Network Tech Talk: Bi-Modal on a single network infrastructure
Are you one of our many customers who have started to make inquiries on Bi-modal IT and whether Cisco Digital Network Architecture (Cisco DNA) could potentially help them with their Bi-modal IT strategy?
The great news is that the answer is yes. Read on to discover how Cisco DNA is ideally suited to support Bi-Modal IT.
What is Bi-modal IT?
Given this has now become a kind of buzz word, I’ll clarify how we are considering Bi-modal IT here: as a strategy for deploying secure safe networks for business-critical apps while at the same time having DevOps work on a parallel stream of more agile infrastructure.
How does Cisco DNA fit with Bi-modal IT?
Quite simply it creates a single network environment that caters for both modes:
Mode 1 through a complete Lifecycle Management as we automate the full lifecycle requirements across: Day 0 Provisioning; Day 1 Service instantiation; Day 2 Troubleshooting.
Mode 2 through programmability at all layers of Cisco DNA; service abstraction, automation as well as the ability to automatically and dynamically respond to changing conditions in the network.
It does this through five core principles which help you to innovate faster, reduce cost and complexity, and lower risk by:
- Virtualising everything to give you the freedom of choice to run services and applications on any platform.
- Automation giving you controllers to simplify the complexity of the network and speed up deployment.
- Pervasive analytics giving you the business information you need on workers, customers, applications, devices and threats.
- A unified interface for you and/or your partner of choice to support network-enabled applications through cloud service management.
- Openness and extensibility at every layer – Cisco and 3rd party hardware, open API’s, developer’s platform, all supporting network-enabled applications.
The Exciting Bit for Bi-Modal IT
At the very heart of Cisco DNA is automation enabled by the industry’s most powerful controller, the Cisco APIC-EM. Which gives you;
- Complete abstraction – allowing you to focus on business intent, while the network drives and enforces policy
- Centralized Policy – The controller enables you to administer, orchestrate and enforce all policies across the network through a simple GUI
- Scale and Resiliency – you can manage over 16000 devices through Clustering Technology
- Extensibility through Open API – you can allow 3rd parties to leverage the power of the APIC-EM to fully leverage the network through our open REST API
- Complete Lifecycle Management – Unlike many point solutions, you get automation of the full lifecycle requirements across Day 0 (Provisioning), Day 1 (Service instantiation), Day 2 (Troubleshooting)…
- Investment Protection – the controller protects your existing investments, supporting both greenfield and brownfield deployments through the support of our widely-used Cisco CLI.
Cisco DNA and Bi-Modal IT in Practice
Here is one example that shows how Cisco DNA caters for both modes of a bi-modal IT: The Easy QoS Application, which runs on top of the Cisco APIC-EM controller.
First this addresses Mode 1 traditional IT tasks of configuring and provisioning the network. The APIC-EM abstracts the network (its devices and associated capabilities), giving you the ability to deploy consistent QoS policies end-to-end. All in just a few clicks. Saving hours of human intervention and expensive CCIE time. Freeing your expensive resource to focus on delivering more value from the network.
Then it supports Mode 2 with Dynamic QoS. Once you have defined your QoS policies they are automatically provisioned (and removed) by the network. For example, as soon as, say, a video call is being established on the network. When the calls ends, similarly the network removes it.
In summary Bi-modal IT no longer has to require two separate networks. With Cisco DNA, you can incorporate both modes into the same network.
Want to know more? Discover more about Cisco DNA here. Or get in touch today.
With thanks to Eric Marin, CTO Enterprise Networks EMEAR and Bruno Klauser, Consulting Engineer and Technical Lead Enterprise SDN for your contributions and insights.
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