IT+infrastructure


 * IT Infrastructure

Infrastructure** is the basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function. The term typically refers to the technical structures that support a [|society], such as [|roads] , [|water supply] , [|sewers] , [|power grids] , [|telecommunications] , and so forth. Viewed functionally, infrastructure facilitates the [|production] of [|goods] and [|services] ; for example, roads enable the transport of [|raw materials] to a [|factory], and also for the distribution of finished products to [|markets]. In some contexts, the term may also include basic social services such as schools and hospitals In military parlance, the term refers to the buildings and permanent installations necessary for the support, redeployment, and operation of military forces. 

Types of infrastructure
The following list is limited to [|capital assets] that serve the function of [|conveyance] or channelling of people, vehicles, fluids, energy or information, and which take the form either of a [|network] or of a critical [|node] used by [|vehicles], or used for the transmission of [|electro-magnetic waves]. Infrastructure systems include both the [|fixed assets] and the [|control systems] and [|software] required to operate, manage and monitor the systems, as well as any accessory buildings, plants or vehicles that are an essential part of the system.

Transportation infrastructure

 * [|Road] and [|highway] networks, including structures ( [|bridges], [|tunnels] , [|culverts] , [|retaining walls] ), signage and markings, electrical systems ( [|street lighting] and [|traffic lights] ) and edge treatments (curbs, [|sidewalks] , [|landscaping] )
 * [|Railways], including structures, terminal facilities (railyards, train stations), level crossings, signalling and communications systems
 * [|Canals] and navigable waterways requiring continuous maintenance (dredging, etc.)
 * [|Airports], including [|air navigational] systems
 * [|Mass transit systems] ( [|Commuter rail] systems, [|subways], [|tramways] , [|trolleys] and [|bus terminals] )
 * [|Bicycle paths] and pedestrian walkways

Energy infrastructure

 * [|Electrical power network], including [|generation plants] , [|electric grid] , [|substations] and [|local distribution]
 * [|Natural gas] [|pipelines], storage and distribution terminals, as well as the local distribution network
 * [|Petroleum] [|pipelines], including associated storage and distribution terminals
 * Steam or hot water production and distribution networks for [|district heating] systems

Water management infrastructure

 * [|Drinking water supply], including the system of pipes, pumps, valves, [|filtration] and treatment equipment and meters, including buildings and structures to house the equipment, used for the collection, treatment and distribution of drinking water
 * [|Sewage] collection and [|disposal]
 * [|Drainage] systems (storm sewers, ditches, etc..)
 * Major [|irrigation] systems (reservoirs, irrigation [|canals] )
 * Major [|flood control] systems ( [|dikes], [|levees] , major pumping stations and floodgates)

Communications infrastructure

 * [|Telephone] networks (land lines) including switching systems
 * [|Mobile phone] networks
 * [|Cable television] networks including receiving stations and cable distribution networks
 * [|Internet backbone], including high-speed data cables, routers and servers as well as the protocols and other basic software required for the system to function
 * Communication [|satellites]
 * [|Undersea cables]
 * Major private, government or dedicated telecommunications networks, such as those used for internal communication and monitoring by major infrastructure companies, by governments, by the military or by emergency services
 * [|Pneumatic tube] mail distribution networks

Waste management facilities

 * Solid waste [|landfills]
 * Solid waste [|incinerators]
 * [|Hazardous waste] disposal facilities;

Earth monitoring and measurement networks
Note that certain systems or facilities that are similar to infrastructure are not included in this list because they are essentially services performed by people (commuter bus services, garbage collection services, [|emergency services] ) or they are facilities that are not necessarily part of or in the form of a network (parks, sports facilities), or they are essentially privately-owned industrial plants that do not necessarily depend on a fixed distribution network (oil refineries). However solid waste disposal facilities were included because they are often the critical nodal points of a network-like public service ( [|garbage collection] ), and are usually publicly owned or heavily regulated. Telecommunication systems are included if their function is limited to the conveyance of information (telephone system), but not if their function includes supplying the content of that information (TV or radio networks).
 * [|Meteorological] monitoring networks
 * [|Tidal monitoring] networks
 * [|Stream Gauge] or fluviometric monitoring networks
 * [|Seismometer] networks
 * Remote sensing [|satellites]
 * [|Geodetic] benchmarks
 * [|Global Positioning System]

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