Virtual Networks
Virtualization within the data center is now taken for granted, with some declaring that ‘Cloud Computing’ will be the choice of most enterprises and that applications and information will become commodities. Experience has proved one thing; the data center of the future cannot be built on the technology of the past. General-purpose products, outmoded techniques, and legacy designs cannot be re-packaged as ‘data center-ready’. The industry will take the best and leave the rest. Ethernet is readily available, cost-effective, extensible, and – as the 40/100 Gigabit developments prove – scalable, however many existing deployment methodologies are no longer an option.
To support the transition to a multi-dimensional environment the underlying network also needs to change. Provisioning needs to be simpler, and availability and performance need to scale seamlessly. Empowering a truly commoditized approach to service delivery requires a solution that is characterized by simplification, and a standards-based approach will help ensure an open architecture that avoids costly or inflexible lock-in. Many IT organizations are burdened with the additional challenge of supporting a mosaic of servers, operating systems, and applications which have been collected during numerous purchasing cycles. Tales abound of ‘specials’, too awkward to port but too important to lose. A closed, single-vendor approach is simply not an option for many; versatility and the ability to seamlessly transition the underlying network are key in delivering transformation without introducing risk. The progressive evolution of the network also creates a new opportunity: the convergence of storage and real-time traffic. The network of the future will be required to provide low-latency, shortest path connectivity, and purpose-built products will deliver the end-to-end lossless architecture mandatory for the successful convergence of storage.
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Muneyb Minhazuddin's Biography |
