What is the terminology and technical description for a true enterprise network?

Question

I'm needing to describe a LAN/WAN scenario that is truly enterprise in nature (not with VPN's). What would such an enterprise be called? There is some kind of terminology out there, but I just cannot find it, and need some help understanding how to explain that (just because the enterprise extends out across both state and countries) it's not using the public Internet, nor VPN's over public lines. This is similar to RFC 1918, but there is different wording/terminology used for it on the WAN end.

*****PLEASE ONLY REPLY IF YOU HAVE EXTENSIVE KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT I AM TRYING TO DESCRIBE HERE*****

I'm not talking about the LAN side of this. I am asking how is the best way to describe a true enterprise (the WAN side).

There is a misconception by some that a WAN is going to use the Internet. I know this is not true because I know there are leased lines that can be configured for a WAN. I need more specifics.

Thanks

Answer 1

Not exactly sure what it is that you're asking for.

I'm on a team that manages a large international WAN for a Fortune 300 company. We have a mix of WAN connections, including VPNs over the public internet, private VPNs and leased lines but the vast majority of our branches are interconnected via a managed MPLS network that we implemented to replace our old unmanaged frame-relay network.

A WAN can use the internet via VPNs, private network VPNs, point-to-point connections, frame-relay, and MPLS connections just to name a few. These can be managed or unmanaged, with or without SLAs, pretty much whatever you want and how much money you're willing to spend.