VariBlog - The Cloud Communications Blog » Ethernet

The LAN has left the Building

varidion — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 13:47:39 +0000

In 1973, Ethernet was invented, and went from 4Mbp/s to 10Gbp/s in 30 years. But it’s the last 5 years that will revolutionise the communications market.

Today’s Enterprises are consuming megabits at an alarming rate simply to meet the demands of today’s server centric applications but this appetite is about to rocket with the adoption of SaaS and Cloud based applications. As applications become truly network centric the demands placed on the Wide Area Network will multiply, so will complexity and thus so will cost. Don’t panic…

In my best Elvis acent Ladeez n Genillmen; Thu LAN hayuz leff thuh Beolding.

35 years later its LAN not WAN technologies that are fixing the bandwidth the challenge. Ethernet WAN services are revolutionising wide area connectivity by removing the glass ceiling of capacity, simplifying end points and providing connections that can used for desperate applications such as Video, Voice, Data and Internet thus lowering the total cost of communications.

Buyer beware; Ethernet is more than an access technology, carriers who simply use it to give access to their MPLS cores are only providing a fraction of its benefit, yes you will get cheaper access but having 100Mbp/s pipe into your MPLS provider and only using 20Mbp/s is pointless especially when it takes them 20 days to upgrade it…

So Ethernet is a silver bullet for communications, but only if the core provider it connects you too can compliment it. Ethernet WANs should provide flexible bandwidth for multiple applications, upgradable at an instant, and allow the removal of legacy “one pipe per application” connections. Embracing Ethernet without a clear consolidation strategy is madness; contact Varidion today and we’ll show you how to reduce costs and increase business performance with our VPLS powered Ethernet WAN service.

The LAN has left the building….don’t be left out!

www.varidion.com

Long Range Forecast: It’s getting Cloudy with Storms.

varidion — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:32:18 +0000

Last week I was discussing the merits of a Cloud based infrastructure with a prospect and he jokingly asked me for a “Long Term Weather Forecast”, I thought it was a joke but it soon became apparent that some insight into the coming Years would help them choose their wardrobe for the coming seasons. So in true Michael Fish tradition.

Private Secure Cloud – Enterprises will see through the Fog and embrace the “Private Cloud” and host ICT within their network and not at the edge of their network. Be quick! Hosting facilities are filling fast and some very good deals can be had.

Application Specific Clouds – You buy vertical applications for specific business need, so why can’t we do this with Cloud? You can. Subscribing to different vendors for Voice, Email, Storage and Security is the best world strategy but can prove complex. Incidentally, this is a key benefit of Varidions HYDRA platform – Choice!

Self Service – Outsourcing an application to a Cloud provider doesn’t mean you lose control, however some providers have better management platforms than others. The ability to control your applications and services via consoles and control panels is big business and as SaaS providers try to differentiate themselves, this is where the gaps will appear.

Quality of Service – Many early adopters cite “Internet Weather” as a major complaint of SaaS; when users complain of slow response from applications and erratic performance the Network and IT Manager is helpless as the problem is after their network but before the SaaS provider. Varidions HYDRA leads the way in providing QoS based interconnects between Customers and SaaS providers.

Application Monitoring – you’ve subscribed to SaaS, your applications and services are in the Cloud and users are complaining. You’re blind! Understanding where your providers are meeting or exceeding their SLAs is critical to companies that are to embrace SaaS. Not only that, what is the actual application performance users are getting?

What do Virtualised Servers of the future look like……

varidion — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 08:33:13 +0000

….not a Server.

Well not a server as a CIO knows of it today, not even a blade, the cutting edge of servers as they currently see it…

Our view at Varidion is the world of virtualisation is about to collide head-on with the world of networking as the applications of tomorrow will be run directly on what we know today as an Ethernet switch. The reasons are simple; as the enterprise continues to deploy highly loaded virtualised servers running hotter and hotter it’s the network that will struggle to keep up with the server, so we have a couple of options:

Improve the network – The quickest way to improving your virtualized data centre as its likely both the topology and the type of switches installed are causing high latency with inefficient topologies. In the vitualised world, three tier switching models don’t cut the mustard, a flat, low latency, switching infrastructure is the order of the day. Unfortunately, even the “new way” has a ceiling of 10Gbp/s or maybe 40Gbp/s in the near future!

More servers – By sharing the network and processing load across more servers a greatly improve performance will clearly be achieved, but so also will the cost. Every server will need a network port, power and environmentals. Not the ideal option!

However, there is a third way! Today’s data centre Ethernet switches deliver significant processing power and Varidion believe if each logical Ethernet port could provide enough processing power to support a virtual appliance, the problem is solved. An enterprise could literally have hundreds and hundreds of mini virtual servers that will admittedly support a reduced number of session per server but a greatly increased number of servers all sending and receiving at 1 Gbp/s.

Consolidation will occur but who will prevail? Watch this space!

What came first Tar or Ethernet?

varidion — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 06:42:24 +0000

Clearly Tarmacadam. It has a few years on Ethernet. The first Tar road was laid in Bagdad circa 8^th Centaury AD, a few years before Robert Metcalf and David Boggs published their paper in 1973 outlining a successful Multipoint shared Network running locally at 3Mbp/s. 40 years later, Ethernet Networks are delivering 10Gbp/s allowing CIOs to adopt virtualisation, rich media and ignore network quality as bandwidth is now so plentiful. While LANs race towards 100Gbp/s the network connectivity that needs to go beyond the LAN has struggled to keep pace, actually local traffic has never been an issue for most, it’s the WAN that’s still expensive and slow

While road construction and technology has clearly changed since the 8^th Centaury its what’s happening under them, that’s revolutionizing the world of communications. Ironically, the solution has been looking telcos literally in the face every day.

Why don’t we run a LAN for longer distances?

Traditional Ethernet-based networks that have been deployed in enterprise LANs because of their simplicity, low equipment cost, high speed and multivendor interoperability can now be delivered as Ethernet-based WAN services as true replacement to traditional WAN services. Ethernet services should be the standard for the enterprise; All of the time. Their simplicity and scalability provides connectivity from 1Mbp/s to 1Gbp/s with no specialized equipment, moreover a single Ethernet WAN pipe can securely provide multiple services such as MPLS, Internet, Voice, Video and Applications brought to you as on-demand services (SaaS).

Sounds expensive I hear you cry….

Therein lies the challenge; it’s more expensive than SDH MPLS, but it’s about total cost of ownership; Ethernet wont need to be upgraded, you can consolidate the “comms pipes” entering you building and remove the need for expensive slow routing equipment. Quite simply it’s a no brainer.

If you’re looking to upgrade or refresh your network give Varidion a call and discuss the benefits of Ethernet WAN, and I guarantee the call will save you money…