

Both antennas and signal boosters can be a useful addition to some home networks after the basics are in place. They can bring out-of-range computers back into range of the WLAN, and they can also improve network performance in some cases.

Next - WLAN Configurations

Now that you have a good understanding of the pieces of a wireless LAN, we're ready to set them up according to your needs. Don't worry if you haven't settled on a configuration yet; we will cover all of them.

To maximize benefit from the directions below, have your answers ready for the following questions:

do you want to extend your wired home network with a WLAN, or are you building a completely new network?

how many wireless computers do you plan to network, and where in the home will be they be located?

what operating systems do/will you run on your networked computers?

do you need to share your Internet connection among the wireless computers? how else will you use this WLAN? file sharing? network gaming?

Installing a Wireless Router

One wireless router supports one WLAN. Use a wireless router on your network if:

you are building your first home network, or

you want to re-build your home network to be all-wireless, or

you want to keep your WLAN installation as simple as possible

Try to install your wireless router in a central location within the home. The way Wi-Fi networking works, computers closer to the router (generally in the same room or in "line of sight") realize better network speed than computers further away.

Connect the wireless router to a power outlet and optionally to a source of Internet connectivity. All wireless routers support broadband modems, and some support phone line connections to dial-up Internet service. If you need dial-up support, be sure to purchase a router having an RS-232 serial port. Finally, because wireless routers contain a built-in access point, you're also free to connect a wired router, switch, or hub. (See diagram Page 2 sidebar.)

Next, choose your network name. In Wi-Fi networking, the network name is often called the SSID. Your router and all computers on the WLAN must share the same SSID. Although your router shipped with a default

name set by the manufacturer, it's best to change it for security reasons. Consult product documentation to find the network name for your particular wireless router, and follow this general advice for setting your SSID.

Last, follow the router documentation to enable WEP security, turn on firewall features, and set any other recommended parameters.

Installing a Wireless Access Point

One wireless access point supports one WLAN. Use a wireless access point on your home network if:

you don't need the extra features a wireless router provides AND

you are extending an existing wired Ethernet home network, or

you have (or plan to have) four or more wireless computers scattered throughout the home

Install your access point in a central location, if possible. Connect power and a dial-up Internet connection, if desired. Also cable the access point to your LAN router, switch or hub. See the diagram in the Page 3 sidebar for details.

You won't have a firewall to configure, of course, but you still must set a network name and enable WEP on your access point at this stage.

Configuring the Wireless Adapters

Configure your adapters after setting up the wireless router or access point (if you have one). Insert the adapters into your computers as explained in your product documentation. Wi-Fi adapters require TCP/IP be installed on the host computer.

Manufacturers each provide configuration utilities for their adapters. On the Windows operating system, for example, adapters generally have their own graphic user interface (GUI) accessible from the Start Menu or taskbar after the hardware is installed. Here's where you set the network name (SSID) and turn on WEP. You can also set a few other parameters as described in the next section. Remember, all of your wireless adapters must use the same parameter settings for your WLAN to function properly.

Configuring an Ad-Hoc Home WLAN

Every Wi-Fi adapter requires you to choose between infrastructure mode (called "access point" mode in some configuration tools) and ad-hoc ("peer to peer") mode. When using a wireless access point or router, set every wireless adapter for infrastructure mode. In this mode, wireless adapters automatically detect and set their WLAN channel number to match the access point (router).

Alternatively, set all wireless adapters to use ad hoc mode. When you enable this mode, you'll see a separate setting for channel number. All adapters on your ad hoc wireless LAN need matching channel numbers.

Ad-hoc home WLAN configurations work fine in homes with only a few computers situated fairly close to each other. You can also use this configuration as a fallback option if your access point or router breaks:

See also : Ad Hoc Wi-Fi Home Network Diagram

Configuring Software Internet Connection Sharing

As shown in the diagram, you can share an Internet connection across an ad hoc wireless network. To do this, designate one of your computers as the host (effectively a substitute for a router). That computer will keep the modem connection and must obviously be powered on whenever the network is in use. Microsoft Windows offers a feature called Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) that works with ad hoc WLANs.

Wireless Routers / Access Point Interference within the Home:

When installing an 802.11b or 802.11g access point or router, beware of signal interference from other home appliances. In particular, do not install the unit within 3-10 feet (about 1-3 m) from a microwave oven. Other common sources of wireless interference are 2.4 GHz cordless phones, baby monitors, garage door openers, and some home automation devices.

If you live in a home with brick or plaster walls, or one with metal framing, you're may encounter difficulty maintaining a strong WLAN signal. Wi-Fi is designed to support signal range up to 300 feet (about 100 m), but barriers reduce this range substantially. All 802.11 communications (802.11a most of all) are affected by obstructions; keep this in mind when installing your access point.

Range of Wi-Fi LANs

Wireless Routers / Access Point Interference from Outside

In densely populated areas, it's not uncommon for wireless signals from one person's home network to penetrate a neighboring home and interfere with their WLAN. This happens when both households set conflicting communication channels. Fortunately, when configuring an 802.11b or 802.11g access point or router, you can (except in a few locales) change the channel number employed.

In the United States, for example, you may choose any WLAN channel number between 1 and 11. If you encounter interference from neighbors, you should coordinate channel settings with them. Simply using different channel numbers won't always solve the problem. However, if both parties use a different one of the channel numbers 1, 6 or 11, that will guarantee elimination of cross-WLAN interference.

Change the Wi-Fi Channel Number to Avoid Interference

MAC Address Filtering

Newer wireless routers and access points support a handy security feature called MAC address filtering. I wholeheartedly recommend it. This feature allows you to register wireless adapters with your access point (or router), and force the unit to reject communications from any wireless device that isn't on your list. MAC address filtering combined with WEP encryption affords very good security protection.

Tip - Enable MAC Address Filtering

Wireless Adapter Profiles

Many wireless adapters support a feature called profiles that allows you to set up and save multiple WLAN configurations. For example, you can create an ad hoc configuration for your home WLAN and an infrastructure mode configuration for your office, then switch between the two profiles as needed. I recommend setting up profiles on any computers you plan to move between your home network and some other WLAN; the time you spend now will save much more time and aggravation later.

WEP Encryption

Among the options you'll see for activating wireless encryption, 128-bit WEP is a safe bet. Older 40 or 64-bit WEP offers inadequate protection. A few 802.11g products support 152-bit or 256-bit WEP, that is fine too, if all of your gear supports it. Newer equipment offers WPA. General-purpose WPA is unnecessarily complex for a home WLAN, but WPA-PSK works well.

To set 128-bit WEP, pick and assign a number called a WEP passkey. You must apply the same WEP settings and passkey to the access point (router) and all adapters.

General Tips

If you've finished installing the components, but your home network isn't functioning correctly, troubleshoot methodically:

Can't reach the Internet? Temporarily turn off your firewall to determine whether you have a firewall configuration problem, or some other issue.

Likewise, turn on and test your wireless adapters one by one, to determine if problems are isolated to a single computer or common to all.

Try ad hoc networking if infrastructure networking isn't functional, and perhaps you'll identify a problem with your access point or router.

To help you work methodically, as you build your network, write down on paper the key settings like network name, WEP passkey, MAC addresses, and channel numbers (then eat the evidence afterward!).

Don't worry about making mistakes; you can go back and alter any of your WLAN settings any time.

Finally, don't be surprised if your wireless LAN performance doesn't match the numbers quoted by the manufacturer. For example, although 802.11b equipment technically supports 11 Mbps bandwidth, that is a theoretical maximum never achieved in practice. A significant amount of Wi-Fi network bandwidth is consumed by overhead that you cannot control. Expect to see more than about one-half the maximum bandwidth (5.5 Mbps at most for 802.11b, about 20 Mbps at most for the others) on your home WLAN.

Conclusion

Armed with the information contained in this tutorial, you're now well on your way to building a working home WLAN. Welcome to the world of wireless networking!

What Are Hybrid Networks?

A hybrid network combines the best features of two of more networks.

In networking terminology, a hybrid network--also called a hybrid network topology--combines the best features of two or more different networks. According to "Information Technology Control and Audit," hybrid topologies are reliable and versatile. They provide a large number of connections and data transmission paths to users. Most real life networks are hybrid networks, according to "Selected Readings on Telecommunications and Networking."

Hybrid Topology Definition

By David Dunning, eHow Contributor , last updated June 16, 2011

Hybrid Topology Definition

The term "topology" is used to describe the way in which computers are connected together on a computer network. Popular network topologies include bus, star and ring, but it is possible for two or more basic topologies to be combined on a single network, to form what is known as a hybrid topology.

1. Star-Bus Topology

o A star-bus topology, as the name suggests, involves several star topology networks linked by a common connection, known as a busbar or bus for short. If a single computer on the network fails, the remainder can continue running unhindered. But if the hub -- a component that allows data sharing by all devices connected to it -- at the center of any of the star networks fails, all of the computers on that star become inaccessible.

Star-Ring Topology

o In a star-ring topology, computers are wired to form a ring network and, once again, connected to a central component. A process known as "token passing" allows the network traffic between segments of a star-ring topology to be greater than that on a star-bus topology.

o

Adoption

Many research and education networks around the world rely on hybrid topologies, according to the Open Grid Forum. Hybrid topologies provide computer applications with guaranteed, reliable and reproducible

Benefits of Hybrid Topology:

Combining different physical topologies can result in different benefits.

A computer's physical topology is the way in which the cables and actual devices are set up. For instance, you could have a central connection device into which all computers are plugged, forming a circle of computers in a star pattern. You might alternatively have a line of computers set up in a bus topology. When you create a hybrid of multiple physical topologies, however, you can reap numerous benefits.

1. Customization

o One of the major benefits of combining topologies is that it allows you to customize the way your network is set up. This is a huge advantage for lots of companies who need to have multiple networks working together to achieve a single purpose. Depending on the machinery available, the skill of the IT professionals and the needs of the company, making a custom network topology can actually make activities run more smoothly and improve efficiency in the technology department.

Multiple Benefits

o When you combine different network topologies into a hybrid topology, you end up combining the benefits of several different topologies. For instance, according to a lesson from Del Mar College's Networking Hardware course, a company could place accounting database employees on a ring type of physical topology to get faster throughput (access speed), and that network could be linked into a bus network used by secretarial staff members because a bus is much easier to wire physically. In this case, you've essentially gained two benefits by combining two different topologies.

o

Interconnectivity

o Though it should be obvious, integrating two different topologies gives you the ability to cut down on wasted network space. Rather than creating multiple, separate networks with separate topologies, you can instead create your own, hybrid topology that includes both networks. This gives you greater communication and speed, but it may require some creative customization to make the network function properly. Since creating a hybrid topology may be difficult, it's beneficial to have an IT professional on hand to troubleshoot your new topology just in case things don't work out as expected.

Wireline and Wireless Connectivity:

Spacenet provides a range of wireline and wireless technologies to provide an optimal balance of price and performance for your network. We can provide one technology solution or can combine multiple options such as DSL and satellite to support all of your voice, video and data applications at all of your nationwide locations.

Technology Description Pros/Cons

VSAT Satellite networks send and receive data via high-frequency radio waves bounced off a satellite in orbit, providing a single continent-wide wireless last-mile solution. A Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) is a device that is used to receive satellite transmissions and is capable of sending and receiving high-speed video, data and audio.

Independent of terrestrial infrastructure

Up to 6 Mbps

Designed for multicast and broadband

Available virtually anywhere – one provider for broad coverage

DSL/Cable

DSL is a family of technologies that provide digital data transmission over the wires of a local telephone network.

A cable modem is a type of modem that provides access to a data signal sent over the cable television infrastructure. Cable modems are primarily used to deliver broadband Internet access in the form of cable internet, taking advantage of unused bandwidth on a cable television network.

Uses existing last mile infrastructures

Up to 6 Mbps (Cable) and 3 Mbps (DSL)

Designed specifically for broadband

Increasing geographic availability – requires multiple providers for broad coverage

Fixed Wireless/ EV-DO

Fixed Wireless services connect two fixed locations with a radio or other wireless link to enable data communications. The point-to-point signal transmissions occur through the air over a terrestrial microwave platform.

EV-DO is a 3G high-speed digital data service provided by cellular carriers worldwide that use the CDMA technology.

Common carrier technology

Up to 1.5 Mbps

Designed for broadband

Available in most metropolitan U.S. cities

T-1/Leased Line

A leased line is a symmetric telecommunications line connecting two locations. It is sometimes known as a 'Private Circuit' or 'Data Line', and can be used for telephone, data or Internet services.

T-1 lines are a popular type of leased line option that provides a dedicated phone connection configured to carry voice or data traffic.

Common carrier technology

Up to 1.5 Mbps

Designed for broadband

Available in most locations – requires multiple providers for broad coverage

Spacenet Hybrid Network solutions will simplify the challenge of managing a complex network and keep your critical communications online so you can focus on your business. Spacenet Hybrid Networks are custom solutions that leverage the strengths of various last mile links into a unified architecture to deliver optimal price/performance and network availability. Utilizing the Cisco® VSAT Network Module or Spacenet’s proprietary Prysm Pro network appliance, Spacenet hybrid solutions integrate DSL, Cable, Private Line, fixed wireless and VSAT technologies into a single contiguous network.

Satellite Connectivity :

StarBand, a service provided by Spacenet Inc., is a value oriented two-way high-speed satellite Internet access service available for small office/home office (SOHO) and small business customers. Learn more about StarBand here.

Spacenet satellite solutions are designed to address the unique applications and operating environments of our clients. Whether your organization needs secure broadband networking, network backup, real-time video, or all three, Spacenet delivers the ideal combination of satellite and terrestrial technology to meet your specific requirements. We offer our family of pre-packaged Connexstar™ networking services in addition to an array of customized networking options, including Private Satellite Networks, Virtual Private Satellite Networks and Hybrid Satellite & Common Carrier Networks.

Connexstar is Spacenet’s line of commercial grade pre-packaged VSAT services, optimized for the best performance for mission critical application environments. Connexstar services include some of the best SLAs in satellite communications, including the industry’s only “Minimum Assured Speed” guarantee, as well as 24 x 7 customer support and professional-grade installation and maintenance options. All Connexstar services are based on the industry leading Gilat SkyEdge family of satellite communication products and are available with the Cisco® VSAT Network Module.

Connexstar Performance - Up to 5Mbps :

Spacenet’s highest-performance services, designed specifically for converged communication environments with voice, video and high-throughput data applications.

Suitable for emergency response vehicles, oilfield exploration, mining facilities, corporate offices, or other fixed or transportable locations requiring multi-seat voice, data, or video communications capability.

Connexstar Broadband & Connexstar Enhanced - Up to 2Mbps :

High-speed services optimized for commercial-grade broadband data usage with high reliability

Designed for corporate offices, retail stores, restaurants, financial institutions, healthcare organizations, and other fixed or transportable locations requiring multi-seat high-quality broadband data. Similar in performance and capabilities to the CX Broadband Series, Connexstar Enhanced is designed specifically for use in ultra remote locations, including customers in Alaska, Hawaii, and parts of western Canada.

Connexstar Transaction - Up to 2Mbps :

Always-on narrowband links optimized to support transaction-based traffic including retail POS/credit, SCADA, monitoring and more.

Designed for remote sensing sites, pipelines, power, water and other utility distribution sites, and other fixed locations requiring highly reliable remote sensing or transaction connectivity.

Connexstar Digital Phone :

Spacenet’s carrier-class Digital Phone service enables customers to make clear digital telephone calls, in addition to receiving business class Internet access, and real-time video over the same high-performance satellite link. Unlike traditional VoIP based services that leverage the open public Internet to provide inexpensive long distance calls, Connexstar Digital Phone, is a carrier class service that is directly connected to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and provides toll quality calls and satellite phone lines that are FCC 911 compliant.

Voice and data channels are completely separated, actually operating on different frequency channels, to ensure a high Quality of Service for mission critical applications like emergency response, oilfield operations, or business continuity. In addition, Digital Phone supports analog plain paper fax services as well as a variety of IP-based devices.The service is available as an option with Spacenet’s Connexstar Performance Series, Enhanced Services and select versions of the Connexstar Broadband Series satellite communications services.

Custom & Private Satellite Networks:

Tailored to the unique application environment of the client, Spacenet Private and Virtual Private Satellite Networks offer a fully customized service including dedicated bandwidth and in some cases dedicated teleport equipment. Generally suited to enterprises with a large number of geographically dispersed remote locations, Private Satellite Networks provide the ultimate in wide area networking security and customization.

Hybrid Satellite & Common Carrier Networks:

Spacenet Hybrid Networks are custom solutions that leverage the strengths of various last mile links into a unified architecture to deliver optimal price/performance and network availability. Utilizing the Cisco® VSAT Network Module or Spacenet’s proprietary Prysm Pro network appliance, Spacenet hybrid solutions integrate DSL, Cable, Private Line, fixed wireless and VSAT technologies into a single contiguous network.

The Advantages of a Hybrid Topology:

Hybrid network :

A network topology is the way in which hardware devices and cables are connected. A hybrid topology (sometimes called a mesh or mixed topology) connects network components by combining the features of two or more other topologies (such as star, bus, ring and token-ring). The resulting hybrid topology exhibits features (and limitations) of its comprising network components. Examples of hybrid topologies include the star-wired ring and star-wired bus.

1.Reliable

o Hybrid topologies are reliable and have increased fault tolerance than other topologies. A hybrid topology can efficiently diagnose and isolate faults. A network fault (such as a faulty node or a break in a network cable) will not affect the performance of the rest of the network. A hybrid network quickly scans all nodes and hardware points to detect where a fault lies, isolates it, and carries out further diagnostic tests. The rest of the network remains fully functional while this fault isolation and diagnosis is carried out.

Flexible

o Hybrid topologies are flexible and are designed to suit a variety of network environments and needs. They are built after a careful assessment of the requirements of the network and available resources. Hybrid topologies combine various configurations to bring about the most optimal conditions to suit network traffic, processing loads and data latency. Hybrid networks can be expanded easily to add new systems and nodes. Each concentration point (or the point at which a network connection is made) is designed to hold extra lobes. Additional network hardware peripherals can be attached to these lobes in order to increase capacity.

o

Effective

o A hybrid topology is able to tap into the strengths of other topologies and ignore their weaknesses. This results in a complex network that is more efficient and effective than individual topologies. It combines the optimal features of its combined topologies. For instance, a star-wired ring topology combines the features of a star topology with those of a ring topology. This hybrid topology combines the fault tolerance capability of the star topology with the data reliability of the ring topology. A star-wired bus topology combines the features of a star topology with a linear bus topology. It combines the network extension features of the bus topology with the simplicity and fault tolerance of the star topology.

o

Integrated Network Appliance – Prysm Pro :

Introducing Prysm Pro – a more advanced, simplified and cost-effective option for supporting business applications over secure networks

Enterprises today are faced with new challenges and are trying to do more with less. They are demanding a high ROI from all of their business investments, including their network infrastructure. To help meet these needs, Spacenet’s Prysm Pro helps multi-site organizations meet custom application requirements, streamline corporate-wide network management processes, and provide centralized network security. It is designed to solve a wide range of comprehensive networking and application challenges.

A modular, scalable, off-the-shelf IP network appliance, Prysm Pro is a completely PCI Data Security Standard compliant device that provides integrated support for a wide range of corporate applications including data acceleration, retail applications/POS hardware interfaces and multimedia content delivery such as digital media. It has the flexibility to address all site-level networking and application requirements on a single device solution. In addition, Prysm Pro can support reliable and seamless network backup, minimizing the risks of network downtime and lost revenue. It supports advanced applications over wireline and wireless networks and provides a seamless solution for automatic network failover in the case of a primary network outage.

The Prysm Pro is designed for deployment in Wide Area Network (WAN) and Local Area Network (LAN) environments. On the WAN side it interfaces to a VSAT, DSL, cable, or 3G wireless modem, or a combination of multiple WAN links to support high availability hybrid networks. On the LAN side it attaches via Ethernet and USB to any IP-based devices and via serial ports to legacy serial devices.

Features Include:

PCI Data Security Standard compliant network appliance

Advanced integrated SPI firewall support

IPSEC/VPN tunnels with policy-based tunneling

Automatic hybrid switching between satellite, wireline and wireless technologies

Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol based routing between primary and secondary links

Integrated Wi-Fi hotspot services including authentication and activity logging

HTTP filtering (supporting “White List” and “Black List”)

Integrated ATA for VoIP functionality

POS serial hardware interface expansion

Network infrastructure:

SURFnet’s hybrid network is one of the fastest and most innovative networks in the world. It offers both Internet via IP and fixed and dynamic lightpaths.

The network is used daily by students, instructors, researchers, and network administrators at more than 160 institutions affiliated with SURFnet.

Current services

You can make optimum use of the SURFnet network via a number of services:

eduroam

SURFdomeinen

SURFinternet 

SURFinternetpinnen

SURFlichtpaden   

Innovation projectsThe GigaPort3 innovation programme is intended to take the existing network infrastructure to a higher level, make possible the next generation of networks, and provide support for dynamic services by means of a hybrid network that is both flexible and scalable.

We are therefore engaged in the following innovation projects:

Enabling Dynamic Services (EDS) 

Next Generation Ethernet (NGE) 

Mobility/Fixed Wireless 

Photonics 

NetherLight and Global Connectivity 

IP innovation 

Campus Infrastructure

Cloud infrastructure

Datamanagement 

Next to these GigaPort3-projects, SURFnet is doing research in order to find the best way to implement DNSSEC.

Ntworking group for marketing hybrid professionals:

A networking group for marketing hybrid professionals

 

       

"The marketing hybrid is an individual equally at home in the worlds of marketing and technology"

 

* * * Next London event: 14th June 2012 * * *

* * * Next New York Event: TBC * * *

 

 

Marketing Hybrid Network was established to help marketers who work in digital, data or direct marketing, to keep in touch and meet like minded individuals. It has been established from the outset as a social network with no agenda around selling or recruiting, more a handy way to keep in touch and increase your own network of contacts.  So if you spend your days trying to make sense of marketing information and

would like to spend at least one night every few months or so, sharing your joys and frustrations, then please feel free to pop along. 

 

Next London event Next New York event

Thursday 14th June 2012

Sign up for alerts

TBC - 2012Sign up for alerts

LONDON | NEW YORK

 

Details of the next London networking event

Here are details of the next Marketing Hybrid networking evening in London, a great opportunity for London based digital, data and direct marketing professionals to get together, let off steam and discuss the latest topics and trends in an informal social setting environment, i.e. no hard sell. Our digital, data and direct theme will be focusing on data at the next event, as we have a great field of industry expertise in the data arena. Thanks to mardevdm2 for kindly sponsoring the event.

 

The next London Marketing Hybrid Networking evening will take place on

Thursday 14th June 2012

 

TBC

London

To be confirmed...

  Nearest tube station: tbc   View on Google Maps   The next event is kindly sponsored by...  

Mardevdm2 delivers global business-to-business marketing data and services that are designed to effectively and efficiently accelerate your sales pipeline. We add current, targeted contact information to your marketing database. We provide demand generation, lead nurturing and marketing automation services that maximize your ROI. At mardevdm2, we partner with you throughout each stage of your marketing process so you see the best results for your budget and your business. Find out more about mardevdm2

 

RSVP - To see who's already said they're going to attend this next London event and to indicate whether you would like to attend or not - RSVP on LinkedIn.

 

Follow Marketing Hybrid on Twitter. We will tweet details about events and updates here as well as on LinkedIn and our web site

 

Would you like to sponsor the next Marketing Hybrid Networking event in London?

- Create awareness of your brand or business with your peers

- Bask in reflected glory by giving something back to your industry colleagues

- Launch a new product in to market

- Invite your own contacts

View a list of previous sponsors both in London and New York.

If you are interested or would like to find out more, please contact Bede at bede@marketinghybrid.net

  London events have previously been held at the following venues:-  

River Terrace Cafe at Somerset House - a great location overlooking the Thames, fantastic for our summer event.

   

Olde Bank of England - On Fleet Street and as the name suggests an old bank. A superb building and therefore pub with a gallery area and private rooms.    

Davys' wine bars - Always interesting locations and quirky in character. We've tried quite a few now and they've never let us down.

Details of the next New York networking event

The next Marketing Hybrid Network New York meet-up takes place Tuesday April 3, delivering the customary opportunity for New York based digital, data and direct marketing professionals to catch-up and make new connections in an informal environment. We’re very excited and privileged to announce that our meet-up this time is being supported by Thomson Reuters who are not only generously sponsoring the event but also hosting it too, with a complimentary bar on the 30th floor of their Times Square offices, overlooking Broadway. Please note you must pre-register for this event for

security access to the buildiing.

 

We look forward to meeting up with you at the next Marketing Hybrid Networking evening on:

April 3, '12 - A GREAT EVENING AND THANKS TO ALL WHO ATTENDED AND TO THOMSON REUTERS FOR HOSTING!

Next event: TBC, 2012

from

6pm - 9pm

 

atTBC

New York

 

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note: due to security requirements for entry to the Thomson Reuters building, registration to this event is mandatory and places are limited.

 

The Marketing Hybrid Network New York meet-up is made possible by our generous sponsors:

 

Thomson Reuters is the world's leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals. They combine industry expertise with innovative technology to deliver critical information to leading decision makers in the financial, legal, tax and accounting, healthcare, science and media markets, powered by the world’s most trusted news organization.

http://thomsonreuters.com/

 

Please RSVP...

See who's already said they're going to attend and indicate whether you’re coming along too! it's easy to do and only takes a few seconds - thank you. RSVP

 

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note: due to security requirements for entry to the Thomson Reuters building, registration to this event is mandatory and places are limited.

 

Media support provided by:

 

As always, the evening is supported by our friends at DMI Magazine and Global Marketing Alliance.

 

Direct Marketing International magazine is the only publication which has global reach among international direct and interactive marketing professionals.The next London event is kindly sponsored by DMi. To visit the DMi web site click here.

 

The Global Marketing Alliance (GMA) - is a business club, formed for international marketing associates to meet up, communicate and share news.

Become a member online - click here.

 

 

Would you like to sponsor the next Marketing Hybrid Networking event in New York?

- Create awareness of your brand or business with your peers

- Bask in reflected glory by giving something back to your industry colleagues

- Launch a new product in to market

- Invite your own contacts

View a list of previous sponsors both in London and New York.

If you are interested or would like to find out more, please contact Simon on simon@marketinghybrid.net

 

Sign up to the Marketing Hybrid Network New York LinkedIn Group to connect with fellow digital, data and direct marketing professionals, participate in discussions and receive future announcements!

 

Sponsors of the Marketing Hybrid Networking events:

Would you like to sponsor a Marketing Hybrid Networking evening?

In return for sponsoring an event, which means covering the bar bill at the end of the evening, you get:-

- a mention in all email updates leading up to the event

- a listing on our web site here under the event page

- a permanent listing on this page (see below)

- posters on the evening at the venue location

  If you would like to sponsor one of our networking evenings please contact us.   We thank the following companies who have kindly supported at previous events:-  

Thomson Reuters is the world's leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals. They combine industry expertise with innovative technology to deliver critical information to leading decision makers in the financial, legal, tax and accounting, healthcare, science and media markets, powered by the world’s most trusted news organization.

http://thomsonreuters.com/

 

Harte-Hanks are a global direct and interactive marketing services agency which has operations in 10 countries. We deliver effective multi-channel programs through leading edge solutions including those from Trillium Software, the Aberdeen Group, Information Arts, and Mason Zimbler. Our capabilities range from data quality and management through to Social Media. http://www.harte-hanks.com/  

 

Mardevdm2 delivers global business-to-business marketing data and services that are designed to effectively and efficiently accelerate your sales pipeline. We add current, targeted contact information to your marketing database. We provide demand generation, lead nurturing and marketing automation services that maximize your ROI. At mardevdm2, we partner with you throughout each stage of your marketing process so you see the best results for your budget and your business. http://www.mardevdm2.com/  

Purple Square Consulting, a boutique marketing, data and technology agency whose primary objective is to assist you in defining, building and developing the most appropriate solutions to deliver your CRM and marketing objectives. We are not software developers but concentrate on helping our clients develop optimum solutions utilising a range of marketing technologies (including IBM Unica; Cognos; SPSS; Coremetrics) and work with you to obtain extra value from your investment. Find out more about Purple Square Consulting  

Metametrics is a new breed of analytics agency that blends brand marketing, planning, CRM and insight practice to help our clients simplify marketing investment decisions and improve ROI.

Find out more about metametric.

 

more2 LLC specializes in helping mail order, catalog and multi-channel retailers profit through more intelligent targeting of their house file campaigns. Using all your data, from all your data sources, we build a single customer view database and apply complex and highly specialized modeling techniques to enable to you to select more profitable customers than before and to suppress greater numbers of unprofitable customers. Find out more at more2 LLC  

 

PulsePoint is a digital media technology company committed to helping marketers and publishers gain greater audience transparency and deeper engagement across digital channels at an unprecedented scale. PulsePoint’s holistic platform integrates analytic and ad-serving solutions that power predictable audience engagement across display, social, mobile, video and email.Find out more at PulsePoint.

 

Cyance - Clever b2b marketing: that's what you get from Cyance. As award-winning b2b experts, they offer a level of business marketing intelligence that's hard to beat. By combining know-how with the most advanced marketing science, they provide a unique insight into the world of digital and data marketing and then show you how to exploit it to your fullest advantage. Find out more at Cyance  

 

DQM Group - DQM Group is the most trusted independent provider of Data Governance services to the UK marketing industry. Formed in 1996, 80% of the country’s leading data suppliers, and increasingly leading brands too, rely on DQM Group to minimise their data risks and maximise the value of their data assets. Find out more at DQM Group.

 

 

Adobe, featuring Omniture technology, is the leading provider of online business optimization, which it delivers through the Adobe Digital Marketing Suite. Online business optimization is a strategy used to leverage consumer insights, drive innovation, and optimize online marketing initiatives. Find out more about Adobe Omniture.  

 

Storm Post - A new dimension in Digital Marketing. StormPost offers unparalleled audience insights so you can optimize messages across email, social and mobile inbox. Deliver, Discover, Drive revenue. Find out more about StormPost.  

 

Lead Forensics - Lead Forensics is intelligent software which enables you to uncover new and lost sales opportunities from your website. Enabling you to view and export data on who is visiting your website, including contact details, pages viewed, as well as how many visits they made to your site and specific pages, Lead Forensics gives your sales team all the information they need to close the sale. Find out more about Lead Forensics.  

 

Direct Marketing International magazine is the only publication which has global reach among international direct and interactive marketing professionals.The next London event is kindly sponsored by DMi. To visit the DMi web site click here.  

 

GMA – the Global Marketing Alliance - a new business club, formed for international marketing associates to meet up, communicate and share news. Become a member online or receive your temporary membership card on the 9th!  

Global-Z - With more than 20 years of experience working with global marketing data, we have the knowledge, expertise, superior technology, and industry-leading customer service to help you get there.. Find out more about Global-Z  

Dun & Bradstreet - D&B (NYSE:DNB) is the world’s leading source of commercial information and insight on businesses, enabling companies to Decide with Confidence® for 167 years. D&B’s global commercial database contains more than 140 million business records.. Click here  

Founded in 1967, Data Services is the industry leader in providing global data processing services for U.S., Canadian, and international direct mail & email files/databases with competitive pricing and exceptional customer service.. Click here  

 

Centurion - CENTURION Lists & Information Services, Inc. is the industry standard for quality postal, email, telemarketing lists, and social media management for all your direct marketing needs.. Find out more about Centurion.  

Virgin Insight - Virgin Insight deliver data driven marketing solutions working with the Virgin Group of companies including: Virgin Active, Virgin Holidays, Virgin Money, Virgin Trains, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Media and Virgin Management .  

Jobsworth is a boutique recruitment consultancy specialising is sourcing quality candidates in the marketing services sector, covering a range of jobs and skills including Client Services, Planning, Analytics & Insight, Database Management and Sales from Managing Director down to 2nd/3rd jobbers. More >  

Mustard Digital are specialists in alert and notification solutions. Through online data driven marketing we help our clients understand their customers better, acquire more of them and improve their relationship with them. We do this by enabling them to target them with more relevant and timely messages. More >

 

Portrait software. Portrait Software enables organizations to engage with each of their customers as individuals, resulting in improved customer profitability, increased retention, reduced risk, and outstanding customer experiences. More >    

Direct Recruitment - Marketing, Digital, Media. Like to build great relationships with candidates, listening to their needs and helping them to make the right moves for their career. We like to build great relationships with clients, taking the time to find out what they need and what kind of individuals will best suit their culture. More >    

Bebo an online social experience that helps you discover what's going on with your world and helps the world discover what's going on with you. More >    

DMI News The Global Gateway to Marketing News Powered by DMI Magazine. More >    

Blue Sheep Blue Sheep was founded in 1983 and is now recognised as an innovative, industry-leading B2B Marketing Services provider. The business has an enviable client portfolio which lists many household names and has grown organically through the development of its trademark services and leading online and offline products and services. More >

   

Cyan Search is a boutique executive search company, focusing on marketing services and media sectors. More >    

Kinexus are expert Internet Marketing Solution providers. We expertly harness the power of the Internet to make complete customer connections and help you forge lasting relationships. More >    

Email IQ. Permission email marketing from email iQ - track open and click through activity in emails, landing pages, surveys, websites and e-commerce sites. More >    

EHS 4D Discovery is the data business within the EHS 4D Group, one of the world’s leading direct marketing, data and digital communications groups, part of Euro RSCG 4D Worldwide. More >    

Alterian is a global provider of marketing and customer insight solutions which enable businesses to improve the effectiveness of marketing activity through sophisticated customer insight. More >

   

smartFOCUS through their Intelligent Marketing solutions thousands of marketers are more effectively and affordably transforming marketing performance to inspire customers. Our powerful, easy to use Multi-Channel Marketing Solutions empower marketers. More >

   

  

Celerity is a pioneer of specialist data management techniques that give you real-life customer insight. More >  

Zalpha a global provider of marketing and customer insight solutions, which enable businesses to improve the effectiveness of marketing activity through sophisticated customer insight. They were part of the WWAV Rapp Collins group now known as UK RAPP. Not sure if Zalpha as a brand still exists. Do you? More >    

Jobsworth is a boutique recruitment consultancy specialising is sourcing quality candidates in the marketing services sector. We have been trading for over 5 years and through a combination of hard work and great service have built up an extensive network of excellent candidates covering the full range of jobs and skills including Client Services, Planning, Analytics & Insight, Database Management and Sales from Managing Director down to 2nd/3rd jobbers.

Resources and links you may find useful:

 

Pick the brains and interact with other likeminded individuals

A number of marketing hybrids run their own blogs and web sites. Feel free to dip in to these or contribute. There are also discussion threads on the Marketing Hybrid Networking Group on Linked In.

 

  Simon Daniels

Marketing Insight Guy - Simon DanielsMarketing Insight Guy is the alter ego of experienced marketing insight and operations professional Simon Daniels. In the Diary of a Marketing Insight Guy blog he shares thoughts, ideas and anecdotes on marketing

insight and operations which you will hopefully find useful or interesting, together with raising the profile of the marketing insight/operations function. Visit the Marketing Insight Guy blog

Link to Simon on LinkedIn

Gary Palmer

Chief Alchemist - Gary PalmerA seasoned direct marketing professional with considerable management experience in both operations and strategy. Gary also runs Information Alchemy, a free website dedicated to providing practitioners with resources and advice on Database Marketing, Data Quality and Information Management. Visit the Information Alchemy website. Visit the alchemy web site

Link to Gary on LinkedIn

    If you would like to contribute or can suggest another resource you would like to see here then please contact us.

Some other useful links and resources as suggested by members Mustard Digital

Mustard Digital are specialists in alert and notification solutions. Through online data driven marketing we help our clients understand their customers better, acquire more of them and improve their relationship with them. We do this by enabling them to target them with more relevant and timely messages. Go to the Mustard Digital web site

    Dashboard It seems that every day sees the launch of a new CRM system, and there are a number of great solutions available. But here’s a web based service that focuses on just one thing and does it very well – lead management. Capture new leads, track their status, convert to opportunities and create reporting in a clean and simple interface. Go to the Dashboard web site     GRC Database Information

Graham Rhind needs little introduction in international address and data quality circles. If you need advice or support on almost any aspect of name and address data management, start here. Go to the GRC web site

    Tamara Gielen Email Marketing Independent advice and guidance on email marketing strategy and execution. Take advantage of Tamara’s free email tips newsletters. Go to Tamara's web site     Data Services, Inc

International data management, data sourcing and direct marketing services. Go to the Data Services web site

    Platt Perspective on Business and Technology

Somewhat wordy but very thoughtful blog on wide ranging topics around online marketing, social media (especially in a business context) and business start-ups.Go to the Platt Perspective blog

Hybrid Networks: Lessons Learned andFuture Challenges Based on

ESnet4 ExperienceInder Monga, Chin Guok, William E. Johnston, and Brian Tierney, Lawrence Berkeley NationalLaboratory/ESnetSee “National Lab” and“User Facilities” tabs athttp://www.sc.doe.gov/

INTRODUCTIONAcross a number of scientific disciplines, users are demanding more network capabilities, including higher network end-to-end throughput, guaranteed bandwidth, and quality of service, in

order to collaborate and share large amounts of data around the globe. In many fields, scientific discovery is now directly related to the amount of data that can be shared, accessed, and processed

collaboratively. Our understanding of the requirements of

modern science for network services has emerged from detailed discussions with researchers.

ABSTRACTESnet, the Energy Sciences Network, has the mission of providing the network infrastructure to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science programs and facilities, which depend

on large collaborations and large-scale data sharing, enabling them to accomplish their science. ESnet4 — a hybrid IP and dynamic circuit network designed in 2006 and completed in 2008 —

has managed to effectively satisfy the networking needs

of the science community, easily handling dramatic

growth in traffic requirements: around 80 percent growth year over year and 300 percent growth with the Large Hadron Collider

(LHC) coming online. In this article, we examine the benefits and limitations of the current hybrid architecture based on actual production experience; discuss open research problems; and

Predict factors that will drive the evolution of Hybrid networks, including advances in network technology, new computer architectures, and the onset of large-scale distributed computing.

about how their analysis and simulation systems actually work: where the data originates, how many systems are involved in

the analysis, how the systems and collaborators are distributed, how much data flows among these systems, how complex the work flow is, what the time sensitivities are , and so forth. Such applications are typically data-intensive and high-performance, frequently moving terabytes a day for months at a time; high-duty cycle, operating most of the day for months at a time in order to meet requirements for data movement and analysis; and widely distributed, typically spread over continental or intercontinental

distances. Considering the overall requirements, a set of generic but important goals were identified for any network and network

services implementation [1]: Bandwidth: Adequate network capacity is required to ensure timely and high-performance

movement of data produced by the facilities. Reliability: High reliability is required for large instruments and “systems of systems” (large distributed systems) that now dependon the wide area network (WAN) for internode communication.Connectivity: The network must have geographic reach — either directly or through peering arrangements with other networks —sufficient to connect users and collaborators and analysis systems to U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science (SC)facilities. Services: Guaranteed bandwidth, traffic isolation, end-to-end monitoring, and so on are required as network services, and these

must be presented to the users in the con-text of service oriented architecture (SOA),the grid, and “systems of systems,” which are the programming paradigms of modern science. In addition, the nodes of the distributed systems must be able to get guarantees from the network that there is adequate network capacity over the entire lifetime of the task at hand. The systems must also be able to get performance and state information from the network to support

graceful failure, auto-recovery, and adaptation to unexpected network conditions that are short of outright failure. To address the above science needs, ESnet4 was designed as a hybrid network consisting of two core networks:

• An IP core that carries all the commodity IP traffic • A circuit-oriented core (called the Science Data Network or SDN) primarily designed to carry large scientific data flows [1] Both cores connect to peer research and education (R&E) networks in order to scale this architecture globally. In this article, we present a brief overview of the ESnet4 hybrid network; discuss lessons learned, benefits realized, and unsolved challenges for the community; and briefly look at the future technologies and requirements that will

Drive the next-generation architecture of hybrid networking.

ESNET4: A BRIEF OVERVIEW

ESnet is a national infrastructure with a richly interconnected topology built from multiple 10 Gb/s circuits connecting a collection of points of presence (PoPs) in major U.S. cities and at

national R&E exchange points. The optical infrastructure covers most of the United States in six interconnected rings. One 10 Gb/s foot- print on the core network is dedicated to general IP traffic, and all other 10 Gb/s links are devoted to the SDN. At the current rate of increase, the SDN will use 40–60 Gb/s on most of the national network by 2011. Additionally, all of the DOE national laboratories are dually connected to the core, mostly by a collection of metro area optical rings in the San Francisco Bay, Chicago, and New York-Long Island area. Laboratories not in

these metro areas are connected by loops off the core network (Fig. 1). The On Demand Secure Circuits and Reservation System (OSCARS) virtual circuit service that serves the science applications is essentially a network management and control system for multi protocol label switching;MPLS. 3 OSCARS

supports routing constraints that are outside of ESnet sites ESnet sites with redundant ESnet edge devices (routers or switches)

Circuit connections to other science networks (e.g. in Europe)

Atlanta New York Washington the scope of the standard MPLS with Traffic Engineering (MPLS-TE) network configuration tools. In particular, due to the temporal nature of the circuits (reservation-based with a specified bandwidth, and start and end times), OSCARS manages a centralized temporal topology database that contains all of the link capacities and commitments over time. The link topology information is obtained using the

Open Shortest Path First-Traffic Engineering (OSPF-TE) extension of the OSPF routing protocol used in the core network. Requests for new circuits are processed based on the link availability

information in the topology database. Once a path is determined (assuming the request is consistent with available link capacities),

it is set up link by link through the network using Resource Reservation Protocol with TE (RSVP-TE) to construct the MPLS

label switched path (LSP) that defines the virtual circuit provided to the user. At the data transport layer, which is the transport

service offered to the user, the circuit can be established at layer 2 as a tagged Ethernet virtual local area network (VLAN) or at layer 3 as special routing applied to the IP address of the source (the science system). The bandwidth guarantees are provided: By assigning the circuit traffic an elevated queueing priority By doing admission control so that no link that carries OSCARS circuit traffic is ever oversubscribed By managing the traffic flowing into each virtual circuit This ensures that the circuit traffic has priority

over any other traffic on the link and that circuits do not interfere with each other. The virtual circuits are rate-limited at the ingress but permitted to burst above the allocated bandwidth if idle capacity is available. This is accomplished without interfering with other cir- IEEE Communications Magazine May 2011

Conclusion of hybrid network