The New Era of Federation by Avaya is now available.
Will your future unified communications (UC) requirements be met by a single- vendor environment or should you push your vendors for a more open platform? This high-level paper makes a case for option 2, described as universal collaboration, using a federated network exchange.
There's no standard for such an exchange today, but the idea is to enable endpoint UC clients to transcend network foundations, much in the way short message service (SMS) and multi-media message service (MMS) offerings do across mobile network operators' networks. The paper doesn't go into what you, or the industry, needs to do next to enable this, but rather seems to want to merely plant the seed that universal collaboration is a desirable industry goal.
Abstract: The New Era of Federation
The history of communications has witnessed many revolutions, among them the telephone, radio, switchboard, stored control, digital transport, toll-free dialing, network control points, packet transport, IP telephony, and video conferencing. Today, landline phones, mobile phones, televisions, computers, and social networking services are available to - and used by - people around the world. As the communication modes have changed, generations of users have changed their preferred method of communicating as well. For example, text messaging has now become ubiquitous for an entire generation of people.
The services that enable these different types of communication have developed separately. For the most part, the different communications services are delivered on their own independent systems, but technology to unify the systems is emerging. The historic borders that separate these systems and networks will evolve into an exchange framework, helping amplify their usefulness. Simply put, this unifying technology will change the very definitions of networking and communications. This paper describes, at a high level, the concepts of federation and Universal Collaboration - the technologies that will drive the coming transformation and its benefits.
Continue reading The New Era of Federation.
]]>Why should you care about this paper?
The survey data contained in this paper indicates a potential shift in terms of how IT services are delivered. IT organizations need to be aware of this shift, and they also need to understand the discussion in this paper about how IT organizations should evaluate CNS solutions and the various implementation options that are discussed.
Abstract: 2011 Cloud Networking Services
When most people think about public cloud computing solutions they tend to think about enterprise applications such as CRM or basic storage and compute services. That makes sense because those are the cloud computing solutions that get the most attention and the most use. However, recently a new class of solutions has begun to be offered by Cloud Computing Service Providers. These are solutions that have historically been provided by the IT infrastructure group itself and include network and application optimization, VoIP, Unified Communications (UC), security, network management and virtualized desktops. Those services are referred to as Cloud Networking Services (CNS).
As is shown in the attached white paper entitled Cloud Networking Services, IT organizations are showing significant interest in CNS solutions and their adoption potentially represents a fundamental shift in terms of how IT services are provided. The factors that are driving and inhibiting the adoption of CNS solutions are the same factors that are driving and inhibiting the adoption of any public cloud computing offering. As such, when evaluating a CNS solution, IT organizations need to determine if the solution delivers on the promise of public cloud computing while also eliminating, or at least minimizing, the negative aspects of a public cloud computing solution.
Continue reading 2011 Cloud Networking Services
]]>SIP Trunking Deployment Steps and Best Practices by Cisco Systems is now available.
There are plenty of reasons that SIP trunking should be on your radar.
If you're like most enterprises, you're probably in cost-containment mode, for example, and SIP trunking holds the potential to save on physical and inflexible PSTN last-mile lines such as ISDN PRIs/PRIs and T1s. Instead, you use a SIP trunking service from an Internet telephone service provider (ITSP) to connect your phone calls over the Internet.
The ITSP connects your call to the PSTN at the receiving end. Often, SIP services include domestic local and long-distance calling, and some providers offer 10Mbps speeds for what you once paid for a T1 (1.54Mbps). In addition, direct inward dial (DID) numbers usually can be rerouted to anywhere in the country.
Check out this paper to be sure you are aware of the considerations and network elements you'll need to get started.
Abstract: SIP Trunking Deployment Steps and Best Practices
Today's market conditions are forcing businesses to deliver maximum efficiency from their IP-based infrastructures. SIP trunking reduces the inefficiencies of time division multiplexing (TDM) technology by pooling voice network capacity for dynamic utilization and improving usage visibility for greater cost control and capacity management. Given these benefits, many organizations are planning to move to SIP trunking as part of their transition to unified communications and collaboration applications.
Yet this advanced technology may present challenges to the IT organization, especially those who have limited experience managing voice technologies or who have never used SIP trunking before. Like any IT project, careful planning and knowledge of implementation best practices will generate insights that can help save time and costs related to a SIP trunking migration. To assist is this compilation of best practices, based on hundreds of customer implementations and collected over a period of nearly a decade.
Continue reading SIP Trunking Deployment Steps and Best Practices
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In its unified communications (UC) customer newsletter, AT&T shares several use cases and anecdotes where it has been beneficial for organizations to integrate user-centric UC with business-centric workflow processes to create communications-enabled business processes (CEBP). The goals with CEBP are generally to get things done faster and more efficiently. A complimentary addendum from Gartner analyzes CEBP and describes three enterprise situations where it is in use: at Dassault Aviation; at Andarko, an energy exploration company; and at The Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning. At these organizations, CEBP has been used, respectively, to improve design collaboration among engineers, speed up the purchasing process, and create a multichannel emergency and alert notification system to improve campus safety.
Abstract: Extending UC Value to Increase Business Velocity
Enterprises can extend their UC benefits with communications-enabled business processes (CEBP) to create new levels of efficiency across the organization. CEBP involves combining UC's powerful communication and collaboration capabilities with critical business processes and applications to speed up workflows. This AT&T Unified Communication Newsletter includes three short case studies that show how organizations are already experiencing the advantages of UC and CEBP today and contains complimentary commentary by Gartner in the research firm's report, "Cool Communications-Enabled Business Processes."
Continue reading Extending UC Value to Increase Business Velocity
]]>The iEverything Enterprise by Aerohive Networks is now available.
In its "The iEverything Enterprise" paper, Aerohive reminds us that the PC era is winding down and that the mobility era has dawned, causing shifts that have upended much of what we once knew about IT. The paper provides a comprehensive, high-level backgrounder of the mobile enterprise network situation today, followed by a discussion about the impact that mobility and burgeoning volumes of smart devices are having on IT. After spelling out IT's current mobility challenges, which include security issues, managing consumer-owned devices and cost containment pressures, the paper describes how each can be met with Aerohive's own Cooperative Control protocol-based distributed Wi-Fi architecture and cloud services.
Abstract: The iEverything Enterprise
Virtualization, cloud computing, and wireless technology are fundamentally changing enterprise computing, providing revolutionary gains in productivity and cost savings. Powerful enterprise applications can now be delivered to almost any device, anywhere, at any time and take advantage of tremendous computing power available in consumer devices, such as smartphones and tablets. Regardless of whether these devices are issued corporately or personally owned, almost every IT department is experiencing the effects of unprecedented smart device adoption in their enterprise.
Continue reading The iEverything Enterprise.
]]>The Data Center LAN Evolution Series
A Webtorials Thought Leadership Discussion
Featuring Arista, Avaya, Brocade, Cisco Systems, Extreme Networks and HP
Does OpenFlow Make Sense in Enterprise Networks A Webtorials Thought Leadership Discussion by Jim Metzler, Ashton Metzler & Associates, Distinguished Research Fellow and Co-Founder, Webtorials Analyst Division is now available.
A year or so ago Jim moderated a panel at Interop that was entitled "Next Generation Routing". All of the members of the panel were network equipment vendors. When asked to describe next generation routers, the panelists talked about routers with faster processing and higher port density. That sounded to Jim more like the next version of routers, not a next generation of routers.
Now along comes OpenFlow. Last week at Interop virtually the same set of network equipment vendors stated that OpenFlow would provide functionality that would supplement what they provided in their equipment. While that is certainly possibility, there is also the possibility that OpenFlow will negate the need for intelligent switches and routers and require only relatively dumb devices that do really fast forwarding.
Because of its potentially disruptive nature, this month's discussion provides insight into what might actually be a new generation of switches and routers.
Abstract: Does OpenFlow Make Sense in Enterprise Networks?
The Data Center LAN Evolution Series
A Webtorials Thought Leadership Discussion
Featuring Arista, Avaya, Brocade, Cisco Systems, Extreme Networks and HP
There has been a lot of interest recently in OpenFlow - a communications protocol that enables the separation of the control of packets from the forwarding of packets. By separation is meant that the forwarding of the packets occurs on an OpenFlow switch and the control of those packets occurs on a separate controller.
The OpenFlow specification itself is being developed by the Open Networking Foundation (ONF).
One of the things that is interesting about the ONF is that its founding and board member are Deutsche Telekom, Verizon, facebook, Google, Yahoo and Microsoft. At first it may seem strange that companies such as Google, facebook and Yahoo are so involved with the development of new communications protocols. However, given that separating the control and the forwarding of packets onto separate devices is somewhat of a radical idea, one could argue that the initial advocates would have to be non-traditional players.
The definitive paper on OpenFlow is entitled "OpenFlow: Enabling Innovation in Campus Networks." The paper was written in 2008 by researchers at some of the US's most prestigious universities; i.e., Stanford, Berkeley, Princeton and MIT.
The first sentence of that paper states "This whitepaper proposes OpenFlow: a way for researchers to run experimental protocols in the networks they use everyday." That sentence sets up the theme for this month's discussion: Does OpenFlow actually enable the innovation and cost savings that the articles in the press have been talking about or is OpenFlow just a science experiment by some really bright people?
Continue reading Does OpenFlow Make Sense in Enterprise Networks?
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In our recent report, Unified Communications and Collaboration Potential: Goals, Obstacles and Savings, we found that SIP is an extremely powerful enabling technology for the deployment of UC&C. We also found that UC&C provided extreme economic advantages for most enterprises, regardless of size.
In this paper, Avaya offers a great overview of SIP and how it can be put to use. (Don't be fooled by the title concerning "Business Value." This is not marketing "fluff.") It is a great examination of how SIP can help with Presence, "User Centricity" vs. "Device Bound", SIP Trunking and Delivering a Simplified Architecture, Innovative Communications, and Ease of Support.
Thus, it is highly recommended both on its own and as a complement to the above-referenced report. (Btw, this could also be quite useful if you are technically oriented but are faced with explaining to less technical folks what the "big deal" is about SIP.)
Abstract: The Business Value of Enterprise SIP - A CIO View
CIO's are constantly looking
for ways to reduce cost, optimize business capability and improve customer
service. Unified Communication (UC) solutions are integrated technologies that
are capable of delivering these benefits, and Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)
is a foundational component for realizing these benefits.
The deployment of SIP-based UC allows a CIO to address a key goal to improve
communications and collaboration in the enterprise while simultaneously being
cost conscious.
Continue reading The Business Value of Enterprise SIP - A CIO View
With sample configurations and scenarios, this paper teaches you how to virtualize your network infrastructure using the Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series switch with a Supervisor 2T engine.
By way of background: Enterprises generally use network virtualization to separate traffic flows based on such attributes as defined user groups, routing and security policies, and network-layer protocol (IPv4 vs. IPv6). Doing so more or less creates multiple "private" IP networks using a single physical network infrastructure. A big reason to do this is security, but there are also cost benefits: rather than building multiple physical networks to transport different traffic, network resources on a single infrastructure can be deployed and managed logically as separate flows.
Cisco recommends a holistic approach to designing a virtualized network with three main components to consider: access, including wireless; transport; and network services. It discusses various ways to segment transport paths using virtual routing and forwarding (VRF) instances, wireless service set identifier (SSID)/user groups, VLANs and VPNs, including MPLS VPNs. Sample command-line interface (CLI) commands are shown for different types of access and transport segmentation.
Abstract: Network Virtualization with the Cisco Catalyst 6500 Supervisor Engine 2T
Within the campus, a single
physical network infrastructure can carry multiple individual virtual (logical)
networks, each created based on a set of policies. This is similar to the
concept of server virtualization, where a single physical server can host
multiple virtual machines (VMs).
By using the Cisco Catalyst 6500 with network virtualization to deploy and
manage network resources as logical services, rather than physical resources,
companies can:
Enhance enterprise agility
Improve network efficiency
Reduce capital and operational costs
Maintain high standards of security, scalability, manageability, and availability throughout the campus design
This paper offers tips and samples for configuring virtual network resources in your infrastructure.
Continue reading Network Virtualization with the Cisco Catalyst 6500 Supervisor Engine 2T
This IDC Spotlight on enterprise collaboration, sponsored by Avaya, educates us about the new business models being created by today's hyper-connected work environments. In such settings, the paper asserts, individuals (not places) become the hub and heart of the business - a trend driving the need for new workforce attributes, which IDC describes. The researcher provides industry definitions and explanations of the many and varied collaboration applications and components available. We also get walked through the challenges associated with providing a rewarding experience for customers while consolidating technology investments and collaborating across different devices, applications and communication methods.
One section of the paper is set aside to focus on sponsor Avaya's own collaboration solutions.
Abstract: Improving Productivity in the Connected Enterprise Through Collaboration
Social Business Framework: Using People as a Platform to Enable Transformation
IDC on behalf of Avaya
In the market for collaborative applications, a large convergence is beginning to take hold, and the consumerization of IT is central to this movement. The technologies that people use as consumers are impacting the way employees, customers, and partners want to interact and collaborate at work. People want to take the same technology experiences that are available at home and plug them into their daily work lives. This movement is setting worker expectations as both employees and corporate consumers. Workers need to have the choice and flexibility to consume the applications they want, where they want, and on their preferred device. Particularly, IDC believes that the industry is on a trend to combine key technologies, such as email, instant messaging (IM), team workspaces, video, voice, Web conferencing, and social features into a single "superset" environment for users.
Fueling this convergence are three key industry dynamics: the notion that everything is "now" and communications are happening in real time, the concept of being your own workplace due to the sophistication and proliferation of mobile devices, and the movement toward becoming a social business. The evolution of the collaborative applications landscape has emerged to serve the demands of today's dynamic business landscape -- and it has certainly become a demanding landscape.
This Technology Spotlight discusses collaborative applications and explores the role that Avaya plays in this increasingly important market.
Continue reading Improving Productivity in the Connected Enterprise Through Collaboration
]]>How a network monitoring switch helps IT teams stay proactive
Monitoring for security, application and network performance is an important data center function. This paper from Anue Systems describes a relatively new approach to connecting a large number of monitoring tools to the network without having to worry about limits on available data ports to accommodate the various monitoring devices. The approach uses a "network monitoring switch," which can be enhanced for redundancy and automated scripting to keep down investments in ports and monitoring tools. Find out more about it here.
Abstract: Solving Monitoring Challenges in the Data Center
How a network monitoring switch helps IT teams stay proactive
IT teams are under big pressure to improve the performance and security of corporate networks. Monitoring for security, compliance and performance requires getting the right data to the right monitoring tool for analysis.
This paper describes the capabilities of a network monitoring switch and how it optimizes the traffic to the monitoring tools, improving overall monitoring tool performance and protecting the IT team's monitoring tool investment.
Continue reading Solving Monitoring Challenges in the Data Center
As this paper from AT&T points out, your transition from IPv4 to IPv6 will first affect your network in the public Internet segment. You'll want new IPv6-only devices, for example, to be able to access your Web site and mail servers, particularly if you run e-commerce from your site. AT&T advocates primarily using the standard dual-stack IP addressing approach to upgrading for IP interoperability; tunneling is another option, and situations where one or the other is most appropriate are discussed. Also, the paper examines the imminent demise of Network Address Translation (NAT), which has long conserved IPv4 addresses behind corporate firewalls and has offered internal nodes a layer of protection against direct attacks from the Internet.
Abstract: How will IPv6 Impact your Network?
Your customers will be using IPv6 addresses this year. Is your network prepared to "speak" IPv6? To stay connected with customers, your network must be able to communicate with either IPv4 or IPv6 hosts/users.
This paper will help you prepare your network for the transition.
Continue reading How will IPv6 Impact your Network?
UCC and SIP Drive Savings in Cost-Conscious Enterprises
A Webtorials Thought Leadership Report
Steven Taylor, Joanie Wexler, and Leslie Barteaux
Sponsored by Avaya
Cost-cutting measures are rampant throughout enterprises, and recent Webtorials research indicates that the economics theme extends to savings expectations with unified communications and collaboration (UCC). Enterprises are banking on UCC to integrate business processes and reduce travel, and many are eyeing the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) as an enabler, both to replace expensive TDM connections and to reduce the complexity and associated costs of integrating UCC applications.
This thought leadership paper, based on research sponsored by Avaya, discusses the state of UCC in the enterprise and IT's expectations with it, particularly in the increasingly mobile workforce. There is special focus on SIP and a section that calculates sample savings scenarios using UCC in various-sized organizations.
Abstract: Unified Communications & Collaboration Potential: Goals, Obstacles & Savings
UCC and SIP Drive Savings in Cost-Conscious Enterprises
A Webtorials Thought Leadership Report
Steven Taylor, Joanie Wexler, and Leslie Barteaux
Sponsored by Avaya
UCC software and services provide a consistent user experience across multiple IP communications applications, devices and media types using a common interface. The apps support several productivity-enhancing capabilities; for example, users can read voicemail messages by retrieving them using email and vice versa. They can also share documents with colleagues online during conference calls. And they can click to initiate dynamic audio, chat and video sessions from a range of client device types based on their colleagues' locations and availability. These are just a few applications of UCC.
Most UCC services now have been expanded to run on mobile device platforms, given that smart phones and wireless tablets have quickly begun to outpace traditional wired phones, desktop computers and notebook computers. In fact, 89% of respondents identified tablets and other mobile devices as "very attractive" or "moderately attractive" as part of their UCC deployments going forward. At the other end of the spectrum, integration with social media was least attractive.
Continue reading Unified Communications & Collaboration Potential: Goals, Obstacles & Savings
Joanie Wexler, Moderator
Featuring Motorola
Abstract: Wireless Network Forensics
Joanie Wexler, Moderator
Featuring Motorola
Wireless events tend to be transient, seemingly happening here and there without rhyme or reason. This can make analyzing security and performance issues difficult, given that interference or a security event might not be visible at the time an RF administrator or monitoring device checks the environment. So for trend analysis, granular historical records of what took place over the airwaves is imperative. How can having the ability to "rewind" and see what's happened historically benefit Wi-Fi performance, connectivity and security in an enterprise? That's the question that this Thought Leadership Discussion with Nathan Rowe, senior product manager at Motorola in the company's AirDefense group, will answer.
Continue reading Wireless Network Forensics
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This paper provides a superb complement to the "IEEE 802.3az Energy Efficient Ethernet: Build Greener Networks" paper. While the prior paper concentrated on EEE, this continues the discussion of the capabilities supplied by various generations of POE.
In particular, it starts with a great discussion of the evolution of POE from the original ability to deliver 7 Watts of power to today's capability to deliver up to 60 Watts.
The latter part of the paper is specific to Cisco's UPOE capabilities. Regardless of your exact choice of supplier, this provides a great benchmark.
Abstract: Cisco Universal Power Over Ethernet: Unleash the Power of Your Network
Enterprise workspace is quickly evolving with new networked devices to improve communication, collaboration, security, and productivity. Power over Ethernet (PoE), a way to deliver electrical power over LAN cabling to networked devices, has been widely deployed over the years to provide power to various endpoints in the enterprise workspace environment. Cisco® Catalyst® 4500E, a market leader of PoE technology, continues to innovate to deliver Universal PoE (UPOE) technology with up to 60 watt power to enable even broader endpoint support, with additional benefits of higher availability, lower OpEx, and faster deployment.
This paper provides an overview of the Cisco UPOE technology. It describes how Cisco has evolved PoE technology to UPOE, the use case examples of UPOE to simplify enterprise deployment, and UPOE architecture and operations.
Continue reading Cisco Universal Power Over Ethernet: Unleash the Power of Your Network
]]>A Look Beyond the Rhetoric
The emergence of unified communications is one of the most significant developments in the corporate and interpersonal world over the past decade. While we are still in the process of full "unification," the formerly distinct lines between phone calls, email, text messaging, videoconferencing, collaboration, presence, and other communication forms are quickly disappearing.
There's one big hitch, though. While the ultimate goal is complete unification, most "unified" solutions are not interoperable with other solutions.
This paper does a great job of exploring this issue. And while the focus is on Avaya's approach, the lessons are valuable regardless of you exact choice of supplier(s).
Abstract: Unified Communications Solutions and Interoperability
A Look Beyond the Rhetoric
The term unified communications encompasses a wide variety of definitions. Almost everyone has his or her own interpretation of what unified communications really means. This is understandable given that unified communications is not a technology but rather a concept or a vision. Common to all definitions is the idea of integrating multiple communication modalities and applications to increase employee productivity and collaboration, and improve business processes. Unified communications achieves its value by embedding communications into business processes, and by empowering people to focus on the purpose of interactions rather than the technologies that facilitate those encounters.
To achieve its potential, the "unification" of communications is highly dependent on interoperability. While an enterprise may be working with fewer vendors in the future, no single vendor may be able to provide a complete unified communications solution.
The purpose of this paper is to define the many dimensions in which Avaya addresses interoperability.
Continue reading
Unified Communications Solutions and Interoperability