Verizon launches 5G fixed wireless in parts of 21 more cities

Hyper-Converged Infrastructure, Application Infrastructure

Article | July 19, 2023

Nowadays, SaaS, IaaS, and PaaS are some of the most common names across the B2B and B2C sectors. This is because they have become the most efficient and go-to tool for starting a business. Together, they are significantly changing business operations around the globe and have emerged as separate sectors, revamping concepts of various product development, building and delivery processes. SaaS Vs PaaS Vs IaaS Each cloud computing model offers specific features and functionalities. Therefore, your organization must understand the differences. Whether you require cloud-based software to create customized applications, get complete control over your entire infrastructure without physically maintaining it, or simply for storage options, there is a cloud service for you. No matter what you choose, migrating to the cloud is the future of your business and technology. What is the Difference? IaaS: Aka Infrastructure as a Service IaaS allows organizations to manage their business resources such as their servers, network, and data storage on the cloud. PaaS: Aka Platform as a Service allows businesses and developers to build, host, and deploy consumer-facing apps. SaaS: Aka Software as a Service offers businesses and consumers cloud-based tools and applications for everyday use. You can easily access all three cloud computing tools on the internet browser or online apps. A great example would be Google Docs; Instead of working on one MS Word document and sending it around to each other, Google Docs allows your team to work and simultaneously collaborate online. The Market Value A recent report says that by 2028, the global SaaS market will be worth $716.52 billion, and by 2030, the global PaaS market will be worth $319 billion. Moreover, the global IaaS market is expected to be worth $292.58 billion by 2028, giving market players many opportunities. XaaS: Everything as a Service Another term more frequently used in IT is XaaS, short for Everything as a Service. It has emerged as a critical enabler of the Autonomous Digital Enterprise. XaaS is a term for highly customized, responsive, data-driven products and services that are entirely in the hands of the customer and based on the information they give through everyday IoT devices like cell phones and thermostats. Businesses can utilize this data generated over the cloud to deepen their customer relationships, sustain the sale beyond the initial product purchase and innovate faster. Conclusion Cloud computing is not restricted by physical hardware or office space. On the contrary, it allows your remote teams to work more effectively and seamlessly than ever, boosting productivity. Therefore, it offers maximum flexibility and scalability. IaaS, SaaS, PaaS; whichever solution you choose, options are always available to help you and your team move into cloud computing.

Hyper-Converged Infrastructure, Windows Systems and Network

Article | July 11, 2023

The success of 5G technology is a function of both the infrastructure that supports it and the ecosystems that enable it. Today, the definitive focus in the 5G space is on enterprise use cases, ranging from dedicated private 5G networks to accessing edge compute infrastructure and public or private clouds from the public 5G network. As a result, vendor-neutral multitenant data center providers and their rich interconnection capabilities are pivotal in helping make 5G a reality. This is true both in terms of the physical infrastructure needed to support 5G and the ability to effectively connect enterprises to 5G. Industry experts expect 5G to enable emerging applications such as virtual and augmented reality (AR/VR), industrial robotics/controls as part of the industrial internet of things (IIoT), interactive gaming, autonomous driving, and remote medical procedures. These applications need a modern, cloud-based infrastructure to meet requirements around latency, cost, availability and scalability. This infrastructure must be able to provide real-time, high-bandwidth, low-latency access to latency-dependent applications distributed at the edge of the network. How Equinix thinks about network slicing Network slicing refers to the ability to provision and connect functions within a common physical network to provide the resources necessary to deliver service functionality under specific performance constraints (such as latency, throughput, capacity and reliability) and functional constraints (such as security and applications/services). With network slicing, enterprises can use 5G networks and services for a wide variety of use cases on the same infrastructure. Providing continuity of network slices with optimal UPF placement and intelligent interconnection Mobile traffic originates in the mobile network, but it is not contained to the mobile network domain, because it runs between the user app on a device and the server workload on multi-access edge compute (MEC) or on the cloud. Therefore, to preserve intended characteristics, the slice must be extended all the way to where the traffic wants to go. This is why we like to say “the slicing must go on.” The placement of network functions within the slice must be optimized relative to the intended traffic flow, so that performance can be ensured end-to-end. As a result, organizations must place or activate the user plane function (UPF) in optimal locations relative to the end-to-end user plane traffic flow. We expect that hybrid and multicloud connectivity will remain a key requirement for enterprises using 5G access. In this case, hybrid refers to private edge computing resources (what we loosely call “MEC”) located in data centers—such as Equinix International Business Exchange™ (IBX®) data centers—and multicloud refers to accessing multiple cloud providers from 5G devices. To ensure both hybrid and multicloud connectivity, enterprises need to make the UPF part of the multidomain virtual Layer 2/Layer 3 interconnection fabric. Because a slice must span multiple domains, automation of UPF activation, provisioning and virtual interconnection to edge compute and multicloud environments is critical. Implementing network slicing for interconnection of core and edge technology Equinix partnered with Kaloom to develop network slicing for interconnection of core and edge (NICE) technology within our 5G and Edge Technology Development Center (5G ETDC) in Dallas. NICE technology is built using cloud-native network fabric and high-performance 5G UPF from Kaloom. This is a production-ready software solution, running on white boxes built with P4 programmable application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), allowing for deep network slicing and support for high-performance 5G UPF with extremely fast data transfer rates. With NICE technology in the 5G ETDC, Equinix demonstrates: 5G UPF deployment/activation and traffic breakout at Equinix for multiple slices. Software-defined interconnection between the 5G core and MEC resources from multiple providers. Software-defined interconnection between the 5G core and multiple cloud service providers. Orchestration of provisioning and automation of interconnection across the 5G core, MEC and cloud resources. Architecture of NICE technology in the Equinix 5G ETDC The image above shows (from left to right): The mobile domain with radio access network (RAN), devices (simulated) and mobile backhaul connected to Equinix. The Equinix domain with: Equinix Metal® supporting edge computing servers and a fabric controller from Kaloom. Network slicing fabric providing interconnection and Layer 2/Layer 3 cloud-native networking to dynamically activate UPF instances/interfaces connected with MEC environments and clouds, forming two slices (shown above in blue and red). Equinix Fabric™ and multicloud connectivity. This demonstrates the benefit of having the UPF as a feature of the interconnection fabric, effectively allowing UPF activation as part of the virtual fabric configuration. This ultimately enables high-performance UPF that’s suitable for use cases such as high-speed 5G fixed wireless access. Combining UPF instances and MEC environments into an interconnection fabric makes it possible to create continuity for the slices and influence performance and functionality. Equinix Fabric adds multicloud connectivity to slices, enabling organizations to directly integrate network slicing with their mobile hybrid multicloud architectures. Successful private 5G edge deployments deliver value in several ways. Primarily, they offer immediate access to locally provisioned elastic compute, storage and networking resources that deliver the best user and application experiences. In addition, they help businesses access a rich ecosystem of partners to unlock new technologies at the edge. Secure, reliable connectivity and scalable resources are essential at the edge. A multivendor strategy with best-of-breed components complemented by telemetry, advanced analytics with management and orchestration—as demonstrated with NICE in Equinix data centers—is a most effective way to meet those requirements. With Equinix’s global footprint of secure, well-equipped facilities, customers can maximize benefits.” - Suresh Krishnan, CTO, Kaloom Equinix and its partners are building the future of 5G NICE technology is just one example of how the Equinix 5G and Edge Technology Development Center enables the innovation and development of real-world capabilities that underpin the edge computing and interconnection infrastructure required to successfully implement 5G use cases. A key benefit of the 5G ETDC is the ability to combine cutting-edge innovations from our partners like Kaloom with proven solutions from Equinix that already serve a large ecosystem of customers actively utilizing hybrid multicloud architectures.

Hyper-Converged Infrastructure

Article | October 3, 2023

Data Center as a Service (DCaaS) is a hosting service that gives clients access to actual data center infrastructure and amenities. Through a Wide-Area Network, DCaaS enables clients to remotely access the provider's storage, server, and networking capabilities (WAN). Businesses can tackle their on-site data center's logistical and financial issues by outsourcing to a service provider. Many enterprises rely on DCaaS to overcome the physical constraints of their on-site infrastructure or to offload the hosting and management of non-mission-critical applications. Businesses that require robust data management solutions but lack the necessary internal resources can adopt DCaaS. DCaaS is the perfect answer for companies that are struggling with a lack of IT help or a lack of funding for system maintenance. Added benefits data Center as a Service allows businesses to be independent of their physical infrastructure: A single-provider API Data centers without Staff Effortlessly handle the influx of data Data centers in regions with more stable climates Data Center as a Service helps democratize the data center itself, allowing companies that could never afford the huge investments that have gotten us this far to benefit from these developments. This is perhaps the most important, as Infrastructure-as-a-Service enables smaller companies to get started without a huge investment. Conclusion Data center as a service (DCaaS) enables clients to access a data center remotely and its features, whereas data center services might include complete management of an organization's on-premises infrastructure resources. IT can be outsourced using data center services to manage an organization's network, storage, computing, cloud, and maintenance. The infrastructure of many businesses is outsourced to increase operational effectiveness, size, and cost-effectiveness. It might be challenging to manage your existing infrastructure while keeping up with the pace of innovation, but it's critical to be on the cutting edge of technology. Organizations may stay future-ready by working with a vendor that can supply DCaaS and data center services.

Article | June 1, 2021

There is an exciting convergence in the networking industry around open source, and the energy is palpable. At LF Networking, we have a unique perspective as the largest open source initiative in the networking space with the broadest set of projects that make up the diverse and evolving open source networking stack. LF Networking provides platforms and building blocks across the networking industry that enable rapid interoperability, deployment, and adoption and is the nexus for 5G innovation and integration. LF Networking has now tapped confluence on industry efforts to structure a new initiative to develop 5G Super Blueprints for the ecosystem. Major integrations between the building blocks are now underway–between ONAP and ORAN, Akraino and Magma, Anuket and Kubernetes, and more.