Highly available networks have to be planned and maintained. The probability of success for these activities is improved by the application of three fundamental principles: Simplicity, Manageability and Scalability.
To deploy a business-critical IP-based service, the network upon which the IP runs must be:
Easy to configure
Easy to monitor and troubleshoot
Extensible with minimum reconfiguration, that is, designed with enough resources to grow with the business the IP supports
