SD-WAN offers a fast track to the cloud, but something’s missing.

As organisations move workloads, infrastructure, data, and applications to the cloud, they gain flexibility and agility particularly as employees have access to applications from anywhere. While organisations benefit from this flexibility, they must examine their approaches network architecture and IT security. The software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) may offer the best way to accelerate cloud adoption by enabling local internet breakouts.

Spotlight

Napatech

Napatech helps companies to reimagine their business, by bringing hyper-scale computing benefits to IT organizations of every size. We enhance open and standard virtualized servers to boost innovation and release valuable computing resources that improve services and increase revenue. The Napatech Reconfigurable Computing Platform™ is based on a broad set of FPGA software for leading IT compute, network and security applications that are supported on a wide array of FPGA hardware designs.

OTHER ARTICLES
Unified Communications, Network Security

5G to usher in enterprise AR boom

Article | July 10, 2023

There is great potential for 5G to usher in significant near-term business impacts in the enterprise, and augmented reality (AR) applications will be the poster child that demonstrates the value of 5G. The sprawling footprints of industrial organizations are tailor-made for 5G. High-speed wireless data coverage will be available throughout dispersed industrial environments which simply can't be served via Wi-Fi alone. 5G cellular connectivity for field-based uses, including AR platforms that help frontline workers keep complex machinery in good working order, will be rapidly adopted. There are also many enterprises that have not deployed wireless infrastructure for cost or security reasons. The recent adoption of mobile digital tools by frontline workers to perform daily tasks and remote guidance makes 5G a valuable investment for these organizations. In many instances, 5G may be easier to deploy while delivering more functionality and higher security than Wi-Fi alone.

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5G

GSMA Mobile Economy 2021: 5G has momentum, 4G has peaked, global mobile subscriber growth slowing

Article | May 18, 2023

he launch of commercial 5G services in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa over the last year means that 5G technology is now available in every region of the world. The pandemic has had little impact on 5G momentum; in some instances, it has even resulted in operators speeding up their network rollouts, with governments and operators looking to boost capacity at a time of increased demand. By the end of 2025, 5G will account for just over a fifth of total mobile connections and more than two in five people around the world will live within reach of a 5G network. In leading 5G markets, such as China, South Korea and the U.S.

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Network Infrastructure, Network Management

Enhancing Network Resilience in the Healthcare Sector to Prevent Downtime and Unusable Uptime

Article | July 10, 2023

Your patients have grown to trust your expertise and recommendations in matters regarding their healthcare. As the sector transitions into a more digital playing field, uninterrupted network connectivity is more than just a bonus; it’s a necessity. While there are many different challenges to completely integrating your practice into the digital world, internet outages are the costliest. Downtime can be caused by various factors, which can compromise patient safety, the faith your team instills in you, and your practice’s reputation and revenue. However, investing in the means to maintain a resilient network lets you maximize your network uptime to optimize resources. We'll look at four different strategies and their benefits for your infrastructure so you can focus on what you do best: providing healthcare excellence to your patients. Strengthening Network Infrastructure The traditional way of doing things may be great for your remedies and techniques. Still, with a growing number of patients and their contextually relevant demands, your network needs to be able to accommodate many different booking requests, increase user activity on your server, and store sensitive patient information. High-speed internet connections enhance your network performance and let you, your team, and your patients make the most of your uninterrupted uptime. Fiber-optic networks, when combined with load balancing and proper segmentation, can diffuse and direct network traffic efficiency and prevent congestion, which prevents downtime due to overload. Implementing Network Monitoring and Management Tools Much like your patients visit your practice to ensure everything is all right with the current state of their health, your network must also receive the same treatment. Identifying and pre-emptively resolving potential issues and vulnerabilities will prevent much more destructive or expensive problems from occurring. Use real-time tools to monitor your bandwidth usage and gain visibility of potential bottlenecks. Tools that offer risk monitoring deliver alerts about critical events that pose a threat to your business continuity. Your IT team will be better equipped to troubleshoot issues promptly and optimize performance. Conducting Regular Network Assessments and Audits Once you have the proper monitoring tools to manage your network topology better, proactive troubleshooting is a great way to spot-check whether your current solution is working as it should. A network audit is much like proactive troubleshooting; you are looking to see if anything could harm the overall system and catch it before it can develop. When auditing a network, the primary focus should be security measures. If patient and confidential data is not secure, the smooth operations of your business are the least of your worries. When conducting an audit, consulting with a network service provider will help identify issues with your protocols, data encryption, and firewall configuration. Establishing Redundancy and Disaster Recovery Plans Backing up private and confidential data is crucial to ensuring that sensitive information is not lost or exposed. Minimizing network downtime can often be achieved by having backup systems that will keep running in the event of an attack or outage. For example, a dedicated Cloud Access Network, power supplies, and switches will go a long way. When creating an internet contingency plan, outline steps and protocols with your team that you will take in the event of a complete failure, including things such as brand reputation management, customer service, and data loss prevention. Looking Forward As the lines between in-person and digital are blurred, navigating the complexities of implementing a robust network is paramount to your business. Strengthening your infrastructure, integrating redundant systems, and conducting regular audits and assessments with the proper monitoring and management tools will help you maximize uptime usage and minimize network downtime. Although overwhelming, working with a reputable network service provider can help you embrace your network topology to remain competitive.

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Network Infrastructure

Cisco SD-WAN – the easiest way to connect private links to the cloud from your data center or even branches

Article | June 7, 2022

Applications and workloads have been moving to the cloud for some time. This transition has been putting a lot of pressure on IT organizations to support the trend by extending their networks to support cloud connectivity. Cisco SD-WAN enables your hybrid connectivity to the cloud We at Cisco have innovated on multiple fronts to help our customers with this transition by providing a deep level of integration with many of the leading cloud service providers (CSPs), including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud. Here, we highlight one key aspect of this innovation that allows private cloud links to be available as part of the SD-WAN network, enabling hybrid connectivity to the cloud and multicloud. Now our customers can benefit from all the rich features that our Cisco SD-WAN solution offers including application-aware routing, intent-based path selection, and security policy enforcement. Private direct cloud connectivity to CSPs such as AWS Direct Cloud Connect, Google Cloud Interconnect, and Azure ExpressRoute are becoming popular lately, as they provide customers with optimal connectivity similar to what MPLS did in the past, but in a more agile and on-demand fashion. The only problem is those services are normally acquired separately and customers must determine how to manage them as part of a larger WAN solution including configuration, monitoring, and so on. The on-demand nature of these circuits provides customers with major savings, but also turns automation into a key requirement for management. Enter Cisco SD-WAN release 20.6 Beginning with Cisco SD-WAN release 20.6, a Cisco SD-WAN customer may use Cloud OnRamp for Mutlicloud to automate and simplify cloud connectivity across private and public transports. What is great is this task, that used to require hours and days to setup, now only takes minutes as outlined by the following integration documents for AWS, Azure and Google Cloud respectively: Configure AWS Direct Connect as a Transport with SD-WAN in a Click Configure Azure Express Route as Transport with SD-WAN in a Click Configure Google Cloud Interconnect as a Transport with Cisco SD-WAN in a Click Once a customer implements such connectivity, they will have the ability to steer any type of traffic through it with a customizable and flexible SD-WAN policy. This solution also allows customers to eliminate some limitations imposed on them by the CSPs, such as restricting the number of prefixes advertised via BGP over private links, thus providing better scalability and control. For customers who already use Cisco SD-WAN Cloud Interconnect at middle-mile POPs, such as with Equinix or Megaport, rolling out this solution as a test can be extremely simple given the automation discussed above. The best way to find out how easy this solution is, is to try it.

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Spotlight

Napatech

Napatech helps companies to reimagine their business, by bringing hyper-scale computing benefits to IT organizations of every size. We enhance open and standard virtualized servers to boost innovation and release valuable computing resources that improve services and increase revenue. The Napatech Reconfigurable Computing Platform™ is based on a broad set of FPGA software for leading IT compute, network and security applications that are supported on a wide array of FPGA hardware designs.

Related News

Network Infrastructure

Algeria Telecom Deploys NEC & Juniper Networks' 5G-Ready IP MTA

Algeria Telecom | May 31, 2022

NEC Corporation, a world's leading IT and network transformation service company, and Juniper Networks, a leader in secure, AI-driven networks, have worked with Algeria Telecom, the leader in the Algerian telecommunications market, to roll out its modernized, nationwide IP metro commercial network to support current demand for increased capacity and future 5G and FTTx requires. Algeria Telecom has a mid-term strategy objective to develop a homogenized, optimized transport network with automated capabilities to ensure bandwidth and future-proof its infrastructure in a rising market. NEC and Juniper implemented Algeria Telecom's next-generation IP metro network while maintaining quality of service and the greatest user experience. Algeria Telecom chose Juniper Networks' high-performing, security solutions for SDN-ready, cloud-grade networking and feature-rich, simple and secure connectivity at scale as the innovative foundation of its new platform. The access nodes create separate pre-aggregation, aggregation, and access domains for optimal reliability. Algeria Telecom implemented the Juniper Paragon Automation cloud-native solution package, Paragon Pathfinder and Paragon Planner, to get deep network insight and simplify operations. This ensures 5G and multicloud user experiences. All Juniper systems operate on Junos OS to deliver an easily managed, open solution. Mr. Adel Bentoumi, CEO of Algeria Telecom said that "The successful completion of the IP metro network modernization project by our partners, NEC Corporation and Juniper Networks, will allow us to make the migration to IPV6 and the initiation of digital transformation, as well as the implementation of high speed internet, as we best satisfy the needs of Algeria Telecom customers." The rapid growth of network traffic is a clear indication of the need for modernization and expansion of network capacity. NEC and Juniper have been extremely attentive to our needs, both technical and commercial, working as an extension of our team with their outstanding local engineering abilities, as well as their relentless efforts to assure quality of experience and on-time delivery. Overall, the innovative solutions from Juniper to enable this automated metro cloud architecture have helped us achieve our strategic goals and thrive as we pave the way for 5G.” AllahoumHocine, Head of IP Core, Algeria Telecom Brendan Gibbs, Senior Vice President, Automated WAN Solutions, Juniper Networks said that “Networks have always been a key asset for service providers, but going forward they will be the foundation for every aspect of business transformation in the 5G and cloud era. Algeria Telecom is jumping ahead of the curve by investing in an open, agile and automated network architecture that can drive simplified operations, improved economics and superior end-user experiences.”

Read More

Wireless

TDK Ventures Invests in XCOM Labs

TDK | May 30, 2022

TDK Corporation today announced that its subsidiary TDK Ventures, Inc. has decided to invest in wireless communications disruptor XCOM Labs to accelerate the development of their 5G and wireless communications solutions, which prioritize bandwidth capacity, latency reduction/elimination, and compute load balancing. XCOM is developing wireless technologies to allow smart manufacturing, automation, off-site training, and more immersive telework experiences in the future of work and Industry 4.0. This extends beyond medical, entertainment, and even defense applications to aid in the training and preparation of military troops. Many of the breakthrough technologies seen in the 2G/3G/4G revolutions were developed by XCOM's leadership team, which included Dr. Paul Jacobs, Derek Aberle, and Matt Grob. As present infrastructure cannot keep up with the need for 5G and wireless infrastructure, there is a large demand for further growth and adoption of supporting technologies. Each "G" generation signifies an effort to increase wireless transmission speed, capacity, and overall value. This necessitates not only hardware and software improvements, but also the use of either frequency spectra in new and novel waves or very new frequency bands. The balance of energy, frequency, and transmission is one of several compromises. Higher frequency – and consequently energy signals – can transport more information in less time but degrade faster over distance. In terms of infrastructure, this implies that more transmitting "nodes" in the network are required to convey higher frequency signals over a given region. XCOM is developing technologies that will level the playing field. Their solutions aim to increase spectrum capacity and utility by more than tenfold, allowing the potential promised by 5G and next-generation developers to become a reality. XCOM, for example, is developing further to take digital transformation to the next level via extended reality (XR). They are building a high throughput, low latency wireless technology to enable seamless virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) experiences utilizing a globally accessible 60GHz millimeter wave spectrum. What was previously constrained by the necessity for heavy processing equipment nearby or the poor throughput of smartphone processing is now becoming a full system capable of immersing the user in a metaverse or digital world environment. This will be a significant advancement in the integration of edge computing processing to deliver a more natural user experience. The XCOM team is set on continuing our tradition of excellence and innovating in the wireless space. We understand how important high throughput/low latency is for the future of compute-heavy applications and are working to deliver those capabilities to create real and positive change in our world and industry applications. Our XR technologies are evidence of this progress and show that seamless processing through edge computing can deliver a truly immersive and agile VR/AR system fit for business, entertainment, and more." XCOM's Dr. Jacobs TDK Ventures shares XCOM's dedication to digital transformation for a better, more sustainable future. TDK Ventures will assist XCOM with scaling the effect of their technology by using their network connections, industry partners, and linking XCOM to other TDK business divisions. The platform team at TDK Ventures also offers early product validation, pilots, customer/channel/ecosystem access, market knowledge, operational experience (e.g., materials, manufacturing, fabless, supply chain), and go-to-market/branding coaching.

Read More

Wireless

Vislink Showcases Innovative 5G & Cloud-Based Wireless Solutions

Vislink | May 27, 2022

Vislink, a worldwide leader in the capture, distribution, and management of high quality, live video and data in the media & entertainment, law enforcement, and military industries, presented private network 5G technology during a sports event in the UK to illustrate its potential in broadcast. Vislink and Mobile Viewpoint's adoption heralds a revolution in remote production processes by extending bi-directional IP connections to the edge and allowing virtualized production in the cloud. Vislink's breakthroughs were on display at the Gallagher Premiership Rugby match between Saracens and the Northampton Saints at StoneX Stadium in London, where it backed a BT-led project to highlight the potential for 5G in broadcast contributions by connecting matchday cameras to a standalone private 5G network. In a UK first, this cameras' feed was included in BT Sport's live broadcasts of the match, a first for a customer broadcast. BT Media & Broadcast, BT Sport, Broadcast RF, and Neutral Wireless headed the project. Vislink installed private network 5G transmitters with COFDM technology to illustrate how 5G technology is growing to offer assured quality, low latency video from wireless cameras to give spectators realistic up-close camera views of the athletic event. Mobile Viewpoint's 5G-enabled encoders send camera feeds to the cloud across a secure, low-latency 5G private network and IP LAN. The director can pick camera feeds for the program stream fully in the cloud, utilizing BT Sport's virtualized production process. This cloud-based installation illustrates Mobile Viewpoint's capacity to bring new cost and operating advantages for distant manufacturing operations. Vislink's long-standing expertise in COFDM-based wireless technologies was bolstered last year with the inclusion of Mobile Viewpoint 5G technology capabilities. Vislink now has a best-of-breed portfolio of resilient and efficient solutions for a broad range of deployment situations thanks to the integration of these technologies. Following on from the world's first stand-alone private 5G network for sports broadcasting during the British MotoGP 2021 Grand Prix, this current public demonstration signals another step forward in the company's 5G wireless technology leadership. Vislink and Mobile Viewpoint showed the world's first glass-to-glass All-IP wireless and virtualized manufacturing during this experiment, which was arranged by BT Sport and BT Media & Broadcast. This momentous trial has now established the future course for live event streaming.

Read More

Network Infrastructure

Algeria Telecom Deploys NEC & Juniper Networks' 5G-Ready IP MTA

Algeria Telecom | May 31, 2022

NEC Corporation, a world's leading IT and network transformation service company, and Juniper Networks, a leader in secure, AI-driven networks, have worked with Algeria Telecom, the leader in the Algerian telecommunications market, to roll out its modernized, nationwide IP metro commercial network to support current demand for increased capacity and future 5G and FTTx requires. Algeria Telecom has a mid-term strategy objective to develop a homogenized, optimized transport network with automated capabilities to ensure bandwidth and future-proof its infrastructure in a rising market. NEC and Juniper implemented Algeria Telecom's next-generation IP metro network while maintaining quality of service and the greatest user experience. Algeria Telecom chose Juniper Networks' high-performing, security solutions for SDN-ready, cloud-grade networking and feature-rich, simple and secure connectivity at scale as the innovative foundation of its new platform. The access nodes create separate pre-aggregation, aggregation, and access domains for optimal reliability. Algeria Telecom implemented the Juniper Paragon Automation cloud-native solution package, Paragon Pathfinder and Paragon Planner, to get deep network insight and simplify operations. This ensures 5G and multicloud user experiences. All Juniper systems operate on Junos OS to deliver an easily managed, open solution. Mr. Adel Bentoumi, CEO of Algeria Telecom said that "The successful completion of the IP metro network modernization project by our partners, NEC Corporation and Juniper Networks, will allow us to make the migration to IPV6 and the initiation of digital transformation, as well as the implementation of high speed internet, as we best satisfy the needs of Algeria Telecom customers." The rapid growth of network traffic is a clear indication of the need for modernization and expansion of network capacity. NEC and Juniper have been extremely attentive to our needs, both technical and commercial, working as an extension of our team with their outstanding local engineering abilities, as well as their relentless efforts to assure quality of experience and on-time delivery. Overall, the innovative solutions from Juniper to enable this automated metro cloud architecture have helped us achieve our strategic goals and thrive as we pave the way for 5G.” AllahoumHocine, Head of IP Core, Algeria Telecom Brendan Gibbs, Senior Vice President, Automated WAN Solutions, Juniper Networks said that “Networks have always been a key asset for service providers, but going forward they will be the foundation for every aspect of business transformation in the 5G and cloud era. Algeria Telecom is jumping ahead of the curve by investing in an open, agile and automated network architecture that can drive simplified operations, improved economics and superior end-user experiences.”

Read More

Wireless

TDK Ventures Invests in XCOM Labs

TDK | May 30, 2022

TDK Corporation today announced that its subsidiary TDK Ventures, Inc. has decided to invest in wireless communications disruptor XCOM Labs to accelerate the development of their 5G and wireless communications solutions, which prioritize bandwidth capacity, latency reduction/elimination, and compute load balancing. XCOM is developing wireless technologies to allow smart manufacturing, automation, off-site training, and more immersive telework experiences in the future of work and Industry 4.0. This extends beyond medical, entertainment, and even defense applications to aid in the training and preparation of military troops. Many of the breakthrough technologies seen in the 2G/3G/4G revolutions were developed by XCOM's leadership team, which included Dr. Paul Jacobs, Derek Aberle, and Matt Grob. As present infrastructure cannot keep up with the need for 5G and wireless infrastructure, there is a large demand for further growth and adoption of supporting technologies. Each "G" generation signifies an effort to increase wireless transmission speed, capacity, and overall value. This necessitates not only hardware and software improvements, but also the use of either frequency spectra in new and novel waves or very new frequency bands. The balance of energy, frequency, and transmission is one of several compromises. Higher frequency – and consequently energy signals – can transport more information in less time but degrade faster over distance. In terms of infrastructure, this implies that more transmitting "nodes" in the network are required to convey higher frequency signals over a given region. XCOM is developing technologies that will level the playing field. Their solutions aim to increase spectrum capacity and utility by more than tenfold, allowing the potential promised by 5G and next-generation developers to become a reality. XCOM, for example, is developing further to take digital transformation to the next level via extended reality (XR). They are building a high throughput, low latency wireless technology to enable seamless virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) experiences utilizing a globally accessible 60GHz millimeter wave spectrum. What was previously constrained by the necessity for heavy processing equipment nearby or the poor throughput of smartphone processing is now becoming a full system capable of immersing the user in a metaverse or digital world environment. This will be a significant advancement in the integration of edge computing processing to deliver a more natural user experience. The XCOM team is set on continuing our tradition of excellence and innovating in the wireless space. We understand how important high throughput/low latency is for the future of compute-heavy applications and are working to deliver those capabilities to create real and positive change in our world and industry applications. Our XR technologies are evidence of this progress and show that seamless processing through edge computing can deliver a truly immersive and agile VR/AR system fit for business, entertainment, and more." XCOM's Dr. Jacobs TDK Ventures shares XCOM's dedication to digital transformation for a better, more sustainable future. TDK Ventures will assist XCOM with scaling the effect of their technology by using their network connections, industry partners, and linking XCOM to other TDK business divisions. The platform team at TDK Ventures also offers early product validation, pilots, customer/channel/ecosystem access, market knowledge, operational experience (e.g., materials, manufacturing, fabless, supply chain), and go-to-market/branding coaching.

Read More

Wireless

Vislink Showcases Innovative 5G & Cloud-Based Wireless Solutions

Vislink | May 27, 2022

Vislink, a worldwide leader in the capture, distribution, and management of high quality, live video and data in the media & entertainment, law enforcement, and military industries, presented private network 5G technology during a sports event in the UK to illustrate its potential in broadcast. Vislink and Mobile Viewpoint's adoption heralds a revolution in remote production processes by extending bi-directional IP connections to the edge and allowing virtualized production in the cloud. Vislink's breakthroughs were on display at the Gallagher Premiership Rugby match between Saracens and the Northampton Saints at StoneX Stadium in London, where it backed a BT-led project to highlight the potential for 5G in broadcast contributions by connecting matchday cameras to a standalone private 5G network. In a UK first, this cameras' feed was included in BT Sport's live broadcasts of the match, a first for a customer broadcast. BT Media & Broadcast, BT Sport, Broadcast RF, and Neutral Wireless headed the project. Vislink installed private network 5G transmitters with COFDM technology to illustrate how 5G technology is growing to offer assured quality, low latency video from wireless cameras to give spectators realistic up-close camera views of the athletic event. Mobile Viewpoint's 5G-enabled encoders send camera feeds to the cloud across a secure, low-latency 5G private network and IP LAN. The director can pick camera feeds for the program stream fully in the cloud, utilizing BT Sport's virtualized production process. This cloud-based installation illustrates Mobile Viewpoint's capacity to bring new cost and operating advantages for distant manufacturing operations. Vislink's long-standing expertise in COFDM-based wireless technologies was bolstered last year with the inclusion of Mobile Viewpoint 5G technology capabilities. Vislink now has a best-of-breed portfolio of resilient and efficient solutions for a broad range of deployment situations thanks to the integration of these technologies. Following on from the world's first stand-alone private 5G network for sports broadcasting during the British MotoGP 2021 Grand Prix, this current public demonstration signals another step forward in the company's 5G wireless technology leadership. Vislink and Mobile Viewpoint showed the world's first glass-to-glass All-IP wireless and virtualized manufacturing during this experiment, which was arranged by BT Sport and BT Media & Broadcast. This momentous trial has now established the future course for live event streaming.

Read More

Events