Three XML Network Challenges
While XML network traffic opens up new possibilities for connectivity, from a network perspective, XML creates a new set of issues and challenges. These include, first, the additional processing power needed to handle the XML messages arriving at application servers. When an XML packet is received on the server, it needs to be parsed, queried and routed to appropriate handlers. The net effect is that many companies need to double their infrastructure and dedicate additional resources to application servers. And if security is part of the equation, even more resources need to be dedicated to encryption, decryption and access management.
The second challenge is how to cope with the additional bandwidth required to move XML across the network. Since XML is text, it requires significantly more bandwidth than leaner binary formats which in turn requires additional capacity.
A third challenge associated with XML and the network is more subtle and has to do with XML's ability to combine with other technologies to create new ways to doing things. For example, XML in conjunction with JavaScript is being used to increase the responsiveness of web applications. Technologies such as AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) are creating a new model of web interaction, which is getting the attention of network managers due to the possibility of greatly increased bandwidth and processing requirements.
So what's a network manager to do to cope with increasing onslaught of XML traffic? Let's look at each of the challenges in turn and see how the network folks are beginning to cope.