Where Network Virtualization Fits Into Data Center Initiatives

For years, the networking infrastructure has been referred to as the “plumbing” of the enterprise. Certainly routers and switches have become incredibly sophisticated over the years. But increasingly, the constraints of physical networks are being exposed by the management, agility, scalability and security demands required for hybrid cloud strategies and the modern, secure data center.

When you enter the world of network virtualization, the pace of change accelerates. You can transform data center economics and operations. The obstacles of physical networks vanish, while all of your physical transport capacity becomes simpler and easier to use.

The result is a transformative model with service delivery that matches the velocity demands of today’s businesses.

When a technology fundamentally changes an old model to support new strategies, it is natural to ask, “Where does this fit into my data center initiatives?” In this paper, we look at where network virtualization fits with these IT goals:

• Reducing the cost and complexity of existing physical infrastructure assets (without disrupting your existing infrastructure)
• Accelerating (and simplifying) private and hybrid cloud initiatives
• Moving towards the Software-Defied Data Center (SDDC)
• Improving data center security, automation and applications continuity