The cloud-mobile era is transforming the data centre. For decades, monolithic applications ran on servers. With the advent of the web, applications were broken into three tiers—the front end, the data tier and the business logic. As applications needed to serve more users and more data, IT built a better mousetrap—faster servers, bigger storage and faster networks, writes Samer Itani, Solutions Architect – UAE ar Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company.
The build-a-bigger-mousetrap strategy works for corporate data centres that serve tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of users. However, cloud services serve millions of users—and maybe even billions.
Disaggregation of compute
It’s time to reinvent the data centre for the cloud. An emerging concept is the disaggregation of compute, which will enable cloud services at scale.
In this model, applications and server components are broken down so they can be distributed across the data centre or even multiple data centres. As processing is distributed, pools of data centre resources can be used instantaneously as workloads change.
The application is also disaggregated, with the creation of micro-services. This way, when thousands of people use the same cloud application, such as Salesforce, each person’s activity, whether it is approving a new hire or opening a purchase order, kicks off its own workflow. These application micro-services spin up and down to meet demand.
Building networks for cloud scale
Cloud services are dynamic and elastic—and the cloud network must keep pace.
In the past, applications were hardcoded to the network. When a business unit needed a new application or more capacity, IT had to make the changes manually, configuring virtual LANs and security policies using the command-line interface of the routers or switches. In the best-case scenario, changes would take hours—but days, weeks and even months are the norm.
The cloud does not operate on human time. Cloud services spin up and down in micro-seconds. With advances in software-defined networking, network functions virtualisation, and orchestration tools, the data centre network is being automated to provide connectivity in real time.
An opportunity for career growth
It’s an exciting time to be a network architect. We are at the very beginning of network automation and cloud data centres. New technologies are being invented and there’s a lot to learn.
Network architects’ skills are evolving beyond mastery of the command line interface, and as the walls between the networking, server, and storage domains break down, network architects have an opportunity to take on a broader role in IT. It’s also an opportunity to embrace DevOps, where IT becomes more collaborative, highly iterative, and faster paced.
