Despite the challenges posed by economic turmoil, pandemics, and political unrest, network researchers continue to blaze new trails in innovation, performance, management, and security. All in all, 2023 will be a year of network evolution and transformation.
Here are eight networking technologies you need to pay special attention to.
1. Unified SASE: Solving hybrid workforce and hybrid cloud
Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) tightly integrates security and networking into a single platform. The technology uses a single-scan architecture combined with unified policies that are configured through a unified console drawn from a unified data lake. Kelly Ahuja, CEO of networking and network security company Versa Networks, said: “This is important for organizations to continue to deliver a consistent and guaranteed user experience in the rapidly evolving dynamics of 2023, while protecting users, devices, sites and data. ”
1. Unified SASE: Solving hybrid workforce and hybrid cloud
Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) tightly integrates security and networking into a single platform. The technology uses a single-scan architecture combined with unified policies that are configured through a unified console drawn from a unified data lake. Kelly Ahuja, CEO of networking and network security company Versa Networks, said: “This is important for organizations to continue to deliver a consistent and guaranteed user experience in the rapidly evolving dynamics of 2023, while protecting users, devices, sites and data. “
3. Cilium: open source network, security control of containers
Ashish Kakran, head of venture capital firm Thomvest Ventures, said Cilium will become the hottest networking technology in 2023. He noted that Cilium open source software effectively combines networking, observability and security into a single, easy-to-use solution for container-based applications hosted in multi-cloud/hybrid cloud environments.
“There are some unique advantages to using Cilium: granular visibility with no code changes, no need to learn a new language, and blazing-fast performance,” Kakran said.
Under the hood, Cilium uses a powerful open source technology called eBPF, which effectively makes the Linux kernel programmable. “Think of it as an innovation similar to Javascript, which made web browsers programmable and made it possible to dynamically update web pages, load user comments and send notifications in real time,” Kakran said.
He noted that eBPF makes it possible to run code safely in the kernel without any kernel-level code changes. “This technology solves Kubernetes-related networking and observability challenges for enterprises of all sizes, especially as they reach scale.”
4. Data Security Posture Management (DSPM): Automating data protection in the cloud
Karthik Krishnan said that after years of securing networks, endpoints and devices, enterprises are now starting to focus on data security to ensure that data-level risks, especially the large amounts of unstructured data contained in the cloud, are quickly identified and protected, data risk assessment and CEO of surveillance company Concentric AI.
He said Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) will help adopters better discover, monitor and protect their sensitive data by automating data detection and protection operations, thereby providing them with a high degree of security without the need for large security teams. Accurate results.
Krishnan noted that DSPM offers multiple benefits. “It discovers all sensitive data in an enterprise environment, from financial information to intellectual property to personal information, without any rules or upfront configuration,” he said.
DSPM also monitors data for risks, including inappropriate permissions and incorrect rights. “It fixes these issues promptly and prevents data loss,” he added.
5. Network Functions Virtualization (NFV): The Next Step for WANs
Software-defined WAN (SD-WAN) was launched in 2014, laying the foundation for a software-centric approach to WAN. The next step requires a holistic approach to ensure that all relevant network functions in the WAN are also software-defined, said Roopa Honnachari, director of network consulting at technology research and consulting firm ISG.
“NFV-based virtual network services allow traditional hardware-centric network functions such as routing, WAN optimization and firewalls to be deployed in software,” she said. CPE (uCPE) can carry multiple functions. “
Virtual network services promise to significantly reduce the cost and complexity involved in deploying large global WAN networks. “By consolidating multiple functions on standardized hardware, enterprises can reduce their reliance on specialized hardware for each function and reduce overall hardware sprawl,” Honnachari said.
When virtual network functions (VNFs) run on virtualized uCPE, the number of devices that require physical maintenance is limited, freeing up network staff to handle other tasks. “In a traditional networking approach, if a device fails, the hardware needs to be replaced for each function,” Honnachari said. “In the case of VNFs, network administrators can simply rip and rebuild the functionality because it is deployed as software.” VNF downloads and storage configurations can be up and running in minutes, taking a hardware-centric approach It will take several days.
6. Next Generation Hotspot (NGH): Automatic roaming, logging into Wi-Fi network
NGH, also known as Hotspot 2.0, allows seamless and secure roaming between different wireless networks. “This is accomplished using the IEEE 802.11u standard, which enables devices to automatically discover and authenticate to Hotspot 2.0 networks,” said David Witkowski, IEEE senior member and broadband strategist.
There are currently several Hotspot 2.0 variants, including OpenRoaming from the Wireless Broadband Alliance.
Hotspot 2.0 makes it easier to connect to wireless networks without having to manually enter login credentials or configure device settings. Hotspot 2.0 technology can also replace current Wi-Fi roaming technologies, such as the WISPr protocol, which are less secure and do not support automatic network discovery and authentication. “This will lead to a better user experience and increased adoption of wireless services,” Witkowski predicted.
Hotspot 2.0 also benefits cellular operators, allowing them to offload data traffic from 4G and 5G services onto Wi-Fi networks. “This helps reduce congestion on cellular networks and improves the overall user experience,” Witkowski said.
7. Artificial intelligence-based conversational interface/virtual assistant for network team
Sujai Hajela, executive vice president at Juniper Networks, predicts that this will be the year that conversational interfaces and virtual assistants for networking teams see widespread adoption.
“Organizations are unlikely to be hiring many new employees in the short term due to talent shortages and the economic downturn,” he said. “This means technology that can help existing team members – making them more efficient and effective – will be embraced.”
Hajela noted that conversational interfaces and virtual assistants are quickly becoming an important tool in helping users quickly and easily find the root cause of network problems. He predicts that trial and error will all but disappear from the vocabulary of IT teams.
“Issues that used to take days to resolve, such as damaged cables, missing VLANs or poor LTE signals, can now be found in seconds through conversational interfaces, virtual assistants and AI-based technology.”
8. 6G: Meet the needs of high-bandwidth applications
While 5G cellular technology continues to play an important role in broadband expansion, next-generation 6G wireless networks are under development. The new technology offers speeds up to 100 times faster than its predecessor, making it ideal for high-bandwidth applications such as streaming high-definition video and gaming.
David Almodovar, managing partner of business consulting firm Almodovar Group, said another important benefit is 6G’s ability to handle large amounts of data. “This is because it will use a new type of coding, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), which is more efficient than the older CDMA standard.”
Almodovar noted that 6G can also handle multiple users simultaneously better than its predecessor. “This is because it will use multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology, allowing multiple users to share the same physical connection without interfering with each other,” he explained.
Also worth noting is the latency reduction of 6G, which virtually eliminates lag on supported devices. “This is important for applications like virtual reality and augmented reality, where even small delays can cause problems,” Almodovar said.