Discuss the reasons for the growing interest in and availability of high-speed alternatives for wide area networking. Solution A wide area network (WAN) is a telecommunications network, usually used for connecting computers, which spreads over large geographical area such as between cities , states or even countries .Generally WANs are used by organizations or corporations in order to exchange the data between their computers in offices .Most large corporations such as Verizon , ATT with facilities at multiple locations use WANs and even small businesses with just two remote sites increasingly use WANs. Internet is in essence a very large WAN. Disadvantages of WAN Most of the organizations are trying to reduce the number of data centers by consolidation, often by virtualizing servers and other hardware. This caused reduction in the number of data centers and growth in the number of users who work remotely greatly increase demands on the WAN. Growing volumes of data also stress WANs. Network faces challenges with newer technologies, such as desktop virtualization, and voice and video applications. Whether deployed on a mobile device or some other network endpoint, these technologies produce large volumes of network traffic, which leads to congestion and saturation of network links. This can slow application response and degrade delivery of multimedia content. Network Optimization needs to be done in order to meet all the demands. One way to address poor WAN performance is simply to acquire more bandwidth for the long-distance connections among data centers and branch offices. Most of the Organizations would prefer to reduce, not increase, their operations and maintenance costs, which would provide more money for innovative application development related to the organization’s mission. Cost and performance drives the organizations to look for high speed alternatives for wide area networking. While the Internet and other networking developments have changed the face of WANs and have threatened some older forms of WAN technology, a number of experts believe they will become more important rather than less, as trends like globalization and telecommuting create new demand for high-power long-distance networking. Demand for network bandwidth will continue to grow. One technology forecast saw corporate WAN traffic rising by as much as 30 percent a year through 2002, and much of this traffic will increasingly be routed through public networks using virtual private network technology rather than the closed private networks of the past. .