Creating services within the networking fabric, Is Network a viable platform for creation of services?
How many times have we've faced a situation where a networking platform (such as a router, switch, or an appliance) does not inherently provide all the services that we need to be able to successfully deploy it in a given environment. There can be several types of those requirements, let me break it down further for clarity:
Approaches:
Next-Generation Firewall Service - What are the necessary pieces here?
Well, the reality is that view that we have of anything as next-generation is a moving target. our view for that entity changes over time, largely fueled by innovation (and in some ways the service packaging).
L4-L7 Service Deployment, How big is that a problem?
Deploying services in an Enterprise or SP (for their customers, either via hosted, managed) is an absolute reality and something that has tendency to disrupt the network topology (think of deploying a Layer 3 / Routed Firewall, which becomes the default gateway). Common services that we see deployed are NAT, Firewall, SBC, DPI, and many more. Usualy ways of deploying services today are:
a)via service blades in a routing/switching platform (such as Cisco 6500 / 7600 and various blades for IPsec, SBC, load balancing etc.)
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Locator / ID Separation Protocol (LISP) - How soon would you like to see it deployed?
No, this post is not about the LISP programming language... it's rather about the locator/id separation protocol proposed by four Cisco engineers at the IETF forum for "Experimental" track couple of years ago!
Excerpt from their IETF draft, that defines it:
Business Intelligence and WAN Optimization Services - Does the combo make sense?
Background: Need for combining WAN optimization techniques with bandwidth management. I am personally quite convinced that WAN optimization functionality alone cannot solve the problem of congested WAN link!
• Several companies are offering solutions for optimization of WAN link by minimization of the amount of the traffic sent over. Techniques like TCP optimization/compressions, file cashing etc. may significantly reduce the required bandwidth. Usually such processing is applied to business-critical applications to ensure a better user experience.
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Cisco ASR 1000 Series Routers: Service-Richness and Routing Innovation in a single package
Historically, performance in the range of 10 to 40 Gbps with IP services has only been achieved using custom-designed ASICs. The advantage of that approach is that you can realize high performance and scale for which the ASIC was designed, whereas the tradeoff is that any substantial changes or support for new features/protocols may require respinning the ASIC, which is a lengthy process. Read more
Hello World!
Hi Folks, introducing myself, hopefully, I will be posting some interesting topics over the month of October!
- About Author expert: Next-gen WANs
Muhammad Afaq Khan, CCIE No. 9070, Afaq has worked for various start-ups as a C/C++/Web programmer. Since 2001, Afaq has been with Cisco both in post-sales technical support and technical/product marketing roles. Currently, Afaq works as a senior technical marketing engineer for the Cisco Edge Routing Business Unit, focusing on the Cisco ASR 1000 series routers. Afaq is also a sought-after speaker at the Cisco Networkers event and many other similar technical seminars. He holds three CCIEs in the areas of routing, security, and service provider technologies. He also holds multiple patents in the area of computer networking. He attended the NED University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi , Pakistan , where he earned his bachelor’s degree in computer systems. Afaq lives with his wife and son in Santa Clara, Calif.
Muhammad's latest book Building Service-Aware Networks: The Next-Generation WAN/MAN was selected for the Cisco Subnet, October, 2009 book giveaway. To enter the monthly book giveaway, click on the entry form located on the Cisco Subnet home page.
Read a free chapter excerpt, hosted exclusively by Cisco Subnet.
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