Big Switch unveils fresh range of tools to simplify hybrid cloud networking
Written by James Orme Thu 22 Aug 2019
Big Switch is making data centre networking easier in the multicloud world
Software-defined networking (SDN) specialist Big Switch has unveiled a range of software solutions aimed at simplifying hybrid cloud networking.
Alongside the general availability of Big Cloud Fabric for AWS virtual private network (VPC) management, the company has unveiled Global Virtual Private Cloud (G-VPCs) and a cloud-based service of its Multi-Cloud Director (MCD).
Big Cloud Fabric (BCF) is one of the company’s most popular tools. The software sits on top of open Ethernet networking switches from Accton, Dell EMC, HPE and others to deliver SDN capabilities such as network automation, security, orchestration and analytics to data centres. BCF also integrates and provides centralised support for cloud management platforms such as VMware and OpenStack and container orchestrators like Kubernetes.
With BCF for AWS, organisations can discover and manage any VPCs or workloads they have configured in Amazon’s public cloud, providing networking teams with a clear picture of cloud workloads that are typically hard to visualise (also known as shadow IT).
The other major release is Global VPCs, aimed at simplifying networking across hybrid clouds in multiple domains, whether that’s data centres, edge clouds or multiple public clouds. It is an extension of the company’s existing software E-VPC, which only enabled connectivity in on-prem or date centre cloud services, but not across hybrid cloud environments.
G-VPCs abstract the underlying infrastructure and provide a centralised interface to manage hybrid cloud services, enabling networking teams to add new tenants, regardless of their underlying network variations.
Finally, Big Switch is releasing a cloud-based version of its Multi-Cloud Director-Cloud Service (MCD-CS). The service enables IT teams to manage all BCF deployments from a cloud dashboard, enabling them to optimise capacity planning, schedule upgrades and providing them with security alerts.
Written by James Orme Thu 22 Aug 2019