This report is an evaluation of existing network infrastructure designs and how they have evolved over time. This evolution
now includes the consistent need of
technological upgrades because of the new demands that are being placed on the existing systems by new applications and philosophies such as VoIP. As the technological evolution of both local and wide area networks continues to progress, it appears that the only way for the network administration to reach this optimum level of efficiency would seem to be by completely starting over from scratch. The networking factions also have moved through the spectrum of technological advances and breakthroughs that have come out so fast that they cause a problem of when to upgrade and when to stay put with the existing system. This report therefore utilizes publications, whitepapers and other research documentation with a focus on the maintenance, design and implementation of local and wide area networks with a specific emphasis on issues relating to IP
telephony (Voice Over IP aka VoIP) traffic, traffic and load balancing, quality of service and the limitations imposed by existing load management technologies in prioritizing and maintaining reliable merged data and telephony services on public (shared) and private LAN/WAN environments, including the internet.