8 New Network Standards You Need To Know

A fantastic way to project where the future of enterprise networking is headed is to monitor new standards that impact network hardware and software either directly or indirectly. For example, while changes to the 802.11 WiFi standard directly impact networking, new encryption standards and compression codecs have an indirect impact.

It’s important to note how standards get started, and why they’re necessary. For the most part, a new network or protocol standard comes about for one of two reasons. Either there is a new technology trend or an evolution in a preexisting technology that requires updates to an existing standard. IoT can be considered a new IT movement that is causing us to create new network standards that can handle the capacity and low-bandwidth communications of such devices. On the other hand, newly proposed WiFi standards are typically created to tear down limitations found in previous standards. Either way, standards are necessary so networking vendors can create hardware and software that are compatible with one another.

On the following pages, we’ll take a look at eight up-and- coming network standards that will break through current  limitations. We'll examine networking standards at the edge, in the data center, and even out to the cellular and broadband carrier level. Each one can have a significant impact on how you handle networking projects in 2016 and beyond.

Which standards do you think will have the biggest impact for you in the near future? Let us know in the comments section.

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