Tag: SDN

Which Is Better: Automation or SDN?

by , posted in Network
Mike Fratto
Mike Fratto

Summary Bullets:

  • You can use automation without software-defined networking (SDN), but you cannot use SDN without automation.
  • Many enterprises will gain enough benefits from automation and may not need to migrate to SDN.

The answer, of course, is whatever option works for you is the one that’s best, but that is a little too facile, so let’s dig in a bit. Automating operations such as scripting configuration changes and responding to events has enormous value for any IT department. When I actually worked in a data center, my rule of thumb was: if I did something more than three times in a month, I’d automate it, including the little atomic actions such as changing the syslog entries on a switch which could take as many as five to seven command line entries. Automation saved me hours, perhaps days, per month executing configuration changes (and even more because I had far fewer errors). Continue reading “Which Is Better: Automation or SDN?” →

Open Network Users Group: WAN SDN a Major Theme

by , posted in Network
Mike Fratto
Mike Fratto

Summary Bullets:

  • ONUG is a user-led networking conference chock-full of good content for enterprise IT.
  •  The main theme was WAN SDN, where enterprises try to make better use of their WAN pipes.

The Open Network User Group (ONUG) is a really good show for network administrators from enterprises of all sizes to learn from their peers at larger enterprises. ONUG’s focus is on user-to-user interaction, and in that respect, the majority of the talks, in particular the morning sessions, were given or led by senior IT and network professionals and reflected issues that are faced across a spectrum of enterprises. Continue reading “Open Network Users Group: WAN SDN a Major Theme” →

Something for Everyone at Interop Las Vegas 2014

by , posted in IT Leader
Mike Fratto
Mike Fratto

Summary Bullets:

  • The upcoming Interop event in Las Vegas will offer lots of sessions and workshops from fellow IT professionals and experts to attend and get current on your interests.
  • Take part in the social gathering to meet old friends and make new ones. Personal networking is as important as anything in your career.

Interop is next week and I am looking forward to catching up with old friends, peers, and colleagues and making new acquaintances. Still, the draw for me is meeting with vendors and attending a few of the presentations over the course of the event. The content this year is very solid and there’s something for everyone.

Continue reading “Something for Everyone at Interop Las Vegas 2014” →

The SDN Application I Want to See

by , posted in Network
Mike Fratto
Mike Fratto

Summary Bullets:

  • SDN applications are not exciting to enterprises and aren’t generating much interest.
  • SDN applications that drastically improve operations and application performance are a vendors’ ticket to success.

We know that network congestion impacts application performance. The physical network matters because bottlenecks in the physical network will impact overlay networks regardless of what some folks at VMware want you to believe. We also know that some applications have more stringent demands than others. Real-time media such as IM, voice, and video are affected more by long delay and delay variability (jitter) than lack of capacity. Audio and video CODECs can adjust for some degradation based on network conditions, but let’s face it, those adjustments are a precursor to unrecoverable poor quality. We also know that other applications are more tolerant towards delay and jitter like email or HTTP. Continue reading “The SDN Application I Want to See” →

Why SDN Deployments Will Take Longer Than You Think

by , posted in Network
Mike Fratto
Mike Fratto

Summary Bullets:

  • Mainstream SDN is ten years out, because enterprise IT does not see a compelling need, buying habits are entrenched and extended product lifetimes are stretching refresh cycles.
  • SDN is still nascent technology and has yet to move into the early adopter phase.  In fact, from an adoption standpoint, I would say SDN is still in the innovator phase and is thus far from crossing the chasm to early majority.

In my discussions with others (colleagues, vendor employees, other analysts, enterprise IT) about SDN, the discussion usually wanders around to timing.  I think it is safe to say that many believe SDN adoption is going to take off – i.e., go mainstream, meaning greater than 50% penetration – in two to three years.  When I shake my head and say it’ll be more like ten years, I usually get a look that says, “Hey, Fratto’s gone soft in the head;” then, they point to some corner case as proof, or worse, to someone else who thinks SDN is two to three years out.  Here is why I think mainstream SDN is ten years out: lack of a compelling need, entrenched buying habits and extended product lifetimes.  Continue reading “Why SDN Deployments Will Take Longer Than You Think” →

OpenDaylight Is an Exciting Start, but Success Is Not Guaranteed

by , posted in Network
Mike Fratto
Mike Fratto

Summary Bullets:

  • The OpenDaylight project has a good start on becoming a compelling force in SDN with solid vendor support and lots of energy.
  • There are some hurdles the project needs to get over and some pitfalls that could derail market acceptance.

Is the OpenDaylight project going to take the networking world by storm?  It’s hard to say since the project is barely ten months old and only just shipped its first revision of controller software and applications, called Hydrogen.  However, if the buzz and energy at the sold-out inaugural OpenDaylight Summit are any indication, the chances for its success are very good. Continue reading “OpenDaylight Is an Exciting Start, but Success Is Not Guaranteed” →

Smart Network or Dumb Network: Customers Have More Pressing Needs

by , posted in Network
Mike Fratto
Mike Fratto

Summary Bullets:

  • Few enterprises are 100% virtualized, so trying to make the argument that “a virtual overlay is all an enterprise needs” ignores a very real fact of life.
  • Enterprises require intelligence in both the virtual and physical networks, as each plays its part in delivering applications where they are needed.

I had hoped we were done with the smart network/dumb network argument, but I guess nothing ever really goes out of style.  History has proven over and over that anyone who tries to set extremes like smart network vs. dumb network is basing their entire premise on unrealistic expectations.  If I look at the extremes of either a completely virtual data center – and I mean everything – or a completely physical one, then I can make a convincing argument for either a dumb network or a smart one.  However, those examples are the far-edge cases and extremely rare.  Enterprises do not exist as edge cases.  Enterprises need intelligence in both the virtual network and the physical one. Continue reading “Smart Network or Dumb Network: Customers Have More Pressing Needs” →

Make Speaking on SDN a 2014 Resolution

by , posted in Network
  • Mike Fratto
    Mike Fratto

    The true value of SDN lies in the benefits it can provide across a number of IT environments, but determining that specific value is difficult at best and requires context that only you can provide.

  • Make a point of extending the discussion about SDN at conferences and take the time to share your experiences and concerns with your IT colleagues; everyone will reap benefits far beyond the price of admission.

The SDN discussion really needs to move beyond the technology that powers it and towards the value it provides to enterprise IT. Thankfully analysts, press, and technical bloggers are all starting to talk about the value that SDN provides in addition to technology and I think we’ll see much more in 2014. Continue reading “Make Speaking on SDN a 2014 Resolution” →

Licensing Will Drag SDN to a Grinding Halt

by , posted in Network
Mike Fratto
Mike Fratto

Summary Bullets:

  • Software licenses are inflexible and inhibit the dynamic nature of SDN and private cloud deployments.
  • Networking vendors should be developing new software licensing schemes to support the dynamism of a virtual data center.

One aspect of SDN and private clouds that does not get much discussion, but will be as much of a hurdle as any technical issue, is licensing.  The problem has many dimensions, but they all boil down to a single point: software licenses are inflexible.  A software license entitles you to use a product in a specific manner, but many of the licensing schemes in use are not flexible enough to really support the dynamism of an SDN or a private cloud.  I believe this, more than anything, will inhibit the growth of SDN, because a rigid license conflicts with dynamic demands. Continue reading “Licensing Will Drag SDN to a Grinding Halt” →

In A Software-Defined Network, Does the CLI Even Matter?

by , posted in Network
Mike Fratto
Mike Fratto

Summary Bullets:

  • The main benefit from SDN is that managing devices via the CLI will come to an end.
  • Putting the final nail in the CLI coffin will require vendors and administrators to think differently.

Whenever I talk to Arista Networks’ Doug Gourlay, I always ask when the company is going to make a GUI manager for their networking gear.  It’s something of a running joke, because Arista doesn’t have one, preferring to focus on making its products integrate with others; let someone else make a GUI manager.  Other vendors such as Alcatel-Lucent, Avaya, Brocade, Cisco, Dell, Extreme, HP, IBM and Juniper have a similar strategy, which is to make their switch products controllable via APIs and make their network managers capable of much more robust command and control processes. Continue reading “In A Software-Defined Network, Does the CLI Even Matter?” →