What are the implications for the network when implementing RFID?
The networks that exist today to support bar codes will more than likely be able to support RFID. RFID and bar codes are both technologies that deliver data to a host system; however, there is a main point of difference. Bar codes utilize one-way serialized and periodic data. RFID is two-way. Data passes from the tag to the reader/encoder and then can pass back again, depending on the application or need to update the tag. Data can be delivered from multiple tags effectively in parallel, and—by virtue of not requiring human intervention—can provide more data in real time. There needs to be bridge software, or middleware, incorporated into the overall architecture to prevent the amount of data that hits the system at the same time from overwhelming it. So RFID requires data filtering and data-flow management, to turn parallel, two-way data into the serialized data that a legacy system can handle. These functions can be also partially handled by the printer/encoders and readers. Another
