They can not only monitor the traffic easily, but also dictate to the underlying systems like switches, routers and other network gear, how the network traffic should be handled. Thus network engineers can respond easily to changing business needs and shape the traffic flow, without hunting for and manipulating individual switches.

The SDN controller is the central brain and acts as an intermediary between two levels. The level above the controller is the application layer and all data travelling to that level is said to be northbound. The level below that layer is said to be the infrastructure layer and all data travelling in that direction is said to be southbound.

An application programming interface (API) refers to a set of protocols and tools that are used to build software applications. APIs help express software in terms of its various components like inputs, output and operations. Thus, in a SDN, northbound APIs communicate with all the applications on top, while the southbound APIs communicate with eth switches and routers below.

The main advantage of adopting a SDN is the fact that capital and operational expense is reduced significantly. With optimization strategies, functional separation and automation, significant cost savings can also be achieved. Further, higher reliability in network functioning is obtained and programmable interfaces and switches mean that scaling up or scaling down of network operations is easy.

This is simply because traffic loads can be adjusted quickly, dynamically and cost-effectively. SDN thus seeks to be a real bridge between the network intelligence part and the physical hardware part, without any compromise on functionality or efficiency. Manual administration and the time and expense associated with reconfiguration are significantly reduced.

At a time when existing loopholes in networking technology like vendor dependence, complexity and inability to scale up or down quickly are leading to a slow growth, SDN looks to be the beacon of hope. With the heralding of a new era that is more data driven, cloud-centric and application intensive at every touch point, SDN looks to be the sure answer to future progress.

Are you interested in selling Verizon Wireless services? Call us at (855) SELL-VZW or fill out the form below.  We look forward to talking to you soon!

[ccf_form id=”948″]

The post What Is Software Defined Networking (SDN)? appeared first on ConectUS Wireless.

More than just a specific technology it’s the holy grail of networking. A drastically new approach that enables the network to continuously align itself to the disparate demands of the organization. It brings together all the latest networking innovations including SDN, virtualization, machine learning, model-based APIs, and many securities related innovations into a closed loop system capable of identifying, predicting, and responding to business needs.

Intent-based networking system incorporates these four key things:

Translation and Validation – The system takes a higher-level business policy (what) as input from end users and converts it to the necessary network configuration (how). The system then generates and validates the resulting design and configuration for correctness.

Automated Implementation – The system can configure the appropriate network changes (how) across existing network infrastructure. This is typically done via network automation and/or network orchestration.

Awareness of Network State – The system ingests real-time network status for systems under its administrative control, and is protocol- and transport-agnostic.

Assurance and Dynamic Optimization/Remediation– The system continuously validates (in real time) that the original business intent of the system is being met, and can take corrective actions (such as blocking traffic, modifying network capacity or notifying) when desired intent is not met.

What are the benefits?

Intent-based networking promises to bring many benefits to organizations of all sizes. All IT administrators want better access control, massive scalability, security and multi-vendor device management and the most compelling-the ability to manage hundreds to thousands of heterogeneous devices on a network as an aggregate, and do so with speed, automation and simplicity.

Is intent-based networking a rehash of software defined networking?

Software defined networking or SDN is a series of network objects (switches, routers, firewalls) all deployed in a highly-automated manner. Intent-based networking leverages the capabilities of SDN but marries it to intelligence.

What are the risks involved?

Intent based networking requires a fair amount of re-skilling and process change that are not without their own risks. Additionally, as with every major technology transition, there are technology and process risks associated with implementation. You will need to carefully plan your migration, so that you can quickly reap the rewards without affecting existing service levels.

Intent-based networking is nascent, but could be the next big thing in networking, as it promises to improve network availability and agility, which are key as organizations transition to digital business. I&O leaders responsible for networking need to determine if and when to pilot this technology.

Are you interested in selling Verizon Wireless services? Call us at (855) SELL-VZW or fill out the form below.  We look forward to talking to you soon!

[ccf_form id=”948″]

The post Intent-Based Networking and Why You Should Care appeared first on ConectUS Wireless.