Mobulation Explosion

By: Dan O’Donnell

I will take credit here for coining a new word, “mobulation.” I hope mobulation will someday be added to Webster’s Dictionary and make me famous. In the mean time, I will write some thoughts about the pending mobulation explosion.

Let’s start with a clear definition. Mobulation is the population of mobile network connected devices including cell phones, smart phones, tablets and laptops. The mobulation explosion is my term for the incredible growth in mobile devices and the network traffic they create. Cisco predicts that by the end of 2012 there will be more mobile devices than people on this earth we all share. This prediction will have a near term critical impact on the networking industry. The report is the Cisco Visual Networking Index: Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update, 2011 – 2016.

As more phones are put into service, more data will be generated. However, in addition to phone traffic, smart mobile devices are generating data and video traffic at a much greater rate. Here are some interesting numbers:
• Smartphones represent only 12 percent of global handsets in use today but they use over 82 percent of total handset traffic.
• The number of mobile-connected tablets tripled in 2011 to 34 million. Each tablet generates 3.4 times the network traffic than the average smartphone.
• Mobile connected laptops generate 22 times more traffic than smartphones. Mobile data traffic per laptop was 2.1GB per month, up 46 percent from 2010.
• Global mobile data traffic will increase 18-fold between 2011 and 2016 reaching 10.8 exabytes per month. (1 exabyte = 1 quintillion bytes or 10¹⁸ bytes)

These numbers remind me of when I was taking Astronomy in college. It is difficult to comprehend the magnitude of the numbers. Imagine, though, what will happen to network traffic when smartphones represent 40% of the global handset market. Imagine the mobile data traffic loads when the tablet market, which is still very young, matures to ubiquity.

These events will have enormous impact on today’s networks and not just for service providers. As smart mobile devices blur the line between corporate and private data traffic, the increased throughput will impact enterprise as well as carrier networks. New strategies will be needed for network monitoring, management and security. More specialized and faster appliances will be required to protect corporate assets and keep confidential information secured.

The glue holding all these appliances together is the network access device. A well-planned monitoring strategy built around permanent network access equipment will help keep appliance port costs down and maintain high network availability. The AFS by Network Critical is one example of this foundational piece for network monitoring and security. The AFS provides access, aggregation, filtering and load-balanced distribution in a small 1U package.

The experts at Network Critical are working with enterprise and carrier clients every day designing intelligent, next generation access strategies. The Mobulation Explosion is happening now. Do not wait until your network is overwhelmed by an onslaught of mobile data traffic. Plan your high speed/high availability network access strategy now.

Virtually Simple

By Dan O’Donnell

Live simple. What a nice concept. Our lives in the technology industry, however, seem to be all about conquering the complicated rather than pursuing the simple.

Mobility, virtualization, more data, faster links, new applications and increasing vulnerability all require complex and sophisticated systems to manage and protect networks. Virtualized Desktop Infrastructure growth is increasing bandwidth requirements. Appliances are becoming more specialized so more are required. Connecting the tools without impacting network availability and managing all the appliances at 10Gbps link speeds is now becoming its own specialty.

A Gartner report, “Emerging Technology Analysis: Hosted Virtual Desktops” says the number of virtual desktops worldwide will increase to 66 million by 2014. While this growth of virtual technology is efficient for businesses, it adds complexity to network and application management. The need for greater visibility into network performance and application performance will increase just as dramatically as the growth of network bandwidth and virtual desktops.

Boiling it all down, there is a need to pursue simplicity in this ever more complicated environment. Time spent chasing network issues when the problem is with an application is time wasted. Time spent drilling down through layers and layers of analysis on 10Gbps link traffic can be frustrating while clients are experiencing outages or response time issues. Resolving performance issues proactively and optimizing network performance are more worthy pursuits than troubleshooting problems.

A side note on the business perspective of simple proactive network management…A team focused on trouble shooting is considered a cost center. A team focused on improving network performance and IT ROI is considered a strategic asset to the company.

So, in pursuit of a simple answer, what about a unified system providing end-to-end performance visibility across the network, allowing quick isolation of the root cause of performance issues? What about a solution that solves complex application issues simply? What about a couple of simple tools that are easy to deploy and take only a few RUs of rack space? What about connecting all your 1Gbps links through a port aggregator rolling them up to a few high-speed links for consolidated management? What about proactive network management, resolving issues before the clients even notice problems?

The Network Critical AFS port aggregator and the Visual Networks VPM Xpress 10G combine to provide a complete yet simple solution for link aggregation, network and application management. The AFS and Xpress solution allows network managers in virtual environments, carrier and cloud networks an efficient, simple solution to proactive network and application management.

Simple is good. Follow the links below for more information:

View the Network Critical AFS port aggregator here
Download the Network Critical Aggregating Filtering System (AFS) datasheet here
View the Visual Networks VPM Xpress 10G here
Download the Visual Networks VPM Xpress brochure here

The Year of the Tap

By: Dan O’Donnell

Welcome to 2012. As the technology parade winds its way down Main Street, pay attention to the little float called Tap and Access. It has been in the parade for a number of years but fresh flowers and new designs are causing a buzz in the curbside crowd.

During the last four years or so, there has been a quiet storm brewing in network monitoring solutions. The tap market has been growing dramatically. The primary driver for this architectural revolution has been broad market acceptance of taps as a permanent architectural element in network monitoring and management solutions.

Why are networks so universally transitioning from Span ports to tap solutions? Here are a few ideas:

• Too few Span ports – With the introduction of many specialized network appliances that all need 24/7 link access, there are not enough Span ports to go around
• In-Line Access – Many new security appliances provide network protection by taking immediate action to resolve threats. These appliances are installed risk-free on network links by connecting through reliable, hardware-based In-Line taps. This method of connecting active appliances is often called a “Virtual In-Line” connection.
• Data Switching and Port Aggregation – As link speed migrates from 100Mbps to 1Gbps to 10Gbps and beyond, there is an increasing need to aggregate multiple lower speed links up to higher end tools. Conversely, there is also a need to distribute core high speed access to multiple lower speed links. These port switching devices provide many sophisticated access features and take their input from taps on the links. This practice provides risk free fail-safe access to the links while the data switches manage and distribute the traffic.
• Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFW) – This will be a big, big, big transition for 2012. Next Gen Firewalls are ready for prime time. These new versions of firewalls are addressing the more sophisticated threat environment with higher level visibility and control and will be the perimeter security cornerstone of networks. The transition is underway now and the best practice for NGFW connectivity is using In-Line taps.

Network Critical, a global innovator of permanent, modular taps and high speed data switches, aggregators and load balancers, is leading the network access revolution. Tap solutions from simple access to complex aggregation and distribution architectures can be found in the Network Critical product portfolio.

As network operators develop plans for upgrading to NGFW, high speed port aggregation, In-Line security appliances and other specialized access applications, Network Critical will be supporting their access requirements.

Taps and access devices may not be the Grand Marshall of the technology parade in 2012, but the tap market may very well win the Sweepstakes Trophy for fastest growing support technology. Happy New Year!

2012 and beyond…

By Dan O’Donnell

It is time to get my crystal ball out of the safe and see what is in store for us in 2012 and beyond. 2011 was a year steeped in gloom and doom with headlines about international defaults, political instability, hacktivism, cyber theft and unrelenting unemployment. I am here to tell you there is cause for an optimistic outlook for the future.

Here are some silver bullets for your new year:

• Network Security: Hacks and cyber thefts will continue. However, with advances in IPS, DLP, next generation firewalls and improved tap and aggregation architectures, networks can be better protected from attacks than ever before.
• Network Speeds: Look for rapid advancement in core network speeds. 1Gbps is quickly giving way to 10Gbps. The big networks are looking into 40Gbps and 100Gbps core links.
• Technology: Intel will introduce a new chip in the spring that has three billion transistors. That is “Billion” with “B” transistors on a single chip.
• Talking to Machines: You will be able to talk to your phone as much as you talk on your phone. Voice recognition interfaces for phones and other computing equipment is ready for prime time. It will soon expand beyond phones to coffee makers, TVs and video games. Less mouse, more mouth!
• Europe will figure it out: All parliamentary egos aside, the economic realities will prevail. The Euro zone is “too big to fail.” The strong will help the weak and new rules will lead to the beginning of a more stable and vibrant market in Europe.
• U. S. Oil Independence: This long sought after goal is becoming a reality. Over the next five years and beyond, new extraction technology in the Bakken Oil Fields will completely change the geopolitical relationship between the U. S. and the Middle East. Google “Bakken Oil Fields” for more information.
• Unemployment Improvement: I am an optimist here. As stubborn as the unemployment rate has been, 2012 is the year the fever will break. After all, 2012 is an election year. For more good employment news Google “North Dakota Employment.” Hint: 3.5% unemployment with 16,000 open positions.
• More Technology: Network Critical is shrinking size and cost of Next Generation Port Aggregators and Network Devices. Our new AFS solution for port aggregation, filtering and distribution has reached 48 ports of non-blocking 10Gbps access in 1U of rack space, using only 150 Watts AC of power. Now that is good news!

Network Critical is bullish on 2012. We will continue to provide the best products and uncompromised attention to our customers around the globe. We will work to make our towns and the world a better place in 2012 and beyond.

Finally, we wish all our partners and customers a prosperous and happy New Year!

Trends for 2011…Speed, Security, Standards

By: Dan O’Donnell

This is the week when everyone is predicting IT market movement for the upcoming year. Crystal balls and prognostications abound on the web. There is more fortune telling on the web then a back woods gypsy convention.

Here is an interesting thought about all the predictions…short term (1-2 years) predictions rarely meet the mark, long term (10-12 years) predictions are often well shy of actual changes over that period of time.

So, not to fall into the trap of under or over predicting the future, I will highlight a few trends that are good bets to see increased attention in 2011. There is no telling where these trends will take us by 2021, but you can be sure it is beyond any current predictions.

1. The Need for Speed: Nothing earth shattering here. With applications for everything from YouTube to hourly weather reports to GPS, the network is being consulted more often than ever before. Corporate Enterprise Data Centers, Mobile and Wire line Service Providers and Government networks have been upgrading link speeds trying to keep up with network demand and will continue to do so this year. 10G Ethernet experienced robust growth in 2010 and will be in great demand in 2011. Service Providers are starting to test 40G and 100G Ethernet. Network operators will be looking for tools and network access equipment to help manage networks at 10G speeds and beyond. Integration of 1G and 10G will be hot.

2. More Speed Needs Better Security: There has been a proliferation of specialized security devices to help deter and block ongoing threats to networks. As the threats have grown more sophisticated, so have the security tools. There are tools to block intrusions from outside the network and also to flag and eliminate the leaking of confidential data from inside the firewall. However, as more devices are connected to a link, uptime and reliability become issues. Look for growth in access equipment that can aggregate tools and provide in-line access to links with fail-safe reliability and increased network availability to authorized users.

3. Standards: As more data moves to the cloud, perhaps even multiple clouds, it will be more important for end points to adhere to strict standards including network access equipment, tools and end points. Networks in 2011 will be utilizing multiple clouds with policy based access and strict security. Internet, Intranet, Extranet…enterprise networks in 2011 will not control or specify the end points of all its users. In order for the ecosystem to operate seamlessly with all endpoints at all speeds, access to the cloud must use the same standards as the cloud. Open systems and portability will be the mantra of network architects for 2011.

Speed, security and standards will be top of mind in 2011. Network Critical can help with solutions to integrate link speeds, access and aggregate security tools while adhering to Ethernet standards. So keep those apps coming, attack the hackers and thieves and access the cloud with standard implementations throughout the network.

Best of luck and Happy New Year!

To learn more about Network Critical’s products, please visit networkcritical.com