Evaluate

Evaluate

Weigh the pros and cons of technologies, products and projects you are considering.

• Batfish use cases for network validation and testing

  Automated pre-change network validation with Batfish can save time in the network change management process and minimize configuration and policy errors when deploying changes. Continue Reading

• VMware goes deep into multi-cloud universe

  With its rebranded Explore conference, VMware made it clear its focus is on supporting customers' multi-cloud and edge computing environments as data is processed in new places. Continue Reading

• How energy-efficient networking supports sustainability

  In this Q&A, 'Emerging Green Technologies' author Matthew N. O. Sadiku discusses the importance of going green and how to make networks energy-efficient to achieve this goal. Continue Reading

• New data center demands reshape enterprise app delivery

  Discover how modern application delivery controllers and web application firewalls can improve network provisioning processes and help secure distributed workloads. Continue Reading

• A look inside the Cisco DevNet Professional study guide

  Learn how network automation works with software development in this chapter excerpt from 'Cisco Certified DevNet Professional DEVCOR 350-901 Official Cert Guide.' Continue Reading

• 11 practice questions for Cisco DEVCOR 350-901 exam

  Think you know network automation? Take this practice exam from Chapter 10 of 'Cisco Certified DevNet Professional DEVCOR 350-901 Official Cert Guide' to test your expertise.Continue Reading

• DevNet authors discuss Cisco DEVCOR book, automation

  The authors of a Cisco DevNet Professional DEVCOR study guide provide insights about the growth of network automation, CI/CD and programmability.Continue Reading

• What is the difference between Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7?

  With its low latency, high throughput and multi-link operation capability, Wi-Fi 7 sounds promising. But will theoretical performance match the real-world experience?Continue Reading

• Private 5G in a box simplifies deployment, mobility

  Vendors are offering private 5G in a box -- a condensed and streamlined form of standalone 5G -- to simplify the complexity of typical private 5G deployments.Continue Reading

• Wi-Fi sensing has the potential to be disruptive

  With help from AI and machine learning, Wi-Fi sensing detects movement in the Wi-Fi environment. While it sounds promising, the technology still has a long way to go.Continue Reading

• Next-gen network management difficult without AIOps

  Complicated networks mean complicated network management. AIOps can help manage next-generation networks by monitoring, adding visibility and fixing errors within the network.Continue Reading

• How vendors support sustainable networking initiatives

  Organizations are focusing on sustainability in all business divisions, including network operations. These tools could help organizations make their enterprise networks green.Continue Reading

• The benefits and challenges of AI network monitoring

  The benefits include simplified network monitoring and automation capabilities. The challenges include data quality questions and integration complexities.Continue Reading

• Marketing hype fuels AI predictive network troubleshooting

  Vendors are pushing heavily on the benefits of predictive analysis to automatically identify and remediate network issues. But should enterprise customers care?Continue Reading

• Customers discuss the potential of WWAN use cases

  Wireless WAN offers high network speeds and enables remote connectivity at lower costs. Find out how cellular- and broadband-enabled WWAN helps organizations meet business goals.Continue Reading

• 5 factors that form the future of Wi-Fi

  For businesses, mounting ownership costs, unrealistic performance expectations, client device chaos and competing technologies all play a role in the future of Wi-Fi.Continue Reading

• Cisco Live highlights network observability, the metaverse

  The conference was teeming with topics, including network security, infrastructure transformation, cloud-based network management and open source tools.Continue Reading

• SD-WAN, SASE markets to grow despite challenges

  SD-WAN and SASE have both seen widespread adoption throughout the networking industry, but service providers must work to address challenges that threaten to lower adoption rates.Continue Reading

• What is network virtualization? Everything you need to know

  Network virtualization is a method of combining the available resources in a network to consolidate multiple physical networks, divide a network into segments or create software networks between VMs.Continue Reading

• How zero trust unifies network virtualization

  The combination of zero trust and network virtualization creates opportunities to strengthen security policies, increase cross-domain collaboration and improve overall visibility.Continue Reading

• What software-defined LAN means for campus virtualization

  LAN virtualization has long encompassed VLANs to segment network traffic. But software-defined LAN is emerging with zero-trust strategies to provide more comprehensive security.Continue Reading

• Network virtualization benefits in the LAN, WAN and data center

  Better traffic performance, scalability and security are some of the network virtualization benefits that enterprises can realize across their network infrastructure.Continue Reading

• The role of network virtualization and SDN in data centers

  SDN, zero trust and infrastructure as code are popular forms of network virtualization within the data center, moving away from manual VLANs toward policy-driven virtualization.Continue Reading

• Carrier network virtualization leads to enterprise services

  Starting with MPLS VPNs and SD-WAN, new carrier network virtualization options, like 5G network slicing, are becoming virtual enterprise network services, and more will follow.Continue Reading

• Networks are the intersection in a multi-cloud strategy

  Enterprises interested in multi-cloud adoption should evaluate application requirements, cloud provider features and their legacy network architecture.Continue Reading

• The importance of unified, end-to-end network management

  As network environments evolve and grow more complex, enterprises are realizing their need for unified network management. But is an end-to-end strategy possible?Continue Reading

• Top 5G limitations and challenges for businesses

  While 5G has advanced in recent years, the fifth generation of cellular technology still has some shortcomings, such as smaller coverage ranges and a lack of rural rollouts.Continue Reading

• Zero trust, wireless WAN affect the future of IoT networking

  Zero-trust security models, wireless WAN evolution and the emergence of pop-up businesses are all helping to fuel innovation in IoT networking capabilities.Continue Reading

• What are the features and benefits of 5G technology?

  In addition to high speeds and low latency, the emergence of 5G cellular technology could put some pressure on the market prices of incumbent WAN connectivity.Continue Reading

• The pros and cons of Netskope SASE

  Netskope is undoubtedly a leader in the CASB market, but its limited security capabilities and lack of SD-WAN make Netskope an incomplete SASE offering.Continue Reading

• Experts set the record straight on new networking technology

  What is the reality of new network technologies? Here, experts identify the risks -- real or perceived – and benefits that digital twins, automation and AI create for businesses.Continue Reading

• Is it time to ditch the WAN for other connectivity options?

  With the prevalence of remote work, cloud applications and internet connectivity, will enterprises ditch the WAN to save money and time? Maybe not everyone.Continue Reading

• What is NetOps? Everything you need to know

  NetOps, also referred to as NetOps 2.0 and NetDevOps, is an approach to networking operations that uses DevOps tools and techniques to make network changes more efficiently and effectively than in the past.Continue Reading

• Private 5G deployments to advance in 2022

  As commercial private 5G deployments begin to advance in 2022, private cellular networks will become a reality for many organizations in the U.S. and around the world.Continue Reading

• Compare 8 network automation tools

  The right network automation platform can help admins build and oversee company networks. Discover some of the top choices in the market and the benefits they provide.Continue Reading

• NetOps automation ideas and examples

  NetOps teams can hone their automation experience using these automation ideas that range from simple read/write tasks to complex automated processes.Continue Reading

• The benefits of network infrastructure as code

  Network infrastructure as code uses DevOps methodology to create structured practices for configuration changes and establish pre- and post-change testing and validation.Continue Reading

• NetOps meets DevOps concepts to tackle network problems

  NetOps and DevOps are converging, due to increased use of infrastructure as code to automate enterprise networks. Shared concepts include structured coding practices and automated testing.Continue Reading

• How does a NetOps strategy affect enterprise network teams?

  A NetOps approach uses DevOps frameworks to help network teams enable virtualization, automation and AI to create Agile networks and deploy applications faster.Continue Reading

• Explore 4 network performance monitoring tools

  The network performance monitoring market is changing to address the emergence of IoT and AI. Read more about the NPM market evolution and available vendor products.Continue Reading

• The rise of the NetOps engineer

  The need for NetOps engineers with network automation and software development skills is rising with the continued drive to create more flexible networks. Find out what it takes.Continue Reading

• Businesses building data center network automation internally

  Companies develop their own data center network automation software for security compliance, and they need tools closely aligned with their specific networks.Continue Reading

• Strategies, benefits of data center network automation

  Data center networks aren't new, but ways of managing them are -- such as with data center network automation. Strategies include cloud automation, DevOps automation and more.Continue Reading

• Demand for effective telecom service assurance to increase

  As the markets for 5G, IoT and other emerging technologies continue to grow, the service assurance market that ensures the quality of these services will also increase.Continue Reading

• Ultimate guide to network management in the enterprise

  This guide to network management explains the challenges of enterprise network monitoring and maintenance, best practices and next-generation automation using AI and ML.Continue Reading

• Automation brings NetOps to the next level

  Automation and AI can help enterprise NetOps teams attain the data insights they need to deliver services more efficiently and create a more agile, proactive network.Continue Reading

• A review of Zscaler SASE architecture

  Zscaler has a strong cloud-native architecture for secure internet access. But it doesn't deliver SD-WAN or converge internet access and WAN security, leaving it with only part of a SASE platform.Continue Reading

• Compare smartNIC products and use cases

  Not all smartNIC use cases are the same, and not all products offer the same functionality and features. Compare offerings from three of the main smartNIC market segments.Continue Reading

• What's the status of AI in networking?

  The use cases for AI are expanding, but despite the advantages, network pros have yet to implement AI fully. Three analysts explain the status of AI in enterprise networks.Continue Reading

• Edge, public cloud, security drive network transformation

  Networking is starting to reflect innovations in compute and public cloud. A notable change will be how network teams view networking and security as a holistic platform.Continue Reading

• Pairing SD-WAN, UCaaS together has benefits and challenges

  Organizations may combine SD-WAN and UCaaS to gain synergies and avoid multivendor complexities. But the combination of the two technologies can create challenges.Continue Reading

• Will 5G replace Wi-Fi? No, but maybe in some use cases

  Geographically remote locations, large public venues and manufacturing sites are a few of the key areas in which business 5G technology could provide real benefits.Continue Reading

• Review the major networking acquisitions of 2021

  When a networking vendor announces plans to acquire another company, most people take notice. Explore which vendors made moves in 2021 and what those purchases mean.Continue Reading

• 5 trends in enterprise networking that defined 2021

  In 2020, enterprises shifted to remote work due to the pandemic. The trend continued in 2021, along with four other networking trends that defined the year and will extend into 2022.Continue Reading

• The top 5 networking technology trends for 2022

  A yearly check-in on the top networking technology trends reveals more of the same themes, including the ongoing development of SD-WAN, 5G and Wi-Fi 6.Continue Reading

• Choose from 10 CDN service providers to deliver content

  Learn how 10 CDN providers measure up when it comes to addressing key considerations, including primary service focus, features, PoPs, a free trial version and pricing information.Continue Reading

• Evaluate must-have CDN features before choosing a product

  No two CDN services are identical. Explore the main feature and function areas available in today's content delivery network market to better narrow down your choice of vendors.Continue Reading

• Automation, cloud lead as influential data center trends

  Recent data center trends, such as AIOps and automation, have been geared toward simplifying network management. Here are the trends and challenges teams faced over the past year.Continue Reading

• 3 lessons from the 2021 Facebook outage for network pros

  Even in hyperscalers like Facebook, one errant finger can take down a network. The takeaway, experts said, is to expect and plan for the worst and put those plans to the test.Continue Reading

• SecOps' need for traffic data drives NetSecOps collaboration

  Security teams want to analyze network traffic data to identify anomalies and threats. As a result, network and security teams need to find ways to work together.Continue Reading

• 4 trends spurring the evolution of network hardware

  Major trends in network hardware highlight enterprise interest in vendor-agnostic options and open models. But legacy designs could stand in the way of adoption.Continue Reading

• University's private cellular network hints to enterprise use

  California State University, Stanislaus blanketed its campus in private 4G/5G in a project that shows promise for the future of CBRS networks in the enterprise.Continue Reading

• Does Wi-Fi 6 have better range than previous wireless standards?

  Yes, Wi-Fi 6 provides better wireless range. But it's not because of higher power output. The key is certain Wi-Fi 6 features can improve data rates at a given range.Continue Reading

• What are the top CDN benefits for today's enterprise?

  Delivering timely, high-quality content is more critical than ever, and CDN services bring that and a myriad of other benefits to the modern enterprise.Continue Reading

• Fog computing vs. edge computing: What's the difference?

  Fog computing vs. edge computing -- while many IT professionals use the terms synonymously, others make subtle but important distinctions between them.Continue Reading

• The status of 5G rollouts in 2021 and 2022

  Major U.S. mobile operators -- AT&T, Dish, T-Mobile and Verizon -- are focused on deploying 5G through 2022. Learn about each provider's timeline.Continue Reading

• Best practices and tools for public cloud monitoring

  Public cloud adoption has ramped up in recent years. In these busy environments, certain cloud network monitoring tools can provide IT groups with crucial visibility.Continue Reading

• A review of Cato Networks' SASE Cloud platform

  Cato's SASE Cloud lacks some features and may require customers to replace point products to fully benefit from the platform. But Cato aligns with SASE’s cloud-native vision and is a strong contender in the market.Continue Reading

• How remote work changes the future of network management

  The pandemic ushered in a new normal of hybrid workplaces. What's also new is how network teams manage these remote networks, like using zero-trust security models.Continue Reading

• A deep dive into Fortinet's SASE platform

  Despite its strong security foundation, Fortinet's SASE platform lacks a cloud-native strategy and requires teams to stitch the architecture together.Continue Reading

• 3 delivery models for 5G and MEC

  To enhance network capabilities, enterprises will need to consolidate 5G and MEC technologies in the future. Following a deployment model is the first step.Continue Reading

• Enterprises look to formalize WFH network architecture

  As work-from-home programs prove they're here to stay, enterprise network teams are assessing their network designs to ensure adequate support and performance for home offices.Continue Reading

• BGP vs. OSPF: When to use each protocol

  BGP and OSPF are two of the most common routing protocols. While BGP excels with dynamic routing for large networks, OSPF offers more efficient path choice and convergence speed.Continue Reading

• Experts discuss stretched VLAN use cases, MEC and more

  In this networking blog roundup, experts give reasons to stretch VLANs, discuss benefits of deploying private MEC with 5G, and differentiate between junior and senior IT engineers.Continue Reading

• What's the difference between a MAC address and IP address?

  A MAC address and an IP address each identify network devices, but they do the job at different levels. Explore the differences between the two and learn why both are necessary.Continue Reading

• 3 best practices for network observability

  Research shows a correlation with NetOps success and network observability. Following best practices of network observability can facilitate this success.Continue Reading

• The pros and cons of Palo Alto Networks' SASE platform

  Palo Alto Networks is commonly mentioned in SASE discussions. While the vendor has strong security capabilities, it also brings integration complexities and PoP limitations.Continue Reading

• How to pick the best network security service provider

  Managed security service providers have different levels of expertise. Be sure to match your organization's security needs with the right network security provider.Continue Reading

• Experts say Open RAN deployment is on the rise

  Networking experts examined Open RAN revenue surges as the industry shifts toward the open model. Meanwhile, enterprises should consider the long-term benefits of switching vendors.Continue Reading

• The migration to enterprise network as a service

  Enterprise network as a service is becoming a popular consumption model for networking functions. But, as with any emerging technology, it's important to weigh the options carefully.Continue Reading

• 6 trends in corporate campus networks

  Networks are evolving, and that evolution includes enterprise campus networks. Trends like network automation, 5G and machine learning are modernizing campus networks.Continue Reading

• Cloud-based network management leads 2021 network investments

  A recent ESG survey shows that many enterprises speeding their digital transformation plans are also increasing 2021 network investment, emphasizing cloud-based network management.Continue Reading

• Top network IT investments include 5G, smartNICs, cloud

  Market analysts showed interest in 5G and smartNICs during an ONUG conference panel on enterprise IT investments. And don't forget the seemingly inevitable mention of cloud.Continue Reading

• Routed optical networking tactic could be game changer

  A new routing architecture could help eliminate management and service headaches stemming from routing IP traffic on optical networks.Continue Reading

• Develop 5G ecosystems for connectivity in the remote work era

  Adopting a 5G ecosystem could enable enterprises to better compete in offering edge computing and remote work options without sacrificing connectivity.Continue Reading

• A glimpse into Python network automation and APIs

  This chapter excerpt from 'Mastering Python Networking' dives into the importance of APIs and network state when working with Python network automation and intent-based networking.Continue Reading

• Advice on intent-based networking and Python automation

  In his book, 'Mastering Python Networking,' Eric Chou provides network practitioners with the concepts they need to understand APIs, intent-based networking and automation.Continue Reading

• Network-as-a-service business model options take shape

  As network as a service gains traction, enterprises and service providers must consider multiple deployment models. SD-WAN, SASE, SDN and policy management could all play a role.Continue Reading

• How cloud-native networking will transform infrastructure

  Cloud-native networking aims to prioritize business needs and enable networks to become more efficient. Learn more about the potential benefits and challenges in this expert Q&A.Continue Reading

• The role of network observability in distributed systems

  Network observability sounds like a new term for an existing practice, but is that the case? This chapter excerpt lays out what observability is and everything you need to know.Continue Reading

• SASE options for the branch of one -- work from anywhere

  More than ever, enterprises need to support individual employees that make up a branch of one. These setups require reliable connectivity, application performance and security.Continue Reading

• How are network operations center responsibilities changing?

  If your network operations center responsibilities haven't changed yet due to evolutions like DevOps and edge computing, they likely will soon. Here's what you need to know.Continue Reading

• Why 5G will redefine WWAN and SD-WAN

  The nexus of 5G, WWAN and SD-WAN promises to usher in an array of custom tools and services for enterprises.Continue Reading

• What to expect at Cisco Live 2021: Future of work, networks

  At Cisco Live 2021, attendees will hear about the future of work and what that means for the future of networks and network technologies, like SASE, 5G and cloud networks.Continue Reading

• Cisco's future banks on security, service providers, 5G

  A big part of Cisco's future strategy will be enhancing its global presence and service provider customer base. For networking, it still pursues software and subscription models.Continue Reading

• The complete Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) guide

  SASE helps organizations manage and secure external traffic. But is it the best choice for your environment? Find out how to buy, deploy and manage SASE in this adoption guide.Continue Reading

• Will enterprises adopt SONiC OS and disrupt proprietary WAN?

  As a cloud-native modular architecture focused on network disaggregation, the SONiC OS can offer several benefits for enterprises, especially at the network edge.Continue Reading

• Enterprise edge is telecom operators' new frontier

  Network operators have an opportunity to sell new bundles of dynamic enterprise edge services that include SASE, SD-WAN and virtual security if they size it and price it well.Continue Reading

• Open RAN architecture gives operators options, challenges

  Open RAN architecture could give telecom operators more flexibility as they deliver enterprise-grade 5G services. But making the RAN a virtual function takes careful planning.Continue Reading

• 3 SASE case studies exploring real-world deployments

  Three case studies demonstrate how SASE technology helps organizations securely connect geographically distributed workforces.Continue Reading