Medianet Reference Guide - Cisco

Chapter 1
Medianet Architecture Overview
Challenges of Medianets
Another source of new media streams on the network is “unmanaged” media applications; namely,
applications which are considered primarily for consumers, but are also used by corporate employees.
Many of these unmanaged media applications may fall into a gray area for some companies in terms of
usage policies. For instance, at first glance, consumer media sharing sites such as YouTube may appear
to be clearly consumer-only applicability; however, many of these same services also contain videos that
can provide considerable know-how and information that are useful to employees as well.
Figure 1-3
Media Explosion Driving New Convergence Evolution
Data Convergence Media Explosion Collaborative M
Video
Voice
• Interactive Video
• Streaming Video
• IP Telephony
Unmanaged
Applications
Video
Voice
• Internet Streaming
• Internet VoIP
• YouTube
• MySpace
• Other
• Desktop Streaming Video
• Desktop Broadcast Video
• Digital Signage
• IP Video Surveillance
• Desktop Video Conferencing
• HD Video
• IP Telephony
• HD Audio
• SoftPhone
• Other VoIP
Ad-Hoc App
Data
Apps
• App Sharing
• Web/Internet
• Messaging
• Email
Data
Apps
• App Sharing
• Web/Internet
• Messaging
• Email
Data
Apps
• App Sharing
• Web/Internet
• Messaging
• Email
Beyond the current “media explosion” which is driving a new wave of IP convergence, new and exciting
applications targeted at collaboration are integrating numerous types of streams and media into end-user
applications. Cisco TelePresence is one example, combining HD video streams, HD audio, application
sharing, and some level of interoperability with traditional video conferencing, into an overall
collaboration tool and near in-person meeting experience. Cisco WebEx is another example, combining
many types of media sharing for web-based meetings. Such applications provide new challenges for
prioritizing media application streams.
The explosion of media content, types and applications—both managed and unmanaged—requires
network architects to take a new look at their media application provisioning strategy. Without a clear
strategy, the number and volume of media applications on the IP network could very well exceed the
ability of the network administrator to provision and manage.
Media Application Integration
As media applications increase on the IP network, integration will play a key role in two ways: first,
media streams and endpoints will be increasingly leveraged by multiple applications. For example,
desktop video endpoints may be leveraged for desktop video conferencing, web conferencing, and for
viewing stored streaming video for training and executive communications.
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Medianet Reference Guide
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