The VAR Guy

The VAR Guy predicted three big trends to hit Interop NYC: Network Virtualization, WAN optimization and IPv6. But the scene on the Interop expo floor reflected a slightly different vibe. Here’s what The VAR Guy saw as he slipped and blogged between the booths …

This resident blogger got the low down on the following trends:

• Network virtualization: Vendors are offering network virtualization in myriad ways, some overtly, some as a supplement to existing solutions, but the idea of virtualizing network stacks is present throughout many vendors’ portfolios. For example, Vyatta showcased its virtual firewall and security gateway capabilities, which essentially enables a company to drop in Vyatta’s offering on to whatever hypervisor system it already has established. That simplifies deployment and lessens network complexity, but provides the full visibility and control a regular appliance would offer. The VAR Guy expected to see a broader range of these kinds of technologies, but the real showpiece of the expo was …
• WAN and wireless optimization and security: There’s only one way you want your data, according to floor vendors: fast as lighting and as protected as Fort Knox. Everyone from Cisco Systems to Riverbed Technology are focusing on optimizing the TCP/IP layer and making sure it’s safe from malicious hackers with 256-bit encryption levels. Cisco demoed its new WAAS (Wide Area Application Services), providing application optimization that fits data centers and branch offices alike. Meanwhile, Riverbed focused on its new Whitewater WAN optimization solution, which aims to help users of cloud storage technology by adding additional optimization for deduplication in the upload process to the cloud storage provider and crunching bandwidth usage. Riverbed also is pushing platform-agnostic approach to cloud backup, stressing Whitewater simply “acts as a broker” and can even offload data to multiple different cloud providers.
• IPv6: The VAR Guy isn’t sure if it was the elephant in the room nobody wants to talk about, or whether networking and cloud operators are transitioning and making it a non-event, but there was very little talk about the move to IPv6. While F5 Networks recently evangelized the IPv6 switch need, its booth was strangely devoid of life. HP, on the other hand, unveiled its new FlexFabric networking portfolio, which includes IPv6 capabilities for transitioning the network. The biggest IPv6 presence was hardly seen or even noticed, but according to Interop, its wireless infrastructure “InteropNet” was IPv6-enabled, thanks to technologies from HP and Cisco. The VAR Guy had no problems connecting his MacBook and iPhone.
• Cloud solutions and services: Interop New York 2011 is as much about the cloud as it is networking equipment. Cloud solution vendors including Amazon and Rackspace were everywhere, promoting subscription-based solutions that covered everything from web hosting to load balancing and private cloud proliferation. This was also intimately linked with a plethora of tablet-based interfaces, which were prominently displayed on none other than the ubiquitous iPad. Sorry, Google.

Events such as Interop serve as a bellwether of technology trends as much as anything else. Our resident blogger is confident VARs — and MSPs, for that matter — will be seeing more demand for network virtualization and cloud services, not to mention hearing a long, mournful cry for help as customers realize the switch to IPv6 isn’t as easy as plugging in a new appliance.

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