The following materials will be referred to during the station interconnect. These high-level drawings, based on information collected from stations, depict how interconnected stations typically use and deploy their network based systems. When prompted, please refer to the following:
Configuration 1 - Multi-Layered Network
Configuration 2 - Combined Network
Configuration 3 - Separate Production Network
Configuration 4 - Workgroups by Function
Configuration 5 - Very Small or No Network
Notes:
Interconnection of these systems is typically across a Local Area Network (LAN), the infrastructure that physically connects the various networked-based systems together.
Besides the hardwire interconnections (cable, hub, switches, routers, etc.) many options exist for protocol deployment across these LANs. The usage of different protocols (IP, IPX, NetBEUI, etc.) varies due to their differing advantages and capabilities.
The five configuration examples describe at a high level how stations typically use and deploy their LAN. The configurations focus on the functions of the stations' networked-based systems; how they may be interconnected; and how resources are shared. The technical details of how this is accomplished are for another discussion, which will follow once a deployment strategy has been determined.
Network implementation and physical installations are based upon very specific local station needs. Though no two networks are exactly alike, in some cases, these networks must interoperate. Station's usage of networked systems generally can be classified by three major functions:
Office Administration (basic office applications such as email, accounting, word processing, and printing,)
Broadcast Production (Digital Audio Workstations (DAW), storage arrays, file administration, and database engines)
Multimedia (HTTP content servers, streaming audio and video, static file download, LDAP, and text archives)
Through the use of these basic drawings, NPR Distribution is describing how stations are deploying their LANs to interconnect the above functions. The drawings depict "building blocks" of functions and how they are interconnected, if at all. Please note that any networking addresses that may be represented in these drawings are for identification purposes only and do not indicate "valid" network subnets or actual routes.
Configuration 1 | Configuration 2 | Configuration 3 | Configuration 4 | Configuration 5