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Resilience is defined as the ability to recover quickly from a setback or other adversity — literally, the ability to spring back. So, with computer networks, how do we design resilience into the environment?
This article discusses four factors to consider when considering network resilience, as well as how enterprises can build redundancy into their network infrastructure.
The first step in designing a resilient network is to understand the reality that everything fails — routers, switches, circuits, cables, small form-factor pluggables and even cross-connects. It’s necessary to perform regular network maintenance. This maintenance keeps systems at appropriate software levels, permits the application of security patches and even provides for hardware maintenance and replacement.
Second, network teams need to think about the operating hours of the environment. For example, an office network may not have users after hours or on the weekends. This type of network might have strict reliability and availability requirements during regular hours, but it can be maintained after hours. Other environments, such as data centers or life and safety systems — for example, 911 centers and hospitals — need to run 24/7. As a result, a proper design for these networks needs to account for both failures and the ability to operate during maintenance.
The next step is to think about the effect of virtualization, cloud and SaaS application suites. While it might seem like cloud-based applications are outside IT’s control, nothing could be further from the truth. For example, AWS makes significant effort to advise clients on the availability provided by applications. Applications provide substantially different service-level agreements to users depending on where they’re hosted, such as in single availability zones, in multiple availability zones or operating across regions. It also matters how enterprises and their customers connect to cloud or SaaS providers.
Finally, in the age of the COVID-19 pandemic, enterprises need to think about the reliability of their remote connectivity. Does the connectivity run on primary or secondary VPN concentrators, or is it load-balanced across a group of systems, permitting the necessary scale for maintenance?
So, how do teams proceed to build a resilient network design? Ultimately, it’s important to understand that redundancy is just a tool to create resilience.
Dozens of books are filled with advice on techniques to build resilient network design — I recommend Computer Networking Problems and Solutions by Russ White and Ethan Banks. But the bottom line with resilience is enterprises need to apply redundancy at all layers of their infrastructure. This means designing with modularity and maintaining physical and logical separation between functional elements.
While site availability and resilience can be established with circuit and component redundancy, applications that require continuous availability need to be architected to be distributed over multiple data centers and availability zones. This permits operation of the application during AWS, VMware or other maintenance at any given location.
The most important component of this paradigm is the concept of network automation. This is how teams can ensure changes are not susceptible to human error. Scripting sets need vigorous review, and all changes require proper documentation and testing. Any given change requires a minimum set of scripts, which includes a script to enact the change and another to test and validate the change. Finally, teams need a plan to handle exceptions and have a backout script to return the environment to its pre-change baseline.
Part of: Network resilience and redundancy designs
Network pros should consider multiple factors when adding redundancy to network design, including network equipment, protocols, backup, processing and subnet connections.
Everything fails eventually, even in networking. Enterprises can prepare for network failure by building resilience and redundancy into their network infrastructure design.
Ensuring network resilience doesn’t just mean building redundancy in network infrastructure. It should also include planning contingencies for people and skills.
Network redundancy costs vary depending on enterprise use cases, but the determining tradeoff usually depends on how long a company can sustain network downtime.
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Resilience is defined as the ability to recover quickly from a setback or other adversity — literally, the ability to spring back. So, with computer networks, how do we design resilience into the environment?
This article discusses four factors to consider when considering network resilience, as well as how enterprises can build redundancy into their network infrastructure.
The first step in designing a resilient network is to understand the reality that everything fails — routers, switches, circuits, cables, small form-factor pluggables and even cross-connects. It’s necessary to perform regular network maintenance. This maintenance keeps systems at appropriate software levels, permits the application of security patches and even provides for hardware maintenance and replacement.
Second, network teams need to think about the operating hours of the environment. For example, an office network may not have users after hours or on the weekends. This type of network might have strict reliability and availability requirements during regular hours, but it can be maintained after hours. Other environments, such as data centers or life and safety systems — for example, 911 centers and hospitals — need to run 24/7. As a result, a proper design for these networks needs to account for both failures and the ability to operate during maintenance.
The next step is to think about the effect of virtualization, cloud and SaaS application suites. While it might seem like cloud-based applications are outside IT’s control, nothing could be further from the truth. For example, AWS makes significant effort to advise clients on the availability provided by applications. Applications provide substantially different service-level agreements to users depending on where they’re hosted, such as in single availability zones, in multiple availability zones or operating across regions. It also matters how enterprises and their customers connect to cloud or SaaS providers.
Finally, in the age of the COVID-19 pandemic, enterprises need to think about the reliability of their remote connectivity. Does the connectivity run on primary or secondary VPN concentrators, or is it load-balanced across a group of systems, permitting the necessary scale for maintenance?
So, how do teams proceed to build a resilient network design? Ultimately, it’s important to understand that redundancy is just a tool to create resilience.
Dozens of books are filled with advice on techniques to build resilient network design — I recommend Computer Networking Problems and Solutions by Russ White and Ethan Banks. But the bottom line with resilience is enterprises need to apply redundancy at all layers of their infrastructure. This means designing with modularity and maintaining physical and logical separation between functional elements.
While site availability and resilience can be established with circuit and component redundancy, applications that require continuous availability need to be architected to be distributed over multiple data centers and availability zones. This permits operation of the application during AWS, VMware or other maintenance at any given location.
The most important component of this paradigm is the concept of network automation. This is how teams can ensure changes are not susceptible to human error. Scripting sets need vigorous review, and all changes require proper documentation and testing. Any given change requires a minimum set of scripts, which includes a script to enact the change and another to test and validate the change. Finally, teams need a plan to handle exceptions and have a backout script to return the environment to its pre-change baseline.
Part of: Network resilience and redundancy designs
Network pros should consider multiple factors when adding redundancy to network design, including network equipment, protocols, backup, processing and subnet connections.
Everything fails eventually, even in networking. Enterprises can prepare for network failure by building resilience and redundancy into their network infrastructure design.
Ensuring network resilience doesn’t just mean building redundancy in network infrastructure. It should also include planning contingencies for people and skills.
Network redundancy costs vary depending on enterprise use cases, but the determining tradeoff usually depends on how long a company can sustain network downtime.
Companies eager to track their remote workers’ productivity are examining how UC apps like Teams track user activity. How does …
A mobile and hybrid workforce makes phone location and 911 call routing challenging. Explore ways to ensure your company is doing…
5G is improving the quality of UC services over mobile networks. Learn the advantages 5G UC offers remote workers compared to 4G …
One of Android Enterprise’s significant components is Managed Google Play. IT should understand how the platform can aid app …
With the coming of the new iPhone with the USB-C port, organizations might look at this new compatibility feature as the impetus …
Android fragmentation has been a significant challenge for enterprise IT managing the OS. Find out how to manage fragmentation in…
The lift-and-shift approach moves an app and its data from one environment to another. Understanding what’s involved can help a …
Expanding its partnership with Red Hat, Dell is now offering OpenShift as a validated appliance for on-premises container …
Enterprise Strategy Group looks at Lenovo’s 2023 Global Industry Analyst Conference and how the company is taking a more holistic…
The shifting partner ecosystem landscape could inspire IT service providers to consider new alliances or bolster existing ones …
Google Cloud Next rallied consultancies, systems integrators and other service provider partners to help customers effectively …
Ukrainian IT services exports declined 9.3% in the first half of 2023 amid war and global economic slowdown. Resilient …
All Rights Reserved, Copyright 2000 – 2023, TechTarget
Privacy Policy
Cookie Preferences
Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
source