Why Automation Is Pivotal to Successful Virtual Networks

Why Automation is Pivotal to Successful Virtual Networks

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A VMware presentation about

strategies to reduce data center

costs with network virtualization

and automation

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Now Trending

Network virtualization is happening—and it’s happening fast.

The vast majority of enterprise networks will be virtualized within the next three years, according to a survey by Ashton Metzler & Associates.

Data Center design in three years

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

12.8%

4.1%

16.9%

37.9%

25.1%

3.3%

% of Respondents

Exclusively based on NV

Mostly based on NV

NV and traditional networking coexisting about equally

Mostly traditional

Exclusively traditional

Don’t know

Source: The 2013 Guide to Network Virtualization and SDN, Ashton Metzler & Associates

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Why Network Virtualization?

Network virtualization is growing in part because of other forms of virtualization.

With server virtualization approaching 50 percent at the majority of enterprises, according to Gartner1, IT shops have become accustomed to quickly spinning up virtual machines (VM).

Suddenly, the network has become the bottleneck —a major bottleneck.

And then, IT is perceived as obstructing business agility.

1 Shifting Roles in the Modern Data Center, Malcolm Rieke, InfoTech, June 25, 2014.

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Easing Network Bottlenecks

These bottlenecks occur because applications need much more than just the rightsized VMs and storage resources. They also need networks configured with appropriate connectivity, security, availability, scale, and performance. But it can take weeks to provision a new physical network.

Users become very impatient.

The next logical step: virtualize the network, too.

Physical network provisioning: WeeksVirtual network provisioning: Seconds

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Just like with VMs, virtual networks are kept in software containers. This gives enterprises the ability to programmatically create, snapshot, move, delete, and restore virtual networks in software.

The Versatility of Network Virtualization

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But virtualization alone won’t cut it. As you move toward the software-defined data center (SDDC), simply virtualizing the individual components—servers, storage, and network —doesn’t deliver all the goods.

You still face significant challenges:

As it turns out, you’re only partway through the journey to getting the most out of virtualization. You’ve picked up some goodies along the way. But the best is yet to come.

Virtualization is Not Enough

• Long mean time to issue resolution

• Inefficient use of resources

• Lack of visibility

• Unnecessary CapEx from purchasing hardware

• Unnecessary OpEx for having to manually provision applications

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Policy-based management and automation is the catalyst that empowers the virtualized network—and, ultimately, the SDDC architecture

Suddenly, everything becomes easier.

Getting it Right

• Increased uptime for applications

• More efficient operations reduce OpEx of network management

• Unified console give you transparency into infrastructure

• Faster mean-time-to-issue resolution

• Monitor health of applications

SDDC

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NSX is VMware’s network virtualization solution. Here’s what it delivers:

Agility With NSX, you can provision custom, multi-tier network topologies and enterprise-class security services in days instead of weeks or even months

Distributed Security Using NSX, security profiles are distributed to and enforced by virtual ports, and move with VMs

What’s the Role of VMware NSX?

CostNSX initially reduces CapEx by matching resources to needs and simplifying network hardware requirements

Scale and PerformanceVMware NSX platform has been proven in production implementations and is now being deployed at two of the top three service providers in the world, four out of top five global financial services companies, and more than 100 enterprise-class data centers in almost every industryChoice

Because the NSX network virtualization platform operates on any hypervisor, you can use any network hardware you like

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Then, after virtualization comes automation. The shortest and smartest path to get there is with VMware vRealize Automation.

vRealize slashes OpEx by eliminating manual configuration from network provisioning.

The combined capabilities of these solutions empower IT to fully automate the delivery of secure, scalable, and high performing multi-tier applications.

Adding Automation to the Mix

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The Next Wave of IT Efficiency

Adding automation (vRealize Automation) to network virtualization (NSX) delivers tremendous benefits:

Virtualization

• Accelerates service delivery from weeks to days

• Enables resource pooling

• Allows hardware consolidation (CapEx)

Automation

• Accelerates service delivery from days to minutes

• Improves operational efficiency (OpEx)

• Optimizes resource utilization

• Reduces complexity via standardization

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Virtualization alone can’t configure all your network services dynamically in the context of deploying an application. It requires tedious, manual steps. You need vRealize Automation to take you to the next level.

vRealize Automation can dynamically provision NSX logical services customized to the specific needs of each application.

Together, these two solutions empower IT to fully automate the delivery of secure, scalable, and high-performing multi-tier applications.

Better Together

NSX vRealize Automation

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The ultimate IT outcome of virtualizing and automating the network is streamlined and automated data center operations. This is tied to important business and technical outcomes desired by everyone with a stake in the game.

Great Outcomes

Business and IT Executives

• Speed and agility

• Secure infrastructure

• Time-to-market

• Competitive advantage

IT Infrastructure and Security Professionals

• Data center micro-segmentation

• Network hardware choices

• Network capacity utilization

Learn More

Discover more about how VMware SDDC delivers Streamlined and Automated Data Center Operations

Check out an overview infographic High-Value Outcomes for IT Organizations