Ethernet and Cloud Computing

HOW ETHERNET HELPSBUSINESSES REALIZE

THE POTENTIAL OF CLOUD

COMPUTING

HOW ETHERNET HELPS BUSINESSES REALIZE THE POTENTIAL OF CLOUD COMPUTING 2

NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE, CLOUD, AND ETHERNET: A GUIDE FOR BUSINESSESBY KAREN SCHMIDT, VICE PRESIDENT, ENTERPRISE MARKETING, COMCAST, INC.

Cloud computing is fueling unprecedented innovation in cost-effective business productivity tools. Prior to the widespread adoption of cloud-based infrastructure, platforms, and software, only large corporations could expect to achieve economies of scale within their IT departments due to the relatively high up-front costs of building infrastructure. The cloud’s low barriers to entry and “pay only for what you use” pricing structure enable mid-size businesses to realize similar economies of scale with minimal ramp-up time and initial capital outlay. Additionally, many businesses realize significant tax benefits as cloud’s pay-as-you-go pricing model qualifies as an operating expense rather than a capital expenditure.

Taken together, advances in cloud computing and the low cost associated with it can produce competitive advantages, as companies are now able to shift resources to core business activities that produce a higher return on investment. However, one factor companies must consider is the increased role network infrastructure plays in enabling companies to operate efficiently using cloud-based systems.

THE INTERNET: CLOUD’S BIGGEST BOTTLENECK

With the explosion of data and the benefits of cloud computing, why are some companies unable or slow to take full advantage of the cloud’s potential? It all comes down to how they get to the cloud: Internet or private connectivity. Businesses must understand the pros and cons of each.

While regular Internet service is sufficient for many businesses, it lacks a few key features needed by businesses that heavily rely on secure data transfer.

The Internet is cost-effective and accessible from just about anywhere – two advantages that help explain its massive popularity. The downside is that there is no single entity that oversees the whole Internet. First, increased accessibility comes with increased security risk. Second, unless unless the origination and destination points of an Internet route reside on the same provider’s network, one company will hand traffic off to another to complete the route. Since no service provider is going to take responsibility for another’s performance, or lack thereof, there are no Internet SLAs.

So while the Internet offers tempting advantages, it comes with increased security risks and performance trade-offs. “Latency” is an important word in cloud computing, and it can be thought of as the time it takes for a packet to make a round trip between two points; say from your office, to the data center where your application is hosted (the cloud), then back. When using the Internet to access the cloud, it introduces more latency into the equation. Some applications can tolerate longer latency (e-mail), while others are very intolerant (video). Logically, the farther away your application is from your office, the more latency you can expect.

PROJECTED GROWTH OF DATA OVER NEXT TWO YEARS.

The growing prevalence of cloud computing has driven astronomical growth in the amount of data center traffic passing through networks. The amount of data traveling from data centers to users is projected to hit 468 Exabytes (one Exabyte = 1018 bytes) in 2016. For sake of comparison, worldwide Internet traffic surpassed the one Exabyte mark for the first time in 2003.

118

20162011

468

DATA FROM DATA CENTERSTO USERS IS GROWING ATA 32% CAGR(In Exabytes)


For mission critical, latency intolerant applications hosted at a data center/cloud provider, private connectivity provides:

• High availability

• Low latency

• High security

• Service Level Agreements

That is precisely why many leading cloud service providers are now partnering with telcos and cable companies to offer their customers a private connectivity option better matched to the criticality of their applications. That option is Ethernet.

ETHERNET: THE SELF-CONTAINED NETWORK THAT REACHES ACROSS TOWN

Ethernet is the leading alternative to the Internet for organizations that require secure, high availability, and low-latency access to cloud-based applications.

Ethernet technology has just hit its 40-year anniversary, and in that time has become the de facto technology in offices around the word, linking computers and servers together in a high-speed, Local Area Network (LAN). However, Ethernet’s design elements make it well suited to link computers over a larger area, between buildings in a metro area (Metropolitan Area Network, or MAN) with low latency. As a consequence, over the last 10-15 years Ethernet has become the technology of choice in the MAN as well.

Within a metro area, Ethernet is a savior for companies with multiple offices, production sites, and applications in the cloud. Traffic and applications are contained within a private network, meaning one service provider manages the traffic from end to end, resulting in better security and performance, and with the ability to integrate Internet traffic as well. The net effect is that remote offices, and even those applications hosted in third-party data centers, respond and feel like they were on the LAN, because of that low latency.

Cloud providers, third-party data centers and end-users alike are looking for that Ethernet experience, because only then will IT staffs have the confidence to move critical applications off-site, and truly realize the potential for the cloud.

HIGH-PERFORMANCE INFRASTRUCTURE: BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE

Cloud computing has changed how IT executives view the importance of their network services. In a recent CIO/Computerworld survey, seven out of ten IT executives reported viewing reliable, high-capacity bandwidth as a transformational or strategic asset. Two years ago, the majority saw it only as “nice to have,” not a “must have.”

In this same survey, a majority of respondents cite several business benefits gained through high-performance connectivity. These include increased productivity (73%) and increased efficiency (67%). Companies increasingly view high-performance network services as a prerequisite for future growth.

24%

18%

51%

6%

Two years ago Today

38%

32%

27%

3%

Strategic asset

Transformationalasset

Tactical asset

NETWORK CONNECTIVITY AS AN ASSET


USE CASE: CLOUD SERVICE AND VIRTUAL LANS

One of the first players to gain a significant foothold in the cloud and virtual computing space faced an unforeseen challenge when initially rolling out its service. Potential customers raised concerns about transmitting sensitive company data over the Internet’s notoriously fickle and hackable infrastructure. If the cloud provider experienced any kind of disruption, the reasoning went, business operations could effectively grind to a halt if companies were unable to access their data. What if, for example, the service experienced an Anonymous-style DDOS attack?

The risk of data exposure and disruption of business-critical applications – whether warranted or not – proved too great of a liability for a significant number of the provider’s potential customers.

The provider responded to such concerns by introducing its own branded virtual LAN (VLAN), comprised of a hybrid architecture that allowed customers to access both public IP space and run a Virtual Private Cloud in private IP space, all while maintaining solid separation between the two environments.

Ethernet provides a similar method of connection. Though data centers and cloud providers generally don’t have a dedicated infrastructure line-of-business to compliment their cloud offerings, such companies report that clients are increasingly purchasing dedicated high-speed fiber connections alongside cloud services.

COMCAST BUSINESS: LEADING THE WAY WITH ETHERNET

As organizations move to the cloud, they need a network as innovative as they are. Comcast is committed to providing Enterprise businesses with this type of network through our unique approach to design, engineering, and ongoing operations.

Comcast delivers last mile solutions in 20 of the top 25 markets in the U.S. across 631,000 plant route miles and 149,000 fiber route miles.

For many businesses in Comcast’s footprint, Ethernet is already available or will be soon, making it a smart choice for companies looking to take advantage of the efficiencies that cloud brings to the table.

Today, seven out of ten IT Executives see reliable, high-capacity bandwidth as a transformational or strategic asset.

QUESTIONS?CONTACT COMCAST FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT AVAILABLITY AND HOW ETHERNET AND CLOUD CAN INCREASE YOUR BOTTOM LINE.GO TO BUSINESS.COMCAST.COM OR CALL 866-429-0152.

Technology

Ethernet and Cloud Computing