Almost all of the users of your network will never be able to accurately judge the inherent quality of your network. Most will complain that they don't have a GIG port at the desk, which makes the network "slow". Few users will understand how network delay and TCP will incredibly decrease their transfer rate, regardless of their LAN port speed. Only the IT team will see all those great network templates you designed. And next to none will comprehend the elegance of a global, fully dynamic BGP design.
Alas, most users are going to decide if the network is good or bad based on how fast applications respond. Even when the server or the back-end network storage or the application itself is having a problem, users will immediately say "the network is slow". Sigh.
So, one of the best ways to make your network "faster" is making the application faster. And since a lot of user applications these days run over HTTP in a web browser, I argue you should get a faster web browser. Enter Google Chrome.
I've been an IE user for years. Mostly because it had all my bookmarks and that a lot of internal, corporate web sites require it. Then my neighbor mentioned that he had tried Chrome when it was released and it was "FAST". So, I gave it a spin. WOW! He wasn't kidding...it is fast!
I have a My Yahoo page that is rather large. It includes 26 RSS feeds or Yahoo applets. It's where I get all my news. It can take a while to load in IE, but loads very quickly in Chrome. In Chrome, it takes 5 seconds to load that page. In IE it took 15 seconds. NetworkWorld's home page: Chrome in 9 seconds, 12 seconds in IE. Foxnews.com: Chrome = 11 seconds, IE = 16
It seems minor, but it adds up. Plus, Chrome paints the page faster so you see content earlier.
Chrome's one drawback - and this is really not its fault - is some internal websites don't work with it. They have been programmed to work with IE, using special Microsoft features. Thus, I am forced to use two browsers right now. But, it's worth it. Internal, corporate web sites in IE, everything else in Chrome.
If you haven't tried Chrome, go speed up your network today.
More >From the Field blog entries:
Is Comcast's Usage Cap Really That Bad?
Cisco's Arrogance Bugs Me Again
It's One of Those Opinionated Days (Again)
Your Team Organization is Just as Important as Your Standards
Go to Cisco Subnet for more Cisco news, blogs, discussion forums, security alerts, book giveaways, and more.
Michael Morris is a communications engineering manager at a $3-billion high-tech company. His background is in enterprise WANs working with telcos and developing large-scale routing designs. He has worked on networks at government and corporate organizations, including networks at two Fortune 10 companies. In his current role, he leads a team of 10 engineers responsible for large-scale IT networking projects and architectural standards for data networks, storage area networks, IP telephony, contact centers, and security. Michael is CCIE #11733 and recently became one of the first three Cisco Certified Design Experts (CCDE) ever (#20080002). He has 11 years experience in networking and communications, including four years as a paratrooper in the U.S. Army. He has a bachelor's degree in MIS from the University at Buffalo and is working on his MBA from NC State University. In 2008, he was awarded the Network Professional Association (NPA) Professional Excellence and Innovation Award for his work on network architecture, templates and enterprise MPLS design.
The opinions expressed in this Weblog are those of the writer and may not represent the opinions of Network World.
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No Chrome for MAC
Alas, no Chrome for MAC yet. They're working on it, but in the meantime we MAC users have to stick with Safari and Firefox.
--JeffÂ
Remember, its still beta.
Remember, its still beta.
Chrome
I hesitate to use even upgraded versions of Chrome, since my last experience using it (first version) left my computer compromised; have they fixed the security issues beyond all doubt?
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