Circuit-switched public telephone networks in the era of application endpoints were superseded in importance by packet-switched networks. Network management systems arrived and embedded management agents in distributed devices, clients and servers. Downloading patches and updating client software became routine, with applications configured and network traffic optimized for events or wall-clock times to optimize workloads. E-mail became a critical function, hackers discovered how easy it is to break through security perimeters, virus writers made security a corporate priority, and most people heard the term endpoint applied to networks for the first time.

The final step in the endpoint maturity model is the service endpoint, as defined by the W3C. In that definition, there is only one supercharged converged packet-switched network with a plethora of services replacing the mix of applications and agents that are old.

Endpoints have added policy management to constantly monitor changing metrics and events in real time, to control status and configurations for connections, services and presence. All services are delivered over component architectures, and endpoints are integral to managing service interoperation and enforcing security throughout the network.

We still are evolving the mix of network services in tandem with the service endpoint. Communications blur into messaging across multiple channels, including wireless, with real-time voice over IP, instant messaging, multimedia and videoconferencing. Real-time services place unique demands on connection and transport management of packet-switched networks, requiring smart and agile endpoints to maintain persistent service connections.

The big bang created the universe, millions of light-years wide, in a trillionth of a second, while network endpoints have evolved to prominence at a leisurely pace. The endpoints are out there now like logical pulsars and quasars marking the network service boundaries, telling us if we're expanding or contracting and how much bandwidth we will need for the journey.