the application fluent network - delivering a high-quality user
TRANSCRIPT
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W H I T E P A P E R
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The Application Fluent Network Delivering a High-Quality User Experience
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Table of contents
1 The Growing Crisis in the Enterprise Network
1 Real-time Applications Push Legacy Networks to Their Limit 1 Smart Devices Increase the Pressure 1 Virtualization Squeezes the Network from the Inside
2 Application Fluency: A New Approach for Enterprise Networks
3 High-Quality User Experience
3 Lower Network Administration Costs
3 Better Return on Investment (ROI)
3 Building the Application Fluent Network
4 Resilient Architecture
4 Simplified Network
4 Virtualization
5 Transparent Resiliency
5 Embedded Security
6 Streamlined Operations
6 Automatic Provisioning
6 Converged Management
6 Common Operating System
6 Energy Efficient
7 Automatic Control: The Intelligent Network
7 Profile Directed
7 Autosensing
7 Policy Driven
7 Solutions Enabled by the Application Fluent Network
8 Converged IP Network
8 The Data Center
9 Service Aware Networks
10 Managed Access Services
11 Managed Communication Services Networks
11 Application Fluency: The Next Generation of the Enterprise Network
12 Why Alcatel-Lucent?
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The Application Fluent Network | White Paper 1
The Growing Crisis in the Enterprise Network
The corporate network is facing an unprecedented set of challenges today—challenges that threaten itsabilitytomeettherisingexpectationsofitsusers.Atthesametime,thesechallengescreateoppor-tunitiesforbusinessesthatchoosetomeetthemhead-on.ThispaperwillshowhowyourorganizationcanrespondeffectivelytoashiftingITclimatetocreateacompetitiveadvantageanddrivecustomerloyaltywhileminimizingcost.
Butfirst,let’stakealookatsometrendsthatareputtingpressureonthenetworktoday:real-timeap-plications,smartdevices,andvirtualization.
Real-time Applications Push Legacy Networks to Their Limit Deliveringreal-timeapplicationsisatop-of-mindissuetodayforbusinessmanagers.VoiceoverIP(VoIP),video,customerservice,andcollaborationsuitesarefastbecomingessentialtoolsforcorpo-rationstocompeteeffectivelyandstayengagedwithcustomers,employees,partners,andvendors.Thesenext-generationapplicationsrequirelevelsofperformancefromthecorporatenetworkfarbeyond the needs of the typical enterprise application in terms of throughput and latency.
Inresponse,ITdepartmentsmustbuildanetworkthathassufficientresourcestoprovideasatis-factoryexperiencetousersoftheseapplications.Traditionally,theenterprisenetworkhasplayedalimitedroleinoptimizingapplicationdelivery:itsimplytransportedrawinformationfromplacetoplacewithoutregardtotheapplication’sindividualrequirements.Inthisenvironment,architectsde-signedthenetworkwithenoughrawbandwidthtomeetpeakapplicationdeliveryrequirements.Thisapproach—knownasover-provisioning—providedanadequateuserexperience,butisclearlyacostlymodel for network design.
Tocomplicatematters,manyenterprisenetworksarealreadyrunningclosetotheirpracticallimitsintermsofcomplexity,performance,andreliability.Thereasonsarevaried.Insomecases,networksgreworganicallyoveryearsorevendecadeswithlittlestandardizationorcentralcontrol,resultinginincompatiblecomponents,protocols,andmanagementtools.Portionsofthenetworkfrequentlyweremodifiedtomeettheneedsofspecificapplications,addingcomplexityanddrivingupoperatingcosts.Mergersandacquisitionscreatedsilosofincompatibletechnologyexistingside-by-sidewithinasinglenetwork.Thebusinessimpactofthesetrendsissignificant:arigidinfrastructurethatwillnotbeabletodeliveragooduserexperienceforthenewwaveofbusiness-critical,real-timeapplications.
Smart Devices Increase the PressureThestressonthenetworkisonlygoingtoincrease,thankstotherapidadoptionofalways-connecteddevicesbybusinessusers.Inrecentyears,ITdepartmentsstruggledtosupportawiderangeofsmartcommunicationdevicessuchasBlackberries,iPhones,andAndroid-poweredphones.Thenextwaveofsmartdevices—tabletcomputers—isalreadywellunderway,drivenbythephenomenalsuccessoftheAppleiPad.Apple’scompetitorsarerespondingbyintroducingtabletsoftheirown,andbusinessesarefindingnewandinnovativewaystoincorporatetabletsintotheiroperations.
Thesenewrich-mediadevicesdomorethaneatupbandwidth:theymakeitincreasinglydifficultfornetworkmanagerstopredictbandwidthconsumption.Intheabsenceofaclearpictureofnetworktrafficpatterns,thetraditionalpracticeofsettingstaticprioritylevelsforspecificapplicationsnolongerworks.Networkplannersneedafreshapproachtosupportthenewgenerationofconnecteddevices.
Virtualization Squeezes the Network from the Inside Unliketheprevioustwotrends—real-timeapplicationsandsmartdevices—virtualizationisaninter-nallygeneratedpressure.However,itsimpactonthecorporatenetworkcanbejustasdramatic.Toincreaseagilityandreducecosts,corporationsarevirtualizingservers,storage,andnetworksinever-largernumbers.Therelentlesspushtovirtualizethedatacenter,includingthegrowinguseofcloud-basedservices,increasesbaselinenetworktrafficdramatically—andrewritestherulesofnetworkdesign and operation.
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The Application Fluent Network | White Paper2
Virtualizationisalsomovingbeyondthedatacenter.ITgroupsaredeployingnetworkappliancestodeliverspecializedservicessuchasintrusionprotectionandtrafficmanagement.Virtualizeddesktopsare gaining in popularity due to their reduced support costs and better security. These and other ap-plicationsofvirtualizationwillcreateadditionaldemandforrawbandwidthandrequirethenetworktoautomaticallyreacttotheneedsofvirtualizedsystems—somethinglegacynetworkswereneverdesigned to accommodate.
Forthefirsttimeinhistory,thedemandforbandwidthwillexceedtheeconomicalcapacityofthenextgenerationofnetworkswitchingequipment.Thetime-testedsolutionofaddingmoreandmorerawbandwidthwillnotwork.What’sneededisanewresilientnetworkarchitecturethatminimizeslatencybyallocatingbandwidthselectivelytospecificapplications,ensuringahigh-qualityuserexperienceforreal-timeapplications.Thisnetworkalsoneedstobefareasiertomanageandmain-tainthanlegacynetworks,freeingITstafffromtheday-to-daystruggletodeliveracceptablelevelsofapplication performance to users.
Application Fluency: A New Approach for Enterprise Networks
Applicationfluencyrepresentsauniqueapproachtoenterprisenetworking.InAlcatel-Lucent’sview,theapplicationfluentnetworkpossessesbroadknowledgeofbothnetworkdevicesandtheapplica-tionstowhichtheyareconnecting.Mostimportantly,theapplicationfluentnetworkunderstandsthecontextoftheconversationbetweendeviceandapplication—andmakesdecisionsbasedonthatunderstanding.
Alcatel-Lucent’s application fluent network is based upon a resilient architecture with streamlined operations and automatic control as shown in Figure 1.
Resilient Architecture:Asimplified,singleIPnetworkwithbuilt-insecurity.Streamlined Operations:Reducedcomplexitythroughautomatedprovisioningandintegratedtroubleshooting tools.Automatic Control:High-quality,real-timeapplicationdeliverywithuniquedynamictuningofnetwork performance.
Theapplicationfluentnetworkbringssignificantbenefitstotheenterpriseincludingahigh-qualityuserexperience,lowernetworkadministrationcosts,andabetterreturnoninvestment(ROI).
Architecture
OperationsControl
Figure 1. The Application Fluent Network
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The Application Fluent Network | White Paper 3
High-Quality User ExperienceTheapplicationfluentnetworkallowsnetworkmanagerstoofferahigh-qualityuserexperiencewithcontrolsthatautomaticallyensureservicelevels,avoidpacketloss,andprovidesecuritysuchas:
•Dynamic tuning of network performance. The application fluent network automatically adapts to maintainservicelevelsforindividualconversationsbaseduponcontextandbusinesspriorities.
• Automatic recovery from switch and link faults.Theapplicationfluentnetworkrecoversrapidlyfromsingleswitchfabricandlinkfailures,avoidinganyperceptibleserviceinterruptions,evenforvoiceandvideo.
• Embedded security. Security features in the application fluent network operate transparently to protectusersandtheirconversationsfromthreats.
Lower Network Administration CostsTheapplicationfluentnetworkeasestheburdenonITstaffwithbuilt-infeaturesforautomatedpro-visioningandintegratedmanagementofthenetworkincluding:
• Low-touchoperations.Theapplicationfluentnetworkmanagesprovisioningofedgeswitches,wire-lessaccesspoints,andendpointswithminimalskilledhumanintervention.Theuseofnetworkpoliciesensuresconsistentconfigurationsacrosstheentirenetwork,reducingtimespenttweakingtheconfigurationofindividualcomponents.
• Convergedmanagement.Intheapplicationfluentnetwork,aconsolidatedmanagementtoolpro-videsasinglepaneofglassformonitoringandmanagingthenetwork.Italsoallowsadministratorstomanagethenetworkinfrastructureasasinglefabricratherthanindividualcomponents.ITstaffspendlesstimeswitchingbetweenprogramsandscreens,andmoretimeonproductivework.
Better Return on Investment (ROI)Theapplicationfluentnetworkbothminimizestheinitialcapitalinvestmentandlowersoperationalcosts,whichallowstheenterprisetorecoupitsinvestmentfasterthrough:
• Flatternetworkarchitecture.Byeliminatinganentirenetworklayer,theapplicationfluentnetworkreducesthenumberofswitches,links,andothercostlynetworkcomponents.
• Networkvirtualization.Theapplicationfluentnetworkvirtualizesbothswitchesandlinks,result-inginoptimizedutilization,lowercapitalrequirements,andhigherROI.
• Greendesign.Thenewgenerationofenergy-efficienthighdensityswitchesusedintheapplicationfluentnetworkreducesexpensesforspace,power,andcooling.
Building the Application Fluent Network
Theapplicationfluentnetworkisidentifiedbyanumberofkeypropertiesthatarerequiredtodeliverthedesireduserexperience:architecture,adaptability,andmanagement;thisisshowninFigure2and described in more detail below.
ResilientArchitecture
Simplified Network• Port Density• Switch Capacity
Vitulization• Chassis & Link
Transparent Resiliency• Repid Recovery
• Ethernet Ring
Embedded Security• Identity Driven• ACL Controlled
Automatic Control
StreamlinedOperations
Profile Directed• Fine Grained QoS• VLAN & ACL’s
Auto-Sensing• User & Endpoint• Service Level
Policy Driven• Profile Assignment• QoS Adjustment
Automated Provisioning• Edge Switch• Endpoints
Converged Management• Voice & Data• App Visibility• Troubleshooting
Common Switch OS
Low Power• 40-70% Reduction
Alcatel-Lucent’s Application Fluent Network
Figure 2. Key properties of the application fluent network
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The Application Fluent Network | White Paper4
Resilient Architecture
Thearchitectureofanapplicationfluentnetworkcanreducecomplexity,cutcosts,andprovideuserswithabetterexperience.Thesebenefitsareenabledby:
• Alow-latencynetworkdeliveredviaasimplifiedarchitecture
• Anoptimizedutilizationofswitchandlinksachievedbyvirtualization
• Aresilientnetworkenabledbyminimizedre-convergencetimes
• Theremovalofsecuritycomplexity
Intheremainderofthissectionwewillexploreeachoftheseaspectsofanapplicationfluentnetworkin more detail.
Simplified NetworkTheapplicationfluentnetworkeliminatestheaggregationlayer,resultinginatwo-tierednetworkthatsupportsvoice,video,data,andstorageonasinglenetwork(seeFigure3).Theswitchesusedintheapplicationfluentnetworkpermittheremovaloftheaggregationlayerbecausetheyfeaturewire-rateandnon-blockingcapacityaswellasahighportdensity,alongwiththeabilitytoprovideLayer3switchingfunctionalityinaLayer2network.Theremovaloftheaggregationlayerisalsokeytoachievingalowerlatencynetwork.
VirtualizationByvirtualizingswitchmanagementandnetworklinks,theapplicationfluentnetworkoptimizesresourceutilization,reducesoperationalcomplexity,andincreasesscalability.Thevirtualizationofbothswitchmanagementandnetworklinks,referredtoasmulti-chassislinkaggregation(MC-LAG),is central to allowing the new two-layer architecture of an application fluent network to operate as a Layer3networkwithoutrequiringtheuseofthespanningtreeprotocol(seeFigure4).
Core
Distribution
Access
Core Layer
Access Layer
Traditional Three-Tiered Network
Simplified Two-Tiered Network
Figure 3. Flattening the enterprise network
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The Application Fluent Network | White Paper 5
Transparent Resiliency Real-timeapplicationsrequirelowlatencyandhighavailability,whichcanbecompromisedbyhardwareproblems.Theapplicationfluentnetworkrecoversrapidlyfromcomponentfailure—withoutimpactingapplicationtraffic.Ofcourse,allnetworkswitcheshaveredundantpowersupplies,fans,management,andfabric.EthernetRingProtection(ERP)alsoensuresquickre-convergencetimeincaseofswitchorlinkfailure(seeFigure5)forgeographicallydistributednetworks.
Embedded Security Becauseeveryenterprisehasuniquesecurityrequirements,theapplicationfluentnetworkincludesarobustsetofembeddedsecurityfeatures.Built-innetworkaccesscontrol(NAC)andintrusiondetec-tionandprevention(IDP)offeradditionallayersofprotectionthatsupplementexistingendpointandserversecuritysolutions.LANsecurityisbasedonMACaddress,notswitchport,providingspecificendpointanduserpolicyenforcement.PostadmissioncontrolisbaseduponAccessControlListsnotsimplyVLANassignment,providingfine-grainedcontrols.Networkswitchesfeatureoverloadprotec-tiontopreventfailureduetoDenialofService(DOS)attacks.IntrusionpreventionfortheWLANguards against rogue access points and hacker attacks.
MC-LAG LAG
MC-LAG
LAG
MC-LAG
LAG
LAGSTPBlocked
MC-LAG and LAG Spanning Tree Protocol and LAG
MC-LAG increases switching bandwidthMC-LAG allows dual-homingMC-LAG change only impacts link
STP blocks linksSTP does not allow dual-homingSTP change impacts whole network
Figure 4. MC-LAG verus spanning tree protocol
Figure 5. Ethernet Ring Protection (ERP)
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The Application Fluent Network | White Paper6
Streamlined Operations
• TorelievetheburdenonITstaffsandreduceoperationalcosts,theapplicationfluent networkfocusesonseveralessentialneeds:Providingautomationwhereverpossible,such aswithprovisioning
• Consolidatingmanagementtools
• Ensuringoperationalconsistencybetweenswitchfeatures
• Designingequipmenttominimizepowerconsumption
Intheremainderofthissectionweexploreeachoftheseneedsinmoredetail.
Automatic Provisioning Theapplicationfluentnetworkincludesautomaticsetupcapabilitiesforswitches,wirelessaccesspoints,andendpoints.Whenanaccesslayerswitchisaddedtotheapplicationfluentnetwork,itdownloads the right configuration through the network. The switch becomes a functioning member ofthenetworkwithminimalhumanintervention.Inasimilarway,WLANcontrollersautomaticallydownloadconfigurationinformationtonewlyconnectedwirelessaccesspoints,integratingthemintotheexistingwirelessnetworkinfrastructure.SpecializeddevicessuchasVoIPhandsetsareautomati-callyrecognizedandconfiguredaswell.
Converged ManagementAcommoncomplaintbyITadministratorsistheproliferationoftoolsformonitoringandmanagingthenetworkinfrastructure.Theapplicationfluentnetworkhelpsrelievethisproblemby:
• Consolidatingmanynetworkmanagementfunctionsintoasinglemanagementtool.ITstaffcanaccessthissystemremotely,allowingthemtomonitorandcontrolthenetworkfromanylocation,at any time.
• Enablingmanagementofthenetworkinfrastructureasvirtualizedsegments,(forexample,allswitchesononefloorofabuildingwouldbetreatedasonevirtualizedcomplex),ratherthanasindividualnetworkelements.Includingapplicationtrafficmonitoringtoolsallowingnetworkoperatorstocollectstatisticssuchasloss,jitter,latency,responsetime,andpacketloss.
• Offeringthecapabilityofintegratingthird-partytools. Common Operating System Multiple operating systems in a network can lead to spiraling training costs and operational ineffi-ciencies.Intheapplicationfluentnetwork,asingleoperatingsystempowersallswitchesandrouters,which allows administrators to manage the network using common tools. Technicians no longer needtorefertoacomplexmatrixtodeterminehardwareandsoftwarecompatibilitywheninstallingpatches and upgrades to network components. Energy Efficient Moreandmoreenterprisesaremovingtogreennetworksasacost-savingmeasureaswellasacorpo-rateresponsibilitymandate.Theapplicationfluentnetworkminimizespowerconsumptionthroughtheselectionofnetworkcomponentsdesignedforenergyefficiency.Asamajorcontributortonetworkpowerconsumption,allswitchesintheapplicationfluentnetworkhavemarket-leadinglowpower consumption characteristics.
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The Application Fluent Network | White Paper 7
Automatic Control: The Intelligent Network
Ensuringahigh-qualityuserexperiencerequirestheabilitytoadjustkeynetworkparametersinrealtime.Thisabilitytomakedynamicadjustmentsrequiresthefollowing:•Knowledgeaboutendpointsandusersdeclaredinprofiles
• Theabilitytomonitoractualservicelevelsprovided
• Policiestodeterminewhenandhowtoadjustnetworkparameters
Theapplicationfluentnetworkrecognizesendpointsautomaticallyandassignsprofilesthatregulateaccessandbandwidthusage.Thenetworkisthencontinuouslymonitored,withpoliciesinformingtheupdateofkeynetworkparametersthataffecttheuserexperiencewhenneeded.Eachrequirementisexploredinmoredetailbelow.
Profile Directed ProfilesembeddedwithinthenetworkcontaininformationabouttherequirementsforQoSandsecurityforconversationsthatwillbecarriedbythenetwork.Intheapplicationfluentnetwork,profilesforusers,endpoints,andapplicationsaregloballydefinedandembeddedinthenetworkswitches.TheseprofilesspecifyQoSandsecurityrequirements.TheprofilealsoindicatesappropriateVLANassignment.
AutosensingAutosensingallowstheapplicationfluentnetworktotreatindividualconversationswithinthenet-workasfollows:
• Assigninitialallocationofnetworkresourcesbaseduponpriority.Aseachuserandendpointaccessestheapplicationfluentnetwork,itisautomaticallyrecognized—regardlessoflocation—andassigned the right profile.
• Dynamicallyadjusttreatmentoftrafficforaparticularconversationwhentherequiredservicelevelisnotbeingmet.Bymonitoringnetworkstatuseventstheapplicationfluentnetworkcandeter-minetheservicelevelandtakecorrectiveaction.
Policy DrivenA policy engine and rule set embedded in the application fluent network determines which actions to takefornetworkeventssuchas:
• Anendpoint,user,orapplicationrequestingaccesstothenetwork
• Aconversationthatisnotexperiencinganappropriatelevelofservice
• Amoverequestforavirtualmachineinthedatacenter
Solutions Enabled by the Application Fluent Network
The application fluent network is suitable for the most demanding deployments in the enterprise and serviceprovidernetworks.Typicaltargetdeploymentsfortheapplicationfluentnetworkinclude:
• ConvergedIPnetworks
• Thedatacenter
• Service-awarenetworks
• Managedaccessservices
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The Application Fluent Network | White Paper8
Eachoftheseexamplesisdescribedinmoredetailbelow.
Converged IP NetworkAsdiscussedearlier,enterprisestodaymustdeliverreal-timeapplicationswithguaranteedqualityandreliability.Theemergenceofnewrich-mediadeviceschallengesthebusinesstokeepupwiththede-mandsoftheircustomers.Whencoupledwiththeshifttocloudcomputingandvirtualization,thesenewpressuresforcetheenterprisetoviewtheinfrastructureasasetofutility-basedservicesthatmustworkinharmonywiththeirapplications.Importantrequirementsfortheseenterprisesinclude:
• Integratedwiredandwirelesscapabilities
• Mobilitywithinthecampusandremotelocations/workers
• Anetworkthatadaptsandrecognizesnewapplicationssuchasvideoconferencingsuites,onlinecollaboration,andnewdevicessuchastheiPad
• Integratedsecurityandconsolidatedmanagementcapabilities
Figure6showsatypicalconvergedIPnetworkbasedontheapplicationfluentnetwork.Itincludesasimplifiedtwo-tierLANarchitecturewithintegratedmobilityandsecurity.Integratedmonitoringandtroubleshootingtoolsprovideend-to-endmonitoringofapplications.Thenetworkcanadaptservicelevelsautomatically,easingtheburdenonITstafftoensuretheuserapplicationexperienceiswithinacceptablelimits.Allusers,whetherlocatedatcorporateheadquarters,abranchorhomeoffice,orontheroadhavesecureaccesstoacommonsetofbusinessapplicationsandnetworkservices.
The Data CenterThedatacenterisundergoingtransformationdrivenbytheneedtoreducecostsandimproveagility.Atthecoreofthistransformationistheconsolidationofserversinthedatacentertoreduceequip-ment,space,cooling,andenergycosts—allmadepossiblebyservervirtualizationtechnology.Contin-uedtransformationinthedatacenterisexpectedwiththeeventualconvergenceofdataandstoragenetworks.Thisconsolidationisdrivingarefreshoftheswitchingfabricinthedatacenterwiththefollowingrequirements:
• Simplifiednetworkdeliveringresilient,lowlatency,andlowpowerswitching
• Efficientdeliveryofintra-servertrafficaswellasclient-servertraffic
• Networksupportforautomaticmovementofvirtualapplicationsbetweenservers
• TheabilitytocarrybothdataandstorageinformationoverEthernetnetworks
• Disasterrecoverybetweendatacentersites
Figure 6. Converged IP Network
Core
Access
Home Office
BranchOffice
WAN
Mobility Security Management
Applications
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The Application Fluent Network | White Paper 9
Withinthedatacenter,asshowninFigure7,anapplicationfluentnetworkprovidesatwo-tierresilientandlowlatencynetworkarchitecturethatsupportsservervirtualizationwithautomatedvirtualmachinemigration.ItalsoprovidesforconvergenceofdataandstoragenetworksontoasinglelosslessEthernetnetwork.IntegratingtheapplicationvirtualizationmanagementwiththenetworkenablestheabilitytomovevirtualmachinesacrosstheWAN,providingfordisasterrecoveryandload balancing between data center sites.
Service Aware NetworksService-awarenetworksextendthecorporateLANacrossaprivateWANandaretypicallydeployedbyorganizationsthathavespecificrequirementsforreliable,high-qualityservicedeliveryinruggedenvironmentswheresecuritycannotbecompromise—forexample,inutilities,transportation,andpublicsafetyorganizations.Theseorganizationsareunderpressuretodeliveradditionalserviceswhilereducingcosts,whichoftenrequiressignificantmodernizationoftheexistinginfrastructure.Impor-tantrequirementsfortheseorganizationsinclude:
• Ahighlyscalableandreliablenetwork–includingtheabilitytooperateinharshenvironments
• Integratedsecuritythatprotectsthenetworkfromattackandpreventsunauthorizedaccess
• Guaranteedservicelevelsforspecifictrafficbaseduponbusinesspriorities
• End-toendmanagementandvisibilityontheservicelevelsactuallydelivered
Storage
VitalSuites Rock MountServers
BladeServers
ServersStorage
Data CenterConnect
Data CenterSwitching
Core Switch
Top of Rack
ServiceRouter
VirtualMachines
Security
OV2500
Management
MPLS
Figure 7. The Data Center
Node RedundancyIP/MPISBackbone
HardenedDevices
MC-LAG MPLS/VPLS DualHomed
ERP
End to End Management
Access SwitchesCore SwitchesCore Switches
Service Routers
Service Routers
Access Switches
Figure 8. Service Aware Network
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The Application Fluent Network | White Paper10
Theend-to-endapplicationdeliveryrequirementsofserviceawarenetworksdemandanMPLSback-boneasshowninFigure8.ApplicationfluencyisachievedinthisnetworkwiththeimplementationofVirtualOutputQueuing(VOQ)toensurehigh-qualityapplicationdeliverybyaddingcarrier-classQoStotheMPLSbackbone.Additionalimportantelementsincludecarrier-classreliabilityfeaturessuchasmulti-chassislinkaggregation,Ethernetringprotectionanddual-homedlinkaggregation.Forharshenvironments,devicesthatcanoperateathightemperatureswithoutrequiringafanforcool-ingareamust.Managementisprovidedend-to-endacrossalldevicesdeployedinthesolutionwithacommonmanagementplatformforvisibilityandtroubleshooting.
Managed Access ServicesEnterprisesthatrelyonaservice-providerWANtodeliverhigh-qualityapplicationsarenolongersat-isfiedwithsimplepacketdelivery:theyaredemandingthatproviderscommittoalevelofserviceforthesecriticalapplications.Tomeetthisneed,serviceprovidersneedtoextendtheQoScontrolfromtheircorenetworkallthewaytotheenterpriseedge.TheymustalsomanageQoStothedemarcationpoint at the customer premises.
Figure9showsatypicalmanagedaccessservicenetworkbasedontheapplicationfluentnetwork.Thekeyarchitecturalfeaturesinclude:
• IP/MPLSinfrastructureforametronetwork
• Supportforbusiness,residential,andmobileusers
• AnEthernetaccesslayerinadditiontoEthernetVPN,xDSL,andGPON
• Visibility,monitoring,andtroubleshootingcapabilitieswithonemanagementplatform
• Seamlessintegrationwiththecarrierinfrastructuretoprovideend-to-endvisibility ofapplicationdelivery
• Abilitytotroubleshootavailablecircuitswithcarrier-basedtoolsthatmonitor theavailability,reliability,andend-userexperience
• Plug-and-playcapabilitiestoreducecomplexityanddeploymenttime
Service Edge Service Aggregation Service Access CPE, CLE & Cellsite
Inbuilding
Wireless
DSL, GPON
Home, GW
EthernetVPN
IP VPN
MPLS
Access Node
BUSINESS
RESIDENTIAL
MOBILE
Medium andLarge Enterprise
SmallEnterprise
AggregationRouters
EdgeRouters
Figure 9. Managed Access Service Networks
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The Application Fluent Network | White Paper 11
Managed Communication Services NetworksMoreandmoresmallenterprisesarelookingtoserviceprovidersforacompleteall-in-onecommuni-cationssolutionthatincludesvoice,data(wiredandwireless),collaborationtools,andvideo.Tomeetthesecustomerexpectations,serviceprovidersmustensureend-to-endQoSfromthehostedapplica-tion platforms to the endpoints at the customer’s site.
Figure10showsatypicalmanagedcommunicationservicesnetworkbasedontheapplicationfluentnetwork.Thekeyarchitecturalfeaturesinclude:
• Anall-in-oneconvergedbusinessaccessgatewaythatenablesmigrationfromlegacyvoice telephonytoSIP,andincludesredundancybyconnectingtoanall-IPnetworkwhilefailing back to the PSTN network.
• QoSthatextendstosmallbusinesseswithcarrier-classvisibilityandmonitoring.
• Managedservicereadinessandintegrationthatallowsthesolutiontobedeployedanywhereandanytime as a plug-and-play solution.
Application Fluency: The Next Generation of the Enterprise Network
Thedemandingrequirementsofrichmediaapplicationsandvirtualizationwithintheenterprisecombinedwiththelimitationsoflegacynetworksareforcingenterprisestolookforinnovativewaystoimproveapplicationperformancewhileminimizingoperatingcostsandcapitalinvestment.Theapplication fluent network as defined by Alcatel-Lucent promises to transform the way enterprises deliverapplicationsthroughoutanorganization’sglobaloperations.Itfeaturesaresilientarchitecture,streamlinedoperations,andautomaticcontrol,whichtogethermeetthechallengesfacingenterpriseITgroupstoday.Withtangiblebenefitssuchasahigh-qualityuserexperience,reduceddemandsonITstaff,andafastertimetoROI,theapplicationfluentnetworkrepresentsmarketleadinginnova-tioninnetworkdesignandoperation—onethatAlcatel-Lucentisuniquelyqualifiedtolead.
PC w/ SIP Client
IP Phones Ethernet WAN
DSLLocal Call*
Analog phones and FaxSMB/Branch
ISP OA&M
ISP
PSTN
Wi-fi phones
SIP Servers
ISDN Phones
SMB
ISDN BRI
ISDN BRI
ISDN BRI or PRI or FXS
ISDN BRI/PRI(E1 or T1)*
Provisioning
SCM, ACS, AAA, NTP,SSH/HTTPS client
LAN
End to End Management
Figure 10. Managed Communication Service Networks
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www.alcatel-lucent.com Alcatel, Lucent, Alcatel-Lucent and the Alcatel-Lucent logo are trademarks of Alcatel-Lucent. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. The information presented is subject to change without notice. Alcatel-Lucent assumes no responsibility for inaccuracies contained herein. Copyright © 2011 Alcatel-Lucent. All rights reserved. EMG5246110102
Why Alcatel-Lucent?
Alcatel-Lucent is taking the lead in the industry’s migration to the application fluent network. Why is Alcatel-Lucent the best choice for building the application fluent network?
• Unlikecompetitors,weofferdisaggregatedsolutionsthatprovidechoiceandallowthe enterprisetotailoritsnetworkarchitecturetoindividualbusinessrequirements.
• Ourcommitmenttoanopennetworkinfrastructureenablesamultivendorstrategyby:
oProvidingrichinterfacesintotheswitchinginfrastructure
o Supporting industry standards
o Accommodating third-party management tools
• Ourprofessionalservicesareavailabletoassistourbusinesspartnerswithspecializedknowledgewhenneeded.Ourconsultantsaretrainedinawiderangeoftechnologiesandplatforms,allowingthemtosupporteffectivelycomplex,multivendornetworkinstallations.
• Alcatel-Lucent’ssystematicmultivendorapproachmaximizesexistinginvestments.
• Ourexpandingecosystemaugmentsthevaluedeliveredtothecustomer.