Dell EMC, VMware partnership to re-define the network for the cloud era

Dell Technologies announces new advancements in software-defined networking to help customers in today’s multi-cloud world.

“Dell EMC and VMware are rebuilding the network for the cloud era – with everything open, automated and software-defined,” said Tom Burns, senior vice president & general manager, Dell EMC Networking & Solutions. “New SD-WAN solutions powered by VMware and network fabric management delivered by SmartFabric Director raise the stakes when it comes to network virtualisation and security in today’s highly-distributed software-defined enterprise. We’re just getting started on our combined innovation.”

Dell EMC SD-WAN Solution

Legacy wide area networks (WANs) struggle to keep up with the modern, multi-cloud traffic demands. At the edge, the new Dell EMC SD-WAN Solution helps customers move away from complex, slow-to-innovate and expensive branch office networking to a SD-WAN platform that uses cloud capabilities and economics. Previewed at Dell Technologies World, the new solution is now globally available and supported.

“Our customers today expect us to deliver the best and most advanced network solutions to solve their business needs,” said QOS Networks CEO, Frank Cittadino. “As a trusted partner to Dell EMC, we’re excited to do that with an SD-WAN solution that marries cost-effective hardware with a dedicated orchestrator and VMware gateway. We combine that with our 5-Tool monitoring and management platform.”

This Dell EMC SD-WAN Solution delivers all-in-one simplicity – combining VMware SD-WAN by VeloCloud software available as a flexible subscription with highly-engineered and efficient modern appliances in multiple configuration options – all backed by world-class Dell EMC support, supply chain, and services.

VMware SD-WAN by VeloCloud includes: a choice of public, private or hybrid cloud network for enterprise-grade connection to cloud and enterprise applications; branch office enterprise appliances and optional data centre appliances; software-defined control and automation; and virtual services delivery. Software subscription options can be upgraded to accommodate changing business requirements for features, duration and bandwidth.

The Dell EMC SD-WAN Solution has three key components:

• SD-WAN Edge powered by VMware – networking specific, purpose-built appliances designed for high efficiency and reliability
• SD-WAN Orchestrator – cloud-based management and orchestration software services from VMware, managed by Dell EMC
• SD-WAN Gateways – a global network of more secure, application-focused access gateways from VMware to handle WAN traffic

Dell EMC SmartFabric Director – Visibility for Both Physical and Virtual Networks

Dell EMC and VMware also announced SmartFabric Director – an innovation in software-defined networking that enables the physical switch underlay infrastructure to keep pace with the changing demands of virtualized and software-defined networks.

Dell EMC SmartFabric Director enables data centre operators to easily build, operate and monitor an open network underlay fabric based on Dell EMC PowerSwitch Series switches. This is important for organizations that have embraced software-defined networking and need to help make sure their physical underlay networks are finely tuned for that overlay environment. A lack of visibility between the two layers can lead to provisioning and configuration errors, hampering network performance.

This innovative solution from Dell EMC and VMware extends the companies’ shared vision of a software-defined data centre by simplifying the definition, creation and deployment of data centre fabrics with intent-based auto-provisioning and enhanced visibility and management between virtual and physical network environments.

Key features include:

• VMware vSphere and VMware NSX-T Data Centre Integration – Tight integration with VMware vCenter and NSX-T enables the physical underlay/fabric to be correctly provisioned for the smooth functioning of application workloads in a VMware software-defined data centre
• Leaf/Spine Fabric Automation – SmartFabric Director uses a declarative model that allows the user to express intent with a set of three well-defined fabric types. Fabric discovery is an ongoing process and ensures that the wiring is consistent with the user-defined intent and removes guesswork for rapid auto-provisioning
• Fabric Visibility – SmartFabric Director supports highly scalable and flexible streaming telemetry to gather key operational data and statistics from the fabric switches. Comprehensive, highly-intuitive visualization of the time-series data and other information greatly simplifies day-to-day fabric operations
• Fabric Lifecycle Management – Upgrading switch images is a critical operation in a data centre. SmartFabric Director automates the download, install and verification process and ensures that switches are upgraded with the correct images

Availability

Dell EMC SD-WAN Solution is now globally available
Dell EMC SmartFabric Director will be available globally in September 2019

Edited by Fundisiwe Maseko
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