<s>
Network	B-Protocol
Agility	I-Protocol
is	O
an	O
architectural	O
discipline	O
for	O
computer	B-Architecture
networking	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ability	O
of	O
network	B-Architecture
software	I-Architecture
and	O
hardware	B-Architecture
to	O
automatically	O
control	O
and	O
configure	O
itself	O
and	O
other	O
network	O
assets	O
across	O
any	O
number	O
of	O
devices	O
on	O
a	O
network	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
regards	O
to	O
network	B-Device
hardware	I-Device
,	O
network	B-Protocol
agility	I-Protocol
is	O
used	O
when	O
referring	O
to	O
automatic	O
hardware	B-Architecture
configuration	O
and	O
reconfiguration	O
of	O
network	B-Device
devices	I-Device
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
routers	B-Protocol
,	O
switches	O
,	O
SNMP	B-Protocol
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Network	B-Protocol
agility	I-Protocol
,	O
as	O
a	O
software	O
discipline	O
,	O
borrows	O
from	O
many	O
fields	O
,	O
both	O
technical	O
and	O
commercial	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
the	O
technical	O
side	O
,	O
network	B-Protocol
agility	I-Protocol
solutions	O
leverage	O
techniques	O
from	O
areas	O
such	O
as	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Commercially	O
,	O
network	B-Protocol
agility	I-Protocol
is	O
about	O
solving	O
real-world	O
business	O
problems	O
using	O
existing	O
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
forms	O
a	O
three-way	O
bridge	O
between	O
business	O
processes	O
,	O
hardware	B-Architecture
resources	O
,	O
and	O
software	O
assets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
the	O
set	O
of	O
software	O
assets	O
that	O
run	O
on	O
this	O
hardware	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Much	O
of	O
this	O
input	O
can	O
be	O
obtained	O
through	O
automatic	O
discovery	O
–	O
finding	O
the	O
hardware	B-Architecture
,	O
its	O
types	O
and	O
locations	O
,	O
software	O
,	O
licenses	O
etc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Software	O
resources	O
discovered	O
on	O
the	O
network	O
can	O
take	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
forms	O
–	O
some	O
assets	O
may	O
be	O
licensed	O
software	O
products	O
,	O
others	O
as	O
blocks	O
of	O
software	O
service	O
code	O
that	O
can	O
be	O
accessed	O
via	O
some	O
service	O
enterprise	B-Application
portal	I-Application
,	O
such	O
as	O
(	O
but	O
not	O
necessarily	O
)	O
web	O
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Indeed	O
,	O
the	O
primary	O
motivation	O
of	O
network	B-Protocol
agility	I-Protocol
is	O
to	O
make	O
the	O
most	O
efficient	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
resources	O
available	O
,	O
wherever	O
they	O
may	O
reside	O
,	O
and	O
to	O
identify	O
areas	O
where	O
business	O
process	O
goals	O
are	O
not	O
being	O
satisfied	O
to	O
some	O
benchmark	O
level	O
(	O
and	O
ideally	O
to	O
offer	O
possible	O
solutions	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Network	B-Protocol
agility	I-Protocol
tools	O
are	O
then	O
in	O
a	O
position	O
to	O
optimize	O
the	O
existing	O
hardware	B-Architecture
to	O
run	O
software	O
assets	O
as	O
needed	O
to	O
achieve	O
the	O
business	O
process	O
goals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
network	O
usage	O
is	O
never	O
linear	O
,	O
the	O
hardware/software	O
mix	O
requirements	O
will	O
change	O
dynamically	O
over	O
various	O
time	O
segments	O
(	O
weekly	O
,	O
quarterly	O
,	O
annually	O
etc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
benefits	O
to	O
business	O
of	O
the	O
network	B-Protocol
agility	I-Protocol
approach	O
are	O
obvious	O
–	O
cost	O
savings	O
in	O
software	O
licensing	O
and	O
higher	O
efficiency	O
of	O
hardware	B-Architecture
assets	O
–	O
leading	O
to	O
better	O
productivity	O
.	O
</s>
