Videos Archive - Page 271 of 275

Dr. K. V. S. Ramarao’s presentation at Tech Field Day on March 29, 2012, delved into the evolution of data deduplication solutions and introduced Infineta’s unique approach to the problem. He began by explaining the basic concept of data deduplication, which involves maintaining a dynamic dictionary of previously seen data to avoid redundant transmissions. He traced the history of deduplication algorithms back to the Rabin algorithm from 1981, which addressed the string matching problem by using rolling hashes to efficiently find substrings within larger strings. This method reduced computational complexity but introduced the challenge of false positives, which Rabin mitigated using random irreducible polynomials to minimize the probability of hash collisions.

Ramarao then discussed subsequent advancements in deduplication algorithms, including Manber’s work in 1993 on file similarity and Broder’s application of these ideas to web page similarity in 1997. By 1999, Ross Williams had patented a method that applied these principles to deduplication, focusing on identifying identical parts between similar strings. Traditional deduplication methods, as Ramarao explained, involve partitioning data into chunks and using rolling hashes to find breakpoints, which are then used to identify and eliminate redundant data. However, these methods face significant scalability issues, particularly when dealing with large volumes of data at high speeds, due to the heavy computational and memory demands.

Infineta’s “secret sauce,” as Ramarao described, lies in its innovative approach to deduplication, which avoids the pitfalls of traditional methods. Instead of relying on large, variable-length chunks and sequential processing, Infineta uses a massively parallelizable algorithm that processes fixed-length data segments. This method involves selecting random positions within data packets and comparing small, fixed-size segments to a dictionary, allowing for partial matches and reducing the need for extensive memory and CPU resources. By implementing this in hardware, specifically FPGAs, Infineta achieves high throughput with minimal latency, making it suitable for high-speed data transfer scenarios. This approach not only improves deduplication efficiency but also ensures scalability, addressing the limitations of traditional deduplication solutions.

Infineta Product Overview with Haseeb Budhani, Chief Product Officer

Event: Networking Field Day 3

Appearance: Infineta Presents at Networking Field Day 3

Company: Infineta

Video Links:

Personnel: Haseeb Budhani, Umair Hoodbhoy

Infineta Chief Product Officer, Haseeb Budhani, introduces the company and its products at Networking Field Day 3 (NFD3). Haseeb begins with a quick overview of Infineta and their focus before kicking off a product demo that runs in the background during the following session.

The demo, managed by Umair Hoodbhoy, moves 1.46 TB of data over a simulated 10 Gb WAN with 50 ms RTT. It includes 13 disk volumes, each with 125 GB of real customer data. 12 of these are accelerated with Infineta, and one is unaccelerated. The bypass traffic runs at 11 Mbps while the accelerated, deduplicated traffic hits 6.75 Gbps and is nearly 80% reduced in volume.

Arista Next-Generation Network Management Demo by Andre Pech

Event: Networking Field Day 3

Appearance: Arista Presents at Networking Field Day 3

Company: Arista

Video Links:

Vimeo: Arista Next-Generation Network Management Demo by Andre Pech

Personnel: Andre Pech

Arista’s presentation at Networking Field Day 3, led by Andre Pech, highlights advanced networking solutions focusing on multi-system switch CLI, automation, and extensibility. Arista has emphasized the ease of enabling a single-point management system that does not force customers into specific network architectures or hardware configurations. The demo showcased Arista’s capability to upgrade 50% of a network in approximately five minutes using just two commands, without causing any packet loss. This was coupled with historical event tracking to ensure network visibility and control during the upgrade process.

The demo illustrated the integration of Linux-like capabilities within Arista’s switches, where traditional switch commands can be executed alongside bash commands and Linux utilities. The use of standard tools such as TCP dump and ping for network debugging was demonstrated, highlighting the openness and extensibility of Arista’s network solutions. With VM Tracer, Arista showcased automatic VLAN provisioning for virtual machines based on their dynamic locations, connecting the network’s physical and virtual environments seamlessly. This feature enhances the ease of managing VLANs dynamically, mitigating manual configurations and potential errors.

Additionally, Pech demonstrated Cloud Vision, Arista’s multi-switch CLI, and zero-touch provisioning (ZTP). He explained how ZTP allows for fully automated network upgrades by rebooting switches to a new configuration without manual intervention. The presentation concluded with a discussion on advanced event monitoring, which provides detailed, timestamped logs for network changes, facilitating precise forensic analysis. Arista’s solutions thus focus on simplified management, enhanced automation, and the ability to conduct in-service upgrades with minimized network disruption.

A discussion with Arista’s Andy Bechtolsheim

Event: Networking Field Day 3

Appearance: Arista Presents at Networking Field Day 3

Company: Arista

Video Links:

Vimeo: A discussion with Arista’s Andy Bechtolsheim
YouTube: A discussion with Arista’s Andy Bechtolsheim

Personnel: Andy Bechtolsheim

In a Tech Field Day presentation recorded on March 29, 2012, Arista co-founder Andy Bechtolsheim discussed the current challenges in networking and his approach to solving them. Bechtolsheim emphasized the importance of the EOS model of stateless agents, which keeps all the state in one database, making it easier to update other nodes from the primary node. This model is particularly useful for redundant supervisor switches and can be extended to multi-node systems. He also touched on the topic of OpenFlow, noting that while centralized management of a collection of switches is a common customer use case, replacing traditional routing with centralized routing agents is less practical due to the need for distributed routing to survive failures.

Bechtolsheim provided a critical perspective on the adoption of new networking standards and technologies. He pointed out that despite the initial excitement around OpenFlow, there have been no significant production deployments. He compared this to other standards like TRILL and FCOE, which have seen slow adoption despite being introduced years ago. The main challenge, according to Bechtolsheim, is that most customers have existing networks and are reluctant to adopt new architectures that do not interoperate with their current systems. He argued that the most popular and scalable deployment model today is ECMP (Equal-Cost Multi-Path), which is mature, reliable, and does not require the adoption of new, unproven technologies.

Bechtolsheim also highlighted the importance of centralized management and the role of silicon advancements in networking. He explained that Arista’s approach to centralized management, such as zero-touch provisioning, helps reduce operational expenses by minimizing the need for network engineers. He also discussed the use of various silicon chips from different vendors, emphasizing that Arista’s software stack allows them to choose the best chips available at any given time. This flexibility enables Arista to support new features and higher performance levels without reinventing the network. Bechtolsheim concluded by noting that while software-defined networking (SDN) and programmable network gear are important, the focus should be on solving real customer problems with robust, scalable solutions.

Arista Networks Product Introduction with Douglas Gourlay

Event: Networking Field Day 3

Appearance: Arista Presents at Networking Field Day 3

Company: Arista

Video Links:

Personnel: Douglas Gourlay

Douglas Gourlay, VP of Marketing for Arista Networks, began by talking about the company’s hardware and software architecture and key features and capabilities. He also introduced the new Arista FX platform, which includes an FPGA on the switch.

In his presentation, Gourlay emphasized Arista’s focus on producing high-performance Ethernet switches specifically for data centers, avoiding other markets like campus, metro, or mobile backhaul. He highlighted that many networking vendors often fail by trying to be everything for everyone and emphasized Arista’s unique value proposition lies in its dedication to providing value through innovative features that enhance usability and management, such as the capacity for automation in operations and providing extensible platforms that can be custom-tailored to specific customer needs. Gourlay’s approach distanced itself from marketing fluff, favoring real-world utility and focusing on impactful technology development, such as their programmable capabilities that make network management more efficient and responsive.

The new Arista FX platform was one of the key highlights. This platform integrates an FPGA into the switch, allowing customers to add their own custom features and protocols. This capability is particularly useful for high-frequency trading operations, data centers handling large-scale computational tasks, and organizations needing advanced and specialized data processing. The idea is to provide a flexible, highly configurable hardware environment that can be adapted to handle unique workloads effectively. Gourlay asserted that this kind of adaptability and forward-thinking design is what sets Arista apart in a competitive market where many customers are continuously seeking ways to optimize their network’s performance and reliability.