Cabletron Systems Cabletron BRIM-F6, Networking Manual

Page: 47 / 132

The Role of the Workgroup 5-7
Network Design
Priority Organization
Priority organization is a flexible term that refers to the Network Manager
assigning devices to workgroups based on specific priorities. As such, it is the
most flexible scheme for creating workgroups, because it is based solely on the
relative importance of certain network characteristics to individual end users and
equipment. Priority organization can be used to create high-speed,
high-reliability, or rapidly recovering workgroups to those stations requiring
those characteristics. Unfortunately, it combines some of the worst features of the
other methods of arranging workgroups as the cost of this level of control.
An example of priority organization is the common practice of connecting all the
file servers for a particular facility to a high-speed network access device in a
single location, regardless of the location of the workgroups needing access to
them. This practice is known as “server farming,” and is used, in many cases, to
keep network users from attempting to repair, reconfigure, or use the servers in
imaginative, and often hazardous, ways.
Figure 5-4. Priority Organization Workgroups
: Sales Workstations
: Research Workstations
: Receiving Workstations
: Priority Workgroup
: Standard Workgroup
f/s f/s
f/s
: File Servers
f/s