Network World Middle East | Issue 155

ISSUE 155 / MARCH 2018

www.tahawultech.com

TAKING CONTROL Infoblox’s Ashraf Sheet on network visibility and the future of connectivity

PUBLICATION LICENSED BY DUBAI PRODUCTION CITY, DCCA

SUPPLEMENT

PAST. PRESENT. FUTURE. Trade Up to the Future of Certification and get up to $ 6,000 discount You can’t be productive with tools from the past. That’s why, after fourteen years, service and calibration for the DTX Series will end in June 2018. Join the thousands of contractors moving to the future with Versiv. Versiv delivers a 2/3 reduction in certification costs and 10% more to your bottom line. Upgrade to Versiv with a gift from Fluke Networks - up to $ 3,000 discount if you trade-in your old DTX. And if you have a current DTX Gold agreement, get an extra incentive: up to $ 6,000 discount if you trade-in your old DTX latest on March 31st, 2018.

Don’t delay! The sooner you act, the better the offer.

To discover the details of the offer, simply download the promotional flyer at www.flukenetworks.com/Promo-PastPresentFuture-USD

Copyright © 2018 Fluke Corporation. 17410

CONTENTS

ISSUE 155 March 2018

20 Fibre optimised

O4

Taking control

08 Moving to SDN

What digital enterprises need to know when transitioning to SDN.

12

22

Infoblox’s Ashraf Sheet on network visibility and the future of connectivity.

Looking ahead Cisco’s David Meads shares top five technology trends organisations should invest in this year.

14

Sifting through the fog Find out why fog computing is ideal for IoT and other apps that require real-time interactions.

Fluke Networks discusses how organisations can address the challenges in performing cabling tests.

The new network Jerry Kennelly on how Riverbed is planning to take on Cisco in the SD-WAN market.

28 What’s happening on the Internet?

18 Tried and tested

What you need to keep in mind in ensuring optimum network performance and reliability.

How the Internet, in all its forms, is becoming more deeply embedded in everything we do.

34 Products

D-Link launches DGS 3630 series

FOUNDER, CPI MEDIA GROUP Dominic De Sousa (1959-2015)

Published by

EDITORIAL Managing Editor Michael Jabri-Pickett mjp@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9158

CIRCULATION Circulation Manager Rajeesh M rajeesh.nair@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9119

ADVERTISING Group Sales Director Kausar Syed kausar.syed@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9138

Editor James Dartnell james.dartnell@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9153

PRODUCTION AND DESIGN Senior Designer Analou Balbero analou.balbero@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5680

webmaster@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9100

Sales Manager Merle Carrasco merle.carrasco@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9147

Deputy Editor Glesni Holland glesni.holland@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9134

Designer Mhar Delaben marlou.delaben@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9156

Publication licensed by Dubai Production City, DCCA PO Box 13700 Dubai, UAE

Business Development Manager Youssef Hariz youssef.hariz@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9111

Online Editor Adelle Geronimo adelle.geronimo@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9135

Operations Manager Shweta Santosh shweta.santosh@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9107

Tel: +971 4 440 9100 Fax: +971 4 447 2409

Publishing Director Natasha Pendleton natasha.pendleton@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9139

DIGITAL SERVICES Web Developer Jefferson de Joya Abbas Madh Photographers Charls Thomas Maksym Poriechkin

Regional partner of

Printed by Al Ghurair Printing and Publishing © Copyright 2018 CPI All rights reserved While th e p ub lish ers have made ever y ef for t to en sure th e accur acy of all information in this mag azin e, th ey will n ot b e h eld re sp on sib le for any errors th erein.

COVER INTERVIEW • INFOBLOX

Taking control Ashraf Sheet, regional director, Middle East and Africa, Infoblox, discusses the importance of network visibility and control, and the future of connectivity.

W

HY IS NETWORK VISIBILITY AND CONTROL VERY IMPORTANT FOR

ENTERPRISES? In today’s digital world, billions of devices connected to applications, digital transactions, and communications are exploding – and the paradigms of how people conduct business are changing. This hyper-connected world gives rise to new vulnerabilities and endless complexity that is expensive to manage and challenging to secure.

In this volatile environment, network visibility is vitally important. If you can’t see what’s on your network, you can’t control it and that makes your organisation vulnerable. You need a way to control and automate error-prone processes. You need to ensure network and service availability, manage risk, improve operational efficiencies and unlock meaningful insights to transform your network into a competitive advantage.

The path to accomplish that is through solutions that provide

4

MARCH 2018

Network World Middle East

automation, scale, redundant architecture, visibility across diverse infrastructures and contextaware security. The need for these comprehensive solutions with complete end-to-end visibility across network infrastructure and end-hosts has grown exponentially because of emerging drivers like virtualisation, cloud, IPv6 adoption, BYOD, Internet of Things (IoT) and risks imposed by cyber threats.

CAN NETWORK AUTOMATION SPEED UP DEPLOYMENTS AND IMPROVE SECURITY? Absolutely! These days, networks must support an escalating number of on-demand applications and splitsecond response times. As a result, network infrastructures are becoming more complex. It’s composed of diverse, often siloed, multi-vendor infrastructure, including mobile devices at the edge and data centre infrastructure. To make everything run smoothly, network engineers likely rely on manual processes and poorly integrated solutions. These approaches hinder agility, do not provide complete

visibility, and are not scalable. They make it increasingly difficult to meet the increasing demands for service delivery and reliability that the enterprise and its customers require.

What’s needed is a network automation solution, like Infoblox NetMRI for example, that helps organisations gain control over its highly complex network infrastructure – one that simplifies and automates management of multivendor environments and enforces best practices, compliance mandates, and security policies.

Data breaches and other cyberattacks can cost organisations dearly in lost revenue, diminished profits, and damage to the brand. With a good network automation solution, the network automatically defends against evolving attacks, identifies problems before they arise, speeds remediation, and lowers costs.

WHAT WILL BE THE IMPACT OF SDN AND NFV ON DDI? With more network functionality being managed by software than ever before come some unique considerations

www.tahawultech.com

around security, particularly when an organisation moves its Domain Name System (DNS) infrastructure to an NFV implementation.

Planning such a transition requires extra thought to be given around the protection in place. Network resources can be quickly overwhelmed by a DNS-based DDoS attack which, by generating too many resolution requests for the DNS system to handle, will prevent legitimate requests from being resolved and effectively shut down the network.

Individual VMs will be attacked using tunnelling techniques, which encrypt and exfiltrate information through channels not normally analysed by traditional security software.

Furthermore, VMs, in common with physical hardware, are susceptible to infection by malware. If a machine isn’t quarantined quickly enough after becoming infected, the damage can rapidly spread, disrupting the functionality

www.tahawultech.com

Network World Middle East

MARCH 2018

5

COVER INTERVIEW • INFOBLOX

of other machines throughout the network from within.

Such examples illustrate why DNS-based security needs additional attention, and why monitoring the virtualised environment requires a different approach to that used in traditional network security.

Rather than being bolted on, DNS security needs to be built into the NFV and SDN architecture. The integration of DNS-specific protection will help minimise any gaps in coverage that may be overlooked by add-on solutions and exploited by attackers.

The elastic scalability function in the Infoblox solution enables automatic instantiation of additional secure DNS virtual machines upon detection of an overload condition or sudden spike in DNS traffic.

The Infoblox Virtual Secure DNS solution also provides the rapid provisioning and orchestration integration needed for NFV and SDN environments.

NFV is emerging as the next stage in creating highly dynamic, automated networks. But, as technology continues to evolve, so the DDI infrastructure must evolve with it, managing the risks while reaping the rewards.

“With more network functionality being managed by software than ever before come some unique considerations around security, particularly when an organisation moves its Domain Name System (DNS) infrastructure to an NFV implementation.”

6

MARCH 2018

Network World Middle East

IS THERE ANYTHING YOU OFFER CURRENTLY TO EASE THE MOVE TO IPV6 IN THIS REGION? The transition to IPv6 is happening at the precise moment when networks are going through extraordinary changes - virtualisation and containerisation, XaaS, next-generation hyper-scale data centre, and the Internet of Things (IoT) can unlock unprecedented value for the enterprise. An IPv6 migration is imminent. However, to take full advantage of these technologies requires a dedicated IPv6 practice and specialised tool sets that most IT organisations lack. Further, as Gartner says, organisations undertaking a large-scale IPv6 deployment are likely to need a DDI platform (DNS, DHCP, and IP Address Management) which is where Infoblox can help. We’ve taken our extensive experience in DDI technology to create an industry first Actionable Network Intelligence Platform. Infoblox Actionable Network Intelligence empowers your organisation to implement a rigorous IPv6 practice with an ideal mix of capabilities, tools, and actionable insights.

www.tahawultech.com

REDEFINING technology transformation

+971 4 440 9100

@TahawulTech

info@cpimediagroup.com

www.tahawultech.com

facebook.com/tahawultech

twitter.com/tahawultech

linkedin.com/in/tahawultech

INSIGHT • SDN

How to transition your digital workplace to SDN

By Ahmad El Soufi, SE Manager, Aruba, a Hewlett-Packard Enterprise company

T

oday’s workplace is changing dramatically. People are using mobile devices to connect to one another and to the applications and information they need to access. Cloud computing models now enable new levels of business agility. Social networking and unified communications allow workers

8

MARCH 2018

Network World Middle East

to be innovative in how, when and where they collaborate.

In addition, organisations are increasingly leveraging the Internet of Things (IoT) to drive Big Data analytics that address the real-time needs of employees and customers.

IoT devices are also being used to enhance and optimise business

processes including automated booking of meeting rooms, or detection of empty floors and automatic dimming of lights and turning off heating/air condition, to cite just two examples.

For IT and networking professionals, the transformation to this new “digital workplace” is both

www.tahawultech.com

exciting and challenging. It is an opportunity to transition to a more agile, cloud-hosted and servicecentric delivery model, but it also means that enterprise IT teams must modernise their underlying infrastructures. In particular, IT must modernise the mobile networks that are at the centre of

every activity and application in the digital workplace.

Workplace transformation can only be successful once you build a network infrastructure that can drive new levels of simplicity, mobility, reliability, security and agility. This change is the driving force behind a major shift toward software-defined networking (SDN). In SDN, the network forwarding functions are separated from the control functions.

This enables programmable networks that can rapidly adapt to business applications.

Companies across many industries are already using SDN to reduce costs, drive agility and accelerate time to market. One organisation lowered hardware costs by as much as 90 percent and another improved performance of a critical application by up to 40 percent. These are just the tip of the iceberg. By the end of 2020, SDN is expected to influence nearly 80 percent of all network purchase decisions.

Gartner cites four key benefits of SDN: • Improved agility by allowing for external control and automation of the network • Simplified management by improving operational efficiencies • Cost savings with the ability to lower CAPEX and OPEX • Increased innovation by decoupling network hardware and software However, while the transition to SDN is the clear objective for network decision-makers, the path to SDN offers a broad range of choices. Do you choose an open solution or a proprietary one? Do you have to replace your existing infrastructure?

Is there an easy migration path to

SDN? What are some successful applications and use cases?

We examine the top five factors you should consider as you transition to SDN: NO. 1: AN END-TO-END MODEL INCORPORATING DATA CENTRE, CAMPUS, BRANCH AND MOBILE NETWORKS One of the biggest opportunities with SDN is to quickly provision applications on the network.

Applications are typically deployed in the data centre and used by workers in campus or branch offices or, increasingly, those who are mobile and using mobile devices. In the digital workplace, the notion of separate campus, branch and remote access networks disappears. Your SDN vendor should have an end-to-end strategy that incorporates the data centre, campus, branch and mobile networks as one integrated solution— not as individual components.

Another characteristic of the digital workplace is that workers need to be connected to their data and apps and to one another—wherever they are located and whatever device they are using. This is becoming more important as organisations continue to embrace cloud models. Workers who use their phone or tablet to connect to a business application and access a cloud-based business service need the same security and qualityof-service policies as anyone else on the network.

NO. 2: SUPPORT FOR OPEN STANDARDS SDN offers organisations the opportunity to utilise programmable

INSIGHT • SDN

“SDN offers organisations the opportunity to utilise programmable networks to rapidly align to business applications, driving innovation and new levels of agility.”

AHMAD EL SOUFI, ARUBA

networks to rapidly align to business applications, driving innovation and new levels of agility. However, in order to maximise the benefits of SDN, the network must be built on open standards with support for an open ecosystem. You want to ensure that everyone can participate — partners, customers and developers. Proprietary solutions are a relic of the past.

The benefits of utilising an open standards approach to SDN include: • Freedom to use best-of-breed technologies wherever they are required, and not be limited to the solutions of a single vendor • Cost efficiencies by having and exploiting many more choices • Ease of adoption in a multivendor environment • Ability to leverage a broader ecosystem and an easily accessible marketplace to drive innovation • An investment that protects you for the future as technologies and standards continue to evolve NO. 3: A SOLUTION THAT DOESN’T FORCE YOU TO REPLACE EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE One of the first questions IT leaders ask in the face of transformative

10

MARCH 2018

Network World Middle East

change is whether (and how) they can protect their existing investments.

While some network vendors may require you to replace existing equipment, that type of approach is not necessary with SDN—nor is it recommended. You want to move to SDN in an orderly and evolutionary manner that is not disruptive. This allows you to retain as much of your existing infrastructure as possible.

The ideal way to evolve to SDN is through the use of a hybrid SDN solution that supports both SDN and traditional networking. A hybrid solution can assist in ease of adoption, whereby the SDN application can be deployed in a multi-vendor environment.

In a hybrid environment, an OpenFlow-enabled switch is deployed at the edge—where the application is accessed—leaving the rest of the network intact. You can simply flip a switch to a mode that enables you to go back to traditional networking.

This gives you much more flexibility to fit the network to meet your specific application and workload requirements. You can also reduce total cost of ownership (TCO) by extending the lifecycle of existing equipment.

NO. 4: PROVEN SOLUTIONS WITH REAL-WORLD USE CASES While SDN is clearly the networking architecture of the future, today’s reality is that leading vendors are already enabling customers in all industries to use SDN to improve agility, simplify management and gain a competitive business advantage.

NO. 5: A NETWORK PARTNER WITH AN ECOSYSTEM THAT SUPPORTS A BROAD RANGE OF APPLICATIONS Why wait to deploy SDN when you can deliver measurable benefits to your business today? One of the keys to accelerating your deployment of SDN is to work with a network partner that already has an ecosystem of proven applications. This is an area where HPE has demonstrated innovation—by deploying the industry’s first SDN app store, where there have been a number of applications that have been deployed at customer sites.

Before the advent of the app store, SDN solutions were tested and purchased separately. The app store has lowered the barrier to innovation and allows you to focus on business outcomes. Solutions are integrated seamlessly and ready to install with a simple download.

Taking the next step Software-defined networking is an important enabling technology for the digital workplace. SDN enables a network infrastructure that is more reliable, agile and cost-efficient than legacy networks, making it much more suitable for today’s cloud and mobile era. For IT and network decision-makers, today’s network investments have to support the SDN infrastructure of tomorrow.

It is critical to work with a vendor with industry-leading experience, expertise and technology.

www.tahawultech.com

PRESENTS

27th March 2018 | Habtoor Grand Hotel and Resort, Dubai UAE

#CISO30 Security Advisor ME’s CISO 30 awards recognise 30 organisations (and the people within them) that have delivered ground-breaking business value through the innovative application of risk and security concepts and technologies.

Winners will be recognised in March 2018 at the inaugural CISO 30 conference taking place in Dubai.

When: 27th March 2018 Where: Habtoor Grand Hotel and Resort Dubai UAE

Here is what you will need to complete your nomination: • The name of the project/initiative, a brief description of its objective • A more detailed narrative describing the project • Some empirical facts/metrics that demonstrate the project/ initiative’s value • Additionally, you will also be asked to provide details about key contacts in the nominated organisation

Who: CISOs/CIOs/CTOs Chief Risk Officers GRC teams Infrastructure and technology decision makers Security evangelists and consultants

Award nominations may be submitted by an organisation itself, by public relations professionals representing a nominated organisation, or by solution providers/partners of a nominated organisation.

The deadline for submission is 7th March 2018.

Thank you in advance for your nominations and good luck

www.tahawultech.com/ciso30/2018/ For sponsorship enquires, please contact SECURITY SOLUTIONS PARTNER

Kausar Syed, Group Sales Direcror Mobile: +971 50 758 6672 EVENT PARTNER

OPINION • NETWORK TRANSFORMATION

LOOKING AHEAD

By David Meads, vice president, Middle East and Africa, Cisco

I

am fortunate in my role to have the opportunity of speaking with some of the best chief information, technology, security and digital officers in our region – many of whom are trailblazers leading the charge to redefine their businesses and industries during a time of unprecedented change.

Many of the conversations I have revolve around how they can use technology to do amazing things that we could barely imagine only a

12

MARCH 2018

Network World Middle East

few years ago. As the new year kicks off, I am particularly excited to see how quickly things will start to come together as 2018 is already shaping up to be a year in which technology will have a bigger impact than ever before.

For 30 years connectivity has been at the core of Cisco innovations – connecting people and devices securely, reliably, and with the highest levels of performance. But today, being connected is a given and has become the new normal.

In 2018, we’re taking this to the next level by helping businesses and organisations get even more value out of all this connectivity. So, they can connect even more deeply with their data, their network, their customers and prospects, and with smart assistants as well as using any cloud of their choice – private or public.

As we look towards a new year with all of the opportunities its presents, here are the top five technology trends that digital leaders should invest in for 2018:

www.tahawultech.com

1.PUT YOUR DATA TO WORK Organisations are now collecting more data in a matter of days than a human brain could possibly process in a lifetime (or even several). We’re using artificial intelligence and machine learning to gather and analyse data from everywhere - with the goal of helping us make smarter decisions.

We already see this trend in action.

Hospitals can track if doctors and nurses wash their hands at the right times. Banks can find and fix issues with their mobile apps before users have to call in. Museums can see which attractions people visit most frequently.

The list goes on. In 2018, we expect to see many more examples of human imagination pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.

2. RE-INVENT HOW NETWORKS WORK For 30 years, networks have worked pretty much the same way, requiring an IT army to manage network settings manually. But this is the year it all changes. We’re moving away from manual, and we’re shifting to intent.

Think of the network as a car. Until now, someone had to drive. But an intent-based network is a self-driving car. You tell it where to go, and it gets there by itself. Let’s say you tell your network to “Set up a new building site.”

The network will automatically set up the machines and connect them in the right way. And it will do this securely in milliseconds, rather than the hours it takes to do it manually.

3. AUTOMATE YOUR VIRTUAL ASSISTANT In the present-day world, we need to prompt virtual assistants to provide us with the information we seek. The underlying requirement being we have to ask for the information. But it doesn’t have to work this way. In 2018, virtual assistants will be smart enough to figure out what we need—before we tell them.

“It’s no longer about a journey to the cloud, singular.

It’s about putting your data and applications where they work best, and moving them around at will - all whilst keeping everything secure.”

DAVID MEADS, CISCO

Picture this: You walk into a smart meeting room big enough for six people. The room can tell from your phone that you have arrived. Behind the scenes, the video conference tool talks to your calendar, sees you have a meeting in two minutes, and starts the call on time. The room also notices that you are the only one here, so it raises the temperature by a few degrees to keep you comfortable.

This is the power of automated assistants - when all of your tools are able to talk together in the background to make the right things happen at the right time. It may sound somewhat scifi, but this is already a reality. And it will be even more widespread in 2018.

4. EMBRACE ALL THE CLOUDS It’s no longer about a journey to the cloud, singular. It’s about putting your data and applications where they work best, and moving them around at will all whilst keeping everything secure.

2018 will be the year you get to store data wherever you would like, and without compromise.

Adopt a private cloud in your data centre. Pick public clouds from Microsoft, Amazon, and Google. Or use all of the above. The more the merrier. Because your data will be secured, managed, and orchestrated

effectively—whether you’re using one cloud or one hundred.

5. EMBED SECURITY IN EVERYTHING In 2018, we will be able to embed security in everything we do. We will be able to watch how people or things behave, learn their patterns, and get alerts if something changes. Imagine an employee named Pam. Every day, Pam checks her email, uses video conferencing, and goes to certain websites. But then one day, Pam tries to upload files to a server she hasn’t used in two years. That’s odd. It could mean that Pam plans to leave the company.

And it looks like she wants to take some of the data with her.

With security embedded in everything, our systems would notice this change in behaviour right away. And they could automatically block Pam—and issue an alert. This helps identify security issues before they happen. Or at least respond to breaches more quickly.

A PARTING THOUGHT Remember, these trends are connected.

The companies who thrive in the digital era are the ones who master all five.

So, don’t think of them as separate trends. They are a digital platform and a foundation for everything you do. Have a transformative 2018!

FEATURE • FOG COMPUTING

SIFTING THROUGH THE FOG Fog computing extends the concept of cloud computing to the network edge, making it ideal for Internet of Things (IoT) and other applications that require real-time interactions.

F

og computing is the concept of a network fabric that stretches from the outer edges of where data is created to where it will eventually be stored, whether that’s in the cloud or in a customer’s data centre.

Fog is another layer of a distributed network environment and is closely associated with cloud computing and the internet of things (IoT). Public infrastructure as a service (IaaS) cloud vendors can be thought of as a highlevel, global endpoint for data; the edge of the network is where data from IoT devices is created.

Fog computing is the idea of a distributed network that connects these two environments. “Fog provides the missing link for what data needs to be pushed to the cloud, and what

14

MARCH 2018

Network World Middle East

can be analysed locally, at the edge,” explains Mung Chiang, dean of Purdue University’s College of Engineering and one of the nation’s top researchers on fog and edge computing.

According to the OpenFog Consortium, a group of vendors and research organisations advocating for the advancement of standards in this technology, fog computing is “a system-level horizontal architecture that distributes resources and services of computing, storage, control and networking anywhere along the continuum from Cloud to Things.”

Benefits of fog computing Fundamentally, the development of fog computing frameworks gives organisations more choices for processing data wherever it is most appropriate

to do so. For some applications, data may need to be processed as quickly as possible – for example, in a manufacturing use case where connected machines need to be able to respond to an incident as soon as possible.

Fog computing can create lowlatency network connections between devices and analytics endpoints. This architecture in turn reduces the amount of bandwidth needed compared to if that data had to be sent all the way back to a data centre or cloud for processing. It can also be used in scenarios where there is no bandwidth connection to send data, so it must be processed close to where it is created.

As an added benefit, users can place security features in a fog network, from segmented network traffic to virtual firewalls to protect it.

www.tahawultech.com

Applications of fog computing Fog computing is the nascent stages of being rolled out in formal deployments, but there are a variety of use cases that have been identified as potential ideal scenarios for fog computing.

Connected Cars: The advent of semi-autonomous and self-driving cars will only increase the already large amount of data vehicles create. Having cars operate independently requires a capability to locally analyse certain data in real-time, such as surroundings, driving conditions and directions.

Other data may need to be sent back to a manufacturer to help improve vehicle maintenance or track vehicle usage. A fog computing environment would enable communications for all of these data sources both at the edge (in the car), and to its end point (the manufacturer).

Smart cities and smart grids Like connected cars, utility systems are increasingly using real-time data to more efficiently run systems.

Sometimes this data is in remote areas, so processing close to where its created is essential. Other times the data needs to be aggregated from a large number of sensors. Fog computing architectures could be devised to solve both of these issues.

Real-time analytics: A host of use cases call for real-time analytics. From manufacturing systems that need to be able to react to events as they happen, to financial institutions that use realtime data to inform trading decisions or monitor for fraud. Fog computing deployments can help facilitate the transfer of data between where its created and a variety of places where it needs to go.

Fog computing and 5G mobile computing Some experts believe the expected roll out of 5G mobile connections in

www.tahawultech.com

Fog computing can create lowlatency network connections between devices and analytics endpoints. This architecture in turn reduces the amount of bandwidth needed compared to if that data had to be sent all the way back to a data centre or cloud for processing.

2018 and beyond could create more opportunity for fog computing. “5G technology in some cases requires very dense antenna deployments,� explains Andrew Duggan, senior vice president of technology planning and network architecture at CenturyLink.

In some circumstances antennas need to be less than 20 kilometers from one another. In a use case like this, a fog computing architecture could be created among these stations that includes a centralised controller that manages applications running on this 5G network, and handles connections to back-end data centres or clouds.

How does fog computing work?

A fog computing fabric can have a variety of components and functions.

It could include fog computing gateways that accept data IoT devices have collected. It could include a variety of wired and wireless granular collection endpoints, including ruggedised routers and switching equipment. Other aspects could include customer premise equipment (CPE) and gateways to access edge nodes.

Higher up the stack fog computing architectures would also touch core networks and routers and eventually global cloud services and servers.

The OpenFog Consortium, the group developing reference architectures, has outlined three goals for developing a fog framework. Fog environments should be horizontally scalable, meaning it will support multiple industry vertical use cases; be able to work across the cloud to things continuum; and be a system-level technology, that extends from things, over network edges, through to the cloud and across various network protocols. (See video below for more on fog computing from the OpenFog Consortium.

Are fog computing and edge computing the same thing?

Helder Antunes, senior director of corporate strategic innovation at Cisco and a member of the OpenFog Consortium, says that edge computing is a component, or a subset of fog computing. Think of fog computing as the way data is processed from where it is created to where it will be stored.

Edge computing refers just to data being processed close to where it is created. Fog computing encapsulates not just that edge processing, but also the network connections needed to bring that data from the edge to its end point.

Network World Middle East

MARCH 2018

15

INSIGHT • DATA CENTRE

Ready or not?

Narender Vasandani, technical manager, Middle East and India, Siemon, discusses what needs to be done to get our data centres ready to support future high-speed applications.

A

closer look at the Ethernet Alliance’ current Ethernet Roadmap paints clear picture: 200 and 400 Gigabit Ethernet speeds will be a reality to support the ever-growing list of bandwidth hungry applications in the data centre. The IEEE P802.3bs 200 Gb/s and 400 Gb/s Ethernet Task Force has been working on a new generation of fibre applications that will support 200G and 400G. Some of these include 200GBASE-DR4, 200GBASE-LR4, and 400GBASE-DR4 over singlemode fibre optic cabling, as well as 400GBASESR16 over multimode. Meanwhile, the IEEE P802.3cd 50 Gb/s, 100 Gb/s and 200 Gb/s Ethernet Task Force is working on 200GBASE-SR4 for transmission over multimode fibre optic cabling.

Considering these developments, an important question to ask is whether installed data centre cabling technology can support migration to these future applications. One consideration is to take a closer look

at fibre count. Both, 200 and 400 Gb/s singlemode and multimode fibre applications in development will transmit over fibre counts that are divisible by 2 or 8 (Table 1).

When considering existing fibre installations, we find 12-fibre MTP connectivity a common cabling solution deployed in data centres today – originally deployed to support high-density, efficient 10 Gb/s duplex applications using 12-fibre MTPs that transition to 6 duplex LCs via cassettes or modules. However, 12-fibre MTP solutions do not seem to be an efficient solution going forward. Using 12-fibre MTP connectivity to support current and future 8-fibre applications means that only 8 of 12 fibres will be in use, with four fibres or 33 percent going unused leading to reduced density and wasted money in terms of wasted fibre capacity. Luckily, 8-fibre/ MTP solutions have entered the market and are highly recommended for new data centre deployments.

Table 1: New PHY specifications currently under development by the IEEE

16

Application

No. of Fibres

Media

Max. Distance

200G-BASE-DR4

8

Singelmode fibre

500m

200GBASE-FR4

2

Singelmode fibre

2km

200GBASE-LR4

2

Singelmode fibre

10km

200GBASE-SR4

8

Multimode fibre

100m

400GBASE-SR16

32

Multimode fibre

100m

400GBASE-DR4

8

Singelmode fibre

500m

400GBASE-FR8

2

Singelmode fibre

2km

400GBASE-LR8

2

Singelmode fibre

10km

MARCH 2018

Network World Middle East

Using 8-fibre MTP backbone cabling and 8-fibre MTP jumpers achieves 100 per cent fibre utilisation. 8-fibre MTP solutions do not only provide the most efficient, cost-effective and highest performing option for current 8-fibre 40 and 100 Gigabit applications such as 40GBASE-SR4 and 100GBASE-SR4, they also provide an easy migration path to next generation 200 Gb/s and 400 Gb/s applications.

But the future is also bright for those data centre facilities that already have 12-fibre MTP solutions installed and are looking to support current and future 8-fibre applications.

Here conversion cords or modules can be deployed that transition two 12-fibre MTPs to three 8-fibre MTPs to enable 100 per cent fibre utilisation. It is however important to point out that conversion cords and modules are a more complex way to achieve 100 percent fibre utilisation compared to using 8-fibre MTP solutions. Conversion cords mean that 3 ports will have to be taken offline in the event of a damaged cord, while conversion modules introduce additional insertion loss into the channel which might impact overall performance.

The lesson to take away here is that for data centres – whether existing or new – there is cabling technology available that offers the simplest and most efficient migration path to higher speed support current and future 8-fibre applications. So, are you ready to take the next step?

www.tahawultech.com

PRESENTS

27TH MARCH 2018 AT HABTOOR GRAND RESORT

Network World Middle East Awards 2018 Is your network a platform for business innovation and growth?

If the answer is yes, we would like to hear from you.

Now in its 9th year, Network World ME Awards has established itself as the major event that recognises and celebrates networking excellence.

The 2018 NWME Awards are open to companies anywhere in the Middle East.

It aims to honour IT and business pros who have demonstrated innovative leadership on all sides of the networking industry.

Nominees can apply for the awards at no cost.

www.tahawultech.com/nwmeawards/2018 For sponsorship enquires, please contact Natasha Pendleton, Publishing Director, Mobile: +971 56 787 4778 STRATEGIC TECHNOLOGY PARTNER

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION

STRATEGIC VAD PARTNER

HOSTED BY

GOLD PARTNER

INTERVIEW • FLUKE NETWORKS

CABLING

Tried and tested Proper testing of optical fibre cables increases the system’s longevity and minimises network downtimes. Christian Schillab, marketing engineer, Fluke Networks EMEA, discusses how organisations can address the challenges in performing cabling tests.

W

hy is cabling testing vital for network performance and maintenance?

The number one reason for delays in certifying newly installed cabling systems is the application of wrong limits.

This is mainly because in most cases the errors are only discovered towards the end of a project, after all links had already been tested. A clear specification of the standard or limit in the statement of work could be really helpful.

If the test has been configured by the technician who does not have easy access to this documentation the task can be challenging. However, the project manager often has this information readily available, which can solve this issue. If the organisation utilises a Software-as-a-Service model or cloud based system they will be able to to define all details of a project, including the limits as well as the cable ID lists and test regimes, which are then automatically pushed to the field tester.

The same system can also enable a collaboration between the installing company, end-user, designer, consultant and manufacturer. Everyone who needs know can see the progress of the testing, limits used, performance margins using a web browser on his PC or smart device. The will ultimately help reduce potential bottlenecks and risks for the project.

18

MARCH 2018

Network World Middle East

What are the main challenges organisations face in ensuring that fibre networks are operating optimally?

One of the challenges in making sure that the new installation is ready for the intended initial - but also future applications - is to select the right pass/fail criteria for the test.

The answer is not to test against the application limit, for example a fibre channel limit, because at the time of test only a segment of the final channel will be available. The final channel is built by the end user by patching the necessary segments together. The correct test limit should represent the performance that can be expected from the installed components and fibres. This information can be obtained from the contract or the manufacturer.

It is important to keep in mind that we should not just simply use standards based limits. This is because for connectors with a normative limit of 0.75dB, which is found in virtually all standards, it will not be possible to support a complex channel construct and advanced applications at 10Gb/s or higher. Since it is cumbersome to use such calculator for every link that needs to be tested, the project is best supported if such a calculator is already embedded into the field tester.

Another key challenge arises during the operational phase of a project. This involves maintaining the cleanliness of fibre connections, which often get disrupted whenever links are added,

replaced or moved. The best way to resolve this is deploying a camera to help monitor the cleaning process.

What are the key standards to follow when it comes to testing?

In addition to national standard, the commonly used international standards are, EN, IO, IEC and TIA. Futhermore, with fibre we often see the use of more demanding project or product specific limits. Sometimes organisations can also use a mix of various test controls and procedures.

What are your tips to keep optical loss low, which is key to high performance communications?

Basically, a sum of the above. The tester itself with built in wizards can be helpful in making sure that the results are favourable. In addition, cloud-based tools support the collaboration of stakeholders with different background, skills and responsibilities.

www.tahawultech.com

28TH MAY, 2018 JUMEIRAH EMIRATES TOWER, DUBAI

THEME: BOLLYWOOD GLAM Reseller Middle East’s Partner Excellence Awards has been the industry’s most prominent event over the last decade. In its ninth year, the Awards applauds the successes of the regional channel business, saluting the excellence and resilience of individual executives and firms.

Raising the bar every year, the Partner Excellence Awards strives to create a memorable, actionpacked and entertaining evening to honour the crème de la crème of the channel business.

NOMINATIONS ARE NOW OPEN https://www.tahawultech.com/resellermeawards/2018/nominate-now.php

FOR SPONSORSHIP ENQUIRIES Natasha Pendleton Publishing Director natasha.pendleton@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9139 +971 56 787 4778

Kausar Syed Group Sales Director kausar.syed@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9130 +971 50 758 6672

Youssef Hariz Business Development Manager youssef.hariz@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9111 +971 56 665 8683

FOR AGENDA-RELATED ENQUIRIES Janees Reghelini Editor janees.reghelini@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9167 +971 50 459 5293

IT SOLUTIONS PARTNER

Adelle Geronimo Online Editor adelle.geronimo@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9135 +971 56 484 7564

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION

HOSTED BY

CABLING

INTERVIEW • R&M

Fibre optimised Alfred Tharwat, head, Training and Data Centre consultancy, R&M Middle East, Turkey and Africa, shares insights on the key aspects to keep in mind to ensure optimum network performance and reliability.

H

ow can enterprises make sure fibre networks are performing the way they should?

Ensuring seamless fibre performance requires attention at every stage of the project.

This involves correctly identifying the cabling needs of a project in accordance to the requirements of the design needs of an organisation. This also means selecting high quality products that meet the necessary industry standards, and most importantly, installing solutions correctly as any disruptions in fibre optic cabling can have a major impact on the end performance of the network.

This is why we work closely with endcustomers and consultants to discuss all aspects of their implementation, beginning with helping them select the fibre cabling with the right mechanical, environmental and dimensional characteristics. We then engage our installation partners, who are fully trained and certified, and provide them with easy-to-install solutions such as pre-terminated cabling.

What are the key factors end-users, designers and technicians alike should keep in mind when it comes to cable testing?

Testing should be according to ISO, TIA or EN international standards as when it comes to warranty request, manufacturers like R&M accept only

20

MARCH 2018

Network World Middle East

systems tested according to the current version of TIA/EIA 586-D, EN 50173 and ISO/IEC 14763-3.

They need to make sure that testing is done for both wavelengths - 850nm and 1300nm for multimode fibre, and 1310nm and 1550nm for single mode fibre to ensure that can be properly integrated with different technologies.

This will ensure full operability with the active equipment and transceiver technologies from different vendors.

In addition, they also have to understand that testing should be done bidirectionally.

All the equipment used for testing should be calibrated annually according the equipment manufacturer’s documented procedures.

How can you verify the grades of fibre optic cables?

Testing and verify the grades of fibre optic cables provided by your vendor can be done in one of two ways.

Firstly, you can do a max and mean test. You can take a number of patch cables and check all connectors each-to-each. For 10 patch cables, 90 measurements are necessary. It can be a daunting task but indispensable for a supplier evaluation.

You can also perform a mean test.

The serial patching of several cables is somewhat less meaningful but simpler

ALFRED THARWAT, R&M META

to perform. Use two patch cables from the lot as a reference and use them to zero out the measuring device. Then place an additional cable between them to generate the first value (measurement at a connector since one is already referenced). Follow the same procedures with the second, and then additional cables. Calculate the loss obtained divided by the number of connections. This produces a typical value per connector.

The more patch cables are used, the more significant the measurement is.

What are your tips for reducing optical losses, which is key to high performance communications?

Intrinsic losses can be minimised by selecting high quality products that have been rigorously tested by the manufacturer to ensure they meet or even exceed the standards to which they have been designed.

There are several precautions that can (and should) be taken to avoid extrinsic losses, many of which depend heavily on the skills of the installation team. These include using qualified connectors to minimise insertion loss; taking care during installation and splicing to avoid contaminants such as dust, sweat, oils; and choosing the best route for the cables to have minimal cable length and avoid bending of the cables.

www.tahawultech.com

STORAGE AREA NETWORK • INSIGHT

What you need to know about SAN

A

storage area network (SAN) is a dedicated, high-speed network that provides access to block-level storage. SANs were adopted to improve application availability and performance by segregating storage traffic from the rest of the LAN. SANs enable enterprises to more easily allocate and manage storage resources, achieving better efficiency.

“Instead of having isolated storage capacities across different servers, you can share a pool of capacity across a bunch of different workloads and carve it up as you need. It’s easier to protect, it’s easier to manage,” says Scott Sinclair, senior analyst with Enterprise Strategy Group.

What is in a SAN? A SAN consists of interconnected hosts, switches and storage devices. The components can be connected using a variety of protocols. Fibre Channel is the original transport protocol of choice. Another option is Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE), which lets organisations move Fibre Channel traffic across existing high-speed Ethernet, converging storage and IP protocols onto a single infrastructure.

Other options include Internet Small Computing System Interface (iSCSI), commonly used in small and midsize organisations, and InfiniBand, commonly used in high-performance computing environments.

Vendors offer entry-level and midrange SAN switches for rack settings, as well as high-end enterprise SAN directors for environments

www.tahawultech.com

that require greater capacity and performance. Example vendors that offer enterprise SAN products include Dell EMC, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, IBM and Pure Storage.

“A SAN consists of two tiers: The first tier — the storage-plumbing tier — provides connectivity between nodes in a network and transports device-oriented commands and status.

At least one storage node must be connected to this network. The second tier — the software tier — uses software to provide value-added services that operate over the first tier,” says research firm Gartner in its definition of SAN. How is NAS different than SAN? SAN and network-attached storage (NAS) are both network-based storage solutions. A SAN typically uses Fibre Channel connectivity, while NAS typically ties into to the network through a standard Ethernet connection. A SAN stores data at the block level, while NAS accesses data as files. To a client OS, a SAN typically appears as a disk and exists as its own separate network of storage devices, while NAS appears as a file server.

SAN is associated with structured workloads such as databases, while NAS is generally associated with unstructured data such as video and medical images.

“Most organisations have both NAS and SAN deployed in some capacity, and often the decision is based on the workload or application,” says Sinclair.

What is unified storage?

Unified storage – also known as multiprotocol storage – grew out of

the desire to stop procuring SAN and NAS as two separate storage platforms and to combine unified block and file storage in one system. With unified storage, a single system can support Fibre Channel and iSCSI block storage as well as file protocols such as NFS and SMB. NetApp is generally credited with the development of unified storage, though many vendors offer multiprotocol options.

Today, the majority of midrange enterprise storage arrays tend to be multiprotocol, Sinclair says. “Instead of buying a box for SAN storage and a box for NAS storage, you can buy one box that supports all four protocols – it could be Fibre Channel, iSCSI, SMB, NFS, whatever you want,” he says. “The same physical storage can be allocated to either NAS or SAN.” What’s new with enterprise SANs? Storage vendors continue to add features to improve scalability, manageability and efficiency. On the performance front, flash storage is having an impact on enterprise SANs. Vendors offer hybrid arrays that combine spinning disks with flash drives, as well as all-flash SANs. In the enterprise storage world, flash so far is making greater inroads in SAN environments because the structured data workloads in a SAN tend to be smaller and easier to migrate than massive unstructured NAS deployments. Flash is impacting both SAN and NAS environments, “but it’s predominantly on the SAN side first, and then it’s working its way to the NAS side,” says Sinclair.

Network World Middle East

MARCH 2018

21

INTERVIEW • RIVERBED

The new network Riverbed co-founder and CEO Jerry Kennelly, on his most recent visit to Dubai, sat down with Network World ME to discuss how the company is gearing up to take on Cisco in the SD-WAN market.

D

o you think backend IT systems are ready to support digital transformation?

We are the people who make apps go faster and more cost-effective, and give the best response time at the lowest cost possible. There are two issues with network performance today – speed and bandwidth availability. Our core product

Steelhead does those two things; it makes networks 10 times faster and lowers the cost of bandwidth by 90 percent, and that is what attracts large enterprises, including Dubai Police, who have to manage 80 sites. The other issue with app performance is the lack of visibility into what is going on inside your network. To a casual user, a big network just runs perfectly, but for

WAN optimisation will always be important. Networks are still expensive, especially in this part of the world. Overcoming the latency of speed and light limits on data transfer will always be a problem because you can never exceed the speed of light.

22

MARCH 2018

Network World Middle East

a network manager, they are facing the daily nightmare of having to manage a complicated system that encompasses switches, routers, servers, storage units and myriad applications. When an application slows down or when the network breaks down, it is a nightmare to diagnose and fix problems. We sell diagnostic tools that will give complete network visibility, so if something goes wrong you can fix it within minutes instead of days or weeks. This is very important for anyone running a large network. We have the leading technologies around network management and control, which go along with other products that can optimise your network, and make it cheap and faster.

Do you think WAN optimisation is going be to the foundation of nextgen IT infrastructure?

WAN optimisation will always be important. Networks are still expensive,

www.tahawultech.com

WAN optimisation will always be important.

Networks are still expensive, especially in this part of the world. Overcoming the latency of speed and light limits on data transfer will always be a problem because you can never exceed the speed of light. especially in this part of the world.

Overcoming the latency of speed and light limits on data transfer will always be a problem because you can never exceed the speed of light. So, I think there is a permanent market for WAN optimisation but the emphasis will shift over time to this new area within networking called SD-WAN. We have recently forayed into this market with our SteelConnect product, which is going to be the centrepiece of our product offering in the future, and our WAN optimisation, visibility and management products will just plug into this, all managed holistically through cloud orchestration, allowing you to find the best routes for network traffic, toggling between service providers to make your network a lot more efficient and cheaper.

According to Gartner, SD-WAN accounts for just 5 percent of the networking market. Do you really

www.tahawultech.com

Network World Middle East

MARCH 2018

23

INTERVIEW • RIVERBED

think companies will manage their WANs through software?

They will. SD-WAN might be a nascent technology, but that is all customers talk about these days. It is going to be the main network product for the next 30 years and right now, we are in the

first year of those 30 years. Everyone is talking about it, looking at it, and buying has not started yet. However, it is going to pick up momentum like a flywheel, and you will see a big push in the second half of this year. The real growth in the SD-WAN market

If you follow Cisco, their emphasis has shifted away from networking to enterprise computing. The reason we were able to defeat them in a niche market such as WAN optimisation was because we have the best product and technology.

And this is exactly what we are going to do in the SD-WAN.market.

We are the new Cisco 24

MARCH 2018

Network World Middle East

will happen in 2019 and by 2021, every company will go SD-WAN. With the SD-WAN controller, you are going from niche to the mainstream networking market. How do you plan to take on Cisco?

We are going to take on Cisco on their home turf and do to them what we have done in the WAN optimisation market.

When we started out with Steelhead, no one knew about us and we were just a 200-person company, while Cisco was the biggest brand in the space.

Now, 16 years later, we have 60 percent market share compared to their 20 percent. If you follow Cisco, their emphasis has shifted away from networking to enterprise computing. The reason we were able to defeat them in a niche market such as WAN optimisation was because we have the best product and technology. And this is exactly what we are going to do in the SD-WAN market. We are the new Cisco.

www.tahawultech.com

A CONNECTED WORLD SMART CITIES, SMART BUILDINGS, AND SMART INFRASTRUCTURE

2018 BICSI Middle East & Africa Conference & Exhibition 17-19 April │ Dubai, UAE The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai International Financial Centre

REGISTER NOW! bicsi.org/mea/2018 Early Bird rates until 12 March

Highlights of Conference Sessions Include:

Limor Schafman

Ali AlSuwaidi

Director, Smart Buildings

Vice President, MEFMA

Program, Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA)

Smart Facilities Management for Smart Cities

Powering Digital Transformation in Smart Cities: The Role of Smart Buildings

Steve Surfaro Chairman, Public Safety Group, Security Industry Association Envisioning Smart/Safe Cities’ Future: 2020 and Beyond

Additional Educational Sessions •

The Road to 5G - Supportive or Disruptive to Broadband Fibre Access?

•

Improving Day 2 Management Of Critical Infrastructure

•

The Evolution of the Data Centre Sector Challenges and Opportunities in a Digital World

•

Industry Standards in ICT Enabled Projects Reading and Applying the "Fine Print"

•

Panel Discussion: Creating "Mega Cities" of the Future

•

Email for more information bicsimea2018@bicsi.org

The What, How and Why of Wi-Fi Network Design

INSIGHT • WIFI

5 reasons why your Wi-Fi is slow Using old protocols, overlapping channels and low data rates can affect WiFi speeds. Here’s how to fix these and other performance problems.

W

i-Fi is quite fickle.

The contention between Wi-Fi devices and the dynamic communication medium of the airwaves makes it a sensitive technology with many settings and situations that can slow it down.

And even if you aren’t using highbandwidth devices and applications, faster Wi-Fi is always better.

Here are some things to avoid that can slow down your Wi-Fi:

26

MARCH 2018

Network World Middle East

Old wireless and security protocols Using the older security protocols on your Wi-Fi network significantly reduces performance. This is regardless of the access point’s highest supported standard and its promises. For instance, 802.11ac can support data rates over 1,000 Mbps. But if you have WEP or WPA security configured, the data rates will be limited to 54 Mbps. This limitation is due to those security types using the encryption method of Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP).

So, to ensure old Wi-Fi security methods aren’t slowing your network, enable WPA2-only security using Advanced Encryption Standard (AES).

Don’t choose WPA/WPA2-mixed mode or WPA2-TKIP. If there are older Wi-Fi clients that don’t support WPA2-AES security, see if there are firmware updates that add that capability. Next, consider adding a USB or PCI based Wi-Fi adapter to the computer or device to give it modern Wi-Fi connectivity. If those

www.tahawultech.com

adapters aren’t supported, consider a wireless bridge for devices that also have an ethernet connection.

Consider creating a separate SSID with older protocols enabled for legacy devices or replace the old WiFi client devices altogether.

Under-utilising the 5GHz band The 2.4 GHz frequency band has 11 channels (in North America), but only provides up to three non-overlapping channels when using the default 20 MHz wide channels or just a single channel if using 40 MHz-wide channels.

Since neighboring APs should be on different non-overlapping channels, the 2.4 GHz frequency band can become too small very quickly.

The 5 GHz band, however, provides up to 24 channels. Not all APs support all the channels, but all the channels are non-overlapping if using 20 MHz-wide channels. Even when using 40 MHzwide channels, you could have up to 12 non-overlapping channels. Thus, in this band, you have less chance of cochannel interference among your APs and any other neighboring networks.

You should try to get as many Wi-Fi clients as you can to use the 5 GHz band on your network to increase speeds and performance.

Consider upgrading any 2.4 GHz-only Wi-Fi clients to dual-band clients.

Additionally, utilise any band-steering functionality on the APs to increase the chances of dual-band clients connecting to the 5 GHz access instead of 2.4 GHz. If you have full control over the Wi-Fi clients, and you’re confident your 5 GHz coverage is good, maybe even see if you can disable 2.4 GHz on the clients.

Incorrect setting of AP channels Since the 2.4 GHz band is so crowed, the channels utilized by your APs are crucial. It’s easy to have co-channel interference from neighboring networks and even your own APs. For this lower band, try to stick with the non-

www.tahawultech.com

To ensure old Wi-Fi security methods aren’t slowing your network, enable WPA2-only security using Advanced Encryption Standard (AES).

Don’t choose WPA/WPA2mixed mode or WPA2-TKIP. overlapping channels of 1, 6 and 11 at 20 MHz channel-widths. Although most APs and wireless controllers have an automatic channel feature, sometimes they don’t work well. Double-check the automatic channel assignments to see if they make sense. If they don’t make sense, try setting the channels yourself.

When verifying automatic channel assignment or manually setting them, it’s a good idea to get out the floor plan maps that have the AP locations identified. That way you can visualise the AP locations and write down the channel assignments. If you have more than three APs, you’ll have to reuse the channels 1, 6 and 11. But try to make it so APs set to the same channel are as far away from each other as possible.

For instance, if you have six APs spread out equally going down a long hallway, you set the AP channels in order: 1, 6, 11, 1, 6, 11. Don’t forget about any other levels of the buildings Try to minimise setting APs with the same channels on top of each other, too.

Utilising low data rates APs have control over what data rates are supported for the connections to Wi-Fi clients. When APs are supporting the lowest data rates, that means they’ll accept slow/poor connections.

Though APs that don’t support he lowest data rates will drop Wi-Fi clients quicker, that’s typically what you want.

You don’t want Wi-Fi clients staying

connected to APs when the connection gets too slow, because it will slow the overall performance of the network. If a Wi-Fi network is properly designed with good coverage, you want the Wi-Fi clients to roam to the best AP as quick as possible, not stick to an AP that provides a slower connection.

Most enterprise-level APs provide control over the exact data rates that are enabled. If possible, consider disabling the lowest data rates: 1 – 12 Mbps. If you have a high-density network with great coverage, consider disabling further rates, maybe even up to 54 Mbps.

Lacking design and configuration An overall poor wireless design and/or configuration can cause performance issues on the Wi-Fi. A professional wireless site survey should be performed to figure out proper AP locations and a post-install survey done to verify correct coverage.

Resurveying should also be done after any significant physical changes to the building and/or layout.

Without performing map-based site surveys with tools like Airmagnet or Ekahau, it’s hard to visualise coverage to discover any coverage holes. Survey tools also help identify co-channel interference and aid in setting proper channel assignments. And don’t design a network solely on coverage.

Design for throughput and user density as well.

Network World Middle East

MARCH 2018

27

INSIGHT • INTERNET

What’s happening on the Internet?

O

ur network – the only manmade structure of its kind to encircle the entire globe – carries more than 28 percent of all Internet routes. As a result, we’re in a privileged position to see and understand what’s going on in the Internet. Looking at data from our network from 2017, we have observed some fascinating trends which demonstrate how the Internet is continually evolving as people and businesses’ data demands continue to grow.

More and more traffic The Internet and technologies that depend on it – from cloud computing to unified communications and virtual reality and smart home hubs – today permeate all aspects of our lives. So, it’s perhaps unsurprising that we have seen an increase in SSL traffic which became the largest traffic type in 2017 vs HTTP was the largest traffic in 2016.

Video is the biggest bandwidth hog of all due to the popularity of applications such as Skype for

28

MARCH 2018

Network World Middle East

Business and streaming services such as Netflix. Furthermore, there is a seismic shift happening behind the scenes of the media industry: a move away from traditional cable and satellite broadcasting to cloud and IP-based content distribution. Earlier this year, for example, we announced that VICE Media will use Tata Communications’ network in this way.

To put the continued growth of video traffic into perspective, Cisco predicts that it would take an individual more than 5 million years to watch the amount of video that will cross global IP networks each month in 2020.

At the other end of the scale, while individual Internet of Things applications don’t require a lot of bandwidth, the sheer volume of these devices will drive Internet traffic growth too. As more and more smart things are developed, and previously ‘dumb’ things such as clothing, personal electronics, factory equipment and energy networks – anything, really – get connected to the Internet, traffic will grow inexorably.

HON KIT LAM, VP, GLOBAL IP AND MANAGED NETWORK SERVICES, TATA COMMUNICATIONS

The rise of Instant-Messaging Of course the way we keep in touch is being transformed by the Internet too. Given how deeply ingrained the simple SMS used to be in people’s lives, it’s interesting to see how quickly the world has embraced Internet messaging apps such as WhatsApp and WeChat. IM traffic on our network is still rising at pace at 3x YoY when we look at our network trends over the past four years.

However, because the vast majority of content shared on IM is low-bandwidth text – though of course people share a lot of images and videos on the platform too – it actually represents a very small percentage of overall traffic on our network.

That being said, the incredible growth of IM traffic over the last few years clearly suggests that instant messaging apps like this will play an increasingly important role in our lives. WeChat has over 900 million users today, and while it started out as a messaging app, it is now a complete Internet platform, where users can

www.tahawultech.com

manage more or less every aspect of their lives – including shop, pay bills, book taxis, buy tickets for the cinema and make medical appointments and collaborate in the workplace too.

Tipping point for security As people and businesses become increasingly reliant on different Internet-enabled applications, it is reassuring to see that there is greater focus in keeping the Internet secure.

For the first time in 2017, traffic using the SSL security protocol (usually rendered as HTTPS, which is HTTP traffic with a Secure Socket Layer) accounted for more traffic on our network than the unencrypted protocol HTTP, with 34.9 percent is HTTP traffic and 39.7 percent is SSL traffic.

The HTTP protocol, developed by Sir Tim Berners-Lee and his team at CERN in the late 1980s, defines how messages are formatted and transmitted and is the foundation of the World Wide Web. Over the years, especially as users have shared more and more personal information over the Internet, hacking and cybercrime have increased in parallel. And, when messages are sent over HTTP, third parties on the same network are sometimes able to read the message.

HTTPS traffic, however, is encrypted,

and now the de-facto protocol for the Web. The rise of HTTPS can be explained by growing security consciousness amongst both Internet users and service providers. Even simple Google searches are now encrypted, and the decision by Internet giants such as Facebook, Twitter and Netflix means that the days of HTTP are numbered.

Therefore, we can expect that there to be little or no HTTP traffic at all on our network by 2020.

inbound traffic flooded in. Before the traffic managed to gather any momentum, however, our DDoS scrubbing farms on our network spotted it and cleaned it, protecting the intended recipients.

As the number of connected devices increases with the rise of the Internet of Things in the coming years, I’m certain that we will see more DDoS attacks, and the sophistication and scale of DDoS attacks is sure to present new challenges too.

The Internet under attack While users become more security conscious, cyber-attacks such as DDoS are becoming more common too. DDoS attacks rely on an army of devices hijacked by cyber criminals, which bombards a weakness in a network – often a website. Those infected devices are turned into botnets, which add network traffic to the attack, flooding the target to the point where it brings the network to a standstill. These attacks often carried out to extort ransoms but are also sometimes politically-motivated or simply malicious.

We observed three particularly large ‘events’ on our network during 2017 that were most likely DDoS attacks, whereby huge volumes of

The always-connected world In a way, the data trends from our network confirm something we already know: the Internet, in all its forms, is becoming more deeply embedded in everything we do – at home, at work and in society as a whole.

The overall growth of Internet traffic highlights how different connected technologies are making our lives inordinately better. Music and films are delivered conveniently where, when and how we want.

Keeping in touch and sharing experiences and information with friends, family and colleagues, near or far, has never been easier. The Internet has paved the way for whole a whole new digital economy, including new business models demonstrated by successes such as Airbnb and Deliveroo.

Yet, the pervasiveness of the Internet comes with a warning too, due to the continued rise of increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks. It is therefore crucial that we don’t become complacent – we must continue to innovate to safeguard the always-connected world, so that the truly transformational, positive impact of the Internet will continue to be felt by people and businesses the world over.

As more and more smart things are developed, and previously ‘dumb’ things such as clothing, personal electronics, factory equipment and energy networks – anything, really – get connected to the Internet, traffic will grow inexorably. www.tahawultech.com

Network World Middle East

MARCH 2018

29

PRODUCTS

Siemon launches Z-MAX 45 Siemon has launched its new Z-MAX 45 shielded Category 6A outlet in the Middle East.

According to the firm, the device features a shorter, compact design with the ability to terminate cable at a 45-degree angle, reducing rear depth requirements whilst maintaining proper bend radius.

Z-MAX 45 outlets use a reversible rear cap that enables cable to exit the outlet at a 45-degree angle to accommodate shallow back boxes and wallmounted raceway applications. With 40 percent less depth compared to standard outlets, Z-MAX 45’s hybrid design supports both flat and angled mounting orientations.

Unlike true 90-degree side entry outlets, Z-MAX 45 also enables side stacking for high density applications, whilst the plastic bezels prevent contact between metal housings for superior alien crosstalk performance.

The new outlet can be terminated to stranded and solid cable types from 22 to 26 AWG. In addition, the outlets also feature Siemon’s patented crowned jack geometry, the industry’s most reliable jack-plug connection for support of the latest PoE applications. The crowned jack geometry, according to Siemon, improves electrical and mechanical performance and ensures that any contact damage caused by arcing while unmating under PoE load occurs well away from the final mated contact position.

30

MARCH 2018

Network World Middle East

A10 Networks introduces FlexPool A10 Networks has released A10 FlexPool, a new software subscription and capacity pooling model that eliminates the traditional challenges of resource planning and portability across on-premise and cloud environments.

According to the company, A10 FlexPool helps customers simplify consumption of app services with ability to re-allocate capacity across multiple infrastructure deployment models. The solution allows customers to seamlessly use A10 services either on-premise or in the cloud.

A10 FlexPool allows customers to purchase licensed capacity, then allocate and redistribute that capacity across applications and infrastructures as desired. FlexPool supports A10’s software-based Thunder appliances,

both virtualised and Bare Metal, for Thunder ADC, Thunder CGN, and Thunder CFW. A10 FlexPool is available in one-year or three-year subscriptions and with several capacity pool options, including 10G, 50G, 100G and custom. Gold support and software upgrades are included. Its annual subscription pricing begins at $29,000.

D-Link releases DGS 3630 series

D-Link has announced the new generation of Layer 3 Managed Gigabit Switches - the DGS-3630 series. The series now offers PoE models DGS-363028PC with 24 PoE GE + and DGS-363052PC with 48 PoE GE+ to provide a complete 10G managed switch portfolio.

According to the firm, the DGS-3630 series switches delivers scalable software management and multiple software image upgrades to access additional advanced features depending on an organisation’s network requirements. The Switch Resource Management (SRM) feature allows the hardware table size to be changed so that switch functions can be optimized based on different applications.

The DGS-3630 series is the ideal core switch in SMB networks, said

D-Link. However, with its 10 Gigabit uplink ports and stacking technology it can easily accommodate larger enterprise networks.

Full Layer 3 protocol support, OAM features, and advanced QoS offer scalable and efficient network operation, administration and maintenance even in stressful metro Ethernet infrastructures.

It supports DHCP auto-configuration and auto-image upgrading can be used to configure and upgrade multiple switches automatically. It also has an Auto Surveillance VLAN feature enables the switches to prioritise surveillance traffic in the network to provide effective surveillance system management.

Furthermore, it allows multicast routing, which enables enhanced efficiency and optimised performance by eliminating traffic redundancy and distributed applications.

It also supports L2VPN and L3VPN for speedy lookups for destinations and routing for advanced applications.

www.tahawultech.com