11 August 2015
Jasco has announced the
availability of Avaya’s new, open software-defined networking (SDN)
architecture that will help companies create the agile networks required by
today’s dynamic applications. The Avaya SDN Fx architecture is the first to
deliver “connect anything, anywhere” simplicity, shaving weeks in provisioning
time by allowing devices and users at the network edge to be added easily to
the network. The Avaya SDN Fx architecture, built on the Avaya Fabric
Networking technology, features new products and capabilities for a complete
solution that delivers on the promise of SDN, without the hidden complexity
that comes with the towering overlays of software and hardware inherent in many
other vendor approaches.
According to a recent Avaya
survey, 99 percent of IT professionals want SDN to extend beyond the data centre;
however, nearly the same amount (93%) say the ability to do so today is
extremely or moderately limited. In
addition, of the challenges that IT pros are looking to SDN to solve, 80
percent insist that SDN programming must be simple before they will adopt.
Roxanne Meintjes, Product
Manager at Jasco Enterprise says: “In today’s dynamic environment, companies
need to scale with ease as and when they require. Many large companies within
South Africa often face challenges with traditional manual configurations. With
larger networks, this becomes more complex as there are multiple VLANs and
configurations running different protocols, and switches are seldom configured
the same. This means that each switch must be configured separately starting at
the core and then tested to ensure that the new configurations have taken
effect and are not causing any issues or downtime to the network. Unfortunately,
this takes a considerable amount of time and usually has to be planned weeks in
advance. This is done to ensure that all avenues have been considered and
maintenance and new service change requests can be planned for downtime.”
The Avaya SDN Fx
architecture includes the following new products and features for Avaya Fabric
Networking Technology:
·
Open Networking Adapter -
the first ever Open Networking Adapter (ONA) provides a plug-n-play network
connection for any device with an Ethernet port including medical devices,
manufacturing machines, and branch office switches. Targeted for non-IT personnel,
this card deck-sized appliance automatically provisions a QoS-customized
virtual path across the network that mitigates security risks, allowing simple,
powerful management of thousands of devices.
·
Fabric Orchestrator – as the
first SDN controller embedded in a unified management instance, this appliance
manages and orchestrates the Ethernet fabric as well as provides SDN Control to
north and south bound interfaces. SDN capabilities include OpenFlow,
OpenDaylight and OpenStack.
·
Fabric Extend – a new capability
in Avaya Fabric Connect enables the extensibility of Fabric networking across
any IP based network without loss of functionality. Investments in existing
networking technologies are preserved while interconnecting strategic
deployments of Fabric Connect across data centres, campuses and branches.
Avaya’s SDN Fx architecture
builds on three primary tenets to meet many of the expectations IT departments
seek from SDN:
·
An automated core that takes
advantage of a single, network-wide Ethernet fabric to remove the need for
manual configuration at each network hop; thus, reducing the potential for
error and accelerating time to service.
·
An open ecosystem that
utilizes standard fabric protocols married with open interfaces and open source
customization tools empowering IT to quickly respond to changing business
requirements with precision and flexibility.
·
An enabled edge that
leverages fabric extension beyond the data centre to the user edge, allowing
applications, devices and users to simply connect anywhere along the network
and interact seamlessly to create a more agile and productive business
environment.
The Avaya SDN Fx
architecture can support a wide range of use cases, such as supporting the
security and mobility of devices connecting to the ever-growing Internet of
Things. Environments such as those found
in hospitals, manufacturing floors and casinos are blanketed with devices that
require a more secure, mobile connection to the network, and may also require
that the rest of the network is better protected from potential threats that
could be triggered by them. Similarly, home-based contact centre agents pose an
expense and operational burden by requiring dedicated resources to provide more
secure access to customer information and alignment with IT security
policies. With the Avaya SDN Fx
architecture, a small network adapter provides automated and dynamic
connectivity, mobility and a level of security to the network based on the
device or user identity. The adapter will be reset and disabled if removed from
the environment. This removes the burden of installation from IT, as end users
can simply connect the adapters and allow the automated process to fully
configure the device.