Steve Garson,n n Dave Greenfield

Author Archives: Steve Garson,n n Dave Greenfield

IDG Contributor Network: Will networks and security converge in 2017?

Bold predictions are in order at this time of year. Zeus Kerravala looked into his crystal bowl for the networking space, and Taylor Armeriding did the same for security. We went rummaging through our fortune cookies and came up with this Yoda-like one for 2017:Security shall networking become.What did that really mean? Our Yoda translator was of no help. Could networking replace security (or vice versa) in 2017? Should CIOs and CISOs prepare themselves for the inevitable assimilation (head nod to you aging Trekies)? How should, then, security and networking personnel prepare themselves for the inevitable onslaught?To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Should you buy an SD-WAN service?

When we first started evaluating SD-WANs, the market was pretty straightforward. You had a few appliance (virtual and hardware) providers, a service provider and that’s about it. Today, more than 30 vendors deliver some kind of SD-WAN.Mind boggling? A bit, but we can help. There are three categories of SD-WAN offerings today. You can buy SD-WAN equipment (and software) and do it yourself (DIY), subscribe to an over-the-top (OTT) SD-WAN service, or have your SD-WAN bundled with a carrier network, such as MPLS or Direct Internet Access (DIA). We’ll look at each one of them.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Supplier management: The biggest threat to SD-WANs—and what you can do about it

You know the adage about a cup being half full or half empty? Maybe the author had software-defined WANs (SD-WANs) in mind. Their ability to select between internet services is critical to delivering stable, predictable performance. But with multiple providers at each site, carrier management becomes a nightmare for SD-WANs. The answer might be Global Managed Internet Providers, also called Virtual Network Operators (VNOs).Multiple Paths: The key to SD-WAN availability One of the biggest limitations of any SD-WAN is the dependence on the internet. Over the years, internet performance has improved dramatically. A look at the internet loss metrics from Stanford’s PINGer project show median loss rates across the globe have steadily declined since 1999, improving by 88 percent. Yet for all of its improvement, the internet remains an unmanaged network. Latency and loss rates may outperform private data services on some days, but enterprises look for data services to perform well every day.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Gartner predicts: SD-WANs to replace routers, but which SD-WAN is the question

That SD-WANs will replace routing was not the most important message from last week’s Gartner webinar with Gartner vice president and distinguished analyst Joe Skorupa.No, the biggest message came in some startling statistics. Half the market revenue is held by just two startups, which begs the question: With 30-plus vendors in the SD-WAN space, are you sure the SD-WAN vendor you’re considering has the cash for the long haul?No more routing Back in September, we wrote about the argument for replacing routing with SD-WANs. It’s a message we've been thinking about for some time, listening to the frustrations of many of our enterprise customers. It’s also a trend that Skorupa's market data supports—and for good reason.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Performance analysis: Bursting the myth of MPLS performance

Quick question, MPLS or SD-WANs, which would you say offers better performance? For the same bandwidth, we’d assume MPLS. After all, MPLS services are managed for a reason, right? However, as we learned on one recent project, internet performance has improved so much over the years that its performance can rival, even exceed, private WAN services.The situation The project was with a manufacturing company that wanted to see if modernizing its MPLS WAN made sense. The alternative would be an SD-WAN or hybrid WAN.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here