Tag Archives: Azure

01 Feb

WAN Edge and SD-WAN, what you need to know

There are plenty of articles and information on the WAN Edge.    Perhaps the question to ask is, so what? How does this affect today’s multi-line hybrid WAN?  With research suggesting there will be 50 billion devices attached to the Internet in the next 3 to 5 years, how does the corporate network manage access to their applications and information stored, both on premise, in the cloud and from WAN edge devices?

Today’s corporate WAN’s are complex, and the top issues faced by IT management are still the security of data flowing across the network, managing access, the co-mingling of on premise and cloud-based applications, and reliable, high speed connectivity.   Adding new WAN EDGE devices is simply adding new access and data flow challenges that require careful management.   But who has extra IT staff for this?   They key to success rests with the management of this data traffic.

WAN of Things

The WAN ‘edge’ is evolving into the new WAN of things.  Remember IoT?   WANoT could be how data is to be served to users, no matter where they are, and no matter what device they use.   The question then changes to how to ensure secure, reliable access to applications and information no matter what the access route.

Data can be anywhere these days, applications too.   It is the secure, reliable access to this data, the applications and information needed to be successful in today’s digital society.

WAN Edge devices have computational power

WAN Edge devices have evolved to where they now have computing power, meaning a major portion of data analysis and computational functions are being handled “at the edge”. For example, routers are WAN edge devices, as are switches, but so are weather sensors and satellite tracking devices in shipping.  The proliferation of these “smart” devices with computational power can transform the business WAN, especially if the data from these devices becomes mission critical. Instead of a device sending data only, it is now able to compute and send results of that computational analysis back to the WAN.  This data is then sent to a web property or reporting tool. The downside of all of this computational activity that it adds more traffic to the network.

Control and management of data flow is not new, but is certainly becoming more critical, especially with more and more devices attaching to networks.   WAN traffic management is the key and IT administrators are seeking solutions that automate the management of this traffic.

So, what about “SD-WAN”?   Surely this was the answer to the IT administrators desire for WAN traffic control and management?   Well, it seems that since the advent of SD-WAN, many businesses have been trying to implement a solution that supposedly promises nirvana.   But this has had mixed results at best. The problem is that SD-WAN means different things to different people. Some SD-WAN solutions are complex, some are off premise or cloud based, and some cannot deliver on the promise of true WAN traffic management.

What is True WAN Traffic Management?

Recent research with customers across the globe suggests that “true” WAN traffic management requires sophisticated software that can automatically manage any traffic type, on any type of link.   Today , businesses want to customize their data traffic that results in secure, highly reliable data flow across the WAN, with limited, if any, administration oversight. This software must have the ability to customize HOW to direct this WAN traffic, especially if it has come from a WAN Edge device, using tools that can prioritize link usage with options to customize the flow.    Requested options are, interface type, application signature, protocol, IP address or destination, port source or destination or a combination thereof. True traffic management must also have the ability to set thresholds, based on almost any criteria, allowing for complete customization of how this traffic is directed across the circuits.

Identification of WAN Edge devices then becomes much easier, and the traffic flowing to and from them, customized and optimized. Using this true traffic management,  it does not matter what type of device it is, where it is located, or how it is connecting to the network.   Providing seamless, secure, and reliable access is paramount as is ease of installation and management.

FatPipe Networks has been developing and providing WAN traffic solutions for over 20 years.  With 13 seminal patents, over 182 technical claims, FatPipe is a leader in the industry for SD-WAN, WAN Edge solutions and true WAN traffic management.

FatPipe is continuously innovating and developing to meet customer demand.  FatPipe’s Software-Defined WAN (SD-WAN) and SDN traffic management solutions lead the industry with a security module that is FIPS 140-2 certified.   With a rich, complete suite of software to customize application traffic on premise or in the cloud, as well as for remote users and offices, FatPipe offers true WAN traffic management.  Cloud approved, FatPipe also supports any link type including Fiber, Copper, Wireless (3G:4G:5G LTE), and satellite.

Recently, FatPipe received a rating of 4.9 out of 5 by Gartner, and 100% of customers reviewed stated they would recommend FatPipe. The nearest competitor had 4.8 and 86% respectively.

If you are adding WAN edge devices, or are wanting to manage WAN traffic securely and cost effectively, you have to consider FatPipe Networks solutions.

Contact FatPipe today – 801-683-5656 or visit www.fatpipeinc.com

20 Mar

The Most Important Factors Affecting WAN Administrators Today

Organizations are looking at how to reduce the costs of WAN management and WAN optimization.  With the advent of Cloud based applications for a private, public or hybrid cloud, businesses are searching for the best solution to help not only implement these changes, but to manage them as well.   Here are three of the most important factors affecting WAN administration today:

  1. Security: Without question, the most important factor affecting the implementation of any SD-WAN solution, is security. Our research revealed that security of applications hosted in the cloud and locally was paramount to IT administrators.    But it is not only security of cloud based applications.  Transmission across the WAN is equally important, especially for organizations with international operations.
  2. Ease of Management: This gives rise to the second most important factor affecting WAN administrators.   Administrator skills required to manage the WAN.   Organizations cited that the need to have highly skilled, and in some cases, vendor certified personnel to manage their WAN equipment was costing too much, especially with on-going maintenance of proprietary systems and solutions.  More than 50% of respondents stated that they have difficulty in retaining IT expertise, especially in today’s job market.   Solutions that keep it simple, easy to manage and cost effective are preferred.
  3. Compatibility with existing networks:  Very few suppliers can claim to have a suite of offerings that can address the complex need to address security, ease of management of private and public cloud application needs and compatibility with existing networks.    Rip and replace is not something WAN administrators want, or should do.   There is growing need to upgrade, enhance and augment existing infrastructures, using the equipment and legacy systems to help implement a SD-WAN solution that is compatible with current networking technology and protocols such as BGP. EIGRP, and OSPF, and well as provide inbound and outbound load balancing and traffic control.

FatPipe offers its customers SD-WAN solutions with WAN Optimization and network optimization.  These solutions are available as appliances, virtual machines (VMs) and instances in the Azure and AWS cloud.

FatPipe has always been a company serving network administrators.   FatPipe was providing SD-WAN solutions long before SD-WAN became a buzz word.  The solutions are built to work with existing LAN and WAN infrastructures and protocols.  In fact, FatPipe is the only SD-WAN vendor to support up to 40Gbps bandwidth and up to 15 interfaces.  

FatPipe Networks – www.fatpipeinc.com Call 801683-5656 x 1224

21 Feb

Microsoft customers to benefit from SD-WAN for Azure

SD-WAN for Azure addresses connectivity issues for users of Microsoft Cloud based real time applications, such as Office 365.

FatPipe’s SD-WAN for Azure, an SD-WAN virtual machine enables Microsoft customers who use Office 365 and other cloud based applications by overcoming the need to reconnect every so often when the sessions break.   This is especially important for customers and offices where large groups have to use Office 365 or other cloud-hosted applications, or when a single line connection to Azure is not adequate to address line drop issues.

Using FatPipe’s patented MPSec technology, multinational corporations, embassies and government agencies can use cloud-hosted applications knowing that their traffic is transmitted securely using FatPipe’s cryptographic module, FIPS 140-2, certified by NIST.

Delays and interruptions are reduced with FatPipe’s built in WAN optimization, reducing bandwidth needs and using FatPipe’s QoS gives priority to real time applications. 

FatPipe for Azure provides real time Azure cloud offerings including Office 365, AI, Business Intelligence, Azure stream Analytics and Event Hubs where thousands of telemetry data have to be sent to the Azure Cloud.   Using FatPipe for Azure, VoIP, video, data and VPN sessions are not dropped, but simply failover to other available lines. 

A Global logistics company was looking to migrate real-time applications to Azure and improve performance for their Office 365 users.   Using FatPipe’s SD-WAN for Azure, they made this migration securely and easily.  “We have been a FatPipe partner for several years, providing connectivity for our customers.   We are excited to deploy FatPipe SD-WAN in Azure as we execute on our cloud strategies with our customers” said Aneil Raghunanan, IT Project Manager.

FatPipe for Azure can be downloaded from the Azure marketplace: https://azuremarketplace.microsoft.com/en-us/marketplace/apps/fatpipe-inc.mpvpn-azr?tab=PlansAndPrice

More information on FatPipe for Azure can be found at: https://www.fatpipeinc.com/products/symphony-sd-wan/fatpipe-sd-wan-for-azure.php

31 Jan

Make your Cloud Strategy YOUR Cloud Strategy

cloud strategy

There is no question that the move to the cloud is in full swing.  When you read any technical publication, the cloud is all they can talk about.  While cloud computing continues to see incredible growth, there are some facts that seem to missed.  According to research done by Morgan Stanley, 79% of the computing workload is done on premise.  While the number is expected to drop to 56% in 2021, premise-based data centers still carry the bulk of compute workload.

There are some reasons companies keep applications on-premise.  These can be security concerns, latency concerns, regulatory concerns or even corporate culture reasons.  For whatever reason, it is clear that premise-based computing with continue to be a critical component of the IT infrastructure for the foreseeable future.

While premise-based computing will continue to be part of the equation, it is important to develop your cloud IT strategy.  Most companies are adopting a hybrid IT strategy with portions of the compute workload remaining in the promise data center and other portions being outsources to a public cloud.  When adopting your hybrid IT strategy, you must customize it to your company to be successful.  Consider which applications are most latency sensitive, or have critical security components and strongly consider leaving them on premise. It is important to make your cloud strategy your cloud strategy.

Of course, connectivity is crucial to any cloud or hybrid IT strategy. FatPipe is the expert at hybrid WAN and can help with your hybrid IT strategy. FatPipe has spent nearly two decades developing solutions that are simple, efficient, dynamic & adaptable connections between users, applications, and their data.

These innovations have continued with the announcement of general availability of FatPipe for Azure.  FatPipe for Azure allows customers to seamlessly integrate an Azure cloud site into their MPSec/SD-WAN overlay and get the same benefits of MPSec that they get from a premise-based data center.  FatPipe ensures that your cloud applications, whether it is Salesforce, Office 365, or Google docs don’t have the quality issues during download, screen refresh, or when the line drops. Latency and jiiter as well as application prioritization is managed by your FatPipe ensuring a better quality experience.