- The Avaya Open SDN Fx architecture is the first to deliver automation and programmability from the network core to the user edge, for ‘connect anything, anywhere’ simplicity
- Survey shows that 88% of India’s IT pros likely to roll out SDN outside the data center
- Avaya leap frogs existing technology approaches with new products and capabilities, enabling a complete end-to-end SDN solution without the need to rip and replace existing networks
Avaya today introduced a new, open software-defined networking 
(SDN) architecture that can help the Indian government deliver on its digital inclusion vision, and allow the country’s enterprises to create the agile networks required by today’s dynamic applications. The Avaya SDN Fx architecture is one of the first to deliver the “smart foundation” required to connect anything, anywhere.
The new architecture shaves off weeks in provisioning time by allowing devices and users at the network edge to be added easily to the network. The Avaya SDN Fx architecture, built on the Avaya Fabric Networking technology, features new products and capabilities for a complete solution that delivers on the promise of SDN, without the hidden complexity that comes with the towering overlays of software and hardware inherent in many other vendor approaches.
The Avaya SDN Fx architecture builds on three primary tenets to meet many of the expectations IT departments seek from SDN:
· An automated core that takes advantage of a single, network-wide Ethernet fabric to remove the need for manual configuration at each network hop; thus, reducing the potential for error and accelerating time to service.
· An open ecosystem that utilizes standard fabric protocols married with open interfaces and open source customization tools empowering IT to quickly respond to changing business requirements with precision and flexibility.
· An enabled edge that leverages fabric extension beyond the data center to the user edge, allowing applications, devices and users to simply connect anywhere along the network and interact seamlessly to create a more agile and productive business environment.
The Avaya SDN Fx architecture can support a wide range of use cases, such as supporting the security and mobility of devices connecting to the ever-growing Internet of Things. Environments such as those found in hospitals, schools and universities, airports and manufacturing floors are blanketed with devices that require a more secure, mobile connection to the network, and may also require that the rest of the network is better protected from potential threats that could be triggered by them.
Similarly, home-based contact center agents pose an expense and operational burden by requiring dedicated resources to provide more secure access to customer information and alignment with IT security policies. With the Avaya SDN Fx solution, a small network adapter provides automated and dynamic connectivity, mobility and a level of security to the network based on the device or user identity. The adapter will be reset and disabled if removed from the environment. This removes the burden of installation from IT, as end users can simply connect the adapters and allow the automated process to fully configure the device.
According to a recent Avaya survey, 64 percent of IT professionals in India want SDN to extend beyond the data center; however, 26 percent of them say the ability to do so today is extremely or moderately limited. In addition, of the challenges that IT pros are looking to SDN to solve, 80 percent insist that SDN programming must be simple before they will adopt.
Read: The SDN Survey Media Summary – SDN Expectations
The Avaya SDN Fx architecture includes the following new products and features for Avaya Fabric Networking Technology:
· Open Networking Adapter – the first ever Open Networking Adapter (ONA) provides a plug-n-play network connection for any device with an Ethernet port including medical devices, manufacturing machines, and branch office switches. Targeted for non-IT personnel, this card deck-sized appliance automatically provisions a QoS-customized virtual path across the network that mitigates security risks, allowing simple, powerful management of thousands of devices.
· Fabric Orchestrator – as the first SDN controller embedded in a unified management instance, this appliance manages and orchestrates the Ethernet fabric as well as provides SDN Control to north and south bound interfaces. SDN capabilities include OpenFlow, OpenDaylight and OpenStack.
· Fabric Extend – a new capability in Avaya Fabric Connect enables the extensibility of Fabric networking across any IP based network without loss of functionality. Investments in existing networking technologies are preserved while interconnecting strategic deployments of Fabric Connect across data centers, campuses and branches.
Read: Networking to Nirvana with SDN blog by Marc Randall, SVP and GM, Avaya Networking
India: At the Heart of Avaya R&D
India is at the heart of Avaya’s innovation focus, and represents the largest R&D center globally, spread across Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune. The Bangalore R&D center has a large pool of talented engineers, researchers and product management staff with a state-of-the-art research and engineering lab and infrastructure with Data Networking and Unified Communications being the primary focus areas. The flagship SDN Fx technology has been developed out of the Bangalore center of Avaya India.
The Bangalore team contributes significantly to the Avaya Fabric Connect technology and associated data center, core and distribution switch platforms, the Avaya Identity Engines Access Control and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) platform, Wireless LAN (WiFi), Unified Branch, common network management and orchestration software product suites. The Bangalore R&D facility also contributes to the Avaya SDN architecture that includes orchestration and monitoring software interfaces with Open Stack, cloud orchestration and the innovative full-stack Avaya Collaboration Pod that includes an end-to-end solution with 3rd party compute, storage and virtual machine products.
The Bangalore R&D center provides technology for Avaya’s strategic focus in midmarket unified communications solutions including its flagship IP Office solution. The Bangalore R&D team works closely with the Avaya sales team in providing the most appropriate products and solutions to Avaya’s customers in India spread across business functions and verticals, including leading companies and public sector institutions.
Quotes:
“CIOs are unnecessarily overburdened by archaic networks and frustrated by the disparity between the promised results of new technologies and the reality that most vendors deliver. There’s a better way: Avaya Fabric Connect already relieves 75 percent of the top network issues identified by IT departments, and we’re building on that with SDN Fx. This is the foundation that accelerates deployment of smart cities and mobile environments everywhere, and improves performance of customer and team engagement solution that the industry has been demanding. Avaya is proud to have made it for India and can deliver it today.”
Priyadarshi Mohapatra, MD, Avaya India and SAARC
“Avaya has maintained a strong R&D presence in India since 1996, and now has over 2000 employees focused on innovation in India. Our Bangalore team leads the way in innovating networking solutions. Avaya Fabric Connect technology, which is already upsetting the status quo in thinking on legacy networking worldwide, is being developed out of Avaya’s Bangalore R&D center. We are proud to say that the SDN Fx is a trademark product for our center. The Bangalore R&D center also develops highly innovative enterprise applications for Android, iPhones and iPads, helping raise the innovation bar to the next level. With the government initiatives on Smart Cities and Digital India, these products are the right fit for the country”.
Satish Murthy, Senior Director and Bangalore Site Leader at Avaya
“India has some of the finest talent in the R&D sector, and our longstanding presence in Bangalore is critical to Avaya’s overall innovation and growth goals. Around 30-40% of the company’s total R&D team is based in India. Showcasing our latest innovation is key to strengthening ties with our major customers and partners across the country, and to helping Indian businesses select innovative solutions to help them grow their business.”
