Next-Gen Networks (NGN) Skills

In this blog post I am trying to explain what exactly is Next Generation Networks (NGN) & what are the skills required for working in NGN. For someone who already works in this domain, its easy & already understood. But for people who are either new or come from different domains, it’s a bit difficult … Continue reading Next-Gen Networks (NGN) Skills →

Networking in Kubernetes

Modern cloud native applications are deployed in containers to ensure portability & elasticity. These applications need to be agile, scalable & self-healing. Kubernetes (K8s) is an orchestration platform for automating the deployment and management of these containerized applications to fulfill these needs. These applications need some underlying infrastructure like compute, networking & storage for their … Continue reading Networking in Kubernetes →

SASE vs. SDWAN

Introduction to SASE Secure Access Service Edge or SASE is a term coined by Gartner in Aug 2019. Gartner defined SASE as a framework that recommends a cloud delivered (not on-prem or DC) WAN connectivity & security services platform for globally distributed workforce of an enterprise. With this definition, we can say that SASE is … Continue reading SASE vs. SDWAN →

SDWAN Explained (in a Vendor Neutral way)

The traditional enterprise WAN architecture usually have a combination of transport networks – a private WAN network, mainly MPLS VPN’s, and a public WAN transport network i.e. internet. The MPLS transport network is managed by the Comms Service Provider (CSP). It builds a virtual private WAN network (VPN) for enterprises with assured performance backed up … Continue reading SDWAN Explained (in a Vendor Neutral way) →

Standardization Bodies in Network Engineering (Part-2 of 2)

Continuing from part-1, in this part we will see standardization bodies from cloud generation. Some common objectives of these standard bodies are to develop and promote open source, software driven, dis-aggregated**, programmable, dynamic and agile network platforms of future ! #*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#* OCP (Open Compute Project) : OCP organization started in 2011 with an objective to … Continue reading Standardization Bodies in Network Engineering (Part-2 of 2) →

Standardization Bodies in Network Engineering (Part-1 of 2)

Like all other engineering disciplines, network engineering also relies heavily on standards. These standards specify characteristics and technical details that must be met by the products, services, systems and processes that the standards cover. Standards provide uniformity, common specification & architecture across industry. These standards are developed by standardization bodies called as Standards Developing Organization … Continue reading Standardization Bodies in Network Engineering (Part-1 of 2) →

List of major Network Operating Systems (NOS)

Cumulus Linux: is an open source Linux based NOS. It’s used for white box or bare metal or open switches. The Linux distribution used in Cumulus Linux is based on Debian & uses the full TCP/IP stack of Linux. So at its core it’s a Linux OS customised to run as NOS on any x86 … Continue reading List of major Network Operating Systems (NOS) →

The world of “Open” switches

With SDN, there is an increased interest in "Open" switches. The future of open networking lies in these open switches. They provide uniformity in IT ecosystem which makes centralised control and management easier and networks much more automation ready. The initial wave of open switch adoption was triggered by hyper scalers like Facebook and Google. … Continue reading The world of “Open” switches →

Network Automation – Devices Readiness

As we are moving into the future, more & more things around us are getting digitized. We have already entered into the age of IOT (Internet of things) to some extent. This generates massive connectivity requirements which in turn is translating into requirement for bigger, wider and faster networks. Legacy ways of network deployment & … Continue reading Network Automation – Devices Readiness →