the application fluent network - delivering a high-quality user
TRANSCRIPT
W H I T E P A P E R
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The Application Fluent Network Delivering a High-Quality User Experience
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?
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.
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
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
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
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)
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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.