At a recent discussion with delegates at Networking Field Day, Tom Hollingsworth wondered why SD-WAN startups have been able to be so aggressive with innovating in the space, while established networking companies have struggled to keep up. This is endemic of the technical debt a lot of larger organizations carry. He considers something like Cisco’s IWAN, in many ways a precursor to modern SD-WAN. This ended up being complicated and hard to deploy because of many of the technology decisions that Cisco made years ago, resulting in both a software and hardware supply chain constraints on IWAN. Compare this to a startup, like the recent Networking Field Day presenter CloudGenix, who could design a solution around a desired functionality, rather than with a set of constraints inherited as technical debt. This SD-WAN example is just one way of looking at the role of technical debt in product development for large organizations.
Building a Software Defined Cloud Network With CloudGenix
In this case, Phil Gervasi makes the case that while a lot of SD-WAN conversations still position the solution as an emerging technology, that’s no longer the case. He argues that with clear uses cases having emerged, it is now a maturing technology, and that the differentiator for a lot of providers comes down to cloud connectivity. SD-WAN is less about cost saving and load balancing, and more about connecting to cloud resources and SaaaS apps easier, more secure, and with a better user experience. At Networking Field Day, he heard from CloudGenix, which offers an SD-WAN solution that’s almost completely cloud focused, based on software running on commodity equipment. Rather than an appliance-in-a-box approach, they do this to offer a SD-WAN fabric with hooks into a wide array of cloud-based SaaS and IaaS solutions.
Autonomous SD-WAN by CloudGenix- My Analysis
Faisal Khan attended his first Networking Field Day event in four years, and got up to date with CloudGenix’s autonomous SD-WAN solution. There’s no dearth of companies competing in the SD-WAN market, so Faisal was curious how they would differentiate. What caught his eye was their application-centric paradigm using a single edge appliance. This offers real-time analytics without the need for cloud-based controllers or a cloud analytics engine. Overall Faisal sees CloudGenix appealing to service providers or customers needing an efficient solution on the edge.
CloudGenix to Share Best Practices for Creating Modern, Cloud-Delivered Branch Office Infrastructure at Networking Field Day 22 on Feb. 12
We really enjoyed having CloudGenix present at Networking Field Day at our most recent event. They discussed their approach to deploying SD-WAN with the delegates. Their customers have often tried SD-WAN deployments in the past, but CloudGenix discussed how they are able to offer true cloud-scale without being encumbered by legacy networking approaches. If you missed the live stream of their presentation, you can always catch it later on our YouTube channel. We keep a full catalog of all our presenters available to watch on-demand.
Cloud and Network Automation at Networking Field Day 22
Rowell Dionicio has been a delegate at a number of Field Day events, previously coming to Mobility Field Day and our newest event, Security Field Day. But this time around will be his first time at Networking Field Day, and we’re excited to hear what he thinks of the experience. Rowell has really enjoyed not just the technical content offered by Field Day, but the ability to directly connect with the presenters and fellow delegates. These are the kind of connections that help make Field Day a unique industry experience. Check out the post for his preview of the presenters at the event.
Sorting Through SD-WAN
The SD-WAN landscape can be a little tough to navigate. While the basic idea is easy enough to understand, every company out there seems to have their own implementation and market focus. Tom Hollingsworth thinks the moment of SD-WAN maturity is finally upon us. If anything, Tom thinks there might not be any more room for differentiation for new companies. Overall though, the space is really exciting, as it can only get easier to deploy and extend. 2017 may indeed be the year of SD-WAN!
SD-WAN Leader CloudGenix Showcases the Transformation of IT and Networking Infrastructure at ONUG Fall 2015 and Tech Field Day
SD-WAN Leader CloudGenix Showcases the Transformation of IT and Networking Infrastructure at ONUG Fall 2015 and Tech Field Day
Questions I’m Asking Myself About SD-WAN Solutions
Questions I’m Asking Myself About SD-WAN Solutions
Networking Field Day 9 First look: Generation-SDN -Part 1
Networking Field Day 9 First look: Generation-SDN -Part 1
