Network operators have a lot on their plates today.
They need to support a variety of existing and new services and applications. And those different applications and services – and the people who use them – may need variable treatment.
Over-the-top applications are popular and media-rich applications are growing. That makes things more unpredictable for network operations teams. So they don’t always know what to expect as far as traffic volume.
At the same time, the Internet of Things is taking off. That means networks need to contend with a growing number of devices.
And the variety of IoT devices is huge. It includes everything from fitness bands to oil rig sensors and medical devices, and more.
So enterprise and service provider networks need to be able to:
• bring new users and devices onto the network quickly and efficiently;
• contend with the expanding distribution of network operations prompted by the adoption of containers, microservices, and virtualization;
• scale their networks and resources up and down based on real-time requirements;
• support a wide variety of applications, devices, end users, and services;
• secure all of the above; and
• try to control their costs!
Automation is part of the answer to allow for that. But some networking experts are now emphasizing that automation alone isn’t enough.
Their point is that you need a full understanding of what’s happening to allow for automation in a way that makes sense. So you also need to aggregate and analyze data so you can adapt, configure, and maintain networks as new situations arise.
Adaptive networks are the answer.
These networks employ artificial intelligences machine learning, and software analytics to allow for intent-based automation that can address the dynamic nature of networks and the applications they support. That way network operators can ensure automation makes networks more responsive – instead of locking them into specific actions that don’t address current or developing situations.
We’ll be discussing this and many of the other benefits, challenges, and imperatives of adaptive and intent-based networking at an exciting new TMC (News - Alert) event Jan. 30-Feb. 1 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
We welcome you to participate in this new event – called the Adaptive & Intent-Based Networking Expo. To register, click here.
Edited by Maurice Nagle