Infrastucture

Connectivity To Power Business

Today, the fixed edge is giving way to a new "mobile edge" - a new way of connecting users to information. The mobile edge transcends the enterprise network perimeter, appearing wherever the user needs access to information - in the central office, in a regional or branch office, at retail outlets, at home, and on the road. The mobile edge embraces mobility, security, and convergence, solving the problems of all three areas simultaneously while delivering dramatic economic savings over traditional fixed networks.

The mobile edge uses wireless networks, both for voice and data, wherever wireless can be used. Inside enterprise facilities, high-performance and highly-reliable wireless LANs are deployed to provide dense coverage. In homes, hotel rooms, other companies, and wherever Internet-connected Ethernet ports are available, portable wireless access points provide secure connectivity back to the nearest enterprise facility. Finally, at public wireless hotspots, client software provides a secure link to the nearest mobile edge location.

The mobile edge is an overlay network consisting of both hardware and software. It makes use of existing high-speed networks - the enterprise LAN, the enterprise WAN, and the Internet. The mobile edge does not replace these existing networks, but deploys on top of them as a service overlay, preventing disruptive equipment changes and preserving existing investment. Most enterprise networks have been engineered for high performance and high reliability - many have multi-gigabit backbones, dual redundant fiber to each wiring closet, and hot-standby datacenters. There is no need to change these networks to add mobility, security, and convergence. Instead, these three additions can be delivered as network services through the mobile edge. In addition, these services can be implemented in a phased approach, avoiding the disruption of large-scale cutovers.