DATA CENTRES
Rethinking the network for the digital enterprise
Data centres have come a long way in a relatively short time . In this time data centres have increased in capacity and speed . So , what ’ s next ? Isaac Roybal , director of product marketing , ExtraHop , talks us through what the future holds .
In October 1969 , ARPAnet – largely recognised as the first large scale , general purpose computer network – came online . Within weeks , other similar networks followed suit . Four years later , in 1973 , Xerox PARC established the Ethernet standard for local area networking ( LAN ). The rest , as they say , is history .
Fast forward 35 years , and the speed and sophistication of networks is staggering . It took 15 years to establish the 1GbE standard for Ethernet . In the subsequent 20 years , the standard rapidly evolved from 1GbE to 40GbE , and 100GbE networks are already gaining traction in the market .
But scale isn ’ t the only thing that ’ s changed about the network . Invented as a transport mechanism , the fact that the network is the single common denominator for the vast array of devices and systems driving our modern economy has transformed the purpose of the network as well . The network is no longer just a transport ; it ’ s the richest data source for what is happening in the enterprise .
A vast source of data
According to the Cisco Global Cloud Index , by the end of 2016 global data centre network traffic will have reached 10.4 zettabytes per year . That ’ s roughly equivalent to the storage capacity of nearly 38 billion of Apple ’ s highest capacity iPhone 7 – in other words , the network contains a staggering amount of data .
The data derived from the network goes far beyond bandwidth consumption . The packets that make up network traffic , when reassembled into full transaction flows , represent trillions of digital interactions between devices , systems , and the people using them . Online purchases , inventory management , prescription refills , mobile banking , tweets , texts , chats – the services that comprise individuals ’ daily digital experiences all still transact over a network .
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