Navigating the Data Center Networking Landscape

Traditional data center networking.

Software-defined networking.

White/brite box networking.

Cloud networking.

Traditional Data Center Networking. There have been many advancements in the traditional networking layer. Cisco, Arista, Juniper, Brocade, HPE, and Dell are continuing to develop integrated networking systems for the modern data center. Yes – there are other data center network manufacturers – but for the sake of keeping the article’s length manageable, it’s actually more important to understand overall capabilities than individual vendors. Organizations like Cisco bank on the fact that you can integrate the entire network and fabric backplane with their networking technologies. Of course, you’ll get the biggest benefits when you’re running a complete Cisco ecosystem. However, if you’re working with smaller offices, branch locations, or even a smaller amount of users – it’s critical to look at other technologies which can make an impact. Dell and HPE, for example, have been known to provide solid solutions at great price points. Or, let’s assume you need a massive amount of throughput at your data center layer. Solutions from Juniper and Arista can help those organizations looking to pass a massive amount of traffic through the networking layer. Even though there are similarities between these major vendors – traditional data center networking technologies are powerful in the use-cases they support. So, if you’re working with convergence – look for networking technologies which can better support it via native means. So, Cisco, HPE, and Dell may be great options. Ultimately, traditional networking is a lot smarter and a lot more powerful. These architectures can act as direct extensions of the data center; even incorporating things like SDN into the ecosystem.

Software-Defined Networking (SDN). This brings us to the next point. SDN has become a big technology for many organizations looking to build more intelligence into the networking layer. There are a few key considerations here. Vendors like Cisco (ACI) and Arista (EOS) have taken SDN to the next level by integrating into their hardware and software stack. From there, vendors like VMware (NSX) have integrated SDN control into the entire virtualization ecosystem. Finally, open source and open SDN vendors like Cumulus Networks, Plexxi, and Big Switch are creating powerful networking overlays and integration technologies for even more use-cases. In this scenario alone – you see three options to work with. If you have invested in existing data center technologies (like Cisco or Arista, for example) working with their SDN solution might make a lot of sense. It’ll integrate better, you’ll have less of a learning curve, and you’ll be able to leverage existing investments. Working with hypervisor-layer SDN makes sense if you’re very heavily virtualized and need to better control VM traffic. Remember, SDN at this layer doesn’t always provide the best levels of visibility into the physical layer – but it will certainly help you control your distributed VM architecture. Finally, working with open SDN solutions is an up-and-coming trend. If you’re a service provider, or are trying to create your own customized networking environment, working with these types of SDN overlay technologies could do the trick. Just remember that these are newer technologies and there is still a bit of a learning curve.

White/Brite Box Networking. Now, we break away from a lot of the named brands out there and discuss a big trend impacting a lot of data centers and service providers. Let’s quickly define white box versus brite box. Simply put, white box networking is a hardware component which, at its core, provides the underlying hardware for you to utilize. An example of this would be a QuantaMesh switch. Brite box networking is basically branded white box solutions. So, for example, placing Cumulus Linux on top of a Dell, HPE, Mellanox, or even SuperMicro switch. The cool part here is that we are seeing trends around white/brite box adoption. Gartner recently pointed out that that by 2018, non-traditional switching will account for more than 10 percent of global data center port shipments, up from under 4 percent in 2013. Now, that being said, this type of networking architecture is yet to see real mainstream adoption. For now, it really is limited to the big service providers, cloud hosts, and those organizations creating customized hyperscale solutions. Still, there are big cost saving opportunities here and the ability to create powerfully custom business solutions. If you’re looking to work with these types of systems – make sure to line up support, a good partner which can help out, and ensure you have the right use-case.

Cloud Networking. It’s a big, bold, cloudy world out there and networking is certainly playing its part. Cloud networking has become a big initiative for those organizations scaling their data centers into a cloud ecosystem. There are numerous platforms which help extend data center networking components into the cloud. Let me give you an example – OpenStack Neutron. Neutron creates a network-as-a-service environment which interfaces between your data center networking devices and those managed by other OpenStack services and resources. So, if you’re trying to extend your data center into the cloud; and then further integrate your cloud with other cloud services and hosts – working with OpenStack as an overall management solution might make sense. So, maybe you’re trying to build a multi-tier application delivery architecture; or – you’re creating your own advanced networking services which plugs into the OpenStack ecosystem; working with Neutron might be the right answer. These types of cloud networking technologies help create advanced provider networks which give you granular controls and very powerful network customization capabilities. So, if you’re working with cloud – look at cloud networking solutions to help simplify management and allow you to further integrate with advanced cloud solutions.