The Lippis Report

May 27th, 2013

Cisco introduced enhancements to its VXLAN implementation in the Nexus 1000V virtual switch that overcomes the requirement for IP Multicast. In addition Cisco is integrating vPath to VXLAN for service insertion that stitches virtual services into VXLAN overlay tunnels. Network services might include virtual firewalls, application delivery controllers, WAN optimization, network monitors, etc. A final VXLAN challenge that network teams are facing is how to integrate VXLAN into legacy networks and with existing physical networks, appliances and the enterprise WAN. We’ll hear if Cisco has any solutions to get around this issue as well. Han Yang of Cisco joins me to discuss VXLAN, without multicast and with vPath, and how it can be used to deploy virtual network overlays.

May 20th, 2013

As the need for visibility of applications flowing inside networks grows, network architecture itself is changing thanks to network plus server virtualization in data centers, and now Software-Defined Networking. Also trends like BYOD, virtualization, and application mobility are bringing complexity and a new dynamism to today’s networks. Larry Hart, Vice President, Ixia/Anue joins me to discuss how Software-Defined Networking is enhancing the hot network visualization market.

May 13th, 2013

As the need for visibility of applications flowing inside networks grows, network architecture itself is changing thanks to network plus server virtualization in data centers, and now Software-Defined Networking. Also trends like BYOD, virtualization, and application mobility are bringing complexity and a new dynamism to today’s networks. Shehzad Merchant, Chief Strategy Officer at Gigamon joins me to discuss the role of network visualization in the world of Software-Defined Networking.

April 8th, 2013

At the last Open Networking User Group (ONUG) meeting in Boston organized with partner Fidelity Investments, it became very clear that there are two killer SDN applications: network virtualization and visualization. Some argue that network virtualization used for VM-VM networking is not an SDN technology, but I beg to differ. Sure, there are closed and open approaches to network virtualization, but over the next business cycle, the integration of OpenStack and OpenFlow will make it clear that network virtualization is an SDN application, especially as it’s extended to physical networks. The second killer app is network visualization—that is, the ability to monitor network traffic and tweak application performance.   At ONUG Rich Groves, Principal Architect at Microsoft presented his SDN based approach to network visualization he designed with Big Switch Networks, cPacket, IBM, Arista and other suppliers that everyone is now using.  Why is network visualization an SDN killer app? Because it uses SDN technology, and most importantly, lowers the capital cost significantly from existing network visualization approaches while also delivering an entirely new level of self-server flexibility. Companies, such as Big Switch Networks, Gigamon, Arista, Cisco, NetScout, Ixia/Anue, cPacket and others, are now positioning their network visualization offers within an SDN context and for good reason. In this Lippis Report Research Note, I focus on network visualization as an SDN killer app.

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April 8th, 2013

The Arista 7150S-24 SFP Data Center Switch is the fastest Top of Rack Switch we have ever tested in this series of public test. Find out just how fast the 7150S-24 can forward packets in your network by reviewing the latest public test information.

February 4th, 2013

By Avaya

Supporting mission-critical applications requires 24×365 always-on infrastructure, and the Avaya Virtual Services Platform 7000 delivers against this challenge. It is a highly strategic product that is fit-for-purpose for today’s connectivity requirements and future-ready for the evolving and emerging application-driven needs of tomorrow. This paper describes Avaya’s unique distributed ToR approach to lower latency for increasingly dominant east-west traffic flows within data center and cloud computing facilities.

February 4th, 2013

By Cisco Systems

The Cisco® Global Cloud Index is an ongoing effort to forecast the growth of global data center and cloud-based IP traffic. The forecast includes trends associated with data center virtualization and cloud computing. This document presents the details of the study and the methodology behind it. Great forecast and projections are detailed in this report.

January 28th, 2013

Dr.Casimer DeCasatis

This is the forth of a five part podcast series on IBM’s Open Data Center Interoperable Network or ODIN program and DOVE or Distributed Overlay Virtual Ethernet. I talk with Dr. Casimer DeCasatis, IBM Distinguished Engineer and System Networking’s Chief Technical Officer for strategic alliances about IBM’s Software Defined-Networking or SDN stack and how applications request network services with IBM’s linkage between its Patterns and SDN product set.

Duration 12 minutes and 17 seconds:

Lippis Intro/Analysis @ : 00:10 sec

Question 1 @ 2:27 What are the key architectural components that enable applications to call upon network resource within PureSystems.

Question 2 @ 4:45: What is Patterns and its main function?

Question 3 @ 7:21: How do clients build DOVE networks and DOVE networks build Virtual System pattern?

Question 4 @ 8:58: What network infrastructure needs to be put in place before virtual system patterns can be created and what’s the main business benefit gained?

January 14th, 2013

This is the second of a five part series on IBM’s Open Data Center Interoperable Network or program and its DOVE or Distributed Overlay Virtual Ethernet.  I talk with Renato; IBM Fellow and System Networking Chief Technical Officer about IBM’s approach to virtual network overlays called DOVE.

Duration 16 minutes and 20 seconds:

Lippis Intro/Analysis @ : 00:10 sec

Question 1 @ 2:22: Renato would you like to add anything to my virtual network overlay discussion in the intro that’s unique to IBM?

Question 2 @ 4:46: What is DOVE, a switch, software, etc?

Question 3 @ 7:42: How are IBM’s virtual network overlays created and managed?

Question 4 @ 9:59 How are virtual networks transported over the physical L2/3 network?  Does IBM support hybrid mode?

Question 5 @ 11:59: There are multi-tenant clouds, hybrid clouds and large-scale private clouds or data centers that would benefit from virtual network overlays.  Which use cases does IBM see as virtual network overlays offering the most value today?

Question 6 @ 14:29: How do IT business leaders start to implement IBM’s virtual network overlay?

Register to attend the Open Networking User Group hosted by Fidelity and the Lippis Report on Feb 13^th 2013 in Boston, MA

January 14th, 2013

No matter where an IT architect looks they are confronted with scaling issues and many times one solution creates another problem.  To address increasing VM density many are expanding broadcast domains with flatter 2-tier architectures only to get bogged down in broadcast issues.  To scale virtualized networks the industry offers VXLAN, but that moves L2 scaling into a multicast-scaling problem.  Software-Defined Network and in particular OpenFlow offers a good approach for provisioning and control but introduces flow oriented architecture scaling issues of its own.  I discuss scaling challenge with Shehzad Merchant Chief Technology Officer at Extreme Networks.

Duration: 10:24 minutes

Lippis Intro/Analysis @ : 00:10 sec

Question 1

@ 1:35 sec: Shehzad: Let’s first start with Extreme’s view of 40 and 100GbE.  How is Extreme incorporating it and why?

Question 2 @ 3:50 sec: Forwarding table architecture and size define logical networking scale.  Extreme recently introduced UFT or Unified Forwarding Table.  What is it and how does it work?

Question 3 @ 6:35 sec: Extreme has partnered with Big Switch Networks to address network visualization scale via its Big Tap and Big Virtual Switch.  Can you talk to this solution?

Question 4 @ 8:51 sec: Can you sum up all the initiatives that Extreme has under way to deliver on its Open Fabric architecture for clo

ud-scale networking?

REGISTER FOR THE OPEN NETWORKING USER GROUP HERE:

January 7th, 2013

Dr.Casimer DeCusatis

This is the first of a five part podcast series on IBM’s Open Data Center Interoperable Network or ODIN program and its DOVE or Distributed Overlay Virtual Ethernet initiative.  In this podcast I talk with Dr. Casimer DeCusatis IBM Distinguished Engineer and IBM System Networking’s chief technical officer for strategic alliances about IBM’s expanded approach to data center networking and the gains anticipated by IBM customers.

Duration 10 minutes and 05 seconds:

Lippis Intro/Analysis @ : 00:10 sec

Question 1 @ 2:16: Let’s start with a discussion about Open Data Center Interoperable Network; what is it and what problem(s) does it seek to solve?

Question 2 @ 3:37: What benefits will IT leaders gain as they start an ODIN journey.

Question 3 @ 5:13: Is ODIN an architecture and an approach to networking or a way for IBM to communicate to the market a set of product/service investments it’s making?

Question 4 @ 7:13: How does ODIN prepare a data center or cloud for elastic compute, storage and network provisioning of resource pools that can be rapidly partitioned into desired configuration?

Register to attend the Open Networking User Group hosted by Fidelity and the Lippis Report on Feb 13^th 2013 in Boston, MA

August 27th, 2012

Rakesh Saha, Director of Product Management for Advanced Technologies at IBM System Networking and Samrat Ganguly, Chief Network Architect for NEC’s ProgrammableFlow join me to help us make sense of the fast paced evolution of Software-Defined Networking and predict its future.

Duration: 12 minutes and 26 seconds

Lippis Intro/Analysis @ : 00:10 sec

Question 1 @ 2:19 sec: Rakesh, There are a few approaches to SDN including overlay virtual networks, OpenFlow control of physical and virtual switches plus a hybrid. How do you see these implementations evolving over time?

Question 2 @ 5:10 sec: Samrat, There are a range of protocols to use for the overlay of virtual networks to tunnel through physical L2/3 networks, such as GRE, VXLAN , NVGRE, etc. How will this space evolve?

Question 3 @ 6:34 sec: Rakesh, There’s discussion in the industry about how SDN can be used to configure a converged LAN/SAN fabric. Can you talk to this?

Question 4 @ 7:58 sec: Samrat, there are multiple approaches for SDN controllers, be it in a hypervisor, an appliance, part of a cloud stack, etc. How do you see the role of the controller evolving over time?

Question 5 @ 9:17 sec: Rakesh, How do you see SDN evolving and how does programmable networking fit in?

Question 6 @ 10:52 sec: Samrat, same question. How do you see SDN evolving and how does programmable networking fit in?

July 23rd, 2012

Shortest Path Bridging or SPB was ratified in March of 2012 by the IEEE. Its an active-active link protocol that replaces the older Spanning Tree Protocols. SPB is touted as a means to simplify the creation and configuration of carrier, enterprise and cloud networks by virtually eliminating human configuration error. In short, SPB is designed to scale. Avaya, an SPB leader, has implemented it within its data center and campus networking products in a hope to drastically simply the configuration of enterprise wide virtual networks. Paul Unbehagen an SPB co-author and Avaya Director working on next generation fabric standards and implementations joins me to discuss SPB and the value it brings to enterprise and data center network design.

May 29th, 2012

By Ashton, Metzler & Associates

Because cloud services are typically accessed over a WAN, the adoption of cloud computing will place a significant volume of new traffic on the WAN. Unfortunately, in many cases, the cost, availability and performance of the WAN will be an impediment to the ongoing adoption of cloud computing. The use of broadband Internet access technologies, such as DSL and cable, is usually regarded as being low cost, but in many situations, it is not regarded as providing acceptable performance or high availability, such as MPLS. A new approach to WAN design combines traditional and broadband access through WAN virtualization to effectively support cloud computing.