Tag: Data Center

Interop New York 2012: A Variably Cloudy Perspective

by , posted in Network
Mike Spanbauer
Mike Spanbauer

Summary Bullets:

  • The market early optimism towards cloud may have been tempered due to skeptics and the overuse of ‘cloud washing’ campaigns (i.e., everything in the cloud, attached to the cloud, or solved by a cloud of some sort)
  • Enterprises remain optimistic though as many have embraced some form of cloud with measured success and asked good questions about what to do next, moving forward, and leveraging the experiences and concept proofs others have employed

Last week’s Interop show was a success by many measures.  It offered users and vendors the opportunity to interact on critical topics.  The track sessions were reasonably attended, though no one had to fight for seats at this event.  There were few logistical issues, due in large part to the efforts by UBM TechWeb, the company behind the Interop magic (and a great crew running the show).  Continue reading “Interop New York 2012: A Variably Cloudy Perspective” →

Interop New York: Successful Cloud Transformations Start with Well-Defined Migration Paths

by Amy Larsen DeCarlo, posted in Cloud Enable
Amy Larsen DeCarlo
Amy Larsen DeCarlo

Summary Bullets:

  • Organizations emerging from experimental to broader cloud deployments are running into hurdles in full-scale on-demand implementations
  • Acute challenges relate to enterprises’ lack of internal cloud expertise

For all of its many potential benefits, the cloud also comes with a myriad obstacles and challenges attached that are daunting enough to keep enterprises relegating on-demand services to support only the most basic tactical use cases. Yet, however complex or difficult cloud computing may seem to be, the advantages are so compelling that even the most risk-averse have to at least consider whether there might be an enterprise-wide fit for the model in their organizations. Continue reading “Interop New York: Successful Cloud Transformations Start with Well-Defined Migration Paths” →

Beware the Cloud Service Provider Shell Game

by Jeremiah Caron, posted in IT Leader
Jerry Caron
Jerry Caron

Summary Bullets:

  • Cloud services imply a new type of sales and support ecosystem that is still very complex and relatively unstable at the moment
  • This should not put buyers off, and should be welcomed—but all customary, cautionary warnings apply

The dynamics of cloud services have caused a fair bit of healthy upheaval in the way technology and software suppliers deliver and support their goods. In fact, that would be an understatement. Beyond the obvious difference between a network-based infrastructure or a software service versus goods sold or licensed for installation on-premise, there is a fundamental shift in the go-to-market plan for suppliers that takes the notion of so-called co-opetition to an entirely different level. Continue reading “Beware the Cloud Service Provider Shell Game” →

Is Your Network Ready for the Software-Defined Data Center?

by , posted in Network
Mike Spanbauer
Mike Spanbauer

Summary Bullets:

  • The software-defined data center is a concept that encapsulates networking, virtualization, storage, orchestration, and ultimately, a truly agile framework.
  • Orchestration and manageability must be designed into a solution, rather than being bolted on, to yield the best results.

It became evident during VMworld that the notion of a software-defined data center is central to VMware’s strategy.  However, when you pause a moment and reflect on where the tech industry has been heading for the last five to ten years, it is easy to see elements of this notion accelerating over time, really coming to dominate design principles across the disciplines that constitute the DC (storage, compute, network, and operations platforms) in the last few years.  Software-defined networking (SDN) is perhaps one of the most visible or actively marketed software-defined concepts, but when one realizes that virtualization is just another software-defined concept (compute/machines), it is easy to see the theme encompassing practically every element of DC technology, not to mention platforms and applications already being managed as software elements themselves.  The logical question here is: If all elements within a data center are software-controlled, then what about the technology characteristics of fabrics, SPB-M/Trill, FCoE, and more of the physical network elements?  The answer is that the technology differentiation of the devices which constitute the infrastructure does not go away or diminish with the SD DC, but rather becomes instrumental as the devices themselves must each integrate with upper-level orchestration platforms (i.e., VMware vCenter/vCloud Director).  Continue reading “Is Your Network Ready for the Software-Defined Data Center?” →

What Does VMware Mean to You?

by Jeremiah Caron, posted in IT Leader
Jerry Caron – Senior Vice President, Analysis

Summary Bullets:                

  • VMware’s VMworld was a hit again, pulling in partners and customers alike
  • The buzz around VMware is about much more than simple virtualization software

I did not attend last week’s VMworld in Las Vegas, hosted of course by VMware, the virtualization software market leader. I wish I had, though. While timing and location prevented my own pilgrimage, Current Analysis was very well represented as were a who’s who of technology-market partners and a robust contingent of IT executives and managers. The reason why this event has become so important for so many is simple, but also profound: Certainly VMware caught lightning in a bottle with its virtualization software, but the company is also leveraging this rather arcane solution as a platform to help solve myriad other IT problems, both with and without partner support. Continue reading “What Does VMware Mean to You?” →

Crossing the Cloud Chasm: Learning from the U.S. Public Sector Advance

by Amy Larsen DeCarlo, posted in Cloud Enable
A. DeCarlo
A. DeCarlo

Summary Bullets:

  • The pressure is on organizations to leverage technology models like cloud services to improve efficiencies and cut costs, but many still struggle to produce workable on-demand computing strategies.
  • Enterprises can learn from early adopters including the U.S. public sector, which has instituted mandates to encourage cloud use that should provide valuable insights to both the private sector and cloud providers.

Cloud computing is coming of age at a time when economic uncertainty and competitive pressures of globalization force organizations to be more efficient and more flexible.  As much as an on-demand computing model appeals as a way to cut costs and increase organizational agility, making the transition to the cloud can be difficult and complicated for enterprises that have substantial infrastructure and legacy applications. Continue reading “Crossing the Cloud Chasm: Learning from the U.S. Public Sector Advance” →

100G and 400G Long Haul Optical Connections Get Closer to the Enterprise

by , posted in Network
J. Stradling
J. Stradling

Summary Bullets:

  • Verizon, Interoute, euNetworks, Colt, TSIC, and others, are examples of service providers that have lit fibre assets with 100 Gbps bandwidth and Ethernet at the core transport layer
  • Video, mobility, cloud-based computing and storage, and rapidly growing SaaS take-up are pushing the need for high-capacity service
  • There is an on-going performance versus cost challenge for buyers of high-speed service to consider

The desire for faster Internet does not have a ceiling, because it is linked to human impatience, which is limitless. From the perspective of business applications, bandwidth growth is driven by cloud storage, SaaS, enterprise mobility, high-powered cloud computing, and business video. To date, 100 Gbps Ethernet, optical transport, and DWDM wavelength announcements have largely been coming from the equipment manufacturer’s camp; but this is changing as more and more service providers start to expound upon the virtues of recently launched long haul 100G circuits as well as early readiness for 400G service.

We reco Continue reading “100G and 400G Long Haul Optical Connections Get Closer to the Enterprise” →

SDN Market Frenzy: Your Network Best Practices Remain Important!

by , posted in Network
M. Spanbauer
M. Spanbauer

Summary Bullets:

  • Software-defined networking (SDN) is a massive, all-encompassing concept which spans campus, data center, WAN, and carrier backbone networks (pretty much every type of networking infrastructure imaginable) and is being touted by some as capable of solving nearly every networking issue that has plagued us for the last 20 years; and yes, it does make coffee in the morning for you (no, not really).
  • Eventually, SDN may do most of the things claimed, but getting there will take a long time and some IT fundamentals and best practices will remain critical moving forward.

The OpenFlow protocol and (more recently) SDN have been discussed and put forth as solutions to complex, hierarchical, legacy architectures that were built up over years to solve the complex performance and management needs of enterprises and service providers alike.  Yes, the technology for each type of deployment was different (MPLS vs. OSPF vs. multicast, etc.), based on various criteria, but regardless of the technology, each vertical or segment executed on best practices learned over years of (sometimes painful) experience.  The result was a set of processes and instructions, if you will, that each IT or production environment team could leverage as they looked to new protocols or ports or architectures to avoid the same pitfalls encountered before.  SDN promises to eliminate the need for several of these, but a few still demand strict adherence or consideration. Continue reading “SDN Market Frenzy: Your Network Best Practices Remain Important!” →

Service Instability Underscores Serious Cloud Issues – and the Need for Better SLAs

by Amy Larsen DeCarlo, posted in Cloud Enable
A. DeCarlo
A. DeCarlo

Summary Bullets:

  • An unfortunate series of big impact cloud outages including Windows Azure, Salesforce.com, Amazon Web Services, and Twitter have users fuming and organizations rethinking their on-demand strategies
  • Are cloud providers doing enough to address the underlying issues and reassure enterprises?  The answer, at least for now, seems to be no

Summer malaise has hit the cloud in a big way with a series of service interruptions knocking some of the most popular services offline temporarily and setting some corporate users into a tailspin. Though the root causes of the failures may differ, providers often issue ineffectual mea culpas, often citing avoidable issues like Twitter’s “double system failure” or Salesforce.com’s power failure rather than more unpredictable causes like a natural disaster or an unanticipated massive influx of traffic flooding their service.  The result leaves already leery enterprises even more on edge about making the shift to the cloud anytime soon. Continue reading “Service Instability Underscores Serious Cloud Issues – and the Need for Better SLAs” →

Keep Flexible to Keep Customers

by , posted in Communicate
M. Halama
M. Halama

Summary Bullets:

  • Automation jeopardizes flexibility when needed by clients deploying new technology
  • Smaller services deals expose buyer shortcomings that need early due diligence and lifelong flexibility by providers.

The cloud brings exciting innovations that increase the potential of, and customer choices for, unified communications and workspace services. With that fresh potential comes the possibility of clients making more errors in buying decisions and specifications. Service providers and third parties are also likely to make genuine mistakes when advising clients on strategies that exploit new technologies. Continue reading “Keep Flexible to Keep Customers” →