Cloud Network Engineering, what is it and How relevant is it in today’s World?
let’s start by understanding what the cloud is, and why it’s so important in today’s world. The cloud is a collection of computer resources (physical and virtual) that are located remotely and made available over the internet. Because these resources are available over the internet, you don’t need to purchase and own expensive server or network hardware. Instead you simply access these resources using an internet connection and get them as a service.
You might think it’s expensive to pay for resources over the internet rather than purchase the sever once and getting using it over and over again. The reality is that owning massive, expensive servers comes with a-lot of overhead and financial burden. Furthermore, to make these resources available to your customers or your staff takes a lot of effort. This demand grows as our customer base and our staff numbers grow.
Cloud Computing-The Solution…
Cloud Computing to the rescue – the cloud allows you to access computing resources over the internet. Things like processing power, storage space, network resources, software applications and hosting services all over an internet connection. It allows you to access resources and services that are hosted by a cloud service provider. The cloud provider, e.g Amazon Web Services (AWS) or Microsoft Azure hosts and manages all the expensive servers and network infrastructure.
These resources are then made available to you on demand as a service that is accessed over the internet. This model allows you to access a platform on which you can design software, create websites and applications etc. You can then make them available to your customers over the internet.
The cloud model means that you do not have to do a-lot of the heavy lifting involved in making your services available to your customers. instead you access, develop and store all your work online safely in the cloud.
Cloud Pro’s
To appreciate the cloud model you must understand how it works and what benefits it gives you. The cloud offers the following upside:
- Scalability– You can expand or shrink the resources you need depending on your current demand. At the click of a button, you can add virtual machines and additional services. With another click you can remove machines or services that you no longer need. Outside the cloud, the process of physically adding a service or resource will normally require a-lot more effort.
- Speed– In an instant, you can go from having one server hosting your website, to three servers hosting new services for your website. The speed and dynamic nature of the cloud lets you quickly make changes to your environment in an instant.
- Ease– At its heart, the cloud is meant to be dynamic and flexible. It is meant to be this way to make all tasks and operations easy. The easier the experience for you, the more you can get done and the better the serve your customer.
- CostEffective – The cloud deliberately makes resources available to you as a service. This lets you have flexibility in the amount you spend and how you spend it. Depending on your cloud provider, you may have an on demand type of service (pay per use) or a monthly or annual subscription. This means, the more virtual machines and virtual resources you add to your environment, the more you pay. Simply put, you pay for what you use.
Cloud Con’s
The benefits above do not come without a downside.
- Security– When you store part or all of your data on the internet, security will always be a concern. Even though cloud providers use the best and most secure security standards to store and transfer your data, security is always a concern. Services and data exposed to the internet will not feel as secure as data stored on your premises. Ease of access to your data, also opens up what you store on the cloud to vulnerabilities.
- VendorLock-in – Migrating your current applications and services from one cloud provider to another may prove more challenging than expected. Migrating from vendor to vendor poses compatibility issues which might prove to be more of a head ache than you would like.
- Control Limitations – Because the cloud is owned and managed by the provider, not all control is passed down to you. Control over the Applications, Data and Services that run on the virtual resources are the only thing given to you the user. This means more technical backend tasks are out of your control and in these cases you are at the mercy of the cloud provider.
Where do you and I fit in?
I cannot help but wonder where we fit in as a network engineers when it comes to the cloud. Where do our skills (which have been gained over the years) as a Network Engineers fit in to this new grand design? How can a Network Engineer stay relevant in this cloud based landscape?
To answer this, I looked at the main aim of cloud computing – Automation. Technology, since the dawn of time has been created and improved upon for one simple reason, to make life easier. From the Invention of the Wheel, to the invention of Fire, to the Fork, all technology is created to make our lives easier.
With that firmly in mind, I found that the cloud’s main goal is to ease our online business and work life. For example the cloud makes it easy for you to create a web presence and expand it by simply signing up for a website subscription service. The cloud also makes it easy to expand your website and accommodate more visitors at any time with minimal effort.
Addition of new features to your website is also simplified on the cloud. Now instead of just having a blog, you can transform it into an online store to accept payments from your blog readers. All this can be done with the clicks of a few buttons. Amazing.
Build dynamic networks
With ease in mind, a network engineer must be able to build a network that is flexible, secure and robust enough to change at the drop of a hat. All this must be achieved while still being able to support all the needs of the services that run on this network. Changes to the environment should not be felt by the end user. You must build a network that is capable of shifting and adjusting itself to keep up with the demands of the customer.
The answer to this is Software Defined Networking-SDN and Intent Based Networking-IBN.
Software Defined Networking-SDN
SDN allows you to use programming to make changes to your network without direct intervention. The network can react and adapt to particular programmed queues using the instructions in the software programming. SDN allows you to centrally control multiple network devices using an SDN Controller. It provides consistent network management from one location over multiple devices, while providing ease of management by reducing repetitive tasks and operations.
Intent Based Networking-IBN
IBN is the latest and greatest advancement in the world of SDN. IBN is built around your intended goal for the final outcome of your network. This technology uses an IBN Controller (e.g CISCO DNA Center) to manage and control all the network devices in your environment.
Basically you tell your IBN controller what you want in your network and how you intend your network to operate. The Controller will execute your intentions on all the appropriate network devices.
IBN takes it a step further by constantly monitoring your network environment looking out for any outages or changes in your network. If a change doesn’t fit your intended setup the IBN Controller can alert you, or can take the necessary steps to correct the issue.
E.g if your primary link fails and cuts off connectivity to a remote office, the IBN controller can redirect traffic using an alternative route and alert the admin about the outage. IBN is without a doubt the key that can allow you to build a dynamic network that will perform miracles in the cloud.
Because of the dynamic nature of the cloud, the most sensible approach to networking on the cloud is SDN and IBN. These technologies allow for quick and easy configuration of both physical and virtual network devices. They will also allow for changes to be made quickly with little overhead for each task. This means that the network can be quickly modified to cater to needs and demands from the customer.
Summing it All Up
The most relevant skills required by the network engineer of tomorrow are SDN/IBN skills. combine that with a solid understanding of how cloud computing works and how it is delivered to the customer.
I must mention too, that network engineering skills like routing and switching are vital to have any kind of success as a cloud network engineer. The world of automated networking and SDN/IBN is truly exciting. If you are interested in getting started in this new, upcoming technology, check out these resources.
I recommend the links above as a good place to start for any network engineer interested in becoming a cloud network engineer.