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CONNECTIVITY
The future
is now
By Leon Adato, Head Geek,
SolarWinds
www.solarwinds.com
Tackling today’s network issues by optimising your
toolset is essential for a smooth transition to new
technologies tomorrow...
The role of network engineers is constantly changing
as new technology evolves. For instance, right now
many are figuring out how to implement software
defined networking (SDN) and, addressing the Internet
of Things (IoT) – both of which bring new challenges
to IT departments. But it’s important that before new
technology is prioritised, the IT team is confident
everything currently implemented is working effectively
and efficiently.
Technologies such as the cloud, IPv6 and wireless are
widely used across the majority of organisations, and have
a huge impact on the enterprise network. But despite being
implemented years ago, these technologies are still causing
challenges. However, there are ways network engineers
can overcome these challenges, and provide the ongoing
stability that lets IT professionals focus on the future,
whether that’s SDN, IoT or the next big thing.
Cloud challenges
Despite the cloud transforming IT, it still creates regular
challenges for network engineers, especially when it comes
to security. It’s often assumed that security responsibility
lies with the cloud service provider, believing they wouldn’t
be responsible if a breach occurred while data traffic was
in transit to or from the provider. However, this is most
definitely not the case and would be a huge mistake for a
network engineer to assume.
A distinct lack of visibility into data traffic movement
and behaviour once it leaves the firewall is another network
challenge brought about by the cloud that must be
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