{"id":3563,"date":"2021-05-27T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-27T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.se-trends.de\/?p=3563"},"modified":"2021-05-26T15:00:09","modified_gmt":"2021-05-26T13:00:09","slug":"networks-in-systems-engineering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.se-trends.de\/en\/netzwerke-im-systems-engineering\/","title":{"rendered":"Network thinking in systems engineering"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\"There is a practically invisible network that connects millions of people. People who would otherwise be completely isolated from each other. This exciting technology has developed into an incredibly complex network. It is almost impossible to estimate its total size. This system is: <strong>The modern sewer system<\/strong>.\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This satire by the Blue Man Group humorously shows that while the Internet is one of the most visible networks, it is by no means the only one. As systems engineers, networks (and platforms) are important because they are often the foundation for \"systems of systems\".<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">First of all, instead of network, we could also talk about platform or infrastructure in the context of this article. It is about the idea that many subsystems and sub-systems interact with each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe class=\"lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9hTosCUTmck?feature=oembed\" title=\"This is one of the ways ... All of lives... Intertwine..\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\"  frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption>It is best to switch on German subtitles<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Networks in history<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The concept of networks is thousands of years old and has its roots in trading, i.e. in the business world. One of the better-known examples is the <a href=\"https:\/\/de.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Seidenstra%C3%9Fe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Silk Road<\/a> (since 500 BC) or the many railroad networks. Networks can also be of natural origin, as can be seen from the many former customs borders along rivers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From the 19th century onwards, the development of networks accelerated, as they functioned much more as infrastructure for other services and therefore required a high degree of reliability. These included services such as electricity, water and sewage systems, as the Blue Man Group so beautifully demonstrates in the video.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Networks in antitrust law<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those who master a network often have a major competitive advantage. After all, a homeowner can hardly build a second road if he doesn't like the operator of the road in front of his door. Even if there is theoretically enough space for another infrastructure, in practice it is not always so easy to switch to another one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This was a major issue in Germany at the end of the 1990s, as many networks were operated by the government, such as the railroads and the postal service. The aim of privatization was to prevent the monopoly position from being exploited. This is why, for example, the Bundesbahn was split into several subsidiaries. The <a href=\"https:\/\/de.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/DB_Netz\">DB Netz AG<\/a> is responsible for the operation of the track systems and must also take care of competing companies such as <a href=\"https:\/\/de.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Flixtrain\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Flixtrain<\/a> onto the tracks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even if the network is open to competitors, as is the case with the railroads, it is very difficult to gain a foothold. The lion's share of trains on German tracks is still operated by Deutsche Bahn. How difficult must it be if the network operator does not open up its network voluntarily?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Platforms today<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Internet has created completely new challenges in terms of antitrust law and network formation. After all, lack of space is not a problem there. Even if the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.zeit.de\/news\/2020-10\/20\/us-regierung-mit-wettbewerbsklage-gegen-google\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> search engine Google is often accused of monopolistic behavior<\/a>the situation is difficult to compare with traditional monopolies: after all, it is very easy for users to switch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The monopolistic behavior is somewhat more obvious with services from which it is not quite so easy to escape. If you use an Apple iPhone, for example, you don't really have the option of switching to an alternative app store. Billions are at stake here, which is why, for example <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heise.de\/news\/Epic-vs-Apple-Fortnite-brachte-Apple-offenbar-300-Millionen-Dollar-Provision-6052130.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Epic Games is currently in a legal dispute with Apple<\/a> is being held.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Networks and platforms for systems engineers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Network thinking is important for Systems Engineers for several reasons. Since Systems Engineers need to be responsive to all relevant stakeholders, it is also important that we understand the business implications of networks. This applies to both using a network and trying to build your own network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From a technical point of view, we must <a href=\"http:\/\/www.se-trends.de\/en\/systems-theory-at-your-fingertips-john-horton-conway\/\">emergent behavior<\/a> into account. In other words, effects that are evident in the \"system of systems\", but not in the individual subsystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And finally, modern products themselves are often complex networks. A good example of this - as is so often the case - is the car. A modern vehicle consists of dozens of control units that are connected to each other via a network. The right choice of platform can make the difference between success and failure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right wp-block-paragraph\">Photo by <a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/@hooverpaul55?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText\">Paul Teysen<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText\">Unsplash<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\"There is a practically invisible network that connects millions of people. People who would otherwise be completely isolated from each other. This exciting technology has developed into an incredibly complex network. It is almost impossible to estimate its total size. This system is: the modern sewer system.\" This satire by the Blue Man Group shows in a humorous way that the...<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3564,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[43,45],"tags":[511,510,501,344,42],"class_list":["post-3563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industrie","category-standards-methoden","tag-monopol","tag-netzwerk","tag-plattform","tag-system-of-systems","tag-wirtschaft"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.se-trends.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.se-trends.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.se-trends.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.se-trends.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.se-trends.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3563"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.se-trends.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3563\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.se-trends.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.se-trends.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.se-trends.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.se-trends.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}