I just got done watching all the Nuage Networks videos from Networking Field Day 10 (NFD10) and I’m quite impressed with the presentation they gave. If you haven’t watched them yet, I would recommend you do…
Nuage Networks Evolution of Wide Area Networking
Nuage Networks Onboarding the Branch Demo
Nuage Networks Application Flexibility Demo
Nuage Networks Boundary-less Wide Are Networking
Here are some things I thought were worth highlighting…
A consistent Model
What I find interesting about Nuage is their approach. Most startup networking companies these days limit their focus to one area of the network. The data center is certainly a popular area but others are focusing on the WAN as well. Nuage is tackling both.
I heard a couple of times in the presentation statements like “users are stuck in the past” or “the network model has to be consistent”. The problem with any overlay based network solution is that ,at some point, you need to connect it back to the ‘normal’ network. Whether that entails bridging a physical appliance into the overlay, or actually peering the physical into the overlay, the story usually starts to get messy. Continue reading
NSX 6.2 was released on August 20, 2015. One of the key features in NSX 6.2 is Cross vCenter Networking and Security. This new capability scales NSX vSphere across vCenter boundaries. Now, one can span logical networking and security constructs across vCenter boundaries irrespective of whether the vCenters are in adjacent racks or across datacenters (up to 150ms apart). This enables us to solve a variety of use cases including:
With Cross vCenter Networking & Security one can extend logical switches (VXLAN networks) across vCenter boundaries enabling a layer 2 segment to span across VCs even when the underlying network is a pure IP / L3 network. However, the big innovation here is that with NSX we can also extend distributed routing and distributed firewalling seamlessly across VCs to provide a comprehensive solution as seen in the figure below.
Of course, there are a more details behind how this feature works and how we solve some really cool challenges in a simple elegant manner with network virtualization which we will cover at VMworld 2015 in the session NET5989. In the meanwhile if Continue reading
But virtualization is a part of it, of course. And vSphere isn't left behind.
We’re excited to announce our latest tier 1 partnership, this time with VMware, which demonstrates the growing strategic role and importance that Cumulus Linux plays in rapidly building and scaling private and public clouds. VMware has announced VMware EVO SDDC — a software suite that provides a prescriptive and simple way for organizations to build and operate highly scalable and performant private clouds based on VMware’s software-defined data center (SDDC) architecture. With VMware EVO SDDC bundled with OEM hardware, VMware provides compute, storage and network virtualization, and now fully integrated physical networking solutions.
Cumulus Linux comes embedded in VMware EVO SDDC, which also includes a hardware management system (HMS) component with software integration at the network layer. The top of rack (ToR), spine, and management switches all run Cumulus Linux as the network OS on Dell and Quanta platforms. Hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) solutions based on the suite will be available over time through an exclusive set of VMware partners.
This technology partnership is significant for several reasons. First, to have struck such a strategic OEM partnership with VMware is a ringing endorsement of the enterprise-grade quality of software that Cumulus Linux represents as well as the quality of engineering Continue reading
The basis of competition has shifted from individual products and technologies to platforms,
but with everyone aspiring to be a platform the bar is set high. A platform must be a value-creation entity, underpinned by a robust architecture that includes a set of well-integrated software artifacts and programming interfaces to enable reuse and extensibility by third parties. Platforms must support an ecosystem that can function in a unified way, foster interactions among its members and orchestrate its network of partners. And finally, platforms must adhere to the network effect theory which asserts that the value of a platform to a user increases as more users subscribe to it, in effect, creating a positive feedback loop.
The VMware NSX network virtualization platform meets this criteria resoundingly. NSX is specifically designed to provide a foundation for a high-value, differentiated ecosystem of partners that includes some of the networking industry’s most significant players. The NSX platform leverages multi-layered network abstractions, an extensible and distributed service framework with multiple entry points, and transparent insertion and orchestration of partner services. What distinguishes NSX from other platforms is its inherent security constructs which partner solutions inherit, and a context sharing and synchronization capability Continue reading
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