Problem Of Multi Vendor Network Computer Science Essay

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Any Network where different types of systems from different companies and having different technology are connected and must communicate with each other successfully is known as a Multi Vendor Network Environment. The important thing here is that the Protocol layers such as TCP/IP and SS7 allow for such a communication and are thus important for this reason.

Simplest example is the internet. Thousands of Windows and Linux and Macintoshes and UNIXs connected together to create the internet and all communicating efficiently all thanks to the TCP/IP set of protocols...

Two vendors proposed standard. Some or all of the functions may be unusable due to incompatibilities may choose to implement a different subset of a standard or implement ambiguous standards in different ways. In some cases there is no standard, or it is a.

Software and hardware design flaws:

Companies often test their products as a system but seldom test with equipment from other vendors. Design errors may cause devices to work only with devices

from the same vendor.

Resource limitations:

A device from one vendor may indirectly require a level of resources from other devices that they are not able to provide. One device may only expect 20 network sessions while the other may expect 100.

Undetected errors:

Slight differences in protocol implementations can cause information to be changed and in some cases it is not caught by error detection features of the protocols.

Terminology differences:

When trying to design and configure a system, two vendors may use completely different terminology, or interoperate some specifications differently. That can result in mix-configured systems or performance issues.

Form-factor mechanical issues:

Products from different vendors may require different mounting hardware, racks, ventilation, etc. That can make it difficult to combine them into a single physical location or can result in inefficient use of available space.

User interface problems:

The user interface for products from different vendors may be so different that it becomes complicated to maintain or use the system. Users will tend to become familiar with the most frequently used interfaces and may do things incorrectly or spend excessive time on the other parts of the system.

Update cycle issues:

Two different vendors may introduce changes or bug fixes at different times and it may be necessary to wait for all the vendors to have compatible product updates. This is also a problem with products from a single vendor, but worse with multiple vendors.

Feature bundling:

Because vendors may use a different approach to what features are in what classes of products it may be necessary to purchase unnecessary features to get those required to make all the devices work together. That can result in higher cost and complexity for the system.

Obsolescence cycle issues:

Vendors may have different obsolescence policies and time periods. That can make system migration difficult. In some cases an entire system must be replaced because obsolete parts from vendors can't be replaced in a way that allows the system to function properly.

Personnel costs:

It may not be possible to hire one person who understands the products from all the different vendors or has the necessary qualifications. Combining products from different vendors can result in higher personnel costs in order to cover all of the required knowledge to maintain the system.

Spare parts costs:

All of the devices from a particular vendor may have a common set of spare parts such as power supplies, CPU cards, or mounting hardware. When multiple vendors are used it can drastically increase the cost for spare parts initially and the costs for maintaining and managing the inventory of spare parts.



As technology is advancing rapidly, network-cards are becoming cheaper and much faster - 100 MBits Ethernet is standard now and in about 1 to 2 years 1000 MBits i.e. 1GigBits Ethernet cards will become an industry standard. With high-speed network cards, remote access will become as fast as the local disk access which will make diskless nodes a viable alternative to workstations in local LAN. Also diskless nodes eliminate the cost of software upgrades and system administration costs like backup, recovery which will be centralized on the server side. Diskless nodes also enable "sharing/optimization" of centralized server CPU, memory, hard-disk, tape and CD ROM resources. Diskless nodes provides mobility for the users i.e., users can log on from any one of diskless nodes and are not tied to one workstation. Diskless Linux box completely eliminates the need for local floppy disk, CD ROM drive, tape drive and hard-disk. Diskless nodes JUST has a network card, 8MB RAM, a low-end CPU and a very simple mother-board which does not have any interface sockets/slots for hard-disks, modem, CD ROM, floppy etc.. With Diskless Linux nodes you can run programs on remote Linux 64 CPU SMP box or even on Linux super-computer! A diskless node lowers the "Total Cost of Ownership" of the computer system.



Diskless Linux computer will become immensely popular and will be the product of this century and in the next century. The diskless Linux computers will be very successful because of the availability of very high-speed network cards at very low prices. Today 100 Megabit per second (11.92 Megabytes per sec transfer rate) network cards are common and in about 1 to 2 years 1000 MBit (119.2 Megabytes per sec transfer rate) network cards will become very cheap and will be the standard.

In near future, Monitor manufacturers will place the CPU, NIC, RAM right inside the monitor to form a diskless computer!! This eliminates the diskless computer box and saves space. The monitor will have outlet for mouse, keyboard, network RJ45 and power supply.

The following are benefits of using diskless computers -

Fastest upgrade: NO time-consuming UPGRADES at all!! With 'Live Linux' CDROM upgrading diskless workstation is just "throw-away-old-CDROM-and-pop-in-new-CDROM-into-drive". Just takes 5 seconds to upgrade!

Sharing RAM: Sharing of central server RAM memory by many diskless computer users. For example, if many users are using a web browser then in the server RAM there will be only one copy of web browser in the RAM. In case Windows 95 PCs, many users need to have individual copy of web browser in local RAM and hence there is wastage of RAM space. Since the RAM in server is "shared" by hundreds of diskless clients, this will be a huge savings in the cost of memory. You can pool the RAM memory by shifting memory from clients to server.

Run from: Diskless Linux computers can run BOTH MS Windows 95/NT and Linux programs.

Cost: Total cost of ownership is very low in case of Diskless computers. Total cost of ownership is cost of initial purchasing + cost of maintenance. The cost of maintenance is usually 3 to 5 times the cost of initial computer purchase and this cost is recurring year after year. In case of Diskless computers, the cost of maintenance is completely eliminated!!

Security: All the backups are centralized at one single main server. More security of data as it is located at server.

No need of UPS battery, air-conditioning, and dust proof environment for diskless clients, only server needs UPS battery, A/C and dust proof environment. Only remote server inside the "Data Center" needs to have UPS, Redundant power supply, Portable Diesel Electric generator, A/C, Fire protection, highly restricted access with locked and secure door to "Data Center".

Noise: Noise is completely eliminated since diskless computer does not have Fan motor and local hard-disk. Only server makes lots of noise but it is enclosed in a server room ("Data Center").

Protection from Virus attack: Computer virus cannot attack diskless computers as they do not have any hard disk. Virus cannot do any damage to diskless computers. Only one single server box need to be protected against virus attack And Linux are always save from virus. This saves millions of dollars for the company by avoiding installation of vaccines and cleaning the hard disks!!

Server can have large powerful/high performance hard disks: can optimize the usage of disk space via sharing by many diskless computer users. Fault tolerance of hard disk failure is possible by using RAID on main server.

Zero administration at diskless client side. Diskless computers are absolutely maintenance free and trouble free.

Long life of diskless clients - more than 300 years without any hardware or software upgrades.


Eliminates cost of CD-ROM, floppy, tape drive, modem, UPS battery, Printer parallel ports, serial ports etc.

Prevents pilferage of hardware components as diskless node has very little RAM and low-cost CPU. The server has lots of memory and many powerful CPUs.


Diskless nodes work even on wide area network.


Microsoft Windows:-

A diskless system is a device that contains no physical, rotating hard disk drive media, for example, hard disk emulator technology that uses nonvolatile memory. However, a diskless system might contain a removable storage device other than a hard disk, such as a floppy disk drive or a CD-ROM drive.

A diskless system can boot from the following file system sources:

A storage device that does not have physically rotating media, but instead uses flash memory or battery-backed RAM.

A bootable CD-ROM that uses the Windows XP Embedded Enhanced Write Filter (EWF).

A file system that is accessible through a network connection, for example, a system that boots from a file system in a remote location.

ROM-based storage

Reference: -


Windows XP Embedded is a componentized version of Windows XP Professional that contains all of the features, functionality, and familiarity of Windows XP Professional. Windows XP Embedded enables you to rapidly develop reliable and full-featured connected devices. By supporting standard hardware and software, Windows XP Embedded makes it easier and less expensive for you to build a run-time image.

It can use standard, off-the-shelf x86 hardware components in your Windows XP Embedded-based designs. In addition, because Windows XP Embedded supports the Microsoft Win32Â® application programming interface (API), it can use Win32 applications, drivers, or services in your embedded designs with little or no porting required. You can use familiar application development tools like Microsoft Visual StudioÂ® to build your embedded applications quickly. It can also include the MicrosoftÂ® .NET Framework in a run-time image, so that managed code can be run on the device.

Included with WindowsÂ® XP Embedded Service Pack 2 Feature Pack 2007 is WindowsÂ® Embedded Studio for Windows XP Embedded, a suite of tools that specifically target the creation of run-time images for devices and allow you to create components for your own third-party drivers and applications. Also included are Embedded Enabling Features that extend beyond Windows XP Professional functionality by supporting additional media, deployment, and servicing scenarios that are specific to embedded devices.

Reference: -


Date: 26-07-2010

To: -Chief technical Of

Agnuvar Entertainments L.L.C

From: - Md: Shahabuddin

Agnuvar Entertainments L.L.C

Subject: - A brief description of Thin Client

Main Body

1: A Brief Description of this channel


2: Example of Thin Client

Gigabyte TA7 thin client

A Sun Microsystems stateless S270 thin client, sometimes called an ultra thin client

Madero Xpack Web-centric Thin Client

3: Benefits of Thin Client



Advantages of diskless nodes can include lower production cost, lower running costs, quieter operation, and manageability advantages (for example, centrally-managed software installation).

In many universities and in some large organizations, PCs are used in a similar configuration, with some or all applications stored remotely but executed locally-again, for manageability reasons. However, these are not diskless nodes if they still boot from a local hard drive.

Drawbacks of Thin Client

The word drawback may refer to:

In general usage, a disadvantage.

In law in commerce, paying back a duty previously paid on exporting excisable articles or on re-exporting foreign goods. The object of a drawback is to let commodities which are subject to taxation be exported and sold in a foreign country on the same terms as goods from countries where they are untaxed. It differs from a bounty in that a bounty lets commodities be sold abroad at less than their cost price; it may occur, however, under certain conditions that giving a drawback has an effect equivalent to that of a bounty, as in the case of the so-called sugar bounties in Germany (see sugar). The earlier tariffs contained elaborate tables of the drawbacks allowed on exporting or re-exporting commodities, but so far as the United Kingdom is concerned (as of 1911) the system of bonded warehouses practically abolished drawbacks, as commodities can be warehoused (placed in bond) until needed for exportation.

In music, a 1996 album by industrial band X Marks the Pedwalk, see Drawback (album). Also the name of a rock band from Buffalo (my space).

In a tsunami, the withdrawal of water.

Requirements of Network Computer

Minimum screen resolution of 640 x 480 (VGA) or equivalent

Pointing device

Text input capability

Audio output

Many NCs operated via protocols such as BOOTP, DHCP, RARP and NFS

Comparisons of commercial vendor Cisco & juniper

We have been working with Cisco PIX and ASA firewalls in past. Recently, we have started

to evaluate Juniper firewalls in comparison to Cisco. Initial comparison puts Juniper on top of

Everything in Security. Here are few stats.

Max FW Throughput 30 Gbps 20 Gbps 5 Gbps/10 Gbps JF 10 Gbps/20 Gbps JF

Max IPS Throughput 10 Gbps 6 Gbps NA

Max VPN Throughput 10 Gbps 6 Gbps 1 Gbps 1 Gbps

Interfaces 8x Gig-Copper+4

SFP built-in

2x 10 Gig XFP

16x Gig Copper, 16


8 xs







Now, I don't think there is a doc that compares the ASA5580 with the SRXs. But I believe

that Cisco would perform better compared to firewalls of comparative magnitude (at least

proven in the tasted). Now if your needs are 25Gbps through your firewall I don't think that

you could do it using only one ASA so you would either want to see if other vendors indeed

support the speeds they say or evaluate an active/active or multiple ASA5580 solution,

potentially with jumbo frames.

Now if your needs are 25Gbps through your firewall I don't think that you could do it using

only one ASA so you would either want to see if other vendors indeed support the speeds

they say or evaluate an active/active or multiple ASA5580 solution, potentially with jumbo


The problem with this is that if your test also involves IPSec VPN termination, then you

can not do this on ASA Active/Active configuration whereas other vendors can do this.

Most firewall vendors such as Palo Alto use clustering technology to increase throughput

performance by adding additional

hardware. In other words, you can combine 8 different nodes into a single system and can

terminate VPN as well. With Cisco ASA technology, you can

only have two node to Active/Active but when you do that, you lose the ability to do site-2-

site IPSec VPN