Web-Scale Networking for Scalability & Agility

Web-scale networking is a modern architectural approach to infrastructure with a few key constructs. Businesses can design cost-effective, agile networks for the modern era by adhering to these three constructs:

• Open and modular
• Intelligence in software
• Scalable and efficient

OPEN AND MODULAR

Open and modular software is becoming more and more widely adopted by mainstream enterprise customers. Mainstream enterprises have begun using this new open approach to achieve the efficiency goals of mega data center designs without building the networking stack themselves. The early adopters of these systems have been able to abandon the expensive and inflexible systems of that past. In doing so, they’ve increased the speed at which they can expand and modify the networks—delivering more applications quickly and at a reduced cost. Open networking works hand in hand with DevOps. Together, they provide the ability to configure and operate the network nimbly using automation and provisioning tools. The influence of DevOps on IT culture, tools, processes, and organizational structure has resulted in the acceleration of application delivery and an environment of continuous experimentation, causing organizations to rethink the conventional wisdom of their IT operations. Web-scale IT creates more resilient architecture to support those applications, enabling IT operations teams to implement and support leaner, efficient, and more agile processes.

INTELLIGENCE IN SOFTWARE

Intelligence in software essentially means that businesses are able to standardize the stack with a smart operating system model that provides you with the leverage to choose any open application. Intelligence in software allows a business to disaggregate the software, providing unprecedented choice, flexibility, and efficiency.

Similar to what is done with the PC industry today, where you choose the operating system (like Windows or Linux) and then choose the hardware to run it (from Dell or HP, for example), the same can now be done with data center network switches. If an enterprise prefers specific software, they aren’t limited to only one hardware vendor to run it on. If they prefer specific hardware, they aren’t limited to one software vendor. This provides the customer further choice, which can significantly reduce costs and opens the door to an array of applications and tools for automation, scale, and efficiency.

SCALABLE AND EFFICIENT

Building modular networks in the leaf/spine (otherwise known as Clos) architecture is exceptionally scalable and efficient. The Clos architecture can build up to vast scale if needed, as it acts like LEGO building blocks for the modern data center. Leaf/spine architecture provides predictable latency, as all hosts are equally distant from each other, and it natively provides utilization of all links through equal-cost multipath Routing (ECMP) using standardized mature routing protocols. Using layer-3 routing for redundancy and load sharing eliminates the constraints of multichassis link aggregation (MLAG). Since MLAG isn’t standardized, it’s proprietary per vendor, which means both paired switches need to be from the same vendor. Additionally, MLAG limits redundancy to two switches—if one switch fails, you’re down 50 percent of the bandwidth. By deploying routing with ECMP, you’re able to customize and define the bandwidth and redundancy.

Open, flexible architecture isn’t only efficient for the new, larger east-west data center traffic (server-to-server or server-to-storage traffic within the data center); it’s also an optimal design for very small networks up to the largest mega data centers. This is because any organization of any size can benefit from cost reduction and efficiency.

Web-scale networking principles can have a very lasting impact on an organization. With this new approach, businesses usually find themselves completely rethinking their network design, operations, and practices in a way that brings freedom and scale to the data center.

Organizations will multiply the number of switches per engineer, reduce network complexities, standardize tools and programs, build automated methods to detect issues, improve time to market, and—overall—build a better network. These improvements make it easier for an organization to scale efficiently and affordably.

Think Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Netflix (to name a few), who have led the way in realizing the breadth and depth of benefits that traditional models simply couldn’t deliver. The same model can also be applied toward organizations of every size and every industry so they can also reap the benefits of these new, agile environments.