New Study Analyzes Network Virtualization, SDN

The global data center fabric market is poised to be worth more than $9 billion next year, according to new research by ReportsnReports.com. And it’s forecast to approach $13 billion by 2021, the firm says.

Companies in this arena include Big Switch, Cisco, and Juniper Networks, which leverage software-defined networking technology to allow for improved quality of service and reduced latency for applications that need it, and to allow for software abstraction of physical network infrastructure. Their switches enable communications between servers, software, and storage, ReportsnReports.com notes.

ReportsnReports.com writes that “fabric architecture offers many benefits such as scalability and reliability regarding the modern data center

environment. As per the growing business operational requirement, many servers and storage infrastructures are added to data centers. Several data center operators are likely to prefer modern infrastructure because of the increased reliability offered by the infrastructure over a period.”

But the firm also notes that some modern fabric switches and routers may not be compatible with existing technology, and that despite all the talk about open networking, that can create vendor lock-in even in this new world.

The report also talks about network virtualization. It says that many enterprises already have embraced network virtualization to enhance their agility, improve network efficiency, and reduce their costs.

Network virtualization is attractive, it notes, because it allows resources like routers and switches, among other functions, to be managed logically as opposed to physically. And it provides the potential for better scalability, improved security, and faster and more efficient management in the process.

“Virtual networks can be programmed, bonded workloads, and are scalable to demand,” notes ReportsnReports.com. “Moreover, they do not require physical network reconfiguration.”

In addition to Big Switch, Cisco, and Juniper Networks, ReportsnReport.com includes Arista Networks, Avaya Networks, Dell, Extreme Networks, Gigamon, HPE, Huawei Technologies, IBM, Lenovo, Mellanox Technologies, Nokia, Oracle, and Pluribus Networks in its study. 

Edited by Alicia Young