mission-critical deliver onall its complicated than ... · the dcms said this would be funded from...

Qualifying SMEs can access the grantsby calling the supplier, and without evenfilling in an application form. SMEs in theeligible cities that already have a quote, ora potential supplier who is not offering apre-registered package, can get their quoteapproved for subsidy before confirmingtheir orders at the new www.connectionvouchers.co.uk website.

The government has also announced a£2m advertising campaign to boost thescheme. The DCMS said this would befunded from the existing SuperConnectedCities budget and was �“not new money�”.

In one of the most successful uses of thesubsidy, former DCMS consultant MikeKiely aggregated the vouchers�’ buyingpower for 30 businesses in Shoreditch tobuy a 100Mbps fibre line from FibreOptions. Installation costs of £89,281 werecovered by the grant. Members of theIndependent Networks CooperativeAssociation are now using Kiely�’s model toapproach business parks elsewhere.

(continued on page 2)

by Ian Grant

Coming together now?Is UC finally ready todeliver on all itspromises for UKbusiness?Feature, pp10-13!

The government is revamping its offer offree vouchers worth £3,000 to getbusinesses in 22 cities onto a high-speedbroadband connection after fewer than3,000 SMEs claimed just £7.5m of the£150m on offer (see table, right).

The poor response appears to be at oddswith a finding by the Federation of SmallBusiness that the available networks are not�“fit for purpose�” in meeting the commercialneeds of SMEs (see News, Jul/Aug issue).

The SuperConnected Cities voucherscheme (see feature, Jun issue) no longercovers just the direct capital cost of theconnection but also running costs. TheDepartment of Culture, Media and Sport(DCMS) said suppliers are free to use thecash to create a free or discountedproduct. �“The key commercial principle is

[that] the value of the vouchercontribution must be passed on in full tothe SME,�” said a spokesperson.

Around 530 suppliers are registered onthe SuperConnected Cities vouchersscheme which ends in March 2015. Underthe revisions, they can cut the cost of thebroadband connections they provide toSMEs by pre-registering their deals with the government. Suppliers mustagree eligible connection costs andbroadband performance characteristics,including the agreed voucher contributionin each package.

�“Once pre-registered, suppliers are ableto market these packages direct to SMEsin eligible postcodes and can pass on thebenefit of the voucher contribution,�” saidthe DCMS spokesperson.

www.networkingplus.co.uk O C T O B E R 2 0 1 4

Interoute makes a stand againstDC industry’s “£70m patch tax”

Ryder Cup successBoston Networks helps create “most technically advanced”golf eventNews, p4!

Safe and secureMission-critical networks for MoD &emergency servicesReal World Networks,p8!

Interoute has announced that customersusing its European data centres will not besubjected to the standard industry practiceof recurring colocation patch costs.

The company reckons UK businessescurrently spend between £70 and £100million a year on recurring patch charges.Its calculation is based on CBRE�’s marketdata for Q1 2014, and estimated figures of2.45m2 per rack, 1.2 patches per rack, andan average £24 monthly charge per patch.

Interoute�’s service provider VP JonathanWright says: �“There are many legitimateexpenses involved in managing a high-quality data centre, but charging a monthlyfee for a piece of cable that nobody touches

or moves is not one of them.�”Interoute says that from now on,

customers using any of its 11 data centresor 31 colocation facilities will only have topay a one-off setup fee for any connectingpatch, regardless of the length of contract.

The company has just opened its newLondon City data centre which forms partof a chain of distributed centres acrossEurope that are connected by its pan-continental fibre optic network.

�“We�’ve taken the launch of the InterouteLondon City Data centre as an opportunityto tear up the rules on patch pricing so wecan deliver even better value for ourcustomers,�” claims Wright. "

F I X E D & W I R E L E S S N E T W O R K S F O R E N T E R P R I S E U S E R S

Revamp for SuperConnectedscheme following poor take-up

The number of SMEs in each city that hadsigned up for the SuperConnected vouchers

scheme as at 17 September 2014.SOURCE: WWW.CONNECTIONVOUCHERS.CO.UK

Sophisticated switchesWith networks morecomplicated than ever, switches need to be up to the taskOff-the-shelf, p14!

CITY SMEs

Aberdeen 10

Belfast 297

Birmingham 120

Brighton 28

Bristol 20

Cambridge 38

Cardiff 156

Coventry 90

Derby 23

Londonderry/Derry 25

Edinburgh 86

Leeds & Bradford 464

London 981

Manchester & Salford 468

Newcastle 48

Newport 17

Oxford 18

Perth 1

Portsmouth 9

York 38

TOTAL 2,937

Net+ 1410 p1 (cover) NEW.qxd 6/10/14 15:47

news

2

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University chooses HP for 2,000 port SDN project

nn ee tt ww oo rr kk ii nngg october 2014

Lancaster University is working with HP ina bid to create a high-quality environmentin which to teach and research SDNprinciples and applications.

The university�’s School of Computingand Communications has installed anOpenFlow network that features 40-switches and 2,000-ports at its InfoLab 21building.

Extending work commissioned under theEC project, �‘OpenFlow in Europe: LinkingInfrastructure and Applications�’ (OFELIA),researchers have already used the networkto develop and test OpenCache, an SDN-based video broadcast application thatimproves the availability of video content

for the end user. The app, which couldeventually be available through HP�’srapidly expanding SDN App Store, usesOpenFlow to support the transparentcaching of large media objects in a WAN,and increase resilience by choosing cachesbased on availability as well as proximity.

The school is also evaluating HP�’s newSDN network protector application. Thisuses security intelligence from theTippingPoint RepDV Labs database toprovide real-time threat visibility againstmore than a million botnets, malware andspyware, as well as automation and controlof network connectivity, typically inBYOD applications.

This effectively turns the entirenetwork infrastructure into security-enforcement devices, one of the originalgoals of SDN originator Martin Cascado.

Dr Nick Race, senior lecturer at theschool, says SDN had become a core partof research work in the past three years.

�“The OpenFlow-based SDN technologyallows researchers to experiment on a testnetwork, and to precisely and dynamicallycontrol and extend the network itself. Itformed the basis of our original work onthe OFELIA project, and has since openedthe door for other strategic SDN researchprojects, including network functionsvirtualisation.�” !

(continued from page 1)The 22 cities eligible for the voucher

scheme are: Aberdeen; Belfast,Birmingham; Bradford; Brighton andHove; Bristol; Cambridge; Cardiff;Coventry; Derby; Derry/Londonderry;Edinburgh; Leeds; London; Manchester;Newcastle; Newport; Oxford; Perth;Portsmouth; Salford; and York.

Virgin Media Business �– the topSuperConnected Cities supplieraccording to the latest figures atconnectionvouchers.co.uk �– has launchedthree new packages aimed at SMEs. It says Red Value and Red Speed provide50Mbps and 152Mbps connectionsrespectively with unlimited usage and a£50 installation charge.

According to the company, RedPerformance is a 30-100Mbps symmetricconnection via a managed internet accessconnection, a six-hour SLA, and starts atfree installation. All come with twomonths free rental. !

SuperConnectedCities revamp

Three big name tech firms are workingtogether on the development of Redfish, anew specification for data centre andsystems management. Dell, EmersonNetwork Power, HP and Intel claim it willbe one of the most �“comprehensive�”specifications since the IntelligentPlatform Management Interface (IPMI)was launched in 1998.

The companies say Redfish uses a�“modern network interface style�”,allowing access to data using evensimple, script-based programmingmethods. �“The solution will be designed

to improve scalability and expand dataaccess and analysis, help lower costs,and further enable feature-rich remotemanagement while ensuring a securesolution that protects investment,�” saysthe group.

Their development work is focused onensuring the specification enhancesinteroperability across multiple serverenvironments and �“significantlysimplifies�” management, to allowadministrators to speak one languageand be more productive.

Additionally, it�’s claimed Redfish will

enable access to massive amounts ofinformation and efficiently translate thedata into actionable insights for systemmonitoring and management.

The companies expect Redfish to bewidely adopted, and are working withindustry standards bodies and associationsto accelerate the development process.

The specification will be submitted tothe Distributed Management Task Forcefor consideration by the recently createdScalable Platform Management Forumwhich has been chartered to publish astandard in this area. !

Redfish anticipated to be the newdata centre industry standard

The government has revised its SuperConnectedvouchers scheme and says suppliers are nowallowed to create free or discounted products.

Net+ 1410 p2 (news) NEW v2.qxd 6/10/14 16:09

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3 october 2014 nn ee tt ww oo rr kk ii nngg

The rise of BYOD and enterprise mobility iscompelling businesses to reassess their ITinfrastructure. This trend is here to stay.Gartner forecasts four in ten organisationswill rely exclusively on BYOD by 2016 and85 per cent of businesses will have somekind of BYOD programme in place by 2020.

Due to the mass adoption of smartdevices connected by Wi-Fi, networkcapacity is struggling to keep up with themajority of today’s wireless infrastructurewhich was originally designed toaccommodate a few scattered laptops. IT teams must therefore assess ways toimprove current IT infrastructures andstrategies, placing a positive userexperience at its core. A poor userexperience can have a significant impacton staff retention, productivity and evendata security – the key issues CIOs of thefuture will be tasked with tackling.

According to IDC, the next generationof IT leaders will require an entirelydifferent set of skills in the age ofmobile, social media and Big Data. Forexample, they will have to manageinnovation, information intelligence, anduser/customer experience. Meeting andexceeding user expectations in today’s‘Experience Economy’ must thereforebecome a top priority for these leaders.

Part of the evolution of the CIOs’ rolewill be the way in which they view thenetwork. They will need to look beyondhardware as simply the ‘connectivityhighway’ and instead focus on how the

network can become the brains of thebusiness. Most IT departments todaylack the visibility and tools at theapplication layer to effectively monitor,prioritise or control data traffic. They areoften required to use multiple siloednetwork management systems resulting ina disconnected management processwhich can be costly, place a strain oncritical IT resources, and lead to IT failuresand a negative user experience.

CIOs will have to look to solutions thatunify multiple management systems toprovide a single overview of the network.A simple, fast and smart software-definedarchitecture powered by high performancehardware managed through a centralisedmanagement solution will be key forfuture business success. These solutionsoften lead to more efficient use of ITresources, increased investment returnsand better business agility.

Today’s CIOs should be investing inthese software-defined architecturesolutions that provide network visibility,analytics and policy in order to preparetheir businesses for the IT landscape oftomorrow. It is this software-definedarchitecture approach that will pave theway for enterprises to succeed andnavigate the mobile device minefield.

More importantly, businesses will beable to generate a positive ExperienceEconomy that will ensure employees thriveand the business remains competitive asenterprise mobility policies take hold.

THE WORLD ACCORDING TO...Steve Johnson, head of UK & Ireland, Extreme Networks

Networks drive user satisfaction in the ‘Experience Economy’The UK is among one of the few

countries to appear in the top 15 of bothfixed and mobile broadband penetrationratios, according to the BroadbandCommission�’s recently published annualreport. The other countries to feature inboth lists include Luxembourg, Denmark,Norway and South Korea.

Based on figures from UNESCO and theInternational Telecommunication Union(ITU) for 2013, the UK came eighth infixed penetration with 35.7 per cent, and12th in mobile with 87.2 per cent. Monacoand Singapore led each of these tables with44.7 and 135.1 per cent respectively.

The UK�’s rankings will be good newsfor the government which is seekinginput on the communications needed tomake the country an attractive destinationfor high tech and other investments (seeNews, Jul/Aug issue). In addition,Westminster has set aside close to £2bn toensure that people living outside the

�“commercial footprint�” of BT and VirginMedia also have access to downloadspeed of 24Mbps and above.

Speaking at the �“ultra-broadband�”conference held in London during lateSeptember, communications minister EdVaizey noted that where high speedbroadband is available, take-up is higherin rural areas than in urban areas.

He also said the UK is the first G20country to make computer science andcoding part of the school curriculum.�“The UK is a leader in e-commerce andearly adoption of technology. We couldn�’tdo that without a good networkinfrastructure.�”

Earlier, Vaizey announced a £60,000grant for the Spectrum Policy Forum toexplore new uses of frequencies in thelight of developments in the Internet ofThings and 5G technology.

The Broadband Commission was setup by the ITU and UNESCO in 2010 topromote wider access to broadband as alever for economic development.

The ITU and the OECD definebroadband as a service that offers speedsof at least 256kbps in one direction. Thecommission has since added to this toinclude: �“a cluster of concepts, such ashigh-speed internet access which isalways-on and capable of multipleservice provision simultaneously�”. !

UK ranks high in bothbroadband tables

EDITORIAL:

Editorial director: Rahiel [email protected]

Designer: Alan McClenaghan [email protected]

Thanks to: Gerry Moynihan

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Sales executive: Andy [email protected]

Production: Suzanne [email protected]

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Publishing director: Kathy [email protected]

is published monthly by:Kadium Limited, Brassey House, NewZealand Avenue, Walton-on-Thames,Surrey, KTI2 IQD, United Kingdom.Tel: +44 (0) 1932 886 537Fax: +44 (0) 1932 886 539www.networkingplus.co.uk

Annual subscription: £80 (UK); £95(Europe), £100 (USA and the RoW)airmail. Cost per single copy is £8.25.

Printed in England by Williams Press.© 2014. All rights reserved.

The contents of the magazine may not bereproduced in part or whole, or stored inelectronic form, without the prior writtenconsent of the publishers. The viewsexpressed in this magazine are notnecessarily those shared by the editor or the publishers.

ABC audited circulation:19,6791 Jul 2011 – 30 Jun 2012

Communicationsminister Ed Vaizeysaid the UK couldn’thave become aleader in technologyand e-commercewithout having agood networkinfrastructure.

Kent County Council (KCC) is virtualisingits application infrastructure and usingKEMP load balancers to ensure highavailability, scalability and performance.

The council�’s IT team is usingVMWare�’s Horizon View and Workspaceto build a virtual, unified environment foraround 6,500 users. This will be hosted inCisco�’s Unified Computing System(UCS), and will deliver more than 300different applications such as Oracle E-Business Suite, Exchange 2010, as wellas customised highway managementsoftware and case management systems.

Working with IT solutions partnerPhoenix Software, KCC�’s team selectedKEMP�’s balancers which have beendeployed at two data centres, one in

Maidstone and the other in a sharedfacility with neighbouring MedwayCouncil. Each one has two UCS chassiswith KEMP�’s dual high availability GEOMulti-Site load balancers.

The vendor says its LoadMaster OS isfully certified for Cisco interoperability.KEMP claims it is the only applicationdelivery control (ADC) OS optimised forbare metal installation within the UCSfabric without requiring a hypervisor.According to the company, this reducesthe amount of application traffic that hasto traverse the higher latency networkexternal to the fabric.

�“Further, it allows KCC to leverage itsinvestment in Cisco infrastructure byconverting a UCS blade into a dedicated

Kent Council virtualises with thehelp of KEMP’s load balancers

ADC, eliminating the need for externalhardware load balancers,�” says JasonDover, KEMP�’s technical productmarketing director.

The council has so far rolled out thenew virtual environment to around 150users, and the complete migration is dueto be completed by April 2015. !

Net+ 1410 p3 (news) RN.qxd 2/10/14 17:29

Boston Networks was behind the networkthat supported the 2014 Ryder Cup that tookplace at Gleneagles at the end of September.

In what was anticipated to be the �“mosttechnically advanced golf event ever run�”,Boston says it worked with the EuropeanTour for more than 18 months to deliver afull turnkey solution.

The company designed a fully resilientnetwork backbone with a robust cablinginfrastructure to support data, voice,video, IPTV and a wireless network acrossthe entire campus.

This included all the media andhospitality facilities, executive offices, aswell as the Gleneagles Hotel. It alsoincluded 100 Xirrus Wireless Arrays onthe course for free public Wi-Fi.

Boston says the fibre backbone facilitatedmore than 1,000 cores, exclusively forEuropean Tour Productions, ensuring every

shot was captured in both standard- andhigh-definition, as well as 4K.

The firm also designed and deployed theIP security solution that provided round theclock protection both before and during theevent. 50 CCTV cameras were deployedthroughout Gleneagles for public safety andevent security. Using infra-red IPsurveillance cameras, the entire course wasmonitored with footage transmitted in real-time to multiple locations via the cablinginfrastructure and IP networks.

Boston adds that the entire on courseinfrastructure and key operational areaswere constantly monitored to guaranteeoptimal performance, and a full disasterrecovery strategy was in place to manageany unplanned outages. !

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4nn ee tt ww oo rr kk ii nngg october 2014

Open Universitymoves to SIPThe Open University (OU) is migrating itstelephony system to SIP-based infrastructure.Next-generation network operator Gamma isproviding 600 resilient SIP trunks togetherwith dedicated and resilient data connectionsinto the university’s main campus and headoffice. The company says it has transitionedmore than approximately 9,300 numbers.It is also supplying telephone connections to14 regional sites within the UK, and will installits cloud-based Inbound service. Gammaclaims this provides “highly flexible” callrouting and also adds a further layer ofresilience by permitting instant and remotecontrol of inbound calls during potentialservice interruptions. !

Imerja wins DANTEcontractImerja has won a contract to provide DANTEwith a 24/7 service desk. The three-yearcontract will see the company provide awhite-labelled service desk, predicting,responding and solving any network incidentsreported by DANTE’s users, vendors, suppliersand other parties. It will be delivered throughImerja’s round the clock Secure OperationsCentre. DANTE (Delivery of Advanced NetworkTechnology to Europe) plans, procures, buildsand operates large scale, advanced highspeed networks for global research andeducation, including the 500Gbps pan-European GÉANT network. !

Action For ChildrenvirtualisesAction for Children is carrying out a majorworkplace transformation project using Citrix’sWorkspace Suite. The charity ultimately aimsto create a more flexible, mobile workingenvironment for its 6,000 staff that are basedin more than 400 sites across the UK. Citrixwill provide a secure platform that integratesapplication and desktop virtualisation, mobileapp and device management for up to 1,500tablet users, and enterprise file sharing. It willuse 3,000 thin client devices to enable peopleto choose when, where and how work getsdone. The vendor adds that its NetScaler WANoptimisation platform will also be used as partof the suite. It says this will optimise, secureand control access to services over anynetwork, including low bandwidth, highlatency environments. !

King�’s College Hospital (KCH) NHSFoundation Trust is using Netwrix Auditorto help improve security and compliance.

London-based KCH is said to be one ofthe UK�’s largest and busiest teachinghospitals, training more than 900 dentists,750 doctors and 300 nurses every year.

The trust runs a Windows server-basednetwork that is used by more than 10,000staff members and realised it would be ahuge challenge to manually monitor thethousands of daily changes to its main ICTinfrastructure. The ICT operations teamtherefore decided that KCH needed an

automated product to audit all privilegeduser activity and changes, for bothsecurity and compliance.

It now uses Auditor which manages thetasks of authenticating and authorising allnetwork users, checking passwords,enforcing security policies for all PCs, andinstalling and updating software.

ICT operations team leader DavidSewoke says the platform has given him fullvisibility of what�’s happening on thenetwork, and he knows exactly who ismaking changes, when, and why. Auditorprovides automated daily change reports

and sends real-time alerts to his mobile ifany of KCH�’s 50 system administratorschange a user�’s access rights to information.

In addition, Sewoke says the software hashelped change people�’s behaviour: �“Nowthat the staff is aware that everything theydo is being audited, there are fewer securityrisks. People don�’t try to make changes suchas adding a user as a domain administratorand then later on removing them.�”

KCH plans to extend its use of Netwrixto its EMC-based SAN environment. Atthat point, Auditor will be monitoring thetrust�’s entire IT infrastructure. !

Netwrix secures hospital network for 10,000 users

Boston Networks creates the “most technicallyadvanced” golf event for 2014 Ryder Cup

Businesses are wasting time and moneysolving common network problems,according to research commissioned bymonitoring specialist Paessler.

In July, it surveyed 300 key IT decisionmakers in UK businesses. The resultsrevealed that 43 per cent of organisationsthat don�’t use a network monitoring toolspend more than two hours a week solvingmundane network issues such asapplications not responding, serversoverloading, running out of bandwidth, etc.

In addition, one in 10 organisations thatdon�’t use a monitor spend over five hoursa week resolving these problems �–that�’s equivalent to spending 30working days per year just to addressIT network issues, says the research.

�“While occasional issues are to beexpected, businesses are clearlyexperiencing too much downtime,resulting in a huge waste of bothtime and money, �” says CEO DirkPaessler (pictured right).

�“For SMEs this is very concerning, as theloss of even one client or customer due

to issues with IT infrastructure canbe enough to have a catastrophiceffect on a business�’s stabilityand prospects.�”

He goes on to say that anetwork monitor should beconsidered as the key to

maintaining a productiveand successful business,whatever its size. !

The all-encompassing network included 50 IP-based surveillance cameras and 100 WirelessArrays from Xirrus for free public Wi-Fi.

Firms waste “30 days a year” oncommon network issues

Net+ 1410 p4 (news) RN.qxd 2/10/14 17:34

Net+ 1410 p5 (Raritan).indd 7 06/10/2014 16:31

There is widespread mistrust of cloudproviders across Europe, according to anew study by the Ponemon Institute.

As part of a study commissioned by safecloud enabler Netskope, it questioned 1,059IT and IT security practitioners acrossEurope to gauge how they perceive cloudsecurity. In its report published inSeptember, 53 per cent said the likelihoodof a data breach increases due to the cloud.

More worryingly, nearly three quartersof businesses believe cloud providers fail tocomply with laws and regulations on dataprotection and privacy. Eighty-four per centalso doubted that their cloud serviceproviders would notify them immediatelyif their intellectual property or confidentialinformation were compromised.

However the study said the majority ofrespondents still considered cloud to beequally or more secure than on-premisesIT. �“[This] perhaps indicates more abouttheir lack of confidence in their on-premises security tools than it does abouttheir confidence in the security capabilitiesof cloud providers,�” says Ponemon.

The study also revealed that data breachesincrease the expected economic impact byas much as three times when they involvethe cloud. Ponemon describes this phenom-enon as the �“cloud multiplier effect�”.

Its research found this applies to varyingdegrees in accordance with different cloudscenarios, such as increased data sharingfrom cloud apps or increased use ofmobile devices to connect to cloud. !

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Seagate Technology has formed a newCloud Systems and Solutions (CSS) groupto develop and deliver what it claims willbe the world�’s most scalable, secure,efficient, and cost-effective cloud servicearchitectures and solutions.

CSS will include solutions in fourfocus areas: integrated high-performancecomputing (HPC); scalable and modularcomponents; custom systems for OEMs;and cloud backup/restore, disaster recoveryand rapid archive storage.

Seagate says it will drive the industry�’sability to manage hyperscale computingdemands, improve energy efficiency, andenhance �“everywhere availability�” of data.

As part of its CSS offerings, the firmhas launched the ClusterStor 9000. Itdescribes this as a �“fully integratedLustre-based scale-out solution for HPCand Big Data customers�”. Seagate claimsthe 9000 delivers �“superior�” convergedscale-out storage quality and efficiency,and 50 per cent higher performance thanits previous ClusterStor platforms.

The firm has also enhanced its EVaultenterprise backup and recovery appliance.which now accommodates up to 100TB ofusable capacity. It says its range of backupappliances have been built from the groundup to both connect and replicate to thecloud. This is said to make them �“perfectfor heterogeneous environments thatdemand up to a full petabyte of storage and extreme computing power�”.

Mike Palmer, previously a VP withVerizon, recentlyjoined Seagateas SVP and GMof its clouddivision. !

Businesses “do nottrust” cloud providers

Sepura has teamed up with SkyscapeCloud Services to launch its cloud-enabled applications portfolio to the UKpublic safety market.

Cambridge-based Sepura claims to be thenation�’s market-leading provider of TETRAradios to mission-critical users. It offers awide variety of applications that are usedfor: messaging; vehicle and person tracking;remote interrogation of legacy IT, databaseand other back-office systems; picture mes-sage alerts; as well as for next-generationPSAP (Public Safety Answering Points).

Skyscape says its assured cloud solutionshave been specifically designed to meetpublic sector needs. It adds that its fullrange of PSN services have been certifiedby a CESG Pan Government Accreditor.The firm claims to deliver sovereignservices that are �“easy to adopt, easy to useand easy to leave�”, with �“genuine�” pay bythe hour consumption models.

Jonathan Hamill, Sepura�’s VP forgovernment and public safety, says: �“Thispartnership enables ease of access to ourapplications portfolio, providing the abilityto host our applications on a secure andaccredited government cloud, and thereforeconsiderably reduce our customer�’s in-house IT infrastructure costs.�”

Under their deal, the two companies alsoexpect to provide connections to other government systems, such as the PoliceNational Network and the Police NationalComputer, providing the ability to integratewith a range of Sepura�’s applications. !

Seagate launches cloud andbig data growth solutions

Sepura’sJonathan Hamillsays cloudhosting will cutin-house IT costsfor customers.

Seagate’sClusterStor 9000integrated scale-out solution isaimed at HPC andBig Data users

6

Too many businesses are putting theirdata at risk from potential pitfalls by nothaving a disaster recovery (DR) plan inplace. Disaster recovery as a Service(DRaaS) or cloud-based DR strategies are now making recovery plans far lesscomplicated and highly efficient for UKbusinesses. However, despite being ableto re-think their strategies in the cloud,companies are still lax about testing theplan regularly.

Say ‘disaster’ and it is floods, hurricanespower cuts and earthquakes that all springto mind. However a disaster could besomething as mundane as a softwareupdate or a simple human error impactingon an organisation’s ability to operate.

Regular testing of a DR plan mustoccur to ensure the business is preparedshould disaster strike. A test ensures thesafe recovery of data and criticalapplications to get your business back on its feet quickly. Like a fire drill, thetesting process enables companies toconduct planned maintenance and trainstaff in DR procedures.

Traditionally, tests have been complexand disruptive. But a hybrid cloud approachto DR has changed the testing landscapefor the better. Tests can be conductedregularly because DRaaS doesn’t havethe physical infrastructure and

configuration synchronisation associatedwith traditional disaster recovery.

Hybrid cloud-based solutions combinepublic cloud and SaaS automationsoftware making DR continuity planningeasier than ever. Cloud provides companieswith data backup, failover of servers, andthe ability to have a secondary data centreat a different site to allow for regionaldisaster recovery.

DRaaS solutions offer a computingcapacity on standby to recover applicationsif there is a disaster and can be easilytested. A so-called ‘sandbox’ copy iscreated in the cloud which is onlyaccessible by the system administrator.They are created on demand, paid forwhilst being used, and deleted once thetest is complete. This makes testingsimple, cost effective and undisruptive.

DRaaS testing is so easy that businesseswould be foolish not to carry out testingon a regular basis.

According to research group Aberdeen,the average number of disaster recoveryevents in 2012 was 3.5 per mid-sizedorganisation, with the average downtimeper event being 3-4 days. It estimatedthe cost of this downtime as a colossal$74,000 per hour. In the light of suchevidence, can you afford not to sit up andpay attention?

VIEW FROM THE TOPTony Craythorne, VP worldwide business development, Quorum

With DraaS, there are no excusesfor not testing your recovery plan

Public safety users can nowdownload TETRA apps

Net+ 1410 p6 (news) AM RN.qxd 2/10/14 17:39

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Maintaining a network ofdefenceIn March 2005 the Atlas consortiumstarted work on the MoD�’s DefenceInformation Infrastructure (DII), a £7bn,10-year plan to integrate a multitude ofIT systems onto a single base. At thetime, it was said to be the world�’s mostambitious IT network project.

The past decade has seen massivechanges from the original plan, not juston the supplier side, but notably in thetype and frequency of wars fought alongwith defence budget cuts. All this meansthat the DII project�’s scope and aims areunder constant reassessment.

In 2008 the National Audit Office (NAO)indicated the programme would eventuallyincorporate 150,000 terminals for 300,000users at more than 2,000 sites, includingon ships and deployed operations. At thetime, the DII project was running late onthe delivery of terminals and software,with delays likely to push costs over £7bn.

Now, six months away from its 10thanniversary, Atlas claims to have savedthe MoD more than £1bn. The consortiumconsists of HP (ex-EDS), Fujitsu, CGI (ex-Logica), and Airbus Defence and Space(ex-EADS). It says DII now includes asecure, fully managed and supportedinfrastructure service that offers a singlepoint of contact for round-the-clock end-user support all over the world.

This done via a network of datacentres and individual sites, followingthe migration from legacy systems. Therollout has seen nearly 70,000 user accessdevices deployed to 200,000 restricted andsecret users at 680 locations.

Atlas switched on the ministry�’s firstvirtualised data centre in May with 16 rackspaces able to hold up to 2,000 VMs.

It says virtualisation in the three UKcentres will save around £140,000 in costs,1.4GW in electricity, and more than 1,500metric tonnes of CO2 by the end of 2015.

Dozens of smaller projects currentlymake up the DII. For example, the DIOLandmarc programme recently migratedusers from 57 remote sites, such asregional headquarters and training camps,in six regions onto the platform. Thehardware it includes ranges from laptopsconnected via broadband to new Tier 3and Tier 4 server nodes and supportinginfrastructure. Atlas says it resized the datato be migrated and cut the standardmigration timelines by more than half.

Release 1 of the Naval Training Infor-mation Infrastructure Project covered therollout to 10 naval training sites, migratingsome 4,000 users and installing around3,000 devices. These range from 30additional computers on HMS Nelson to1,000 new devices on HMS Collingwood,and a server tier upgrade at the BritanniaRoyal Naval College in Dartmouth.

Firefighters dampen downthe noise with DMRNoise generated at a fire can often hit asustained level of 85dB, making it hardfor firefighters to hear and be heard usingtraditional analogue radios. GreaterManchester Fire and Rescue Service(GMFRS) has solved this using a dualdigital/analogue digital mobile radio(DMR) system from Motorola Solutions.This features noise-cancelling technology,as well as repeaters that offer muchgreater coverage for wide area operations.

GMFRS is the second-largest fireservice in England. It protects more than2.6 million people over 1,300km2 andemploys 1,200 firefighters at 42 firestations. Since April it has been run byNorth West Fire Control which also co-ordinates fire services in neighbouringCumbria, Lancashire and Cheshire.

Working with Motorola Solutionspartner Radiocoms Systems, GMFRStested Mototrbo systems next to a fireengine with the siren running. While the analogue signals were drowned, thedigital signals remained crisp and clear.Service personnel have now been issued

with more than 500 Motorola SolutionsMototrbo radios that feature Impresindustrial noise-cancelling remote speakermicrophones and earpieces.

For the first time, every firefighter nowhas a radio. More than 400 are using belt-mounted two-way DP4601 devices withindustrial noise-cancelling chest-mountedremote speaker microphones (RSMs).Duty officers use DP4801 portable two-way radios with a Bluetooth PTT headset,while vehicles carry DP4401 Ex ATEXradios with RSM for use in hazardous andexplosive environments.

Three vehicle-mounted DR3000repeaters can be used for wide areacoverage, and GMFRS has access to otherMototrbo repeaters in hotels, shoppingcentres and sports stadiums, if needed.

The radios operate in native digitalmode on the fire service channels (FireGround/Incident Control/BreathingApparatus). GMFRS can use morechannels for a widespread incident, andall are also available in analogue modefor compatibility with services that havenot yet migrated to DMR.

Taken down and used inevidenceTen police forces have equipped officerswith Pronto electronic notebooks linkedto the national Airwave TETRA networkto speed up law enforcement work andsave money.

The rollout follows a pilot study withLothian and Borders Police whichdelivered £600,000 in savings and alsosaw a dramatic improvement in dataaccuracy and the ability to collaborate.Police forces covering the City ofLondon, Surrey, Dyfed-Powys,Staffordshire, Lancashire, Derbyshire,Police Scotland, West Yorkshire, and

Devon and Cornwall have now adoptedthe system that was developed byAirwave subsidiary Kelvin Connect.

The Pronto electronic notebook linksfront-end evidence recording with variousback-end information systems. It allowsusers to complete multiple forms using thesame accurate and validated information.These forms are then submitted in real-time over the air, with printed copies issuedon the spot to members of the public. Datacaptured on the device can also be sharedwith other organisations, such as coroners�’offices and local authorities.

Kelvin Connect estimates that capturinghandwritten witness statements for reportsand then re-keying them for court paperscosts the average police force around 860hours a month �– time that could be betterspent policing the streets. It reckonscapturing statements electronically upfrontcould save each force £12m per year.

At Lothian and Borders, Pronto is saidto have saved officers an hour per shiftin re-keying data from handwritten notesinto various IT systems. It�’s also claimedthe number of traffic tickets returned toofficers because of data entry errorsdropped from 20 per cent to zero.

Kelvin Connect says that electronicwitness statement system is just one of 30business processes available on the device.Lothian and Borders also found the abilityto take photographs via Pronto increasedthe volume and accuracy of gatheredevidence. Accuracy as well astransparency was further enhanced viadate and time stamps on entries, and thecollected data was permissible in courtand shareable across forces and partners. Pronto produced real-time management

information for all activities, with notebookentries and completed processes availableacross the organisation almost instantly,improving police responsiveness.

Uniforms network to hit targetsDefence and emergency networks must operate securely, reliably and effectively under the most extreme and often hostile conditions.

©CROW

N COPYRIGHT/RAF

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U nified communications (UC) datesback to the 1980s when the PBXstarted going digital and people

began hooking it up to the firm�’s ITsystems, using it as dual-purpose voiceand data router for local and wide areanetworking. Since then, voice hasmigrated to digital, effectively becoming�‘just another app�’.

Today, UC is a set of applications thatcombine an organisation�’s real-time andnon real-time communication services.Real-time services include voice andvideo communications, IM, location,desktop and data sharing (including web-connected interactive whiteboards), callcontrol and speech recognition. Non-real-time services include voicemail, email,SMS and fax. The growing use of socialnetworking covers both sets. Usually, bothtypes of service are delivered by optimisedsystems overlaid by a user interface thatprovides a consistent way of interactingwith and between the services.

Switching packets instead of circuits hasprofoundly beneficial effects on networkresource allocation and efficiency. WithISDN, voice over twisted copper pairstakes 64kbps per circuit; Bell Labsresearchers have achieved speeds of10Gbps in controlled environments butonly over 70m. They have also got twistedpairs to deliver 1Gbps symmetricalbroadband �– a current world record, butagain that was only in the lab. Real worldcopper networks struggle to deliver2Mbps over more than 1.2km, hence theuniversal push for more fibre in thenetworks, ideally to the premises.

The change began in the early 1980swhen digital networks started to implementstatistically multiplexed packet switching(IP) rather than TDM (time-divisionmultiplexing) switched circuits.

It accelerated when the internet took off,starting in the mid 1990s, and again adecade later when it became possible todeliver high quality VoIP. This was thankslargely to better codecs for handling digitalstreaming, Skype, which popularised thetechnology, and the development of SIPto emulate the plain old telephone systemto set up and take down calls.

Now the network flags different types ofcontent and applies different QoS policiesto them when prioritising packets. At thereceiving end, the �‘edge device�’ sorts thepackets into their appropriate streams anddelivers them (hopefully in the right order)to the right end user device.

The �‘plumbing�’ that enables UC to be a fast, clean, happy user experience iscomplicated. Incumbent telcos introducedoutsourced PBX-type systems based onthe telephone network. When the internetarrived, entrepreneurs found a way toemulate PBX services using VoIP andSIP, and to integrate email, IM and otherservices. These have proliferated intospecialised server devices for voice,video, email, security, etc, which must all

be supplied and managed, but at a muchlower price point. Initially, the transmissioncost was the price of a phone call. Later, asfirms either set up their own in-housenetworks or subscribed to an internetservice, it became largely free and wasbuilt into the price of a broadband orleased line subscription.

UC in the UKOfcom�’s communication market reportpublished in August says that althoughthe total number of fixed lines in the UKis now 33.4 million, the percentage ofVoIP users is now 35 per cent of thepopulation (i.e. about 22.8 million).

As VoIP users trebled between 2008and 2013 the effect on fixed and mobileoperators has become clear (see graphbelow). The growth of mobile minutesslowed and fixed line minutes crashedfrom 141 billion to 92 billion, drivingtotal operator-reported revenues downfrom £41.6bn to £38.6bn.

Market researcher Illume estimates thatSIP trunking now represents around 30 per

cent of the total connections and predictsthere will be more SIP trunking than ISDNby mid-2016. �“The hosted VoIP market inthe UK reached 1.4 million at the end ofJune and there were 1.2 million SIP trunks,�”says Illume director Matthew Townend.�“Although the hosted market has beengrowing well, it is still probably aroundeight per cent of the installed base, and hasbeen held up by a lack of available fibre.But with the fibre investments now beingmade, we expect this growth to accelerate.�”

He goes on to say that traditional voiceusers are finally �“engaging strongly�” with hosted VoIP, adding that this wasdemonstrated by the recent launch of theGreensky hosted voice service by Nimans(see News, May).

UC offers many advantages such assavings from lower travel costs andslashed mobile phone bills, having only asingle network to worry about, and notdealing with itemised phone bills. Butarguably, UC�’s greatest appeal is theincreased staff productivity that it leads to.

Ray McGroarty, Polycom�’s director forenterprise UC Solutions, says: �“Whenyou have UC it makes it quick and simplefor your employees to use the rightcommunications method for the task. A process that might have taken 50emails over the course of a week can nowbe completed in real-time.�”

He adds that the advent of cloud-basedUC as a Service has helped quell costconcerns. �“With UCaaS, the upfrontinvestment has been drastically reduced andhas largely eliminated the cost of refreshingequipment and the risk of obsolescence.�”

IP transport equipment vendor Sonusbelieves cloud UC shifts costs from �“CPEplus capex�” to �“cloud plus opex�”. It alsofrees businesses from the complexities ofproviding full, ubiquitous, cross-platform

unified communications


Over the years, there has been much talk about unified communications as ‘the next bigthing’ for enterprise networks. So what’s the reality in Britain today? IAN GRANT finds out.

10

Desktop devices like Cisco's DX600 shown here may be on the wayout as workstyles change to reflect greater mobility in the office.

Even though users areswitching from fixed line tomobile for voice calls, totalrevenues from all networktraffic are in slow decline.SOURCE: OFCOM CMR AUGUST 2014

22000088 22000099 22001100 22001111 22001122 22001133

118.6126.6 131.2 131.5 132.3 134.1141.0

128.0123.0

111.0103.0

92.0

41.6 41.1 40.5 39.4 39.3 38.6

Total operator-reported revenue (£bn)

Fixed voice call minutes (billions)

Mobile voice call minutes (billions)

Billi

ons

116600

114400

112200

110000

8800

6600

4400

2200

00

Comms comes together


Net+ 1410 p10-13 (UC) NEW v2.qxd 6/10/14 16:12

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BYOD and mobility for communicationsand collaboration. The company�’s EMEACTO Roger Jones says while cloud UCstill represents a relatively small percentageof the market, it�’s now beginning to take-off. �“To give just a few examples that I�’mseeing day-to-day: Worksmart is hostingMitel UC; Outsourcery is putting inhosted Lync; and Broadsoft is doing it allover. We�’re mostly seeing hosted LyncEnterprise voice and Broadsoft, but Miteland Cisco are also out there, along withmany others.�”

Unified cons?While there are some solid pros to UCthere are also plenty of cons. Accordingto Tony Bailey, Vodafone UK�’s head ofenterprise services, it should be regardedas an enabler for better ways of working

and not the endgame. �“UC cannot just bea technology project. The business needsto review how it is operating and considerpeople, processes and space to get themost effective use of UC. The culturalchange can actually be the more difficultbit rather than the technology itself.�”

As with any technology deployment, useruptake counts. �“Managers need to offereducation and support to make sure thattheir teams are using all of the communica-tions channels within the UC deployment,�”advises Polycom�’s McGroarty.

Paul Dunne, head of channel sales forUK and Ireland at Plantronics, agrees. He warns firms not to underestimate theorganisational changes that come with run-ning a UC system, or the amount of supportusers will require. �“Businesses will get thebest results by encouraging the improvedcollaboration offered by UC and by

providing employees with the appropriatehardware to bring the technology to life.�”

He adds there�’s a lot of confusion aboutthe best way to unify communicationstechnologies. �“There are two basic models[firms] can choose from: a network-centric model and a software-centric.

�“In a network-centric model, thefunctionality of users�’ dedicated endpointdevices depends on a tightly managed�‘smart�’ network. Communicationsapplications reside and depend on a single,secure network, and extensive QoSmechanisms must be in place for all links.

�“In a software-centric UC model,devices run multifunction software onany network, independent of smartnetwork functions �– although they can ofcourse relate to these if needed.�”

McGroarty says managers should alsoset realistic expectations as the internet is a

�“best efforts�” business �– i.e., operators prom-ise to do their best to deliver the packets asquickly as possible but offer no guarantees.As a result, many UC deployments sufferfrom variable quality and reliability. Usersmay have problems setting up voice orvideo calls, and when they get through, theymight experience poor AV performanceand/or low quality interactivity.

�“UC is only as good as the network onwhich it runs. Connectivity, bandwidthand routing efficiency will differ acrossyour office locations, customers andpartners. You need to treat all yoursolutions and services as a whole whendeploying UC. Things to consider includeyour exchange services, LAN, WAN, calladmission control, and any legacysystems such as PBX,�” says McGroarty.

Vodafone�’s Bailey agrees: �“IP telephonydid very little for the users (just a changeof telephone set on the desk), whereasUC can transform the business network.�”

Quality of serviceCiting evidence from built-in quality of service monitors, the InternationalMultimedia TelecommunicationsConsortium (IMTC) suggests that 60 to 80per cent of UC QoS problems originate inthe underlying network. Its members aretrying to develop standards to ensure theinteroperability of real-time, rich mediacommunications. They include hardwaremakers such as Ericsson, Huawei, Nokiaand ZTE, network operators like AT&Tand Orange, as well as UC specialistsAvaya, Plantronics and Polycom.

Troubleshooting the problems is nomean feat. Even when they are identifiedcorrectly, addressing them may requireinfrastructure upgrades or networkreconfigurations, which means total costof ownership can take a big hit. Dunnepoints out that VoIP depends heavily onthe QoS configured correctly within anenterprise�’s network because IPT uses astatistically multiplexed packet-basedmodel to optimise bandwidth.

And Vodafone�’s Bailey cautions userswho expect UC to be as reliable as theirtelephony: �“The management andmonitoring is more about the performanceof the application than the underlyingnetwork. Network managers need tomake sure that they have the rightperformance applications in place sousers can use UC to its full capacity.�”

The IMTC is pushing to separate thedifferent classes of services (CoS) using adifferentiated services model. This allowsan expedited forwarding per-hop behaviourto prioritise the delivery of real-timeinteractive media traffic such as VoIP overother CoS like email and SMS. This willalso address security. �“As VoIP technologygot pervasively deployed, a security modelevolved in which voice was separated fromother network traffic using a VLAN model.This �‘lock down�’ model puts voice and datatraffic on separate VLANs and only trafficfrom the voice VLAN is marked for expe-dited forwarding,�” states the consortium.

This model also meant that onlypurpose-built VoIP handsets could gainaccess to the voice VLAN; permissiondepended on a VoIP device credentialowned by the voice administrator anduser devices were shut out.

Network vendors pushed this model fordifferent reasons, including the ability tomitigate malware and to prevent DoSattacks on the VoIP service, which theysold as mission-critical. But their approachbecame outdated as VoIP evolved to UCand collaboration (UC&C). The IMTCsays: �“Converged UC&C endpointssupport many modalities using a single

unified communications



Net+ 1410 p10-13 (UC) NEW v2.qxd 6/10/14 16:13

connection: voice, video, and data are nowtypically converged over a single networkinterface, which precludes the use ofdedicated voice VLANs for securelyapplying QoS markings to VoIP traffic.

�“Some UC&C endpoints attempt toaddress this issue by applying QoSmarkings to voice and video traffic as itenters the network from the endpointdevice. However, most enterprise networkswill not trust QoS markings applied byendpoints, and network policies usually re-mark untrusted traffic to Best Effort.�”

The IMTC adds that other QoStechniques rely on deep packet inspectionto classify traffic according to its contentand apply QoS markings based on thisclassification. However, it says thesetechniques are increasingly unreliablebecause of a growing trend to encrypt bydefault all calls and signalling traffic end-to-end. The organisation hopes to addressthese issues by using dynamic flowparameters such as IP address and portinformation. It has set up a programme toinvestigate the use of software definednetworking (SDN) to implement them.

�“By allowing UC infrastructure tointeract dynamically with the network, weaim to ensure that application level qualityand performance requirements can be metby the underlying network infrastructure,�”said the IMTC in a statement announcingthe move earlier this year.

This would work using an automatedQoS network service application in theUC&C infrastructure that specifies the flowparameters dynamically to the network atcall setup. An SDN controller would thenpre-warn the rest of the network to trustthese QoS markings. As a result, trafficflows would become simplified andspeedier because the network wouldn�’tneed to read every packet �– only the QoSmarking and address.

What’s hot in the market?Recently, many companies haveacknowledged that social network mediaare replacing UC features such as IM.Some of the bright young things that madethis possible, like Yammer and Jabber,were bought by bigger players (Microsoftand Cisco respectively. Microsoft ofcourse went on to develop Lync, its ownUC suite, as well as purchase Skype.

Initially, large firms with their ownprivate networks were the main UC users,running platforms from their own datacentres to branch offices. Since then, third-

party data centres have arisen to provideUC as a service over broadband, in hostedas well as managed formats, mainly toSMEs via cloud. Both they and in-house UCoperators now face challenges from web-scale cloud operators who offer UC ele-ments as part of their services, such Googlewith Hangouts or Microsoft with Azure.

There are also open source products, andone of the more widely-known is Asterisk.Users and developers can effectively buildtheir own UC systems, or they can buy afully-fledged platform from Elastix whichuses Asterisk as its base. Originallydesigned for Linux, Asterisk runs on avariety of operating systems includingNetBSD, OpenBSD, FreeBSD, Mac OS X, and Solaris. It is small enough torun in an embedded environment usingcustomer premises equipment withOpenWrt, or even on a Raspberry Pi.

Avaya and HP Enterprise Services haveannounced a multi-year agreement to offercloud-based UC and contact centre tech-nology, as well as new UC managementsolutions for enterprises. The deal seeks tocombine HP�’s cloud services delivery withAvaya�’s UC and contact centre portfolio tocreate a one-stop shop for mobilityapplications, software, and networking forUC and customer experience managementin an XaaS wrapper.

Vodafone has developed a portfolio of UCproducts under the One Net brand. Theseinclude One Net Express and One NetBusiness for micro businesses and SMEs,through to One Net Enterprise and One NetGlobal Enterprise for larger organisations.

One Net Enterprise is already availablein six European countries but was formallylaunched in the UK as we went to press inearly September. The platform is pitched at

public sector and NHS clients, and featuresa voice/video/IM/presence suite which alsohooks into Microsoft�’s Lync and 365 apps.

Phil Mottram, the new head of VodafoneUK�’s enterprise business, argues that onceUC is widely implemented it can helppublic sector bodies meet austerity budgetsthat address the £22bn annual deficit. He declined to name the half dozen largeUK firms piloting Net One Enterprise butadded: �“We�’re also pitching it at the M2Msector, and we find the �‘wearables market�’in healthcare extremely interesting.�”

Meanwhile, after years of working withVodafone, just weeks ago BT leveragedits new mobile virtual network agreementwith EE to launch One Phone. This willessentially compete with One Net and toprovide in-building LTE-based officecommunications services in competitionto Wi-Fi-based vendors. !

unified communicationsregister online @ www.networkingplus.co.uk NEW WEBSITE NOW LIVE!


“The cultural change canactually be the moredifficult bit rather than thetechnology itself.”Tony Bailey,Head of enterprise services, Vodafone UK

Net+ 1410 p10-13 (UC) NEW v2.qxd 6/10/14 16:14

Belden claims its Hirschmann range ofRSPE modular industrial Ethernet switchesguarantee 100 per cent availability of datacommunication, ensuring optimum produc-tivity for machines and systems. It says themodular switches make it possible to createflexible Ethernet installations in which thenetwork design can be quickly adapted tomanage changing application needs.

The new RSPE (Rail Switch PowerExpandable) line-up features eight twistedpair and four combination ports that supportFast Ethernet and GbE. Belden says theirHSR (high-availability seamlessredundancy) and PRP (parallelredundancy protocol) stan-dards, plus precise time syn-chronisation in accordancewith IEEE 1588 v2, can beextended to provide up to 28ports by adding two mediamodules. Various combina-tions of copper or fibre ports,

together with PoE/PoE+, are possibledepending on the type of module used.

As well as numerous redundancymethods, the switches are said to offercomprehensive management, diagnosticand filtering features, bringing all roundsecurity to the network.

Specially certified for a range of appli-cation scenarios, Belden says the RSPEswitches guarantee highly efficient solutionseven under harsh environmental conditions.The devices have an extended operatingtemperature range from -40°C to +70°C,high vibration resistance, as well as a �“broad

immunity�” to electrostatic discharges.


off-the-shelf: switches

As networks become ever more sophisticated, so do theswitches that are needed to help transport all their traffic.

Juniper Networks claims its new EX4600switches deliver highly available, simpleand scalable 10/40GbE connectivitysolutions in a compact 1 RU form factor.

The switches have been built using thecore design principles of Juniper�’s OpenConverged Framework. The firm says theysupport its unique Virtual Chassis technol-ogy which enables up to 10 interconnectedswitches to operate as a single, logicaldevice with one IP address. Managed byJunos Space Network Director, this alsoensures that the entire campus and datacentre network can be managed using acommon interface via a single pane of glass.

The EX4600 switches are said to have acapacity that can be expanded withoutincreasing the number of managed devices.They can also operate in the same VirtualChassis configuration withany combination of Juniper�’sEX4300 and EX4600 Ethernetswitches to deliver what�’sdescribed as �“highly flexible

and scalable�” configuration options includ-ing 1GbE access.

The line-up has a number of highavailability features to ensure continuousand uninterrupted system operations. Theseinclude active and backup routing engines,graceful failover, In-Service SoftwareUpdate (ISSU) capabilities, and QoS to prioritise time-sensitive data.

Juniper says paring ISSU with MC-LAG provides redundancy/resiliency inthe aggregation layer and also provideshitless upgrades so that both LAG switchesstay operating and full bandwidth isavailable to applications.

The company adds that the EX4600soffer dynamic buffer utilisation monitoringand reporting to provide detailed insightand data on network traffic.

Linksys has added the first managedswitches to its Business product line-upwhich now includes a full range ofrouting, switching, VPN, wireless and IP surveillance products.

The four switches in its line-up areavailable in a 28- or 52-port rack mountablechassis, and each is available with orwithout PoE+. The PoE+ models supportthe IEEE 802.3at standard and provide upto a 30W power budget per Ethernet portwhile offering IEEE 802.3af (PoE)backward compatibility.

All the devices also havenumerous QoScapabilities toprioritise real-time trafficflows and helpenforce SLAs. Advanced

security features include MAC-based portauthentication, DHCP snooping, and IP-MAC-Port binding functions.

Linksys adds they also have functionsfor quickly expanding the network. Theseinclude multiple high-bandwidth trunksbetween switches to enhance availabilityand redundancy, as well as Gigabit or 10-Gigabit uplink SFP/SFP+ fibre optic portexpansions for servers and data centres.

There are also STP and Storm Controlfeatures to help control planned or inadver-

tent cable loops. It�’s claimed theseenable administrators

to �“confidently�”build a mesh ofswitches and

quickly expandtheir network to support

a growing workforce.

off-the-shelf

interconnect cable. IHSEsays this arrangementreduces the total number oflong interconnection cables in amulti-CPU extension system, whilstmaintaining access to multiple computers.It operates equally well on systems usingpoint-to-point extension as well as KVMswitch-based installations.

The Draco CPU switch includes bi-directional analogue audio ports andUSB-HID for eight computers. A furtherUSB 2.0 port (480Mbps) on the extenderallows storage devices to be connectedlocally. An attached USB device isconnected to the active computer making itpossible to simply transfer data from asingle USB device to all computers under

control ofthe workstation.Optionally, storage devices can alsobe connected at the console via USB 2.0embedded (36Mbps) interface.

The firm adds any of the eight connectedsources can be accessed from the console.The extender operates as an 8-input, 1-output KVM switch and includes front-panel LEDs to indicate the active computer.Analogue VGA video signals are convertedto DVI within the extender and right-sizedusing Draco Vario image scaling.

IHSE has launched a switch that integratesmultiple inputs into a single KVM extender.

The firm explains that KVM extenderscomprise two parts: CPU units at the sourceend connect to computers, whilst CONunits provide signals to peripheral devices.

The new Draco CPU Switch can replaceeight traditional CPU units and includes an8:1 switch. This enables the connection ofup to eight source computers using VGAcables to the CPU unit, which is furtherconnected to a user workstation by one

Route masters

The B1 from virtualisation specialistZNYX Networks is an entry-level 1U top-of-rack switch that provides the capacity toadd or change applications for futureneeds. As the latest virtualisation platformfor network services, it�’s claimed it deliverstwice the density in half the rack space attwo-thirds the cost of comparable systems.

ZYNX says the patent-pending B1�“tightly couples�” the network services of an Ethernet switch with Intel�’s AtomC2000 processor and the dual Xeonprocessor E5-2600 v2 compute resource.It�’s claimed this results in a �“powerful�”400G switch fabric with 24 10Gbps portsand four 40Gbps ports to provideswitching capacity for the entire rack.

ZYNX adds that this combinationdelivers the high performancerequired for line-rate service chain-ing to applications in the data path.

In a multi-tenant server rack, the B1 issaid to be able to deploy services forspecific servers in the rack, enableindividual service configurations forservers, and isolate services for differentdepartments within an enterprise.

ZYNX reckons it�’s also an idealnetwork-edge gateway device for CPE,such as MPLS routing services for thenetwork, and provides the breakoutswitching required on-premises.

Any networking application or OS canrun either virtualised or bare-metal on theB1 environment, providing services such asload balancing and security as required bythe servers.

14


Net+ 1410 p14-15 (Off the Shelf & Net Knowledge) AM RN.qxd 3/10/14 16:43

The BCS, Chartered Institute of IT islaunching a new series of books to provideindustry guidance to key IT roles in arange of business areas. They cover theobjectives of the role, required anddesirable skills, responsibilities, industrystandards, frameworks, CPD, practicaltips, and case studies.

The BCS says the idea behind the booksis to put �‘the technical in the context of thebusiness�’. This will enable IT professionalsto see how their jobs fit into to the wideraims of the organisations they work for,and how the specific tasks they performimpact on their colleagues and customers.The institute says this should help ITpractitioners to assess their current jobsand plan career moves by evaluating theroles available to them.

The first two books are now available.Business Relationship Manager by ErnestBrewster gives practical guidance to thosenew to this role or interested in enhancingtheir understanding of what it entails.Service Desk and Incident Manager byPeter Wheatcroft has a similar approach,but the BCS adds it will also be of interestto suppliers of service desk and associatedsoftware so they can gain a deeperunderstanding of how the people who use their products need to work.

�“Each book describes a specific role,putting it in the context of the relevantstandards and frameworks for that sector,�”says Matthew Flynn, BCS head of publish-ing. �“Used in conjunction with the BCSPersonal Development Plan tool you willbe able to map your competencies againstthe SFIAplus framework and produce adevelopment plan for your career.�”

The institute plans to cover othersectors of the industry and produce acomprehensive library of books as part ofthe series. www.bcs.org/bookshop

Re-thinking disasterrecovery with MicrosoftMicrosoft and its Gold partner FrontierTechnology will host an educationalforum that discusses the latest features ofWindows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V, andhow it can improve a disaster recoverystrategy whilst reducing spend.

The event will also feature speakersfrom CommVault who will talk aboutreducing the complexity and costsassociated with backup.

The forum is aimed at organisations thatdo not have enough hardware resources ina second site and are worried with initialsetup cost, as well as those who lack theresources to effectively manage acomprehensive disaster recovery solution.

It takes place from 9am-1pm on 22 October at Microsoft, Cardinal Place,80-100 Victoria St, London, SW1E 5JL.Call 0845 603 6552 for more details.

NEW COURSESLondon security event �– the SANSInstituteThe SANS Institute is coming to Londonwith 16 courses covering securityessentials, auditing, testing, detection ofthreats, and more. Most of the courses willhave associated certification and will be ledby the institute�’s acclaimed instructors.

The event will also include expert talksand social evenings, as well as the SANSNetWars tournament. This is billed as afully interactive, internet-based environmentin which participants advance through fivelevels tackling a range of attacks andmounting suitable defences. It will be freeto all five- or six-day course students.

The SANS Institute training event takesplace at the Grand Connaught Rooms inLondon from 15-24 November. To register

and for full details on all 16 courses, visitwww.sans.org/event/london-2014.

SDN skills certification programme �–Open Networking FoundationThe Open Networking Foundation haslaunched the ONF-Certified SDNProfessional (OCSP) programme.

The ONF is a non-profit organisationdedicated to accelerating the adoption ofopen Software-Defined Networking (SDN).It says its new programme will provide a strong foundation of vendor-neutral,concept, and technical level credentials inopen SDN that can integrate with individualvendor certifications in networkingtechnologies or programming languages.

It will begin by offering two certifica-tions: ONF-Certified SDN Engineer (OCSE)and ONF-Certified SDN Associate (OCSA).

OCSE certifies technical and engineering-

level knowledge of SDN technologies,architectures and deployment solutions,and is designed for entry level SDNengineering and networking professionals.

OCSA validates concept-level knowledgeof SDN technologies, architectures, anddeployment solutions. It is designed forentry-level sales and marketing profession-als to have a basic understanding of SDN.

The exams for each will be available in early 2015 and translated into majorlanguages once demand is established.Candidates who pass an OCSP certificationexam will receive a certificate and anauthorised registration number which willbe managed through a global online portalavailable to certification owners andprospective employers.

For further information contact theONF�’s technical programme manager:[email protected].

network knowledgeregister online @ www.networkingplus.co.uk NEW WEBSITE NOW LIVE!


BCS launchesnew series ofcareer guides

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mission-critical deliver onall its complicated than ... · the dcms said this would be funded from...

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