By Arun Pathak
Distributed enterprise networks connect multiple locations – such as an organization’s offices, factories or branches, data centers, cloud service providers, third-party vendors and partners – to enable communication and the sharing of data and resources across city blocks, regions and continents.
This doesn’t happen at the push of a button. There are challenges to overcome first, particularly when we consider that about 6 in 10 employees globally now work remotely all or some of the time.
Their need for reliable, secure connectivity on the go has added to the complexity created by the mix of on-premises and cloud-based resources and devices that make up a distributed network.
The nature of these challenges depends on who you ask. The CIO might be more concerned with reining in the escalating cost of the network, while the network engineer struggles to integrate new and legacy network technologies when software-defined infrastructure is becoming the norm.
Keep it scalable and secure
The complexity of a distributed network is not limited to technology integrations. The network also has to be configured to keep it scalable, so it can adapt easily to new workloads and business requirements while prioritizing critical applications.
Maintaining a modular design is imperative in this regard, and techniques such as moving workloads to the cloud can help reduce the overall network load to allow scaling.
Software-defined networking also makes it easier to support scalability through the dynamic management of network performance.
A distributed network must also be secure by design. There is no longer a fixed perimeter to keep data safe, and threats are more frequent and varied than before. Access control and identity management are key, and security measures must form part of all device configurations.
Security goes hand in hand with compliance with data privacy regulations, which may differ tremendously across multiple jurisdictions. Compliance and security audits help to implement and maintain an appropriate level of security.
Distributed networks need first-class data analysis
In addition to security measures, scalability checks and technical integrations, the network must remain fast and reliable, which is why organizations need full visibility of its performance.
The nature of distributed networks can make it difficult to troubleshoot issues in real time, but massive advances in network technology – beyond conventional routing, firewall and connectivity tools – are easing the pressure. A major trend is software-defined networking, which provides a single pane of glass to manage all associated network devices at the data centers.
Similarly, software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) technology can centralize management of routing and other network functionality including its visibility and management.
In addition, networks have legacy devices, wireless access points, firewalls, intrusion prevention systems and more – all contributing to the need for platform-based, single-pane-of-glass monitoring and management of the network for better control, decision-making and overall network health.
This can be achieved by adopting a network management platform or integration that incorporates analytical data from all elements and solutions connected to the network.
Data analysis therefore becomes the “secret sauce” of efficient distributed networks – as long as they are segmented based on user roles, device types, applications, firewalls and more. This helps determine what type of data will be used, and in what way, for each segment.
High-quality data then supercharges AI-enabled traffic-pattern analysis and anomaly detection, while an AIOps approach can help network managers prioritize regular maintenance by identifying the most pressing issues that might cause network failures.
Reactive network management still has its place, but proactive management, with the goal of 100% uptime and excellent user experience, should be every organization’s goal.
Many challenges, managed on one platform
When all these challenges are taken into account, it’s clear that managing a distributed network can be more daunting than many organizations assume.
Many tools and potential solutions are available, but organizations that try to integrate these on their own may find they lack the in-house skills and experience needed to do so successfully.
This is where network management platforms come in. Managed service providers like NTT know how to set up and manage these platforms to gather data from across the network and turn it into actionable insights.
In this way, organizations can become more proactive in managing their networks – including by embracing AI and machine learning to flag potential issues for attention before they cause downtime.
Our clients typically want to improve the user experience and the performance and efficiency of their distributed network while maintaining security and compliance. But beyond these operational needs, they want to be assured that the evolution of their network is aligned with their business strategy.
This is another area where a managed service provider adds value: they can look beyond the technology itself to determine how a solution will help organizations realize their broader goals.
The author is vice president,managed network and collaboration services, NTT India
(With insights from Cointelegraph)