IT SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT
Juniper Networks | August 09, 2022
Juniper Networks , a leader in secure, AI-driven networks, today announced that it has been selected by Jazz, Pakistan’s number one 4G operator and the largest internet and leading digital service provider, to create a transformative, expanded and upgraded data center network to underpin Jazz’s services delivery platform for its 74.9 million subscribers. Jazz’s objective was to reimagine its architectural approach by leveraging continuous automation, assurance and data-driven insights to deliver a superior network user experience at scale while simplifying its operations.
Jazz offers the broadest portfolio of value-added digital services to enterprises and subscribers in Pakistan and has built a reputation for cutting-edge innovation with the ability to scale cloud-based services quickly and reliably. Following a rigorous vendor-agnostic technology appraisal, focused on the operational and cost efficiencies made possible by network automation, Jazz selected Juniper’s technology and expertise to underpin this latest project. Juniper’s advanced automation capabilities, transforming the entire network management lifecycle process within a single system, were a standout in the market.
News Highlights
The new network will support a wide range of customer-facing services that demand reliability and fast data throughput to support a consistently strong user experience. These include cloud-based enterprise data services, mobile banking, music and video download/streaming services, as well as professional services such as an agricultural application for four million farmers who rely on it for information, advice and guidance in remote areas.
Jazz will also use the network to power key internal workloads such as CRM and billing.
Jazz will deploy the Juniper Apstra System to deliver true intent-based networking (IBN) capabilities. This enables Jazz to design and operate its data center network based on outcomes, with the entire data center lifecycle automated, from Day 0 (design) through Day 1 (configuration and deployment) to Day 2+ (ongoing operations).
The network’s initial design is tied to day-to-day operations, enabling a single source of truth throughout its lifecycle. Automation provides a continuous feedback loop of real-time data insights, validation and root cause identification to minimize mean-time-to-repair (MTTR).
This approach will enable Jazz to operate a much more efficient, reliable and agile network. It will help to deploy new service features, optimizing user experience for both network teams and customers.
The new data center infrastructure includes a spine-and-leaf architecture built with the Juniper Networks QFX Series Switches and fully integrated with the Juniper Apstra System.
Jazz has previously deployed MX Series Universal Routing Platforms from Juniper for 400G-ready connectivity for its metro and internet gateway infrastructure. The new QFXs leverage the same Junos® OS operating system, providing a consistent networking estate for Jazz to manage and operate.
“In common with all service providers globally, Jazz faces relentless data demand and heightened expectations for seamless digital services. As a result, we wanted to completely rethink our data center operations, using ground-breaking automation to create the best possible user experiences for our enterprise customers and subscribers. Operational simplicity was another important goal, to deliver cost reductions and improved ease of use for our technical teams in the face of massive demand at scale. We evaluated multiple vendors, but Juniper’s ability to deliver the exact networking outcomes we needed meant that a highly strategic decision was very straightforward to make.”
Abdul Rehman Usmani, Vice President of Technology at Jazz
“The power of automation, bound within a single operational framework thanks to intent-based networking, enables Jazz to address the relevant operational questions, find the right answers quickly and make the best decisions. This means its network becomes a strategic business tool, leveraging data to deliver robust deployment and operational efficiencies and eliminates traditional network constraints that force choices between speed and reliability. Based on data from other Juniper customers, the result will be dramatic savings on downstream costs and tremendous returns on networking investments.”
Mike Bushong, Vice President, Cloud Ready Data Center at Juniper Networks
About Juniper Networks
Juniper Networks is dedicated to dramatically simplifying network operations and driving superior experiences for end users. Our solutions deliver industry-leading insight, automation, security and AI to drive real business results. We believe that powering connections will bring us closer together while empowering us all to solve the world’s greatest challenges of well-being, sustainability and equality.
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DATA STORAGE
Pure Storage | August 08, 2022
Pure Storage® , the IT pioneer that delivers the world's most advanced data storage technology and services, today announced it was named the leader for the third consecutive year in the GigaOm Radar Report for Enterprise Kubernetes Storage, which analyzed enterprise storage systems with support for Kubernetes-based workloads, and its companion report for Cloud-Native Kubernetes Data Storage, which analyzed Kubernetes-native storage solutions built specifically to support stateful containers with scalable, distributed architectures.
According to the GigaOm Radar Report for Cloud-Native Kubernetes Storage, Portworx® by Pure Storage "is one of the most advanced solutions for enterprise Kubernetes storage" and "remains the gold standard in cloud-native Kubernetes storage for the enterprise" as "a complete enterprise-grade solution with outstanding data management capabilities, unmatched deployment possibilities, and superior management features." Across criteria and evaluation metrics, Portworx was ranked by GigaOm as a "strong focus and perfect fit" in advanced data services, advanced CSI integration, deployment models, control plane architecture, developer experience, visibility and insights, as well as architecture, scalability, flexibility, manageability, and performance. Portworx continues to advance the innovation of its Kubernetes Data Platform to bring databases such as Kafka, Cassandra, and Postgres under one platform in the most simple and reliable manner with Portworx Data Services.
The GigaOm Radar Report for Enterprise Kubernetes Storage claimed "the integration of Portworx Essentials on Pure Storage controller-based architectures significantly enhances data efficiency because users benefit from the data reduction capabilities offered by the storage arrays." The report also highlights that this powerful integration "allows organizations to seamlessly deploy cloud-native workloads on a proven Kubernetes storage solution, and as their needs grow, they can effortlessly migrate those workloads to the full Portworx solution if they decide to adopt it." Once again, Pure Storage received the highest scores among all market segments, deployment models, and evaluation metrics in the analysis.
"For three consecutive years, we've been recognized as a Leader and Outperformer by GigaOm Radar. Customers running containers and databases at scale in production use Portworx to ensure highly reliable, available and secure Kubernetes data storage capabilities. I'm incredibly proud of our Portworx engineering team's recognition by GigaOm as we continue on our mission to help enterprises unleash the power of data."
Murli Thirumale, VP, GM Cloud Native Business Unit, Pure Storage
In addition to the GigaOm Radar Reports for Cloud-Native Kubernetes Data Storage and Enterprise Kubernetes Data Storage, Pure Storage has been consistently recognized as a leader across the other GigaOm reports for which it qualifies, including High-Performance Object Storage, Kubernetes Data Protection, and Enterprise General-Purpose Storage Systems.
About Pure Storage
Pure Storage uncomplicates data storage, forever. Pure Storage delivers a cloud experience that empowers every organization to get the most from their data while reducing the complexity and expense of managing the infrastructure behind it. Pure Storage's commitment to providing true storage as-a-service gives customers the agility to meet changing data needs at speed and scale, whether they are deploying traditional workloads, modern applications, containers, or more. Pure Storage believes it can make a significant impact in reducing data center emissions worldwide through its environmental sustainability efforts, including designing products and solutions that enable customers to reduce their carbon and energy footprint. And with a certified customer satisfaction score in the top one percent of B2B companies, Pure Storage's ever-expanding list of customers are among the happiest in the world.
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APPLICATION INFRASTRUCTURE
eStruxture | August 04, 2022
Today, eStruxture Data Centers, the largest Canadian cloud and carrier-neutral data center provider, is pleased to announce that it has signed the Infrastructure Masons Climate Accord (ICA), which unites over 70 companies to reduce carbon in digital infrastructure materials, products, and power.
“At eStruxture, we are committed to designing and powering our data centers sustainably, and we are thrilled to be a part of this important initiative to promote global carbon accounting of digital infrastructure and work together with our industry peers towards a Net Zero future.
Todd Coleman, President and CEO of eStruxture
The ICA includes several large hyperscale companies, representing some of the largest digital infrastructure portfolios in the world, and over 40 colocation data center providers, product, service and investment firms. Together with these industry trailblazers, eStruxture will collaborate to adopt open standards, policies, and reporting around carbon reduction to drive industry accountability.
“We established iMasons to unite the builders of the digital age,” said Dean Nelson, Chairman and Founder of Infrastructure Masons. “The ICA represents an unprecedented collaboration between leading digital infrastructure companies to accelerate our journey to carbon neutrality. Today, we are combining forces to compound the efforts of these firms to make meaningful and sustained progress toward that goal.”
Sustainability is one of the core fundamentals that eStruxture was built upon and signing this accord is an important step on the company’s journey to reducing the environmental impact of the data center industry and building a better future.
About Infrastructure Masons
Infrastructure Masons (iMasons) is a non-profit, professional association of technology and business leaders who represent over $150Bn in infrastructure projects in over 130 countries. The organization is guided by an Advisory Council composed of global leaders who manage some of the largest digital infrastructure portfolios in the world. The iMasons vision is to Unite the Builders of the Digital Age by enabling our global membership to Connect, Grow, and Give Back. Members leave their companies at the door and connect as individuals. iMasons has four strategic industry priorities – increase Awareness, enhance Education opportunities, champion Diversity & Inclusion, and inspire Sustainability through deep member engagement. Visit the website at imasons.org or LinkedIn.
About eStruxture
eStruxture is the largest Canadian data center provider with locations in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, and Calgary. Our solutions are designed to give you more: more locations, more capacity, more connections that enable you to run modern, demanding enterprise applications, and offer your business the control to rapidly scale in response to unpredictable changes in business processes.
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