Networking

Cisco customers have a choice between Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) and Ethernet VPN (EVPN) for building their data center network fabrics. Since these technologies are thought to be interchangeable, the choice often falls to cultural, political or other “Layer 8” decision-making. But the fabric technologies are, in fact, different in ways both subtle and significant, and one’s choice has a profound impact on fabric orchestration, operations, and staffing.

I hope you’ll join me all the way through this three-part blog series as I compare and contrast these technologies and provide a foundation for deciding on the best choice for your organization’s needs.

Cisco customers have a choice between Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) and Ethernet VPN (EVPN) for building their data center network fabrics. Since these technologies are thought to be interchangeable, the choice often falls to cultural, political or other “Layer 8” decision-making. But the fabric technologies are different in ways both subtle and significant, and one’s choice has a profound impact on fabric orchestration, operations, and staffing.

I hope you’ll join me all the way through this three-part blog series as I compare and contrast these technologies and provide a foundation for deciding on the best choice for your organization’s needs.

Cisco has had Webex Edge Audio for Expressway for some time now. The concept behind Edge Audio is to provide an alternate path for Webex audio calls, diverting them from potentially overtaxed public switched telephone network (PSTN) connections to the internet. Now, Cisco provides an additional method to take advantage of Edge Audio via the Cisco Unified Border Element (CUBE).

Edge Audio for CUBE was released for Webex in Q3 2020. It is an audio solution where Webex calls originating within your enterprise route from your Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM)/PBX to CUBE, over the internet, and into the Webex cloud. Similarly, callbacks initiated by Webex users are routed from the Webex Cloud, traverse the internet, leverage CUBE infrastructure, and are delivered onto your CUCM/PBX for on-net routing. This can greatly reduce PSTN loads and expenses, offloading that traffic to leverage internet bandwidth instead.

In my work with CDW clients, I often have the opportunity not only to help them select cybersecurity technologies, but also to determine how best to integrate these tools into their operations. That’s deeply satisfying work, and I got to experience it recently when I worked with a major financial services firm on its deployment of next-generation firewall (NGFW) technology.

The firm had relied on traditional port- and protocol-based firewall rules for many years and wanted to migrate to more modern technology to improve its security posture. We identified the right product for the customer by comparing the firm’s unique needs to common NGFW capabilities. We then helped the firm implement its chosen solution in a way that minimized disruptions while advancing the organization’s security posture.

This past October, Cisco released a new flexible edge platform to support use cases like SD-WAN and cloud networking. This new platform is the Catalyst 8000. There are three major platforms within the Catalyst 8000 family:

1. The 8500, designed to replace the ASR 1001-HX / ASR 1002-HX and is positioned at the data center/colocation for extremely high performance.
2. The 8300, designed to replace the ISR4400 and is positioned at the branch. This platform offers very good performance but also focuses on delivering services like switching, VoIP, security and more at the branch in a compact footprint.
3. The 8000v, positioned to replace the CSR100v. This one is designed to run in virtual environments and on cloud marketplaces.

Power and cooling systems for IT equipment are often an afterthought when it comes to day-to-day business operations. Yet they support the backbone of your entire organization, as most everything is connected to IT these days. Departments such as e-commerce, payroll, human resources and communications (think employees’ email or VoIP phones) rely on your servers to be up and running, and your networking equipment to keep everyone connected. A good way of thinking about power and cooling is to think of it the same way you think of your car.

Let’s say you want to take a trip and you forget to check the tire pressure before departing, or you haven’t replaced your tires in a long time and they are heavily worn. Something as small as a nail or a bump in the road can cause your tire to blow out, and now you are stuck changing a tire. The tires, the engine, the brakes, these are all important components of your vehicle, and if you don’t maintain them properly you may end up in some sort of unpleasant event, preventing you from completing your journey. This is similar to how you should be thinking about your power and cooling equipment.