Only a year and a half ago, we both saw cloud computing as a more important media event than any other real event that could impact traditional IT organizations. This is no longer the case. At the beginning of 2011, the majority of IT organizations adopt one or more forms of cloud computing. Because of this general interest in cloud computing, we will use the next newsletters to discuss cloud networking.
We use cloud networking to describe the functionality that must be in the network and in network management to support cloud computing. One thing that has always been true about networking is that LAN design is fundamentally different from WAN design. On the contrary, the need to support cloud computing increases the differences between LAN and WAN design.
For example, local area networks have always been designed for blazing speed, while wide area networks have always been designed for the money. Local area networks are geared to speed, largely because their speed increases dramatically. For example, in the late 1990s, it was common for Fortune 500 companies to connect servers to their network via a 10 Mbps connection. It is now common to connect servers to the network using 10 Gbps connections. This represents a multiplier factor per 1,000 of speed in just over a decade. By the end of the 1990s, however, it was common for Fortune 500 companies to use a 56 kbps WAN link to connect to their regular branch. Today, these companies often use two or three T-1 links to connect to their typical branch. This means that over the last 10 to 15 years, the speed of WAN links that connect to a typical branch has been multiplied by a factor of less than 75.
Looking ahead, we see a growing disparity in the speed of local and wide area networks. For example, earlier this year, the 40 Gbps and 100 Gbps Ethernet standards were approved. With the increase in the number of cores per server and the current server virtualization, it is reasonable to assume that over the next five years, it will be somewhat common for Fortune 500 companies to connect servers to the server. network using 100 Gbps connections. This is another factor in increasing the speed of connections to the server. At the same time, it is doubtful that many Fortune 500 companies are increasing the WAN link capacity of their branches by a factor of more than two or three.
Jim recently completed a detailed report on cloud networks. Given its length, we will publish the report in the coming weeks in five installments. We will also publish a full copy of the report in mid-December. The first two documents have already been published.
We use cloud networking to describe the functionality that must be in the network and in network management to support cloud computing. One thing that has always been true about networking is that LAN design is fundamentally different from WAN design. On the contrary, the need to support cloud computing increases the differences between LAN and WAN design.
For example, local area networks have always been designed for blazing speed, while wide area networks have always been designed for the money. Local area networks are geared to speed, largely because their speed increases dramatically. For example, in the late 1990s, it was common for Fortune 500 companies to connect servers to their network via a 10 Mbps connection. It is now common to connect servers to the network using 10 Gbps connections. This represents a multiplier factor per 1,000 of speed in just over a decade. By the end of the 1990s, however, it was common for Fortune 500 companies to use a 56 kbps WAN link to connect to their regular branch. Today, these companies often use two or three T-1 links to connect to their typical branch. This means that over the last 10 to 15 years, the speed of WAN links that connect to a typical branch has been multiplied by a factor of less than 75.
Looking ahead, we see a growing disparity in the speed of local and wide area networks. For example, earlier this year, the 40 Gbps and 100 Gbps Ethernet standards were approved. With the increase in the number of cores per server and the current server virtualization, it is reasonable to assume that over the next five years, it will be somewhat common for Fortune 500 companies to connect servers to the server. network using 100 Gbps connections. This is another factor in increasing the speed of connections to the server. At the same time, it is doubtful that many Fortune 500 companies are increasing the WAN link capacity of their branches by a factor of more than two or three.
Jim recently completed a detailed report on cloud networks. Given its length, we will publish the report in the coming weeks in five installments. We will also publish a full copy of the report in mid-December. The first two documents have already been published.
