Charles Babbage, the Victorian Oxford fellow, is the unlikely pioneer of today’s sophisticated networking technology. Babbage was unconventional as an intellectual because he held a firm conviction that scientist and engineers owe their first allegiance to real life – not speculation. Widely regarded as the father of computer science, Babbage was praised by his contemporaries for having created the first “smart machine” – his famed Analytical Engine. Babbage would no doubt be intrigued by the evolution of his practical philosophy as exemplified in modern networking technology today – specifically the advent of virtualized networking. I think Charles Babbage would agree that “virtualized networking” will for years to come occupy a central role in simplifying the complex tasks needed to function in a “virtualized world”. Who said you can’t judge the future by the past?
It is expected that edge virtualization and software defined networks (SDNs) will completely replace purpose-built appliances and integrated applications at the edge. There are compelling reasons behind the move to virtualization in the data center, and these same attributes apply equally to the SMB and enterprise edge. When considering a transition to edge virtualization and SDN, you need to look for a solution that provides both powerful networking and orchestration capabilities running on a virtual platform.
According to a recent Nemertes Report: Application Delivery for Virtualized Infrastructures; “Virtualized infrastructures are highly dynamic and increasingly automated. By comparison, the network delivering applications to users tends still to be static, fragile, and manually configured. This mismatch can lead to erosion of the benefits of virtualization, errors, increased complexity, poor performance, and downtime. The network needs application delivery optimization that can participate in the automated orchestration of virtual infrastructure to improve and guarantee performance and availability. “
At Netsocket, we couldn’t agree more. One of the advantages of running applications on a virtual platform, versus adding an application on top of an existing O/S, is the fact that the application can run on the O/S it is optimized for, with resources dedicated for its use. This becomes especially important when the applications are deep and complete, such as with a session border controller or a voice IP key system, particularly when these might need to run on the same platform together or with another complex-type network application.
Virtualization allows for quick integration of applications within the same platform. With proper orchestration it is possible to balance application resource needs with platform capabilities. It is not necessary to fine-tune applications to a host O/S, as is done with traditional edge devices.
Virtualization orchestration creates several important benefits. One of the most important of these is the ability to perform automatic integration of applications with respect to the network (automatic wiring) and its associated QoS and security policies. In a traditional implementation, without the benefit of virtualization orchestration, integration tends to be fraught with errors, particularly when applied across geographies and between applications. Additionally, updates and changes in a virtual environment can usually be orchestrated as a simple switch from a running VM to the upgraded VM, whereas a traditional environment will typically require a platform reboot—thus causing all applications to lose connectivity for a period of time.
Automated Application Delivery through virtualization and orchestration eliminates many of the problems associated with traditional all-in-one appliances that attempt to run applications that must interact with each other and the network. Configuration mistakes are avoided, and upgrades happen with no downtime. Edge virtualization can provide enterprises and SMBs with efficiencies that legacy, purpose-built appliances cannot even begin to achieve. The better management of application resources, simpler policy administration, automated application integration and orchestration, and improved scalability, survivability, and performance all lead to significant and measurable cost savings.
Edge virtualization and SDN solutions are here today and ready for production deployments. Integrating them into today’s enterprise data centers and SMB environments will establish a foundation for a more efficient, optimized and manageable network over the long term.
Throughout his life, Babbage, with and without recognition unabashedly pursued his notion of a machine that could perform mathematical computations automatically. He shocked the Victorian world with his unorthodox notions and refused to be deterred in his dream of an “Analytical Engine”. It was in the rich soil of Babbage’s highly eccentric Victorian mind that our own contemporary networking roots have been derived. Virtualized networking running virtualized applications represent that new bell curve.
About the author: Richard Platt is responsible for establishing Netsocket’s technical vision and leading all aspects of the company’s technology development. He brings over 25 years experience defining, developing, and commercializing emerging technologies in both start-up and Fortune 100 environments. He joined Netsocket in 2012