NETWORK DESIGN IS A COMPLEX PROCESS, requiring knowledge of several disciplines
to include engineering, financial analysis, and computer science.
Although the network design process was never simple, advances in technology
and the introduction of new networking communications facilities
and products resulted in a difficult endeavor becoming more difficult. Today
the network manager and LAN administrator face many difficult decisions
when designing a network. Unlike many occupations where
knowledge in one area is sufficient to perform a job, network managers and
LAN administrators must be knowledgeable concerning multiple disciplines.
For example, it is difficult to interconnect geographically separated
LANs without knowledge of how WANs operate and the transmission facilities
that can be used to facilitate the interconnection of local area networks.