bt and arqiva battle it out to control uk internet of things · network reaches new heights psn...

Sensus and Detica to provide the £625msmart meter network for 10 million homesin Northern Britain, while Telefónicascooped the rest of the country with a£1.5bn bid (see News, Jul-Aug 2013).

Arqiva MD for smart metering and M2MWendy McMillan played down suggestionsof a rift between the two network operators:“BT is both a customer and a supplier, apartner and a competitor, so we are used toworking together in many different waysand this does not impact our relationship inany way,” she told Networking+.

She declined to say whether Arqivaspoke to Neul before signing up withSigfox, which provides proprietary ultra-narrow band radio technology in the868MHz or 902MHz bands. “We regularlymeet with a number of companies in thevarious sectors we work in, and whilecompeting in some instances, there are also

a number of overlaps that are interesting toexplore together,” she said.

The cities in the Arqiva-Sigfox networkinclude Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh,Glasgow, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool,London, Manchester and Sheffield. Theywill also have access to Sigfox networks inFrance, Holland and Spain, as well as othercities, including Moscow and Munich.

All these IoT initiatives are likely topose a threat to mobile network operatorssuch as Vodafone and Telefónica who aretargeting the M2M market. CarolineGabriel, research director at consultancyMaravedis-Rethink, says: “The cellcocommunity will need to respond to thesedevelopments not just with the lure of itscontrolled licenced spectrum, but with anetwork that is better suited to IoTapplications than LTE in its current form.” �

Connected homes to boom – News p6.

by Ian Grant

Software defined networkingSDN looks set torevolutionise thedata centre – but when?Feature, pp10-13�

BT has teamed up with open sourcemachine-to-machine (M2M) equipmentsupplier Neul to supply a city-wide test-bedfor Internet of Things (IoT) applications inMilton Keynes. It has invited interestedparties to get in touch with project ideas.

The news came less than a week afterwireless infrastructure supplier Arqivasaid it had joined Sigfox, a Frenchcompetitor to Neul, in setting up a 10-cityIoT network, and shortly after UK start-upSenaptic announced plans to buildspecialised, ‘cellco-free’ IoT networks forspecific customers and segments.

Neul CEO Stan Boland said the MiltonKeynes system is based on the Weightlessopen communications standard for the IoT(see News, Nov 2013). The standard hasattracted over 1,400 member companies

and is backed by ARM, CSR andAccenture. “Weightless was developedspecifically for the Internet of Things.Though initially targeted at TV whitespace spectrum, this has now beengeneralised for other sub-1GHz license-exempt bands. Open standards andecosystem collaboration are a requirementto make the IoT a reality.”

Boland says the first of 1,000 plannedsensors will be installed in June andconnected by an initial 12 base stationsthat cover most of Milton Keynes.Backing for the project comes from theConnected Digital Economy Catapult,Future Cities Catapult, Milton KeynesCouncil and The Open University.

Meanwhile, BT and Arqiva are alreadypartners in a consortium with US-based

www.networkingplus.co.uk M A Y 2 0 1 4

Zayo purchases Geo Networks

Network reaches new heightsPSN from TNP delivers huge savings for ShetlandIslands CouncilNews, p4�

Far left: Neul CEO Stan Bolandis pitting open source against aproprietary French networkfrom Arqiva. Left: Arqiva’sM2M MD Wendy McMillan is used to working with rival companies on exploringmutually “interesting” projects.

BT and Arqiva battle it out tocontrol UK Internet of Things

Learning to communicateHow educational institutions maintainglobal competitivityReal World Networks,p8�

US-based network operator Zayo hasextended its UK footprint with theacquisition of independent dark fibreoperator Geo Networks.

The deal adds 2,100 route miles to Zayo’sEuropean network, and connectivity to 587on-net buildings, including more than 130data centres and exchanges in the UK.

Geo owns and operates a high-capacityfibre network in the UK and providesmanaged networks, dark fibre and co-location services to media companies,service providers, financial services, datacentres and gaming organisations. Itsnetwork includes 100 miles of fibre housed

in the London sewer system, whichminimises the threat of physical faults,boosting reliability and security.

The integration of Geo with Zayo willcreate a 79,000 mile network that coverseight countries and links 650 data centres.Chris Smedley, Geo’s outgoing CEO,said: “Our customers will benefit fromthe expanded reach of the combinednetwork, and also the opportunity toaccess Zayo’s full suite of services.”

The sale price to AlchemyPartners –Zayo’s parent firm – was not disclosed. InMarch 2012, Zayo paid $2.2bn for UKMAN/WAN operator AboveNet. �

F I X E D & W I R E L E S S N E T W O R K S F O R E N T E R P R I S E U S E R S

Cables and connectorsTaking the leadwhen it comes to networkconnectionsOff-the-shelf, p14�

Net+ 1405 p1 (cover) RN NEW.qxd 2/6/14 15:21

news

2

register online @ www.networkingplus.co.uk NEW WEBSITE NOW LIVE!

Metronet has teamed up with GreaterManchester’s leading property companiesand agents to provide data connectivity upto 10Gbps to the city’s key buildings.

The locally-based ISP reckons that it hasnow connected almost 20 per cent ofGreater Manchester’s most importantbuildings and almost 30 per cent of those inthe city centre with speeds of up to 10Gbps.

“The city’s property sector understandsthe difference high-speed connectivity canmake,” says Metronet CEO Elliott Mueller.“Some have even told us that connectivity ismore important than floorspace – anylandlord can offer floorspace in GreaterManchester but not everyone can boastsuperconnected floorspace.”

Mueller believes that connectivity is afundamental right, not just a privilege: “Inthis day and age, where the internet is asimportant to businesses as electricity orwater, no matter where businesses choose tolocate themselves, superfast connectivityshould be available within hours.”

In the past, BT and Virgin Media havetaken Birmingham to court over its plansto spend £10m on a city fibre networkunder the government’s £150mSuperconnected Cities plan (seeNetworking+ June 2012). That forced arethink that led to a £3,000 per customervoucher system aimed at providing a ‘stepchange’ in the broadband speed availableto city businesses.

Landlords such as Bruntwood,Matthews and Goodman, OBI, WHR,Allied London, Capital Properties andothers have taken it upon themselves toprovide high-speed connectivity to officespaces they control. They say the aim is tomake it easier for clients to move into newpremises “at the flip of a switch”. �

nn ee tt ww oo rr kk ii nngg may 2014

Shepway District Council has a three-yeardeal with Kent-based Custodian DataCentre to provide 100Mbps wirelessinternet connectivity to local businesses.

The service will come from a largeantenna to be installed on the civic centreroof in Folkestone. High-quality internetconnections at speeds up to 100Mbps willthen be available to businesses in thedistrict’s main employment sites, and tothose moving into the building. Custodianwill operate the service from its 24/7network operations centre.

The council anticipates the cost of provid-

ing this connectivity will eventually be metout of income from business customers.Premium connections will be available at asignificantly reduced rate compared withthose currently offered.

Call Flow Solutions, which will act as theISP for the service, is already providinghigh-speed broadband to rural Shepwayareas in Dungeness, Lydd, Lympne, andStanford. Shepway Council made thispossible with funding from Kent CountyCouncil’s community broadband fund.

Shepway councillor Alan Clifton-Holtsaid: “Businesses at our main employment

sites have told us that this will give them acompetitive edge, enabling them to securemore business, recruit more people andwork more cost-effectively.

“It is vital for firms to be competitive andwe want to make that happen. Thisinvestment supports our ambition of being‘Kent’s Connected Coast’ for culture, forbusiness and for growth opportunities.”

Shepway Business Advisory Boardclaims that as well as “outstanding”transport links, local enterprises are nowalso set to benefit from the UK’s “fastestinternet capability”. �

MI5, Britain’s domestic intelligenceagency, has repeated its warning thatforeign agents are trying to persuadecompany insiders to reveal secrets. IT staffwith sysadmin access are consideredpopular targets because of their privilegedaccess rights to many corporate systems.

Udi Mokady, president and CEO ofCyberArk, points out that the targets are notthe people but their access: “Privileged andadministrative accounts are the mostpowerful in any organisation. They provideabsolute control over a company’sinfrastructure. Attackers use techniques likemalware and phishing to steal theseprivileged and administrative credentials.

“Once the credentials have been hijacked,the attacker has full access to data stored onthe device, the ability to bypass securitycontrols and hide their activities. Andbecause these accounts are typically sharedamong IT workers, malicious activity oftenappears to security systems as an authorisedemployee performing legitimate work.”

Mokady warns that administrative andprivileged accounts need to be treated as

critical vulnerabilities. “From Stuxnet toSnowden, the common denominator is thatthe breach occurred through an exploitedprivileged account. Attackers understandthis – it’s time for businesses to understandthe pattern as well and proactively addressthese critical security gaps.”

Paul Ayers, VP EMEA at enterprise datasecurity firm Vormetric, adds: “Thiswarning confirms our contention that theabuse of privileged credentials is the nextfrontier for cyber crime against enterprises.With organisations such as Target,Morrisons and Korea Credit Bureau fallingvictim in quick succession, it is clearbusinesses are still struggling to defend theirmost critical assets from those legitimatelywithin the perimeter.”

Vormetric recently surveyed 500 ITdecision makers and found almost halfbelieved insider threats had become harderto detect. They were concerned about thethings their own users could do withsensitive data, and just nine per cent saidthey felt safe from insider threats. Ayersadvises companies to adopt an inside-out

security architecture based on strict need-to-know principles. “Businesses must ensureconstant monitoring of their IT to detect andrespond to data breaches as soon as theyhappen – irrespective of whether the attackwas internal or external. Encryption of alldata must be a mandatory security blanket.”

Ross Brewer, LogRhythm’s VP and MDfor international markets, says it is hard forstaff to believe that they might be sittingnext to a mole. He adds that a recentLogRhythm study revealed that almosthalf of UK employees admitted havingaccessed or taken confidential informationfrom the workplace, while 79 per centclaimed their illegitimate actions hadnever been identified. “This indicates agross level of negligence by companieswho really should know better.”

Brewer agrees with Ayers that constantaccess and network monitoring is nowessential: “As the insider threat gets bigger,ignorance is no longer bliss. Only by takingcontrol and monitoring both external andinternal activity will businesses be able tocompete with the bad guys.” �

MI5 warns firms of insider threat

Channel tunnel operator Eurotunnel hascompleted mobile phone and internetconnectivity in the North Tunnel (UK to France). It complements theconnectivity provided in the South Tunnelfor the London 2012 Olympics and comesin time for the chunnel’s 20th anniversary.

The fibre optic GSP-P retransmissionsystem from Alcatel-Lucent providesVodafone, EE and O2 UK 2G and 3Gcustomers with mobile telephone andinternet services inside the Channel Tunnel.An upgrade to provide LTE services is alsosaid to be in the planning stage.

Eurostar trains carry some 20 millionpassengers a year through the 50km tunnel.Separately, Nomad Digital will provide theWi-Fi system on board the newer fleet. �

Chunnel now offers mobileconnectivity in both directions

Metronet aims to connect 50 per cent ofManchester's buildings with up to 10Gbps links.

Eurotunnel now offers mobile services forcontinent-bound Eurostar travellers. UK-boundservices were introduced for the 2012 Olympics.

Connectivitymore importantthan floorspacein Manchester

Shepway to offer businesses high-speed internet

Net+ 1405 p2 (news) RN NEW.qxd 29/5/14 13:13

newsregister online @ www.networkingplus.co.uk NEW WEBSITE NOW LIVE!

3 may 2014 nn ee tt ww oo rr kk ii nngg

The revelations of former NSA contractorEdward Snowden continue to drive thedebate about what kind of society we wantto live in, now that everything is online andtherefore subject to electronic surveillance.

Cisco CEO John Chambers complainedrecently that customers were buying lessof his kit because Snowden reports showedthat the NSA had diverted some shipmentsand installed its own surveillance monitors.Ironically, this is the very thing the USaccuses China of doing with Huawei.

Snowden’s revelations, which alsoimplicated GCHQ, Britain’s electronicsurveillance arm, have not caused muchfuss in this country. Europe, with bitterexperience of state surveillance, hasbeen much more worried.

The first sign (after complaints aboutthe NSA reading Angela Merkel’s emails)was the European Court of Justice’s(ECJ) decision that the Data RetentionDirective, which underpins Europe’selectronic surveillance legislation, wasinvalid (see last month’s News).

Second was the ECJ’s finding that justbecause Google might not process data inEurope does, that not mean it is beyondEuropean jurisdiction. This was part of itsdecision that people have a “right to beforgotten” by search engines, and puts theentire global cloud business in jeopardy.

Europe has already pushed for keepingthe internet “open” and “neutral”, phrases

that desperately need firmer definition.There is also a growing backlash againstmass indiscriminate electronicsurveillance. So far, this has focused onstate snooping, but it is inevitable thatpeople will start to scrutinise the vastamounts of personal data accumulated bythe likes of mobile network operators,retailers, and health organisations.

With rare exceptions, the incomingcrop of European parliamentarians arealmost clueless about the technicalaspects of networking. It is partly whythe Telecoms Directive of 2009, whichwas meant to introduce a single marketin telecoms, took so long to make its waythrough the legislative alimentary canal.At a pre-election hustings organised bythe Open Rights Group for would-be MEPs,all five admitted their inability to say withconfidence they knew and understood theimplications of current comms technology.

On the 25th anniversary of the Web, TimBerners-Lee proposed a digital bill of rightsto head-off the threat to personal privacy,free expression and security posed by bigbusiness and government. He said: “Theseissues have crept up on us. Our rights arebeing infringed more and more, and thedanger is that we get used to it.”

As experienced and knowledgeablecitizens, Networking+ readers should takea leading role in the debate.

[email protected]

ON THE NETWORKIan Grant, Deputy Editor

We’re not all right, JackThe Information Commissioner’s Office(ICO) has published advice to datacontrollers that might help them to avoid amaximum £500,000 fine if they loseconfidential personal information.

The advice is aimed a those generallyresponsible for IT security, but nottechnical experts. Based on its casework,the privacy watchdog identifies eightcommon vulnerabilities through whichpersonal information can leak out. Theseinclude: software updates; SQL injection;unnecessary services; decommissioning ofsoftware or services; password storage;configuration of SSL and TLS;inappropriate locations for processing data;and default credentials.

“In many ICO data breach cases, themeasures which could have prevented thebreach or reduced the level of harm toindividuals would have been simple toimplement,” states the commissioner.

The ICO adds that while these are not theonly weak points, its experience shows thatother common attacks such as cross-sitescripting have rarely led to data breaches.

For each vulnerability, the ICOprovides advice on what data protectionproblems might be caused and goodpractice for avoiding them.

It also notes common reasons for notupdating software, for example, but saysthat systems can become progressivelymore vulnerable unless the latest patchesare implemented “within a reasonabletime”. With many firms now outsourcingtheir networks to third parties, it warns

that someone must be contractually liablefor maintaining the update process or elsethe task will fall between two stools.

Commenting on the advice, TrevorDearing, EMEA marketing director fornetwork traffic visibility expert Gigamon,says: “It is encouraging to see the ICO hasincluded advice on practices that are lessfrequently discussed than password updates,such as the design of networks.

“Organisations must implement toolsthat enhance visibility into the network anduse flow mapping technologies, whichensure network tools only see the informa-tion they are best equipped – or authorised– to deal with. This will ensure a far morerobust approach to securing the network.”� The European Court of Justice (ECJ) hasbacked an individual’s ‘right to beforgotten’online. It follows a case in Spainwhere Google was taken to court by MarioCosteja González who asked for theremoval of links to stories that reported hehad to sell his house to payback taxes.

Costeja González argued successfullythat the facts were no longer relevant, andthat Google should no longer providelinks to the stories, even though theinformation is still available from othersources, including official ones.

Google chairman Erich Schmidtclaimed that the ECJ’s finding struck thewrong balance between the ‘right to beforgotten’ and the ‘right to know’.

Reports say that the internet giant hasreceived more than 1,000 take-downrequests following the court’s ruling. �

How to avoid a £500kICO fine – by the ICO

A new environmentally-friendly datacentre could cut users’ carbon footprintfrom data centre activities by up to 80 percent, thanks to biomass power technology.

AOC Group has submitted a planningapplication for the 75,000ft2 data centrefacility at Queensway Business Park inGlenrothes, Fife. Group director AlanO’Connor says it has received an“extremely positive” response. He sayslocal property developers have reported“substantial interest” in the proposed datacentre, given the relative lack of similarfacilities elsewhere in the region.

If given the go-ahead, work could starton the £40m facility as early as thissummer. It will create up to 250construction jobs and around 50 full-timeskilled technology and engineering roles

Biomass power to cut carbon80 per cent in new Scottish DC

EDITORIAL:

Editorial director: Rahiel [email protected]

Deputy editor: Ian Grant [email protected]

Designer: Alan McClenaghan [email protected]

Contributors: Lilac Schoenbeck

ADVERTISING & PRODUCTION:

Sales executive: Andy [email protected]

Production: Suzanne [email protected]

Sales apprentice: Elisha Gill [email protected]

Publishing director: Kathy [email protected]

is published monthly by:Kadium Limited, Brassey House, NewZealand Avenue, Walton-on-Thames,Surrey, KTI2 IQD, United Kingdom.Tel: +44 (0) 1932 886 537Fax: +44 (0) 1932 886 539

Annual subscription: £80 (UK); £95(Europe), £100 (USA and the RoW)airmail. Cost per single copy is £8.25.

Printed in England by Williams Press.© 2014. All rights reserved.

The contents of the magazine may not bereproduced in part or whole, or stored inelectronic form, without the prior writtenconsent of the publishers. The viewsexpressed in this magazine are notnecessarily those shared by the editor or the publishers.

ABC audited circulation:19,6791 Jul 2011 – 30 Jun 2012

An artist’s impression of AOC Group’s proposed75,000ft2 data centre in Glenrothes, Fife.

when completed in just over a year.O’Connor says the facility will be the firstin the UK to draw its energy from arenewable source. AOC is aiming at apower usage effectiveness (PUE) rating ofless than 1.15. The power will come from

the largest biomass plant in the country atMarkinch in Fife. The carrier-neutral,diversely routed data centre will house upto 1,500 high performance computer racks,and it’s claimed it will offer the highestlevels of resilience and data security. �


The Salvation Army has asked managedservice provider Redcentric to provide a fullWAN to link more than 1,000 locationsfrom where the charity delivers its mission.

The competitive three-year contract isworth about £1.5m with annual revenuesof approximately £400,000 thereafter. Thedeal will enable the charity’s staff toconnect to a MPLS network that providessecure access to internal services as wellas services for the community using avariety of corporate systems and safeinternet access.

Martyn Croft, CIO of The Salvation ArmyUK and Republic of Ireland Territory, saysthat the network is important as it will help thecharity in carrying out its mission, and createa ‘connected army’ that is able to help thepeople it serves.

Redcentric offers managed services viathree wholly owned data centres, a nationalMPLS network, and its own fibre-basedMANs. Last November, it acquired managedservices provider InTechnology for £65m. �

news register online @ www.networkingplus.co.uk NEW WEBSITE NOW LIVE!

4nn ee tt ww oo rr kk ii nngg may 2014

Broadband and DDoSboth up: Akamai Global peak connection speeds rose 38 percent in 2013, but DDoS attacks grew 75 percent, says content distributor Akamai in its Stateof the Internet report for 4Q13. It also finds thatEurope continues to lead the world in adoptingIPv6, the successor of the IPv4 scheme thathas run out of addresses. The UK recordedone of the highest peak connection speeds at43.5Mbps but its average lagged SouthKorea’s 21.9Mbps at just 9.5Mbps. Romanialeads with 50.6Mbps. China beat the US asthe source of cyber attacks, with port 445(Microsoft-DS) the most targeted in the fourthquarter, growing to 30 per cent of reportedattacks quarter-over-quarter, followed by port80 (WWW/HTTP) and port 443 (SSL/HTTPS). �

Multi-million poundupgrade for PulsantPulsant has upgraded the electrical andmechanical infrastructure at its twin data centrecampus in Maidenhead as it pursues PCI DSSaccreditation and Business Impact Level 2certification this year. The upgrade began withthe installation of a new UPS architecture, a newnetwork operations centre to complement itsexisting onsite support team, and a £200,000upgrade of its core campus switch network.Pulsant recently added connectivity options withits partner Equinix, as well as high-capacityinterconnections to its Reading and LondonDCs. It says all this aims to meet it clients’changing needs, which include added stability,more bandwidth and faster connections. �

Easynet founders pickSweden for next DCEasynet founders David Rowe and JustinFielder have sited the data centre for their newcloud services venture 100km short of theArctic circle in Boden, Sweden. They say themain reasons for the location are cost andsustainability. The new facility, dubbed‘Hydro66’, harnesses abundant renewablepower from the 4,200MW hydropower projecton the Luleå Älv river, is fed by the 78MWBoden hydropower station which is less than500m away, and benefits from low ambienttemperatures which result in free air cooling for360 days a year. It’s claimed all this, as well assome of the lowest electricity prices in Europe,enables the new data centre to offer significantcost and operational advantages over similarfacilities in high-cost urban areas. �

The first successful trial of Quantum KeyDistribution (QKD) technology over a livefibre network has been carried out in theUK. The test is said to pave the way formore advanced research into QKD, thenext frontier of data encryptiontechnology, which aims to deliver greaterlevels of network security.

Researchers from the National PhysicalLaboratory (NPL) worked with AdvaOptical Networking, BT and ToshibaResearch Europe on the trial.

QKD shares a key between two users thatis made completely secure using quantummechanics. It provides an additional layer ofsecurity over and above standard methodsused by banks and credit card companies tosend data encryption keys across a network.

Previously, one or several dark fibre linkswere needed to send an encryption key andthe content separately, making commercialimplementation of such data securitytechnology very expensive.

According to the researchers, QKD isused only to produce and distribute a key,not to transmit any message data. This keycan then be used with any chosen

encryption algorithm to encrypt (anddecrypt) a message which can then betransmitted over a standard communicationchannel. The algorithm most commonlyassociated with QKD is the one-time pad,as it has proven to be secure when usedwith a secret, random key.

The system works by putting singlephotons into a quantum state. Anyattempt to inspect it en route collapsesthe quantum state. This automaticallycancels the transmission and preventseavesdroppers from reading the message.By sending multiple quantum keys everysecond, the demo showed that monitorswere able to instantly detect attempts totap the signal and stop transmissions.

For the trial, NPL produced theequipment that detected a single quantumphoton in a stream of commercial traffic,despite the ‘noise’ that could collapse thequantum state. Toshiba was responsible forthe quantum equipment, Adva developedthe encryption hardware, and BT suppliedthe live fibre link between its technologyresearch centre at Adastral Park, Suffolk,and another site in Ipswich. �

Quantum security moves a step closer following QKD trial

‘Connectedarmy’ createdby new WAN

A new PSN supplied by The NetworkingPeople (TNP) is saving Shetland IslandsCouncil up to £1.6m while delivering anearly ten-fold increase in speed in someareas via dark fibre, microwave radio,ADSL and satellite links to 60 sites.

Lancaster-based ISP TNP says it reusedexisting assets and equipment, and boostedthese by installing a high-speed backbonetied into a fibre network at strategic points.This was augmented by the design,procurement and installation of the latestpoint-to-point and point-to-multipointmicrowave radio technology with power,cabinet and steelwork infrastructure. Thecompany used equipment from Ceragon forthe point-to-point systems and Proxim forthe point-to-multipoint systems.

The network provides WAN connectionsthroughout Shetland via the Shetland PublicSector Network (SPSNet). It offers islanderstelephony and video conferencing, internet

access and public Wi-Fi, remote desktopsupport and a virtual learning environment.

Instead of starting from scratch, TNPsays it persuaded the council to buy someequipment directly from themanufacturers, which it then installed andintegrated with existing hardware. TNPclaims that this led to “huge cost savings”.

It adds that the project was finished ontime and to budget – despite facing the worstweather conditions in over 20 years duringconstruction of key infrastructure, includingequipment on seven telecoms towers.

The switchover was “absolutelyseamless” according to Susan Msalila,executive manager for the council’s ICTdepartment. “We chose to work with TNPbecause of their deep understanding of ourneeds. Their forward-thinking, positiveattitude reflected our own in taking a boldapproach to replacing our entire network – ahuge undertaking. Even for sites they didn’t

directly install, the team was on hand to testsolutions on our behalf and guide us throughoptions every step of the way.” �

A TNP engineer fits new microwave equipmentto one of seven towers in Shetland.

Shetland saves £1.6mwith new PSN from TNP


Net+ 1405 p5 (IBM).qxd 27/5/14 14:53

news register online @ www.networkingplus.co.uk NEW WEBSITE NOW LIVE!

nn ee tt ww oo rr kk ii nngg may 2014 6

IT infrastructure from smallest to largest.

POWER DISTRIBUTIONENCLOSURES CLIMATE CONTROL

it_engl_engl_qr_420x105_2014.indd 1 17.01.14 15:03

The Law Society has published a practicenote on the use of cloud computingservices in law firms, which may alsoguide lay companies in assessing the risksand rewards of migrating to a platform.

The guidance is aimed at all solicitors,practice managers or law firm IT staffusing or planning to use hardware andsoftware which can be accessed andoperated via the internet, and is owned orcontrolled by a third party.

The practice note advises them to:“Understand prospective cloud serviceofferings fully; make sure that they meetbusiness requirements; are procuredunder a robust business case; and thatthey have been subjected to a full risk andcompliance analysis.”

It recommends calling in consultants iffirms don’t have relevant in-houseexpertise, and goes on to say the startingpoint for evaluating cloud services should

be existing data protection, informationsecurity and business continuitymanagement frameworks and policies.

Sam De Silva, chair of the Law Society’stechnology and law reference group, and amember of the EU Commission’s Expertgroup on cloud computing and technologypartner at law firm Penningtons Manches,welcomed the new guidance.

“While cloud computing has a numberof advantages for businesses, such asreducing costs and increasing storage, itcarries risk which firms must considerwhen engaging with a third party tohandle sensitive information.”

De Silva adds that anyone involved inthe collection and storage of personal datamust comply with the Data ProtectionAct, and law practices are also subject toprofessional conduct obligations tomaintain client confidentiality andproperly manage their practices. �

Cloud-based home management systemsthat give users remote control of householdfacilities like lighting and air conditioningwill grow eight-fold between 2013 and2018, predicts market researcher IHS.

It says the global installed base of suchsystems will grow to 44.6 million at the endof 2018, up from 5.6 million at the end of2013. IHS expects the installed base tosurge 63 per cent to 9.1 million this year.

“Cloud-based home management makesit all possible, and much more,” says LisaArrowsmith, IHS associate director forconnectivity, smart homes and smart cities.“With a wide range of companies offeringsuch solutions, the cloud-based homemanagement system business will expanddramatically in the coming years.”

Other applications include home moni-toring, energy management, lighting control

and independent-living services. Existingapps include receiving an alert whenchildren leave school, heating or coolingthe house while you are out, and alerts if anelderly relative changes their routine.

Arrowsmith says the market is awashwith suppliers. One big group consists ofincumbent service providers who supplysecurity, telecoms or utilities. They aim toreduce customer churn, add newsubscribers and boost average revenue peruser. Other companies entering the frayinclude device suppliers, retailers andspecialist system integrators such as Nest,Revolv and SmartThings, amongst others.

North America is currently the largestmarket but IHS forecasts rapid growthworldwide. Security providers like ADTand Vivint have led the way with telcos likeComcast and AT&T close behind. �

Connected homes market togrow eight-fold in five years

Cloud advice from Law Society

Dimension Data, the $5.8bn ICTsolutions and services provider, haschosen Microsoft’s Windows Server 2012R2 with Hyper-V as the basis for its globalprivate cloud platform.

The platform supports hybrid 32-bit and64-bit Windows and Red Hat Linuxenvironments. The firm says it enablesusers to move Microsoft workloadsbetween their own premises, Azure andDimension Data’s cloud environmentswith enterprise-class security, complianceand control, and flexibility.

Microsoft’s director of product marketingfor cloud and enterprise Brian Hillger says:“This collaboration enables customers tobridge their on-premises investments withcloud-based deployments to innovate faster,deliver new services and capabilities,improve productivity, and lower costs. Itwill also suit clients with specific securityor compliance requirements.”

Dimension Data says its existingprivate cloud service, Private Compute-

as-a-Service (CaaS), features a hybridarchitecture and provides “seamless”integration with various environments,including other private or hosted clouds,public clouds, on-premises data centres aswell as its own data centres.� Dimension Data has now rebranded thesubsidiaries of NextiraOne which itacquired in February.

Andrew Coulsen, the company’s CEO inEurope, says the aim is for Dimension Datato be seen as the continent’s leading ITsolutions and services provider. “We’vealready kicked off the process of taking ourcombined portfolios to market and addingNextiraOne’s skills in communications,UC and collaboration networking, thecontact centre, video, and data centre toDimension Data’s existing portfolio.”

Coulsen says the combined entity nowhas an expanded footprint across Europewith a large, skilled and experiencedpersonnel base that includes 1,850employees across 13 countries. �

Azure chosen for DimensionData’s private cloud platform

A rush by both private and public sectorcompanies to adopt cloud services isresulting in “chaos”, according to CapitaIT Services. It warns that this is leading toapplications and services that are oftenineffective and incompatible, and thereforeimpacts business performance.

The company suggests three key trendsthat are driving businesses to adopt cloudservices and applications which may notprovide the best return on investment inthe long run and may not meet theirneeds. These include what Capitadescribes as the ‘multiple choice’ effect,the ‘benefit rush’ effect and the ‘entrypoint’ effect.

While cloud opens up the opportunity topurchase from multiple suppliers onmultiple platforms, the company says thatthis increases complexity. Meanwhile, thepromise of substantial savings has led to arush to adopt cloud, often leading to a lackof strategic planning. And with the ‘entrypoint’ effect, Capita says that some parts

of an organisation adopt IaaS while othersopt for SaaS, leaving gaps in cloudadoption strategy without a platform fromwhich to operate cloud services.

“A robust cloud adoption strategy shouldalready be at the heart of every IT policy forevery organisation if they want to avoidfalling into the cloud chaos trap,” saysCapita IT Services’ CTO Paul Birkin. “Thepotential for the cloud to offer increasinginnovation and agility to businesses of allsizes is clear. But unless it is adopted in acoherent and planned way, it is unlikely tobring the returns on investment that chiefinformation officers expect.” �

Warning of “chaos” inrush to adopt services

Paul Birkin, CTO ofCapita IT Services,

says cloud is unlikely to deliver investment

returns if it’s not adoptedin a “coherent” way.

Net+ 1405 p6-7 (news) NEW RN.qxd 29/5/14 12:26

newsregister online @ www.networkingplus.co.uk NEW WEBSITE NOW LIVE!


TROL IT INFRASTRUCTURE SOFTWARE & SERVICES

www.rittal.co.uk

it_engl_engl_qr_420x105_2014.indd 1 17.01.14 15:03

Nimans claims to have launched a newhosted voice service that “promises to‘shake-up’ the whole market”.

The firm says GreenSky offers resellers a“powerful” route into hosted voice that putsthem in “complete control”. RichardCarter, Nimans’ group sales and businessdevelopment director, says resellers cancapitalise on an easy migration and takeadvantage of a host of opportunities.

“This unique and compellingproposition allows resellers the choice tosell hosted in a completely different way.Free hosted voice, plain and simple. It’sbased on a traditional ‘tin’ style revenuemodel where resellers can sell phonesupfront with included licences – or theycan embrace a more modern approach ofcharging on a monthly basis.”

GreenSky includes a free three-yearhosted seat licence (worth £360) with everyhandset purchased. A choice of three

models are available – Standard, Advancedand Executive – with a claimed upfrontmargin potential of 45 per cent.

Nimans says it is shifting away from itstraditional box shifting roots, althoughCarter points out that the firm remainsfocused on its core business activities whilerecognising the need to diversify. �

Nimans launches “unique”hosted voice service

The European Court of Justice’s recentdecisions on data retention and the rightto be forgotten highlight the need forcompanies to control their cloudoperations more closely.

Cloud computing has many attractions.When done right, cloud takes awaybarriers to entry and makes technologyavailable to all organisations regardlessof size. From day one, a business can ‘try before they buy’ a new system, andramp up very quickly and easily withouthaving to make serious upfront capitalinvestments. The move to the cloud isseamless; costs are predictable; there are no big step changes or spikes incosts for maintenance or renewalrequirements; and remote working anddisaster recovery can also be built in.

However, once something is uploaded toa sharing site, a great deal of control islost. What many users believe and fear isthat once something is in the cloud, it iscompletely out of their control. This is amisconception. Many large enterprises andgovernment organisations only use thecloud for testing and development; data isbought back in-house when the IT projectis ready to go into live production.

Equally, many organisations have data sovereignty issues, i.e. they cannotpermit their information to reside onservers outside the European Union.

This limits the extent to which they canutilise cloud services.

But this doesn’t have to be the case in all instances, and some cloud serviceproviders are evolving to address thisconcern. If a workload is hosted in thecloud with a service provider, usersshould be able to define the actuallocation of that workload so it can be asclose to home as they’d like, or furtheraway for disaster recovery purposes.

It’s important that user companies lookfor a provider that offers this level ofcontrol. This is important becausegovernments today are still defining theirlaws regarding jurisdiction and access todata in their territory, and manyorganisations have preferences regardingwhich country they’d like to host theirdata, both at rest and in transit.

If workloads can be sent willy-nillyflying around across national borders,users indeed have lost a great deal ofcontrol over their own fate, and that oftheir data. This can be a costly trade-offso always check the fine print of yourcloud service provider agreement.

No matter what an organisation’sdefinition of the cloud, users need toselect infrastructure providers that areable to make it usable to the everydaybusiness while addressing regional datasovereignty issues.

VIEW FROM THE TOPLilac Schoenbeck, VP, product management and marketing, Iland

It may be your data – but when it’sin the cloud who controls it?

The growing complexity of today’senterprise networks is creating significantheadaches for the IT professionals whohave to manage and monitor them.

In a recent survey of a 150 organisationswith 1,000 or more employees, Emulexfound that the number one challenge for43 per cent of respondents is monitoringand managing network performancebetween groups of web, application, anddatabase servers in the data centre. Thesecond most cited challenge is maintainingend-to-end network performance toendpoint devices connecting either viapublic networks or WANs.

Emulex says these challenges reflect arapidly changing environment marked bydata centre consolidation, servervirtualisation/private cloud, computelayer virtualisation, new application

architectures, and the shift to dense 10GbEor higher network speeds. It adds that anincreasingly mobile workforce alsorequires extending the boundary of end-to-end management to mobile devices.

As a result, Emulex says deeper levelsof network visibility are now essential toaid in the management and trouble-shooting of enterprise networks.

The company also found that securitychallenges also increase when there is alack of proper network visibility. Surveyrespondents said they struggled to:capture network behaviour for incidentdetection (38 per cent); monitor networkflows for anomalous behaviour (35 percent); capture and analyse logs fromnetwork and security devices (29 percent); and establish a baseline of normalnetwork behaviour (27 per cent). �

Visibility key to today’scomplex networks

Nimans’ Richard Carter shows off the resellerguide to spearhead the launch of GreenSky, anew “game changing” hosted voice service.

SMEs are big on outsourcingSixty per cent of UK SMEs have partly orfully outsourced their IT infrastructure,according to a new report from data centreand comms specialist Node4. With morethan 31,000 SMEs in the country, thismeans there are now more than 18,600businesses that have moved some part oftheir IT provision off premises.

The report also highlights that one in 10SMEs have already deployed a fully cloud-based IT infrastructure – over 300,000

employees in the UK are now experiencingthe full flexibility and efficiency benefits ofcloud-based IT solutions, says Node4.

The firm surveyed 250 IT decisionmakers in organisations of between 50-500employees. It says that they increasinglysee technology and IT as a business enablerwhich they can’t do without, and if theydon’t keep pace with it they will fall behindand miss the opportunity to capitalise onthe renewed economic growth. �

Net+ 1405 p6-7 (news) NEW RN.qxd 29/5/14 12:28

real world networks register online @ www.networkingplus.co.uk NEW WEBSITE NOW LIVE!


100Gbps SSE Telecomsnetwork frees Janet

SSE Telecoms has supplied a 100Gbpscore platform to Janet, the biggestprivate network in the country. Now inits sixth version, the network is designedto meet the evolving needs of UKuniversities and schools and to supportdistance learning, remote working and theglobalisation of education and research.

Janet needed to deliver specialist ‘anyplace, any time’ connectivity withoutcompromising reliability or security in theface of a shift to BYOD access and amassive increase in traffic volumes. Janet6now provides a fibre optic network that isestimated to give the UK’s research andeducation community enough scope forcollaboration and technical innovationfor around the next 10 years.

SSE Telecoms’ 6,500km fibre networkconnects 30 core sites to nearly a thousandpremises that house Janet’s 18 million endusers across the UK and Ireland. It canalso extend its reach and accessibility overa 100Gbps core network infrastructure to support the anticipated growth inbandwidth demand, includinginterconnection with high speed pan-European research networks like GÉANT.

Previously, Janet’s network was basedon managed services from third partysuppliers; this limited its influence overvendor types and service provision. Bymoving away from this model, Janet cannow develop, deliver and control bespokenetwork services, such as its Auroradedicated dark fibre international network,and Lightpath for dedicated point-to-pointconnections between UK researchers.

SSE Telecoms worked to tightdeadlines and a “very demanding”performance specification for the entirenetwork rollout. This ensured the serviceis both future-proof and that Janet canroll out new optical, Ethernet and IPservices, as well as research MPLS andSDN projects, without capacity limits orinadequate underlying infrastructure.

“As one of the world’s leadingcollaborative network providers, it isimportant to us from an innovation,

Networked for learningEducational institutions need to be at the forefront of technological development if theyare to compete and remain relevant in a rapidly changing global environment.

autonomy and example-setting perspectivethat we are able to manage and run ourown network,” says Jeremy Sharp, head ofstrategic technologies at Janet. “With SSETelecoms, we have complete control overthe technologies that we roll out over theinfrastructure. When it comes to furtheringthe capabilities of our research and educa-tion community, the sky really is the limit.”

Academy watches net growwith PRTG network monitorOxford Spires Academy (OSA) openedin 2011 to primarily serve the east of thecity, and now has 800 pupils aged 7-14,and employs116 staff. A major hardwareupgrade revealed the limitations of thenetwork monitoring tool it was using.“As our infrastructure became larger andmore sophisticated, it was increasinglyhard to keep a handle on exactly what wasgoing on in the network,” says JamesPreston, OSA’s ICT network manager.

“In addition to nine brand new IT labs,we have been gradually equipping all ofthe classrooms with smart boards andensuring that all the teachers havemobile access to our ICT servicesthrough a tablet or a laptop. In addition,the school was adding new multifunctionprinters and IP-enabled phones.

OSA found that its existing networkmonitor didn’t have the features neededto do the job with the new systems.Preston says he’d heard about Paessler’sPRTG and decided to investigate it. “We could tell immediately that therewas a lot more of the detail we needed.After switching to PRTG, we were ableto monitor all of our network devices forany information we wanted.”

He explains that PTRG allows theschool to provide pupils with remoteaccess to upload homework and seelessons online. “Network monitoring isreally important in this new setup. PRTGacts as a status dashboard which allows usto check up on the network in near real-time, picking up on potential problemsbefore they happen so any disruption tothe intranet is minimised.”

It has also exposed bottlenecks, whichresulted in fibre replacing some coppercables, and new time of day usagepatterns. “We can now have just the rightcapacity, rather than paying too much forwhat we don’t need or risking downtimeby having too little,” says Preston.

PRTG is also monitoring paper levelsin printers, allowing better stock control.OSA now plans to monitor the health ofinternal email clients and to integratePaessler’s platform with its Microsoftservice manager system to give it a centrallocation to monitor all its service tickets.

“PRTG has been an invaluable tool formonitoring the infrastructure that, when

combined with its network maps, canreally change the way you see yournetwork and how it operates,” concludesPreston.

Birmingham City getsnetwork fit for students

Birmingham City University has completeda root and branch revamp of its IT andnetwork infrastructure to get it fit tocompete for students in the next decade.

The overhaul, conducted by systemsintegrator Logicalis, includes the designand deployment of two on-site datacentres, wired and wireless networks foremployees and students, and the rolloutof Cisco Unified CommunicationsManager for the 4,000 staff.

The project is part of a £180minvestment in new facilities to supportinnovation and evolving serviceexpectations from all users. ShaunBuffery, the university’s associate directorfor converged infrastructure, says:“Nowadays, you’re not only competing onthe level of education students willreceive, but also facilities and services.This new infrastructure will adapt toinnovation in student technology andteaching resources, and also enable staff tobe more collaborative with one anotherand with the students.”

The new infrastructure has deliveredimmediate performance and financialbenefits through faster networks, morereliable performance and capacity, and lessoperational maintenance that has allowedthe university to redeploy IT skills.

Dean England, who led the re-designand implementation of the two datacentres, says: “We’ve reduced serversprawl, increased utilisation, and canalready see savings in energy bills.”

The university has also been able tobeef-up its disaster recovery strategy, intro-duce advanced backup and de-duplicationfunctionality, and improve storage andarchive policies. There is now enoughbandwidth to support increasing trafficfrom mobile devices and rich media apps.

The ability to adapt to changing usagepatterns, particularly among students, isespecially important to England: “Thismeans providing fast and secure accessto e-learning tools and resources, fromanywhere and any device. We’reconfident our network will adapt.”

Buffery adds that the Cisco telephonysystem allows staff to spend more time face-to-face with students becausethey are no longer tied to their offices.“Logicalis has provided us with afoundation that will adapt with our needs and help the university achieve its mission to provide a business classlearning experience for its students.”

Net+ 1405 p8 (rwn) RN NEW.qxd 29/5/14 15:53

Net+ 1405 p9 (APC).qxd 27/5/14 14:56

I n the mid 1980s, ICL gave apresentation about how it saw thedevelopment of the data centre. The

leading UK IT firm said that the futurecentre would run “lights out” – i.e.without any staff except for one man anda dog: the dog was there to stop the manfrom touching anything, and the man wasthere to feed the dog.

At the time, ICL had no idea how thescale and scope of what was happening inthe data centre would change: Google,Amazon, Microsoft Azure, Rackspace andthe rest didn’t exist; Cisco and Juniperwere just getting started; network ownersrented fixed lines and dial-up modems; andmobile data connectivity was just a dream.

Thirty years on, networks have becometoo complex to run and too expensive toown, but they are essential to almost everyaspect of modern life. So users are doing tonetworks what they’ve done to computingand data storage: virtualising them. AsJohn Donovan, senior executive VP oftechnology and network operations atAT&T – which buys more communicationskit than anyone else in the world – says:“There’s no army that can hold back aneconomic principle whose time has come.”

Virtualising the network requires a returnto the original, simple principles thatunderpin the design of IP, according toNick McKeown, professor of electricalengineering and computer science atStanford University. Giving the annualAppleton lecture at the Institution ofEngineering and Technology in May, hesaid these principles are the capacity todeal elegantly with corrupted, out of order,duplicated and lost packets. “The fact thatit was so simple and so dumb was thereason for its success,” said McKeown.

This simplicity led to low barriers toentry, affordable kit that was plug and play,and consequently high rates of innovation.Placing the intelligence at the network edgemeant core networks were easy and cheapto upgrade to cope with rising trafficvolumes. Decentralised control allowed thenetwork to grow very fast but organicallyas long as the rest of the network couldrecognise and deliver the packets.

But as McKeown pointed out, a marketnow annually worth $300bn that provides70 per cent gross margins gives vestedinterests every reason to protect their cut.As a result, the vendors developed uniqueproprietary enhancements, and networkrouters and switches became as complexor more so than mainframes. Worse, theyare now surrounded by add-ons such asload balancers, firewalls, DNS/DHCPservers, etc, and attached to virtualisedcompute and storage servers.

Faced with traffic volumes growing 40or 50 per cent a year, firms like Google andFacebook started designing their own ‘whiteboxes’. These are switches and routers basedon ‘merchant silicon’– generic microproces-sors that do a few things very fast and putthe complex functions done by networkappliances into software. McKeown saidhe was researching “primitives”, thesmallest functions that enable networkingand speed it up even more.

“Switches might have come down inprice to $5,000, but firms like Google hadplenty of incentive to develop a $1,000switch, not only for cost, but also forcontrol,” he said. As a result, the networkequipment industry is going from being aclosed, vertically integrated, proprietaryindustry to one that is open and horizontal.

SDN definedFor all the hype that surrounds it, all the software defined networking (SDN)initiative has done is to separate the dataforwarding from the control mechanisms inrouters and switches. As a result, instead ofduplicating images of the network in everydevice, engineers can define all the networkintelligence – such as which devices areconnected to the network, which networkpolicies are in place, and what to do with apacket when it arrives – in a centralcontroller. All the routers and switches haveto do is forward the packets according tothe rules sent to them by the controller.

In its April Magic Quadrant report on data centres, Gartner said: “Thedifferentiation between vendor solutions isnow relatively balanced between software

(management, provisioning, automationand orchestration) and hardware(bandwidth, capacity and scalability).”Thanks to the past three years of hype,more customers are interested in SDN.“Search volume for SDN on gartner.com isnow higher than searches for MPLS, WANoptimisation, application delivery controllerand router,” said Gartner. It added thatcustomers hope SDN will allow fasterprovisioning of workloads in the datacentre, improve management and networkvisibility, improve traffic engineering orcapacity optimisation of their networks, cutnetworking costs, improve performance,and reduce vendor lock-in.

While some (mostly new) firms arebuilding their SDN architectures from the bare metal up, others advocateimplementing an overlay network. Thistypically integrates the provisioning ofnetwork and compute resources in a moreagile infrastructure. But while this is animportant development, Gartner warnedthat the overlay is still fully dependent on aphysical underlay network, and issues ofnetwork control and visibility are critical toensure the reliability of overlay solutions.

Those calling for overlays tend to be theincumbent vendors. Some have acquiredthe most promising start-ups, either tohedge their bets or to take out rivals.Others, such as Ericsson with Ciena, or NECwith IBM, are forging strategic alliances.

The standards soupGiven that the oldest SDN standards body,the Open Networking Foundation (ONF),is only three years old, it will be some timebefore there are genuine plug and playsolutions across the entire network stack.The network space is also different. Unlikecompute and storage, where VMware andEMC were able to grab leading marketshares quickly, networking is morecomplicated politically and technically.

Such is the threat to their futures thatincumbent vendors quickly countered theformation of the ONF with their ownversion, the OpenDaylight movement.There is now some agreement that the

ONF will develop the APIs for ‘south-bound’ traffic, i.e. between L3 (network)and L2 (data), while OpenDaylight willdeal with the ‘northbound’ traffic to thehigher application layers (L4-L7).Meanwhile, European standards bodyETSI will develop specific tools andprotocols to virtualise network functions,and all three will coordinate theirstandards-making efforts.

Roughly speaking, SDN pertains mainlyto networks inside the firewall, while NFV(network functions virtualisation) isconcerned mainly with wide area andcarrier networks. Parallel to this, and beingincorporated in the SDN ecosystem, is theOpenStack cloud computing initiative. But at a technical meeting in May, userscomplained that OpenStack’s networkingcomponent, Neutron, doesn’t work atscale. Smaller implementations appearunaffected, and it is only because morefirms are basing their commercial andpublic cloud ecosystems on OpenStack thatproblems have occurred.

The software was originally contributedby SDN pioneer Nicira before it wasacquired by VMware. According to some,Neutron now works at scale only ifNicira’s NSX plug-in is used.

At the meeting, Red Hat alsoannounced a beta version of its LinuxOpenStack platform 5.0, which goessome way to address the Neutron issuewith a new L2 plug-in. OpenStackenhancements include a new computeAPI and an updated OpenStack blockstorage backup API called Cinder. RedHat claims the plug-in eases the additionof new L2 networking technologies andcontinues to support existing plug-ins,including Open vSwitch, an open sourcevirtual switch that is part of the Linuxkernel. It also enables single root I/Ovirtualisation PCI passthrough, enablingtraffic to bypass the software switch layerto improve network performance.

“This is important for firms withheterogeneous network environmentswho want to mix plug-ins for networkingsystems,” said Red Hat. It has alsodeveloped an OpenDaylight driver for the

SDN register online @ www.networkingplus.co.uk NEW WEBSITE NOW LIVE!

10

One of Colt’s data centres now being run using an orchestrationsuite that was developed in-house to allow staff and clients to

speed up service provision and avoid SDN vendor lock-in.

Yes. But that probably requires some explanation to be truly convincing, says IAN GRANT.

nn ee tt ww oo rr kk ii nngg may 2014

Will SDNrevolutionisethe datacentre?

Will SDNrevolutionisethe datacentre?

Net+ 1405 p10-13 (SDN) RN NEW.qxd 29/5/14 16:56

Net+ 1404 p7 (Emerson).qxd 28/4/14 16:29 Page 7

new L2 plug-in that enablescommunication between Neutron andOpenDaylight to create a solid foundationfor coming NFV technologies.

Why are we waiting?Standards are coming, but they are slowerthan expected because everyone involvedis stressing that the code that emergesmust be open source. ONF is alreadylooking at conformance testing for v1.3of its OpenFlow protocol for exchangingdata between the controller and thenetwork elements. ETSI published fourgroup specifications in October 2013 tocover NFV use cases, requirements, thearchitectural framework, and terminology.It expects to publish more detailedspecifications later this year.

OpenDaylight has published Hydrogen,its code for handling traffic above L3, inthree ‘editions’: Base, for researchers andacademics; Virtualised, for data centreoperators; and Service Provider, for hostdata centre operators (diagram top right).

The OpenDaylight controller exposesopen northbound APIs which are used byapplications. The platform itself containsa collection of dynamically pluggablemodules to perform essential network taskssuch as understanding what devices arecontained within the network and thecapabilities of each, statistics gathering,etc. In addition, other extensions can beinserted into the controller platform forextra SDN functionality.

But some aren’t waiting. Colt has builtits own ‘orchestration’ system to managedata centre assets, as Fahim Sabir, directorof engineering for IT services, explains:“There are a number of orchestrationplatforms out there from various vendors,

but it is not a mature market and there isstill a long way to go. For example, theplatforms on the market lack robustreporting and analytics capabilities.Orchestration in the data centre is not justabout managing virtual resources; physicalassets need to be factored in as well.

“Also, most vendors’ orchestrationplatforms tend to work best in conjunctionwith their own infrastructure technologies.They provide limited support for theinfrastructure technologies from othervendors, especially those that compete inthe same technology space. Forcompanies that want to operate in avendor-neutral environment it requiressignificant compromise to choose one ofthese solutions. As a result, Colt decided tobuild its own platform.”

The firm chose modules based onwhether they are orchestration-friendly, andexpose well-documented and open APIs tobe able to dial up and down according to

capacity, performance and availabilityrequirements. Sabir says this is key to anorchestration capability because it meansColt can perform operations withouthaving to redeploy anything and simplifiesthe work the platform has to do.

“Our vision is to give internal teams andour customers the same slick experience fordeploying infrastructure. The orchestrationengine is a cornerstone in that. Theplatform is in production today and wehave set up a team responsible for develop-ing the platform further, as well as buildingthe orchestrations that execute on it.”

PracticalitiesGiven how immature SDN technology is,and how radical an effect it is going tohave on networks in data centres andWANs, a lot of learning needs to happen.

Systems integrator Dimension Data(DD) says it has invested some $30bn in

building and managing more than 9,000private IP networks worldwide, enablingover 13 million users to connect to theirorganisations’ networks. It has also builtnine data centres and is adding two more.

“SDN offers us additional choices whenarchitecting our clients’ networks,” saysgroup executive for networking RobLopez. “More importantly, SDN createsopportunities for cost savings through moreefficient operations, as well as a moreeffective delivery of network services.”

Business development manager GaryMiddleton adds that DD’s own datacentre operation was the prototype for astructured way of assessing theapplicability and viability of SDN to anorganisation that launched in late May.“Our CIO was our pilot client for theSDN Development Model. He saw somebenefits in certain areas, and that’sresulted in a plan where we’re looking atSDN in those areas.”

SDN



Above left: Dimension Data’s new SDN Development Model aims to map how to get clients from their “as-is” network state to their “wannabe“state as quickly and simply as possible with the available resources. Above right: OpenDaylight is providing a standard platform (shown in green)to handle ‘northbound’ network traffic in a virtual network controller.


The competitive position of DD’s hostedcloud is said to be based on its networkingcapability. It is looking to SDN to sharpenits edge to gain better, faster serviceprovision, and lower cost from reducingheadcount could also factor. Middletonnotes that DD’s provisioning of virtualLANs and network services is alreadyhighly automated. “We’re looking toimprove that further by automating thingslike the provision of MPLS links. It’s allabout providing an elastic capability fornetworking up and down as needed.”

But he reckons the jury is still out oncapex savings due to white label switchingboxes – Dimension Data’s research intothat sector threw up a “lot of names no-onehas heard of”, and deeper inspection foundissues with their capacity to scale andsupport their products. But Middletonacknowledges this may be temporary.

In the meantime, it gives firms likeCisco, with whom DD has a long and deeprelationship, time to get their SDN acttogether. Couple that with large businesses’innate conservatism, and Middletonexpects incumbent network equipmentsuppliers to enjoy a period of grace.

“We think 60 or 70 per cent of our clientsare going to wait until their incumbentsuppliers get their SDN strategy rightbefore deploying it. At the present time, I don’t think anyone’s SDN offer iscompelling enough to persuade clients tochange their hardware vendor. They’llimplement brand name switches, but thenautomate a lot of the functionality on top ofit, so the savings will come in the form ofoperational savings. Instead of having anengineer touch every device to configurea network, all that will be automated.

“We do see a space for software-basedSDN like NSX from VMware. That’ll bean important element for a sector of theclient base. It will all come down to clientchoice and whether they buy into thesoftware define data centre and theVMware approach, or whether they viewhardware as a strong component.”

In the interimMost SDN solutions will disrupt IT andbusiness operations because they require acomplete revamp of network infrastructureand services, according to Alcatel-LucentEnterprise. It has developed two onlinedemos using its Application Fluent Network(AFN) with standards-based sFlow andOpenFlow initiatives plus InMon forenterprise scale SDN analytics. It claimsthey present a scalable solution that enablesinherent, application intelligent SDNcapabilities, keeping costs under control.

One demo deals with competition fornetwork resources of different workloads.Large flows due to VM migrations,storage, backup, and replication caninterfere with smaller flows such as webrequests, database transactions, and socialmedia actions that are sensitive to delay.Alcatel-Lucent says it shows how theselarge flows can be identified andcontrolled so that both types of trafficobtain optimal performance. The otherdemo shows how a DoS attack can bedetected and enforced in a distributedfashion across the network in real-time.

Companies that prefer to wait for moreclarity to emerge from the SDN fogmight care to look at network automationspecialists such as Infoblox. It has justrefreshed its line of solutions for managingDNS, DHCP and IP addresses, known asDDI, running on BMC, CA, Cisco,ElasticBox, HP, Microsoft and VMware.

The vendor claims that by using DDI,VMs can be provisioned with IP addressesand DNS records in minutes instead of

hours or days with addresses recovered andreused, and DNS records cleaned upautomatically when VMs are retired.Marketing EVP David Gee says: “ITworkloads are shifting to private cloudsand these clouds require automation in thenetwork layer to match the already heavily-automated compute and store functions.”

Then there’s load balancing. But here,you need to handle traffic and applicationsdifferently, says Lori MacVittie, cloudcomputing and application security expertat F5 Networks. “Application load balancingarose because network load balancing wasall based on inbound variables. It couldn’ttake into consideration how loaded thechosen server was, or whether its responsetime was failing, or whether it was atcapacity or not. Those variables were all onthe server side, and required visibility intothe application, not the client.

“It also couldn’t account for the fact thatvirtual servers were popping up everywhere,with multiple applications served from thesame IP address and port, and forced theweb server to become a load balanceritself. That was kind of crazy. If a singleserver couldn’t scale well enough to meetdemand, how is putting a single server infront of them going to help the situation?”

As a result, the hashing techniques usedto distribute loads changed, with networkvariables used to balance traffic, andapplication variables used to balance apps.This allowed architectures to specialise,with requests for images and staticcontent each routed to their respectivededicated servers. It also enabledpersistence (sticky sessions) whichgreatly accelerated the ability to scale outstateful applications in a web format (i.e.to remember their last ‘incarnation’).

MacVittie argues that L3 switches caneasily support network load balancing butnot application balancing because theydon’t have access to the applicationvariables and therefore cannot hash them in order to distribute them.

“Thus, while SDN principles arecertainly applicable, the architecture usedto implement SDN for lower order networklayer services is not going to be the sameone used to implement SDN for higherorder network layer services,” she says.

“When evaluating SDN solutions, it’simportant to consider how any two SDNnetwork (core and application)architectures complement one another,integrate with one another, andcollaborate to enable a completesoftware-defined network architecturethat supports the unique needs of bothlayers 2-3 and layers 4-7.” �

SDNregister online @ www.networkingplus.co.uk NEW WEBSITE NOW LIVE!




off-the-shelf: cables and connectors

The latest cables and panels have their work cut out when itcomes to meeting demands for high performance networking.

Bittree has introduced a new line of 24-position Cat6 feed-through panels.They’re designed to provide a singlelocation for broadcast, transmission,production, and post-productionprofessionals to interconnect data andEthernet systems neatly and efficiently.

The firm reckons the panel makes testingor changing signal routes in data centres ormachine rooms easier. It claims users savetime through fast and easy location ofproper connections, and the panel is acompletely passive device that requiresno external power or converters.

Bittree says it developed the new panelsin response to the rapid growth of ITinfrastructures in broadcast and AVenvironments. They complement thevendor’s line of professional audio, video,

and data patching systems and areavailable in 1-RU 1 x 24 or 2-RU 2 x 24configurations. They feature dual-fibre LCor ST connections as well as RJ45shielded and unshielded variants.Designation strips are available as anoption for any of the panels.

Bittree adds that the flush-front designprovides a cleaner installation that preventsconnections from catching and gettingpulled out.

Axis claims to offer the first multi-channel solution for the analogue todigital migration of video surveillancesystems with the launch of its T8646PoE+ over coaxial blade.

The company says its new blade allowsusers to keep their large-scale coaxialinstallations without re-cabling whenmigrating to IP cameras. This allowsorganisations that require 24/7operation, such as hospitals or prisonsfor example, to upgrade withoutdisruption as well as save money.

The T8646 PoE+ over coax blade fits Axis’ video encoder chassis. Anycombination of encoder blades andT8646s can be used simultaneously,so customers can migrate to IP as fastas they like, says the firm.

To complement the solution, anAxis T8642 Ethernet over CoaxDevice Unit PoE+ can be used on thecamera side. Both the device unit andthe network camera can receive powerover the coax cable using the newrack-mountable Axis T8082 and AxisT8085 power supplies.

The T8646 is available as a singleunit or in a kit that combines one T8646blade with six T8642 units. Axis saysthe T8646 is expected to go on sale inQ2 2014.

Datwyler has introduced ‘dual-mode’cables and the new RJ45-IEC adapter.They aim to provide a high-performancecopper data network for voice and datatransmission, and supply power to remoteend devices (even for digital cabletelevision) all on the same cable.

The firm says its high-performancecategory 7A data cables, such as types CU 7150 4P and CU 7120 4P, allow twomodes of transmission: ‘differential’ forsymmetrical signal transmission, and‘common ’ for coaxial signal transmission.It says these dual-mode cables aretherefore suitable for transmitting speech,data at up to 10Gbps, broadcast signalsfor digital cable TV up to 862MHz, aswell as PoE to end devices.

Datwyler says that with the addition ofshielded modules of at least category 6A(RJ45 and PS-GG45) and its new RJ45-

IEC adapter, users can build a singlestandard cabling system for every type oftransmission and service, including cabletelevision.

One of the adapters takes care of thesupply of coaxial services to the datanetwork at the patch panel, the other isplugged into the data socket to allow TVsets to be connected. The adapter transmitsusing common mode and provides an IECconnector as the usual physical interface.

off-the-shelf

Belden has introduced the RailTuffBE43802, a 10Gbps Cat7 Ethernet datacable designed specifically for therailway market in the EMEA region.

The firm claims the cable’s maximumoperating temperature of 90°C is uniqueand exceeds the 85°C short-termtemperature requirement in Class TX of the EN 50155 railway standard.

Belden says the combination of braidand foil shielding provides high strengthand immunity to electrical interference. It adds that the halogen-free, oil-resistantand flame-retardant cable jacket materialand insulation emit less smoke in fires,thus enabling the cable’s installation inthe driver’s cab or engine room, as wellas in passenger compartments.

According to the firm, the 19-strandcopper conductors provide addedflexibility as well as flex life, and theresulting small bend radius allows foreasy and risk-free installation withinlimited spaces and bulkheads with no

effect on signal transmission. A distinctiveblue cable jacket provides ease ofidentification after installation.

RailTuff meets international railwaystandards EN 45545-2 and EN 50155, aswell as the new IEC standards EN 61375‘Train Communication Network (TCN)’and EN 62580 ‘On-board Multimedia andTelematic Subsystems for Railways’.

The new cable completes Belden’srange of data communication cables forrailway environments that covers100Mbps, 1Gbps and now 10 Gbps.

Taking the lead when itcomes to connections


Harting reckons it’s come up with a robustpluggable feed-through connector housingto its Han-Yellock connector family thateases the laying of cable through differentrooms in industrial environments. Thenew panel feed-through is said tofacilitate handling and offers IP 67 ratedprotection in the plugged-in condition.

As well as being pluggable, the newfeed-through system features a bulkhead-mounted housing complemented by ametal housing similar in shape to theupper part of the housing of the standardHan-Yellock connector.

The cable sets can be pre-assembled andinstalled with the flange at the point ofpenetration to make handling easier.Harting says the resulting robustnessmeans the housings are impact-resistant on

both sides of the connector and provideIP65 and 67 levels of protection for insertswhen mated. The feed-through housing issuitable for use in modular production linesconsisting of machines in multiple rooms,particularly in harsh environments whereconnections are exposed to fluids or dust.

Net+ 1405 p14-15 (Off the Shelf & Net Knowledge) RN NEW.qxd 3/6/14 12:51

UPS specialist Riello has launched a newtraining programme to combat what itsays is the growing number of ‘roguetraders’ providing unauthorisedmaintenance services to customers.

The Riello Certified Engineer initiativeis designed to protect users who need third-party servicing and approved spares fortheir UPS by enabling them to check iftheir chosen engineers are fully trained andcompetent to carry out the work.

To achieve certified status, engineersfrom Riello resellers must successfullycomplete comprehensive training on thecommissioning, maintenance and servicingof the vendor’s UPS products. They willthen be allocated an ID card with a uniqueidentification number that customers canuse to search a dedicated website to verifythe individual’s certification status andcore competencies.

“Several other UPS manufacturers havechosen to tackle the problem of unautho-rised maintenance by instigating ‘closedprotocol’ systems,” says Riello GM LeoCraig. “We chose not to take this approachbecause we felt that it would stifle compe-tition in the market. Instead, we’ve createda comprehensive network of qualifiedservice partners – all of whom are trainedand certified to work on Riello UPS –which we hope will offer our customersthe reassurance they need.”

The vendor adds that companies with atleast one engineer fully trained in commis-sioning, battery builds, maintenance andservice can also benefit by becoming aCertified Riello Service Partner. Approvedspares will only be supplied to accreditedpartners, and they will not be madeavailable to individual CertifiedEngineers to prevent them carrying outunauthorised work for other companies.www.riello-engineer.co.uk

NEW COURSESInformation and cyber security –University of South WalesThe University of South Wales plans to opena centre in London’s Docklands where itwill deliver a range of professional levelcourses in information and cyber security.

The university says the new centre willbe its first physical presence in the capital,and will provide access to its “recognised”information security specialists.

Speaking at this year’s InfosecurityEurope event held at the end of last month,Professor Andrew Blyth, who undertakesconfidential work for many governmentagencies, said: “Many of the courses wewill be delivering at the centre will be shortCPD courses which are currently not avail-able elsewhere in the City. For example,we have one-day courses in ‘InformationAssurance Governance’ and ‘MaliciousSoftware Analysis’ which appeal topeople working in many sectors who needawareness of information security issues.”

One of the range of CPD courses to be

offered at the London Centre will be theTiger Scheme qualification, a commercialcertification for technical security special-ists. Endorsed by the National TechnicalAuthority for Information Assurance(CESG) and backed by a university-basedassessment, the three-day course includesboth training and assessment elements andis described as “essential” for those seekinga clear path for career progression withinthe industry. MSc courses in ComputerSystems Security and Cyber Security willalso be run from the new centre.www.southwales.ac.uk/london

IEC 61439 Compliant Switchgear andControlgear Production – Rittal guideIT infrastructure specialist Rittal hasproduced a guide book that offers aninsight into the new IEC 61439 standard,and to help customers comply with it.

Relating to the building ofcontrol panels and electricaldistribution systems, IEC61439 comes into force as fromNovember 2014. It will impactthe design of the panel,selection of components andthe testing methodology.

Under the new standard,Rittal says that the panel willbasically become a system. As a result, the designer/panelbuilder will now have toconsider the following: theenclosure; the effects of heat upon thecomponents; cooling equipment; busbarsystem; mechanical properties; and thegeneration of test documentation (which isa requirement for standards conformance).

Rittal’s guide complements the recentlaunch of its latest power engineering

software. It has been developedto enable users to design motorcontrol centres, electricalswitchgear, control panels andgenerate bill of material, costsand designs that comply with theIEC 61439 switchgear standards.

Key features of the upgradedversion, RPE 6.2, include: thegeneration of copper connectiondrawings; production of designverification documentation andthe ability for users to generatetheir own documentation;

calculation of an internal enclosure’stemperature; application examples; anExcel configurator for temperature risecalculations up to 630A and up to 1600Aaccording to IEC 61439 section 10.10.4.2and new partial doors and front panels.www.rittal.com/uk-en

network knowledgeregister online @ www.networkingplus.co.uk NEW WEBSITE NOW LIVE!


Riello steps into combat UPS‘rogue traders’

Riello’s generalmanager Leo Craigsays customers willbe “reassured” bythe creation of anetwork of qualifiedservice partners.

Net+ 1405 p14-15 (Off the Shelf & Net Knowledge) RN NEW.qxd 29/5/14 17:49

Net+ 1405 p16 (Toshiba).qxd 2/6/14 16:00

bt and arqiva battle it out to control uk internet of things · network reaches new heights psn...

Documents