As you’ve probably already heard from us here at UC Today, Cisco recently introduced a brand-new intelligent network offering, known as the “Intuitive Network“. The concept behind this solution is to make networks more application-aware so that they can recognise and manage applications in an automated way. Ultimately, the result will be networks that can better support business outcomes and require fewer management resources.
The Catalyst 9000 switch was also introduced recently and is responsible for making the Intuitive Network possible. The switch comes with an onboard processor that runs security, management, and data analysis solutions, configured through the Cisco DNA (Digital Network Architecture) engine.
The Rise of the Intuitive Network
Cisco’s latest approach is similar to what we’ve seen from Apstra and others when it comes to offering software-defined and intent-based networking. Executing on the abilities of Software-Defined Networks using APIs to speak directly to applications, Cisco hopes to take the concept a step further with data analytics to support real-time application analysis.
Cisco’s approach will also expand on DevOps concepts by enabling people responsible for deploying, building, and managing applications to integrate the network into the development process. Rather than simply focusing on provisioning and network operations by looking at latency and bandwidth, application developers will be able to directly extend their applications to speak directly to the network and obtain resources for better resiliency and performance.
The concept of intent-based networks has a unique impact on the people responsible for real-time communication and collaboration solutions. Through the automation of troubleshooting, security, and provisioning, businesses should be able to offer improved performance for real-time apps, while speeding up troubleshooting for performance-based issues.
Concerns and Challenges
Of course, whenever we see new technology on the market, we also see new challenges and concerns for IT leaders to think about, such as:
- What will happen in a mixed-vendor environment? It’s common to see Cisco in the data core centre and other vendors or switches at the edge. It’s also nothing new to see VMware / Cisco private cloud scenarios in the data centre. Today, we’re left wondering whether the Intuitive Network will require end-to-end Cisco usage, or whether Cisco will partner with other vendors to offer a multi-vendor environment?
- What about WAN providers? Recently, Cisco announced plans to purchase Viptela, the SD-WAN platform vendor, to support its intent-based networking across any underlying WAN solution. However, AT&T, Sprint, and others are building their own application-aware network abilities designed to provide sufficient network resources to meet requirements. Will these providers become dumb pipe providers, or will Cisco combine it’s networking capabilities with service partners?
- How will policies be set? Past efforts to allow apps to speak to networks directly ran into a lot of problems when using the Common Open Policy Service solution, and facing the political challenges of deciding which applications to prioritise. Additionally, a lot of network operators are cautious about allowing applications to control their network, for fear that a damaged application will impact others negatively. Automating this process will require some intelligence to determine which business-critical apps are the most important.
All these challenges aside, the Cisco development in intent-based networking looks like a great solution for organisations who are struggling to support the growth in networking demands encouraged by IoT, video conferencing, content sharing, and more. Intent-based networking, automation, software-defined networking, and intelligent solutions will all become essential to the digital transformation journey.
