Using the Internet as a Corporate Backbone To this point, we have focused our attention mainly on the use of the Internet as a mechanism for providing access to information resources outside the organization or as a way to make information available to external customers. However, many progressive organizations are evaluating the use of the Internet as a corporate backbone linking a central headquarters to satellite offices. For companies that lack such a private infrastructure, the potential is great for integrating these remote sites into a common information infrastructure. For organizations that already maintain private wide area networks, there is significant potential for cost savings. Developing such a corporate network is not without challenges and risks. One of the greatest challenges lies in the fact that most organizations continue to be dependent on proprietary networking technologies for many of their production systems. Si nce the Internet is a TCP/IP network, companies are faced with two options when they consider using the Internet as a backbone. One option would be to convert all of the production systems to use TCP/IP as an underlying network technology. The second alternative is to find a way to carry proprietary network traffic across the Internet. Both are possible. Migrating to TCP/IP Novell and Microsoft, for example, for years depended on proprietary network protocols on network operating systems. Now both companies provide technologies that allow users to access network servers over TCP/IP. Novell offers NetWare/IP bundled with NetWare. While functional, it does come with some gotchas including limited support for non-Novell TCP/IP protocol stacks. Microsoft has similar capabilities in its Windows NT operating system. Both of these options are viable, but they each require some reengineering of existing infrastructure. Security is the other major concern of companies contemplating the use of the Internet as a backbone. While significant progress has come in recent years through the development of security firewalls and encryption technologies, much work remains to be done before these systems can pass muster with a knowledgeable auditor. Given the potential for cost savings, it is likely that suitable technologies will be delivered to the market before long. Next Return to Table of Contents November 15, 1996 Print This Page E-mail this URL