If you have been in IT for more than a few years, you've seen more than one round of branch-in-a-box appliances that consolidated common remote office network gear and offered a mix of file services, WAN and wireless access, and routing and switching. In reality, these were little more than multifunction file servers with limited functionality. But a small or midsize business with simple networking needs could deploy one and be up and running with minimal effort.
Today's iteration of these appliances include devices--like Adtran NetVanta Routers, Cisco Integrated Services Routers and Nortel Secure Routers--that provide routing, switching, compression, caching, firewall and IP PBX functions. Open-source routers such as those from Vyatta let you add other open-source modules to existing platforms. Additional functions, like unified threat management, application acceleration and optimization, and strong centralized management, round out the set.
Verizon is demoing crowd analytics technology that uses 5G along with AI and mobile edge computing to give stadium operators insights into the flow of fans throughout a venue.
As we move closer to fully realizing the potential of Wi-Fi 7, it becomes evident that the RF, signaling, and throughput tests are not merely procedural checkpoints but the pillars of excellence in wireless communication.
With low earth orbit (LEO) satellites fast becoming the norm and 3GPP unifying telecom standards around the globe, the satellite IoT and machine-to-machine (M2M) sector ought to be looking at a bright horizon. But is this the case?
