Make Your Own Networking Career PathA practical guide on growing your expertise in network virtualization

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Fact: Web giants are taking a new approach to networking In November 2015, Facebook announced that they are replacing their existing network infrastructure. By moving features that used to be attached to hardware into software, the social media giant expects to gain unprecedented levels of agility, security, and reliability.

And they’re not alone.

Facebook and other large cloud service providers are decoupling networking elements and services from hardware to move faster and stay competitive.

Now it’s time for you to take action.

INTRODUCTION

Your business depends on you If you’re a networking professional, you know that these advances in technology signal a big shift in how networks are created and managed.

One you can’t afford to ignore.

No matter the size of your organization, it’s more important than ever to stay on top of the what’s next and how you can benefit from it.

But first: What’s the problem with the way things are today?

INTRODUCTION

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Physical networks can’t keep up Hardware-centric networks require ongoing manual configuration and provisioning — which adds up to hours of mundane work. Even worse, a single error can derail an initiative for days and delay the delivery of crucial IT services.

Do any of these issues look familiar?

HIGH COST

INADEQUATE SECURITY

LIMITED AGILITY

1

2

3

THE HARDWARE PROBLEM

THE HARDWARE PROBLEM

Hardware: It’s holding IT backHIGH COSTCustom hardware is expensive, and manual provisioning errors cost big bucks — an average of $690,200 per incident.*

Hardware-centric systems keep network operators busy with repetitive, manual tasks that delay service delivery.

Modern threats enter through legitimate access points. Inside, they use east-west traffic to spread quickly.

It’s time to move toward a better approach.

LIMITED AGILITY

INADEQUATE SECURITY

*Ponemon Institute, 2013 Cost of Data Center Outages

Save the day with network virtualization Network virtualization allows IT to become more agile, increases productivity, and reduces CapEx and OpEx as never before.

A recent study* found that virtualization delivers these benefits:

NETWORK VIRTUALIZATION

It’s not only good for your company. It’s also good for your career.

*Taneja Group, “For Lowest Cost and Greatest Agility, Choose Software-Defined Data Center Architectures,” August 2014.

31%

200%

Reduce CapEx costs up to

Reduce CapEx costs up to

(when using white-label

configurations)

Increase staff productivity up to

(when using custom hardware)

49%

Power up with network virtualization expertise Networking professionals at Facebook, Google, and Amazon are playing a key role in their company’s success — and you can do the same for your organization. By learning network virtualization, you can take part in the biggest evolution in networking, and become an even more strategic asset to the business.

Now is a great time to get started.

NETWORK VIRTUALIZATION

What is network virtualization?A virtual network is software-based instead of hardware-centric, delivering network services from a software container to connected workloads. Network virtualization makes it possible to create, change, and delete networks in minutes or even seconds — enabling new levels of agility and efficiency.

Your business users need a hero — you Wouldn’t it be exciting to be able to meet the needs of your business users — and do it fast? With network virtualization, you can.

You already know the limitations of a hardware-centric network better than anyone else in your organization. Now is your chance to demonstrate your insight into the business by showing the benefits of an agile, efficient, secure virtualized network.

NETWORKING CAREER PATH

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With network virtualization, we can onboard customers and perform the necessary moves, additions, and changes to their services more quickly than ever before. – Jason Rieger, Principal Cloud Architect for FireHost

It all starts with knowing where you’re headed As a networking professional, you are an architect of change, leading the effort to keep your business ahead of the competition. Adapting and innovating as new technologies become available will help propel your company into the future.

By learning and implementing network virtualization, you can expect to:

• Make your IT team more agile

• Lower your risk of manual errors

• Free up time to innovate

NETWORKING CAREER PATH

Ready to find out how?NSX

NETWORKING CAREER PATH

Take your knowledge to the next levelAs you start to learn how to deploy and manage networking in a cloud infrastructure, you’ll want to learn these three skill sets:

CONTINUOUS CONFIGURATION AUTOMATION TOOLS Get familiar with at least one of the commonly used CCA tools that address “infrastructure as code” for cloud computing.

Brush up on your understanding of APIs so that you can comfortably discuss API offerings with your potential vendors.

Become fluent in at least one of the most commonly used programming languages, techniques, and frameworks.

APPLICATION PROGRAMMING INTERFACES (APIS)

PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES

VENDOR SELECTION

Don’t settle for just any network virtualization solutionChoosing the right solution provider for your evolving network is crucial to its success. VMware NSX® is the industry-leading virtualization platform that has helped hundreds of customers bring the operational model of a virtual machine to the data center network.

SDxCentral Network Virtualization Report, 2015

VMware NSX62%

47%

32%

21%

19%

15%

15%

11%

7%

5%

3%

Juniper Contrail

Other

Nuage VSP

HP ConteXtream

IBM SDN VE

PLUMgrid

Midokura Midonet

Pluribus Netvisor

Cisco ACI/Nexus 1000V/Intercloud/AVS

Big SwitchV

end

or S

olut

ion

Percentage of Respondents

Did you know?In 2015, VMware NSX topped SDx-Central’s list of vendor solutions most often cited as being used or under evaluation by customers.

Certification helps you decode the future of networkingThe networking field has always put a high value on certification. Earning a certificate provides credibility and gives you better leverage in salary negotiations.

As the leading network virtualization platform, VMware offers a rewarding range of certifications to help you move your career forward:

Get more details >HOT TIP: Your existing certifications may make you eligible to fast-track the VMware certification process.

CERTIFICATION

NETWORK VIRTUALIZATION CERTIFICATIONS

Take charge of your future The network is turning into a key asset for organizations of every size.

As a network professional, you are poised to become an even more important part of your company’s success. Learning about network virtualization will usher you into an exciting new phase of your career.

And VMware is here to help.

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CONCLUSION

Seize the moment — right now Grow your networking skills with VMware training and certification.

Learn more at VMware >