The Executive's Basic Guide to Intranets
4. How Does an Intranet Work with Existing Networks?
Generally speaking, intranets are constructed by implementing a common language
--the Internet's TCP/IP protocol--
across the enterprise, to enable the exchange of information between all existing (as well
as newly developed) networks and network devices.
At its core, the basic network infrastructure needed to support an intranet
consists of networking devices --hubs, switches, and routers-- all of which
understand the TCP/IP protocol that is being used to transmit data across
divergent networks. Hubs provide connectivity for desktops, printers, and
servers, and are used to build LANs. While LANs are connected via switches
and/or routers. At the desktop level, Network Interface Cards (NICs) are added
to each PC to enable it to talk to other equipment on the network. All of these
devices work in tandem to move data throughout an organization as well as to
the Internet or other private networks.
Many organizations have "legacy systems" that need to be incorporated into an
intranet. Some of these legacy systems were developed before the advent of LANs
and therefore may not be capable of interpreting or speaking TCP/IP. Most often
these are older mainframe or computer systems running mission critical
applications crunching sensitive company information. Environments using the
Systems Network Architecture (SNA) --a suite of protocols used to connect IBM
mainframe systems-- are a typical example of a proprietary (non-standard)
protocol that requires a gateway in order to be accessed by users on a TCP/IP
network.
IPX (Internet Packet Exchange)
is another example of a widely used proprietary protocol developed by Novell that
requires a special technique called "tunneling" that enables NetWare networks
to send and receive data to and from TCP/IP networks. Some older versions of
NetWare do not support this technique and also require a gateway to enable data
transmission.
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