Where does mobility lead? Key objectives of the organization in implementing the mobility strategy
The mobility trend is becoming apparent throughout the world. In accordance with the Cisco VNI forecast for 2017, the traffic generated by connecting via Wi-Fi will exceed the total traffic from wired and mobile networks.
Why should organizations maintain a mobility trend?
The first is to connect employees. Employees with a workplace in your pocket are another level of efficiency and productivity. With the help of corporate applications, an employee performs work functions on the run, between meetings, during lunch, waiting for a taxi.
The second is a new level of interaction with customers, new business models that take advantage of the benefits of modern technology.
Cisco sees five key organizational challenges as they implement the mobility strategy.
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1. Wi-Fi is becoming the main connectivity method for employees.
Wires connect only static devices, such as video terminals for remote communication, workstations. All other devices - laptops, tablets, smartphones are connected via Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi is starting to be used for critical applications, i.e. those that do not have the right to inaccessibility - access to the warehouse accounting system, payment from payment terminals, access to the CRM system, etc. More and more video is being transmitted via Wi-Fi - video chatting, training, addressing guides. Corporate and personal applications begin to compete for a network resource, and the task of traffic prioritization appears.
Cisco Wi-Fi networks provide 99.999% network reliability by maintaining the state of client sessions on a backup wireless controller. Assess the level of current interference in the air, the types of interference sources and their location, as well as automatically reconfigure the network to the best performance allows the hardware and software functionality CleanAir. Using CleanAir does not reduce wireless performance. High-quality delivery of video to devices via WiFI allows VideoStream technology. Functional monitoring and application management (Application Visibility & Control) allows you to define applications, prioritize or prohibit them so that the network resource is always enough for business tasks.
More and more organizations want to use a variety of Wi-Fi sensors and tags that allow them to track devices on the network and transmit their status using special sensors. A Wi-Fi network that allows you to locate Wi-Fi devices is a solution for such applications. The Cisco Connected Mobile Experiences (CMX) solution allows you not only to calculate the coordinates of any Wi-Fi device, but also to integrate with external applications of a specific client, detecting the presence of a student at school, the presence of vendors in the sales area, the current location of expensive medical equipment in the hospital, etc. d…
For the Cisco CMX solution and the Hyperlocation Module, which allows WiFi positioning with an accuracy of 1 meter, Cisco proudly received the Best of Interop Award in 2015 in the Mobility / Wireless category.
This event is detailed on Cisco's corporate blog.
2. There is a need to increase the capacity of Wi-Fi networks
The use of mobile applications leads to the emergence of "mobile tax" - background traffic on the network created by applications. In a corporate network, background traffic can be 40% -50% of the total network capacity.
Solutions with support for the standard 802.11as 1st waves allow you to increase the network bandwidth by 3 times. According to forecasts, the equipment of the 802.11ac standard will replace the 802.11n, which is currently popular today, for 2 years, as it not only increases the capacity of Wi-Fi networks, but also allows you to significantly save battery devices, and also uses a cleaner and wider 5 GHz spectrum. Cisco today in Russia offers a whole line of 802.11ac equipment - an access point of the Aironet 1700, 2700 and 3700 series.
But the wide possibilities of the new standard cannot be fully utilized if the network cannot withstand the load falling on it. In a modern office, there are quite a few areas that can be classified as areas with a high density of customers - these are open seating areas, where employees sit about every 2 meters, conference rooms, and meeting rooms. Today, the average number of devices for each mental worker is 3.3. And in the next 2-3 years, according to the Cisco VNI forecast, we are expected to flourish with wearable network devices - watches, glasses, wristbands with Wi-Fi. Mobile applications generate background traffic. The load will only be more.
Cisco has developed a whole stack of technologies designed to support high-density customers. Dozens of stadiums have been built, on which Cisco fans have the opportunity to connect to a Wi-Fi network for each fan and use an application that allows you to watch video from any camera installed in the stadium. Thousands of people watch streaming video simultaneously using Cisco Wi-Fi.
Technologies aimed at improving the performance of the Wi-Fi network, and connecting a large number of technology customers, are combined with the name HDX (High Density Experience). They include Cisco's proprietary chipset and a fundamentally new access point architecture with redundant processors and memory for stable operation in overload mode. Optimized roaming allows you to control the switching of Wi-Fi clients from one access point to another, ensuring optimal distribution of clients and connecting them at the best speeds, avoiding negative effects such as a “sticky client” when a Wi-Fi device connects to the nearest access point and “ clings to it until the signal disappears, not having the intelligence to detect nearby access points with a higher signal level. In conditions of high density of clients and WiFi access points, when neighboring points are forced to use the same frequency channel, the inter-channel interference suppression technology allows to increase the signal-to-noise ratio and, accordingly, the signal level.
3. With the increase in the number of devices and “things” with a network interface, the surface of possible attacks on the network increases
Today, people connect to the corporate network, being not only inside the office, they connect from any remote location. People use different devices and many applications. Network security can no longer focus only on perimeter reinforcement.
Facts published by a number of analytical companies:
- 90% of organizations do not know about all devices connected to the corporate network
- 14% of organizations received malware in their corporate network through social networks and mobile applications (November 2012 - November 2013)
- on average, the network uses 5-10 times more cloud services than IT knows.
Cisco looks at this problem in two main directions.
The first is the application access policy for the network. Traditionally, the network has several network elements that define network policies for wireless, wired, for remote connections and guest access. Cisco looks at the entire network using the Identity Services Engine (ISE), which sets access policies for the entire network, and specifically for each application used, the type of device and the method of access to the network. Guest Wi-Fi is a functional that no company can do without, is a built-in feature of Cisco ISE, allowing guests and partners to have managed Internet access without involving IT staff.
The second is similar to protection from cold, when we put on layers of clothing that protect us from wind, moisture, cold, we build layers of protection. In particular, the infrastructure itself performs the security tasks - switches, routers, wireless network, analyzing traffic and allowing to identify suspicious behavior.
4. A Wi-Fi network is not only a radio.
Cisco offers a Unified Access solution, where the corporate network is considered entirely - Wi-Fi, switching, routing, remote access, network security elements - are combined under a single network management (Prime Infrastructure), have a single Identity Service Engine policy and can even further erase the line between the wired and wireless network clusters, combining an access switch and a Wi-Fi network controller (Converged Access) in one device. This approach allows you to significantly optimize the operation of the corporate network, correlating the events of different network elements, reducing the total cost of ownership (TCO).
According to forecasts by leading analysts, the largest bottleneck on the network in the near future will be the place where the wireless network is connected with switching. The new 802.11ac standard gives us up to 1.3Gb / s from the access point in the 1st wave, and in the 2nd wave it is up to 6.9Gb / s. While on the copper wires we transmit now 1 Gb / s. Cisco has developed technology mGig, which allows you to transfer to copper up to 10GB / s, thereby eliminating the bottleneck in the network.
5. Increasing the need for WAN channels
More traffic at the access level creates the need for additional capacity of WAN channels, which directly affects the operating costs of the organization.
Intellectual WAN solutions (Cisco iWAN) allow using several types of connections to connect to the network, for example, MPLS channel and cheaper broadband Internet connection, and for hard-to-reach zones or objects moving in space (ship) also 3G connections. The use of several types of connection can significantly reduce the monthly cost of WAN channels, especially significant savings are achieved in organizations with an extensive branch network.
PfR (Performance Routing) and Application Visibility & Control mechanisms will allow applications to be routed based on the speed, latency, etc. requirements of each application to the network.
How many times is the same video stream downloaded when organizing video training for employees? How many times do visitors of the office, connecting to the WiFi network and receiving information about the availability of a new version of the operating system for a mobile device, click "Download"? How many times will the same file be downloaded through the company's WAN channels? High-resolution directories, management video calls to employees of remote offices located in the company's data center — Cisco routers cache similar information. Now the WAN channel is used only once, when the file is downloaded for the first time.
The widespread use of cloud applications significantly affects the use of WAN channels. Placing computational power in the router allows you to run applications locally without accessing the data center, saving the use of WAN channels for typical branch tasks, such as printing documents on a printer in the same room.
“Mobilizing” customers and employees brings new business opportunities and significantly changes the requirements for IT infrastructure.
Why should organizations maintain a mobility trend?
The first is to connect employees. Employees with a workplace in your pocket are another level of efficiency and productivity. With the help of corporate applications, an employee performs work functions on the run, between meetings, during lunch, waiting for a taxi.
The second is a new level of interaction with customers, new business models that take advantage of the benefits of modern technology.
Cisco sees five key organizational challenges as they implement the mobility strategy.
')
1. Wi-Fi is becoming the main connectivity method for employees.
Wires connect only static devices, such as video terminals for remote communication, workstations. All other devices - laptops, tablets, smartphones are connected via Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi is starting to be used for critical applications, i.e. those that do not have the right to inaccessibility - access to the warehouse accounting system, payment from payment terminals, access to the CRM system, etc. More and more video is being transmitted via Wi-Fi - video chatting, training, addressing guides. Corporate and personal applications begin to compete for a network resource, and the task of traffic prioritization appears.
Cisco Wi-Fi networks provide 99.999% network reliability by maintaining the state of client sessions on a backup wireless controller. Assess the level of current interference in the air, the types of interference sources and their location, as well as automatically reconfigure the network to the best performance allows the hardware and software functionality CleanAir. Using CleanAir does not reduce wireless performance. High-quality delivery of video to devices via WiFI allows VideoStream technology. Functional monitoring and application management (Application Visibility & Control) allows you to define applications, prioritize or prohibit them so that the network resource is always enough for business tasks.
More and more organizations want to use a variety of Wi-Fi sensors and tags that allow them to track devices on the network and transmit their status using special sensors. A Wi-Fi network that allows you to locate Wi-Fi devices is a solution for such applications. The Cisco Connected Mobile Experiences (CMX) solution allows you not only to calculate the coordinates of any Wi-Fi device, but also to integrate with external applications of a specific client, detecting the presence of a student at school, the presence of vendors in the sales area, the current location of expensive medical equipment in the hospital, etc. d…
For the Cisco CMX solution and the Hyperlocation Module, which allows WiFi positioning with an accuracy of 1 meter, Cisco proudly received the Best of Interop Award in 2015 in the Mobility / Wireless category.
This event is detailed on Cisco's corporate blog.
2. There is a need to increase the capacity of Wi-Fi networks
The use of mobile applications leads to the emergence of "mobile tax" - background traffic on the network created by applications. In a corporate network, background traffic can be 40% -50% of the total network capacity.
Solutions with support for the standard 802.11as 1st waves allow you to increase the network bandwidth by 3 times. According to forecasts, the equipment of the 802.11ac standard will replace the 802.11n, which is currently popular today, for 2 years, as it not only increases the capacity of Wi-Fi networks, but also allows you to significantly save battery devices, and also uses a cleaner and wider 5 GHz spectrum. Cisco today in Russia offers a whole line of 802.11ac equipment - an access point of the Aironet 1700, 2700 and 3700 series.
But the wide possibilities of the new standard cannot be fully utilized if the network cannot withstand the load falling on it. In a modern office, there are quite a few areas that can be classified as areas with a high density of customers - these are open seating areas, where employees sit about every 2 meters, conference rooms, and meeting rooms. Today, the average number of devices for each mental worker is 3.3. And in the next 2-3 years, according to the Cisco VNI forecast, we are expected to flourish with wearable network devices - watches, glasses, wristbands with Wi-Fi. Mobile applications generate background traffic. The load will only be more.
Cisco has developed a whole stack of technologies designed to support high-density customers. Dozens of stadiums have been built, on which Cisco fans have the opportunity to connect to a Wi-Fi network for each fan and use an application that allows you to watch video from any camera installed in the stadium. Thousands of people watch streaming video simultaneously using Cisco Wi-Fi.
Technologies aimed at improving the performance of the Wi-Fi network, and connecting a large number of technology customers, are combined with the name HDX (High Density Experience). They include Cisco's proprietary chipset and a fundamentally new access point architecture with redundant processors and memory for stable operation in overload mode. Optimized roaming allows you to control the switching of Wi-Fi clients from one access point to another, ensuring optimal distribution of clients and connecting them at the best speeds, avoiding negative effects such as a “sticky client” when a Wi-Fi device connects to the nearest access point and “ clings to it until the signal disappears, not having the intelligence to detect nearby access points with a higher signal level. In conditions of high density of clients and WiFi access points, when neighboring points are forced to use the same frequency channel, the inter-channel interference suppression technology allows to increase the signal-to-noise ratio and, accordingly, the signal level.
3. With the increase in the number of devices and “things” with a network interface, the surface of possible attacks on the network increases
Today, people connect to the corporate network, being not only inside the office, they connect from any remote location. People use different devices and many applications. Network security can no longer focus only on perimeter reinforcement.
Facts published by a number of analytical companies:
- 90% of organizations do not know about all devices connected to the corporate network
- 14% of organizations received malware in their corporate network through social networks and mobile applications (November 2012 - November 2013)
- on average, the network uses 5-10 times more cloud services than IT knows.
Cisco looks at this problem in two main directions.
The first is the application access policy for the network. Traditionally, the network has several network elements that define network policies for wireless, wired, for remote connections and guest access. Cisco looks at the entire network using the Identity Services Engine (ISE), which sets access policies for the entire network, and specifically for each application used, the type of device and the method of access to the network. Guest Wi-Fi is a functional that no company can do without, is a built-in feature of Cisco ISE, allowing guests and partners to have managed Internet access without involving IT staff.
The second is similar to protection from cold, when we put on layers of clothing that protect us from wind, moisture, cold, we build layers of protection. In particular, the infrastructure itself performs the security tasks - switches, routers, wireless network, analyzing traffic and allowing to identify suspicious behavior.
4. A Wi-Fi network is not only a radio.
Cisco offers a Unified Access solution, where the corporate network is considered entirely - Wi-Fi, switching, routing, remote access, network security elements - are combined under a single network management (Prime Infrastructure), have a single Identity Service Engine policy and can even further erase the line between the wired and wireless network clusters, combining an access switch and a Wi-Fi network controller (Converged Access) in one device. This approach allows you to significantly optimize the operation of the corporate network, correlating the events of different network elements, reducing the total cost of ownership (TCO).
According to forecasts by leading analysts, the largest bottleneck on the network in the near future will be the place where the wireless network is connected with switching. The new 802.11ac standard gives us up to 1.3Gb / s from the access point in the 1st wave, and in the 2nd wave it is up to 6.9Gb / s. While on the copper wires we transmit now 1 Gb / s. Cisco has developed technology mGig, which allows you to transfer to copper up to 10GB / s, thereby eliminating the bottleneck in the network.
5. Increasing the need for WAN channels
More traffic at the access level creates the need for additional capacity of WAN channels, which directly affects the operating costs of the organization.
Intellectual WAN solutions (Cisco iWAN) allow using several types of connections to connect to the network, for example, MPLS channel and cheaper broadband Internet connection, and for hard-to-reach zones or objects moving in space (ship) also 3G connections. The use of several types of connection can significantly reduce the monthly cost of WAN channels, especially significant savings are achieved in organizations with an extensive branch network.
PfR (Performance Routing) and Application Visibility & Control mechanisms will allow applications to be routed based on the speed, latency, etc. requirements of each application to the network.
How many times is the same video stream downloaded when organizing video training for employees? How many times do visitors of the office, connecting to the WiFi network and receiving information about the availability of a new version of the operating system for a mobile device, click "Download"? How many times will the same file be downloaded through the company's WAN channels? High-resolution directories, management video calls to employees of remote offices located in the company's data center — Cisco routers cache similar information. Now the WAN channel is used only once, when the file is downloaded for the first time.
The widespread use of cloud applications significantly affects the use of WAN channels. Placing computational power in the router allows you to run applications locally without accessing the data center, saving the use of WAN channels for typical branch tasks, such as printing documents on a printer in the same room.
“Mobilizing” customers and employees brings new business opportunities and significantly changes the requirements for IT infrastructure.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/260585/
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