30 NETWORK OPTIMISATION
30 NETWORK OPTIMISATION
“ If you ’ re looking to move volumes of data over distance with 100Mb plus pipes and not spend a chunk of money on new kit , then you should be looking at a data acceleration solution .”
higher bandwidth network connectivity . To achieve this she advises CIOs to closely define what they want to achieve – particularly because she believes there has been a tendency to try to put a square peg in a round hole . So it ’ s essential that CIOs gain a fresh perspective on how to mitigate latency .
Moving data “ If you ’ re looking to move volumes of data over distance with 100Mb plus pipes and not spend a chunk of money on new kit , then you should be looking at a data acceleration solution .” Buchanan advises . For example , with PORTrockIT and WANrocKIT it may be possible to avoid having to invest in new network infrastructure and connectivity . Such solutions , she claims also avoid the risks posed by backup windows not being aligned to each other . Traditional WAN optimisation is far more resource intensive because it isn ’ t machine intelligent and requires human intervention to fine-tune it .
Machine intelligence reduces the risks that can be created by human intervention . They can also make decisions more quickly than a human can , and so this in turn reduces operational expenditure ( OPEX ). One problem remains : network teams need to be persuaded that they needn ’ t run their pipes at a bandwidth utilisation rate of below 25 %. They should be aim to use more than 75 % of it , and today with a self-configuring infrastructure and self-optimising network solution that is possible to achieve .
Organisations therefore need to put a strategy in place to understand how they ’ re going to move data over a certain distance between data centres and offices , so they can gain access to it whenever they want and need it , no matter where they are at any given moment in time . So rather than make do and mend , Buchanan believes that organisations need to look for an optimal and smarter solution – an alternative to the ones offered by large vendors to take away the cost , pain and risk that comes with operating a WAN that is hindered by sluggish network performance .
Curbed pipes The odd thing is that network teams aren ’ t just curbing the capacity of their pipes ; they ’ re also asking for more money for more pipes rather than using what they have already got more efficiently . That means being able to , spin up or down a cloud server , adapt to meet any peaks and troughs in demand . “ You should have your day-to-day requirement , but you should also able to respond to peaks and troughs in demand , and that can only occur if you can efficiently move data around ,” explains Trossell . He also thinks that using cloud for meeting peaks in demand is a very efficient way to use computing power , and so the same principles will apply to data analytics . Use them only when you need them .
“ Talking to people in the know , from a cloud strategy perspective , CIO ’ s often think they are all done and all they need to do is finish the transition ,” claims Buchanan . “ What CIO ’ s do in effect , is to look at their hybrid Cloud Strategy from a traditional standpoint . The last thing they are looking at is how they transition their precious commodity , data , to the cloud . Their teams often do not align behind the transition , as many Departments see the cloud as a threat to their job security therefore project success can be threatened . Security and latency remain the two biggest cloud inhibitors , whether real or perceived .”
Tony Lock , Programme Director at analyst firm Free-form Dynamics , says that every system and network has its own latency performance characteristics , and he believes that there is in this case nothing special about the cloud . He adds that security and governance must dictate all access , and advises organisations to consider the needs of their business from the perspective of the applications , and the business service they either currently run or would like to run over their networks .
With regards to traditional WAN optimisation he says they tend to be pre-configured and static . In contrast he says the ideas behind data acceleration are about making networks more flexible and capable of resolving performance issues from the outset of their installation . The key thing is for organisations to consider what ’ s on the market to find a solution that will actually mitigate latency and meet the expectations of the business . He therefore thinks that CIOs and their CFO counterparts need to work together to ensure the chosen solution actually does what the vendors claims it will do .
Look for alternatives “ If you take a gamble on something , and if that ’ s with a small player , the perception is that there ’ s always a risk , and yet if you look at the larger companies ’ offerings you ’ ll find that they are behind the curve all the way because often the adoption of new technologies can give you the edge .” Argues Trossell . Yet even big companies such as Enron and Lehman Brothers have failed in the past . So instead of thinking that SMEs are a tall risk , he argues that organisations should consider where they can get the best solution and the best service – the local shop or the department store ? Usually the local shop , or in this case small and innovative IT companies , can offer better and more personalised service .
“ It ’ s the job of the CIO to look at emerging technologies rather than just at big vendors to see how they can value to business processes . And these emerging technologies are the ones that will give the business advantage at a time when people are talking about monetising their data ,” he says . The challenge is how that increasingly precious commodity – data – can be delivered speedily and efficiently . At the moment the expression related to this issue in the US is modality .
That said , is WAN optimisation crucial for virtual machine mobility between data centres ? Trossell believes this depends on how you move around your virtual machines for disaster recovery or for whatever , and it ’ s all about the data – whether that ’ s from a disaster recovery or failover perspective . Yet when traditional WAN optimisation is stretched , CIOs should look to installing a data acceleration solution in order to gain network efficiency without having to invest in new infrastructure to reduce latency . n
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