The Network Shokunin

(#7 of 7) Throughout this series , I have tried to set out a set of simple design principles I believe all network architects should adhere to in order to ensure the success of their projects.  These have covered properties of the network and their operation which, given the appropriate level of attention, can make the difference between a successful and useful foundation for a customer's IT and one that fails to provide the right kind of underpinning for the services and systems that the customer needs to be successful. An availabl e network ensures that clients can access the applications and services they need to when they need to; a scalable network can grow or shrink to meet demands placed on it by the customer; a secure network ensures that a customer can support their customers with integrity and privacy; a supportable network infrastructure is one which is measurable and transparent, and has the right tooling around it to ease operations; a simple network is ...

Yep, I know.  Already a month in and only now am I blogging about what this year is going to bring!  Well, there's a reason for that.  I spent a good couple of weeks over the Christmas period contemplating my navel - complete down time from the tech and away from the devil they call work!  (As did many of my friends and contemporaries this year interestingly)  And what big conclusions did I draw?  What grand resolutions did I make? Well, none to be honest.  But I did resolve to spend more time putting myself out there in the community, trying to help the less experienced along and pass on the benefit of my painfully-learned wisdom (if only I had some!)  I started a really fun project with my good friend  Malcolm Booden before Christmas, the Network Freestylers  - where we are making videos where we describe topics and technologies using the medium of whiteboarding!  Using our experience and practical skills we use every day in a ...