A DEN for the BEASP
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In our last column, we discussed what TeleChoice believes is the next big step in the evolution of networking: the Broadband Enabled Application Service Provider (BEASP or ASP). The ASP will provide a package of applications, software, support and communications as part of an integrated service. These services will probably be designed for specific customer groups or markets, and many will take the form of extranets that provide a complete method for connecting supply chains.
One important initiative aimed at consolidating services and applications is the development of Directory Enabled Network (DEN). DEN is not yet a standard, but it is an open network architecture being developed by Microsoft and Cisco. It's intended to integrate a company's data network and directory to make nets easier to manage and grow.
A major benefit of DEN is the improved network intelligence that results when remote devices can swap information with other devices. Think of Star Trek's Borg. Alone, a Borg had limited intelligence, but every Borg knew the location and thoughts of every other Borg. So the Borg's ability to coordinate and direct resources in real time was exceptional.
In Kevin Kelly's book, New Rules for the New Economy, he discusses the power of connecting all things large and small to a global network. It takes something such as DEN to make this happen and to bring about the benefits to the economy and society Kelly describes.
DEN will also be used to usher in an era of policy-based networking. Use of network resources is profile-driven, providing the ability to identify a user and map him to a set of approved resources and security requirements. Why is this important? Today there is no good link between the net and user or application requirements. The important customer order from your Web site is treated the same as the spam you receive.
Extranet services will need a strict prioritization of network resources based on user, time of day, application or any number of factors. The glue for tying a user or device to a policy system and network resource is the directory.
DEN has the potential to be the signaling system for IP networks, linking policy management systems with network resources. Signaling will be a critical network component to the ASP because it helps link a physical network to a hosted application, thus forming a foundation for extranet and applications-based services.
But DEN isn't yet being worked on by the IETF. And although Cisco and Microsoft are throwing their weight behind DEN development and service providers, such as Qwest, are supporting it, there's still a lot of work to be done.
So what can you do to position yourself to take advantage of DEN when it arrives? Start organizing your net resources and business processes around directories. As you build directories, make sure they are Lightweight Directory Access Protocol 3-compliant and extensible. This will position you to take advantage of virtual private networks with early quality-of-service capabilities and position you to eventually exchange security and network resource information automatically between your local network and your WAN service provider.
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