A framework for a WAN architecture

12/02/08

The last couple of newsletters looked at some of the risks associated with architecture. In this newsletter we will discuss the fact that in spite of those risks we believe that this is a very important time for IT organizations to develop a WAN architecture. To put that last comment in context, we believe that the need for an architecture increases when there is a lot of change in the environment and we are currently seeing a lot of change underway in the WAN environment.

Avoiding irrelevancy

11/25/08

In the last newsletter we identified one of the reasons why architecture was risky. That reason being that based on the views of the CIO, working in an architecture group can be career limiting. In this newsletter we will elaborate on the risks associated with architecture.

Why architecture is risky

11/20/08

It has been a long time since we wrote about one of our favorite topics - that being WAN architecture. We want to use the next few newsletters to expand upon why we think creating a WAN architecture is risky but necessary.

2009 trends: Doing more with less

11/18/08

We're in the midst of collecting information on your outlook for 2009, and what we've found out so far is not surprising. And even though it's not always a good idea to leak some of the information from an in-progress survey, we found the results so far to be sufficiently striking that we feel a need both to share them and to invite you to chime in.

Application Delivery Controllers: Build, buy, or both?

11/13/08

In a recent newsletter we discussed the 2008 Application Delivery Challenge. Since the challenge contains responses from two equipment providers and a service provider, it's given us the opportunity to revisit the "build vs. buy" discussion. That is indeed one of the choices you can make, as the use of a service provider for enhancing application delivery can indeed be accomplished without any specialized equipment on the customer premises. At the same time, there can be a significant advantage achieved by using premises-based equipment in conjunction with specialized service offerings.

Study details the state of WLAN deployments in enterprises

11/11/08

While wireless LANs are often viewed as being a totally separate entity from the WAN, it's critical that WAN managers have a good knowledge of the entire network. One of the ways that you can get a great feel for the major trends in WLAN implementation is from the study, "WLAN Deployment Trends: Networks, Devices, Security", which reports on the penetration of Wi-Fi-enabled devices, customers' primary concern regarding WLANs, and the deployment status of 802.11n.

The next WAN challenge: Managing IP telephony

11/06/08

Back in the "good old days" managing telephony as a part of the WAN was pretty simple. Traditional telephony used dedicated bandwidth, and the major task was to ensure that enough circuits were available to have minimal call blocking. Now, however, IP telephony (IPT) has become a major application on essentially every WAN and the effective management of IPT is a major component of overall WAN management. In a recent study titled "2008 IP Telephony Management State-of-the-Market Report Series" (available at Webtorials), 80% of respondents estimate that IPT would be their primary technology within a little over 2 years, and 50% reported that it would be primary in a little over one.

Foundry, Citrix, Akamai face off on application delivery options

11/04/08

Webtorials, in a joint venture with Layland Consulting, recently issued the 2008 version of the "Application Delivery Challenge" (available at Webtorials). As stated by Layland President Robin Layland, "The data center is the heart of the corporation's information infrastructure. A well-functioning data center is critical to keeping users, customers, and management happy. Selecting the right solutions for the data center is one of the most important tasks facing network managers. The Application Delivery Controller (ADC) is at the center of any data center architecture and having the right ADC is critical to keeping everyone happy."

What it takes to implement lights-out WAN management

10/30/08

In the last newsletter we discussed how IT organizations must implement more effective WAN management to increase WAN availability and that a key step towards this is to automate tasks that currently are highly manual, repetitive and time consuming. In this newsletter we will discuss lights-out WAN management, a phrase that refers to the automation of both problem identification and problem resolution. While this newsletter will focus on WAN management, the same concepts can be applied across all of IT.

Why we need to automate WAN management

10/28/08

In most cases, when IT organizations think about increasing the availability of the WAN they think of implementing fault tolerant network devices, diverse routes through the network and fast failover protocols. Relative to improving WAN availability, those steps are necessary but not sufficient. As we pointed out in a recent newsletter, in many IT organizations ineffective change and configuration management is the primary cause of a network outage. With that in mind, the next two newsletters will look at what steps IT organizations must take to improve WAN management.

Why your WAN requires visibility, policy and control

10/23/08

Over the past two newsletters we've established that there is a wide range of applications running over the typical enterprise WAN. We've also hinted at the fact that sometimes these applications are sanctioned (i.e., Microsoft's SharePoint) but sometimes it is not clear if other applications (i.e., YouTube) are sanctioned. This newsletter is motivated by that growing array of applications transiting the WAN as well as by a panel that Jim chaired at the recent Interop conference in NYC. That panel was entitled Policy and Control. In hindsight, Jim wishes that he had called it Visibility, Policy and Control.

One company's WAN challenge may not be the same as another's

10/21/08

Last time, we discussed a report entitled "The Application Usage and Risk Report" published by Palo Alto Networks which found that the majority of traffic today is based on HTTP. We also talked about why HTTP traffic presents some challenges to the traditional WAN firewall. One of the classes of applications discussed by Palo Alto Networks is what the report refers to as productivity applications delivered as a Web service. The common common use of the phrase 'Web service' is for an application or service that is delivered over the Web, but it's also frequently used to refer to a building block of a software-oriented architecture application. This is where the confusion lays.

The majority of traffic on WANs is HTTP

10/16/08

In the beginning there was IBM's SNA (System Network Architecture). OK, you could argue that SNA was not the beginning of wide-area networking, but it certainly was one of the first formal, widely deployed WAN architectures. SNA was initially designed to support primarily low-speed data entry applications. Given the demands of those applications, and the transmission services that were available at the time, one of the cornerstones of SNA was 9600-baud analog multipoint private lines.

Why go green?

10/14/08

Today, we'll take the various green discussions we've had in the newsletter beyond economics and carbon footprints and look at the variety of reasons and options that companies are employing as a part of their efforts toward Green IT. In a recent survey conducted by the Webtorials Editorial/Analyst Division, a large group of end-users were asked "How important are the environmental (or Green IT) benefits of Unified Communications to your decision [to deploy unified communications]."

Are multiple-point devices more 'green'?

10/09/08

In a recent newsletter, we began a discussion of the 'Green IT' movement, and, in that newsletter, we concentrated primarily on the economics. And while the discussion there concentrated on a single equipment component, there also are arguments that in some cases, having a multifunction device as opposed to multiple-point devices can significantly reduce the overall power consumption.

Clarifying the lack of consolidation in the application delivery market

10/07/08

Today we're taking a break from the 'green IT' discussion we began last week to clarify some points we made the recent newsletter "Why consolidation is not happening in the application delivery market". In that, we discussed that in spite of the spate of recent acquisitions we do not see the application delivery market consolidating any time soon. We received a number of e-mails seeking clarification on some of the points we made and we'll use this newsletter to respond.

What does 'green IT' really mean?

10/02/08

"Green IT" has recently received a lot of attention, especially now that folks in the United States are seeing energy prices that are similar to those that some parts of the world, such as Western Europe, have dealt with for years. But as we investigate "green" further, we find that there are many shades of green.

Cable vs. DSL vs. dial-up vs. cellular - which to lose?

09/30/08

For the past several years, both Steve and Jim have been working in an environment where they felt like some form of backup for network access is mandatory. And, since customers can purchase both DSL and cable modem basic access for roughly the price of an ISDN line, it made all the sense in the world to simply use both. And if one fails you can switch the router (or switch) to the other service. However, as noted in the last newsletter, both services have become much more reliable and both services also have increased in speed (and, to a certain extent, price). So Steve found himself with three ISPs - DSL, cable modem, and a dial-up service - plus the possible need for a fourth, a cellular data service. So the question was how to decide what to do away with.

Dual access for the SOHO/ROBO revisited

09/25/08

Over the several years that we've been writing this column, a topic that we've revisited from time to time is how best to provide for backup for small branch offices and/or telecommuters. At one time, ISDN was recommended since it was a dial service that was relatively widely available. Of course, with the limited bandwidth of a Basic Rate Interface (BRI) connection at a maximum of 128Kbps, this option today is not much more attractive than dusting off the old 212a modem.

Why it's time to let the OSI model die

09/23/08

One of the most enduring models in networking is the famous seven-layer OSI model. X.25 roughly, but pretty accurately, is based on the first three layers. And it stopped there. Subsequently - partly because of technology and partly because of marketing - Layers 4 through 7 have taken on a life of their own in the network as well as the applications.

How do CIOs current priorities stack up against future ones?

09/18/08

This is the fourth newsletter in a series that has been looking at the overall role of the CIO. We have based this series on our survey of 243 IT professionals as well as our interviews with a network tools architect, an enterprise networks manager and a CIO. In the last newsletter we identified what we believe should be a CIO's top five priorities. We are going to use this newsletter to look at what CIO priorities currently are and compare that to what we think they should be.

Top 5 priorities for CIOs

09/16/08

This is the fourth newsletter in a series that has been looking at the overall role of the CIO. We have based this series on our survey of 243 IT professionals as well as our interviews with a network tools architect, an enterprise networks manager and a CIO. Today, we'll discuss what we think are the top five priorities for CIOs.

The CIO as technology leader

09/11/08

This is the third in a series of newsletters that looks at the overall role of the CIO. We have based this series in part on a survey that we gave to 243 IT professionals as well as interviews that we conducted with a network tools architect, an enterprise networks manager and a CIO. We are going to use this newsletter to look at the role that the CIO plays relative to leveraging technology for business value.

Do CIOs get their hands dirty?

09/09/08

In our last newsletter we discussed the role of the CIO and looked at whether or not the CIO is an innovative, strategic thinker who is closely aligned with their company's senior business and functional managers. The discussion was based on our survey of 243 IT professionals as well as on an interview that we conducted with the CIO of a major financial institution. In general the survey data and the interview supported the notion that more often than not CIOs are strategic thinkers who have done a good job of aligning themselves with their company's senior business and functional managers. Having established that, we will use this newsletter to explore whether or not CIOs actually get their hands dirty with operations.

How CIOs can align themselves with the business

09/04/08

We don't normally critique CIOs because we have a healthy appreciation of the difficulty of their job. That being said, we believe that there are some fundamental changes that have to occur inside the majority of IT organizations and that won't happen unless there is active involvement of CIOs. Based on that belief, we are going to use the next couple of newsletters to present some recent market research into the role of the CIO and will use subsequent newsletters to talk about CIO priorities - what they are and what we think they should be.

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Steve Taylor is president of Distributed Networking Associates and publisher/editor-in-chief of Webtorials. Jim Metzler is vice president of Ashton, Metzler & Associates.