Arthur Cole

The twin forces of greater data mobility and the need to maintain high levels of security and protection are leading many organizations to embrace virtual private networks (VPNs). The technology is not new, of course, but it is becoming commonplace both as an internal, home-grown solution and a commercial service. Still, network executives should be […]

One of the more ironic aspects of modern network infrastructure is that while high levels of customization are taking root on virtual architectures, the physical layer is becoming increasingly generic. But even that may be about to change now that the ability to program, and thus customize, network hardware, and even basic silicon, is starting […]

Much has been said about the way artificial intelligence (AI) will alter the networking landscape, usually in reference to its ability to enhance traffic management, analytics and the provisioning of virtual resources. But AI will also have a pronounced impact on network infrastructure and in particular the fundamental way in which networking silicon processes packets […]

Network automation offers a compelling vision of what data environments could be, but most enterprises are still struggling with the practical issues of implementing the technology on legacy infrastructure. This should come as no surprise, considering the network is the one piece of the data ecosystem that touches literally everything. Add to this the fact […]

Software defined networking (SDN) puts a new spin on network provisioning and management. Going forward, new architectures will be programmed to function in all sorts of novel ways, so it stands to reason that the programming language chosen for this task will become a prime consideration in the very near future. While it may be […]

The data center is being pulled in two different directions as the enterprise strives for the perfect balance between hardware consumption and expanding data loads. On the one hand, on-premises infrastructure is getting smaller and more modular, while on the other, regional cloud facilities are pushing new boundaries in terms of size and scale and […]

Hyperscale cloud centers are named so for a reason. They’re big. Really big. At the same time, they also incorporate highly dense modular infrastructure, which means they pack a lot of data points, both physical and virtual, in confined areas. All of this adds up to a monumental networking task, which is made all the […]

Software defined networking (SDN) brings many benefits to the enterprise – streamlined architecture, network agility, even improved security. But on a fundamental operations level, its chief advantage is that it allows users to establish virtual private networks (VPNs) quickly and without having to learn a host of archaic network provisioning skills. The VPN, of course, […]

The IoT is driving demand for new forms of network connectivity on the edge, which naturally spurs the need for new standards. It appears that one of the more crucial aspects of this new edge architecture is already making its way into commercial releases, despite the fact that its emergence as an actual standard is […]

One of the more unsettling aspects of software-defined networking (SDN), at least from the network manager’s perspective, is the idea that before long the enterprise network won’t be managed as much as programmed. This has led to some justifiable hand-wringing. Managers worry that the skills that have served them well over the years are about […]

Software-defined networking (SDN) is one of the newest technologies to enter the data center, but as many enterprise executives are finding out, it represents more of a strategic change to infrastructure than a simple technology upgrade. SDN, probably more than virtualization on server and storage infrastructure, alters the relationships between data, applications and users, opening […]

The Internet of Things (IoT) is bringing new networking challenges to the enterprise on a number of fronts. Not only is it driving the need for a new edge and real-time analysis to support myriad devices around the world, but it is also forcing organizations to pay more attention to how all of these “things” […]