The New Normal in Networking Technology

Credit: Firas

Recent technological innovations have changed the face of computing. Everything in the cloud has become a reality and Big Data and Mobility are driving new trends in technology. Software-defined networking is changing the networking side of the equation. IT administrators are increasingly turning to software-defined networking (SDN) to configure their networks, increase agility, improve performance, and reduce costs.

Today’s hardware-centric network is not able to keep up with the explosive growth of data and the rapidly changing enterprise needs like the need to support mobility or to bring in a new branch location in case of an M&A. It is not possible to revamp a capital-intensive network overnight and hence the need for a disruptive change that can keep up with the dynamic needs of the enterprise. This disruptive change can give a more robust network, which is cost- effective and can support rapid innovation. One major technology driving this change is SDN (Software Defined Network”.

According to Aryaka, SDN is often described as “network architecture with roots in the data center where Layer 2 technologies dominate.” However, addressing the datacenter alone only solves one part of the problem. With global networks, in order to realize the full benefits of SDN, programmability must extend across the WAN.

This thought is backed up by an article featured on IT World Canada, Prepare for the Reinvented Network. SDN essentially separates the data and control layers and removes them from the router. The highest interest in SDN technology is in data center where Layer2 technology dominates. However, because most business processes are not limited to the datacenter and must transverse the WAN, the WAN has the potential to become a weak link.

Thus, software-defined networking needs to extend beyond the datacenter and address the larger issues associated with global networks. This new normal in networking technology is starting to get noticed by CEO’s and entrepreneurs alike. They are continuing to invest in their network infrastructure to ensure optimal performance of their SDN.

Networking is currently being reinvented with many IT administrators adopting software-defined networking solutions. While improvements in the datacenter are crucial, the entire WAN as a whole should not be overlooked. Global networks by vendors such as Aryaka take SDN concepts and applies them to the WAN, solving the problem with WANs becoming the weakest link in software-defined networking.

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