Advertise on podcast: Design Your Networks for the Internet for the Future

Today’s networks are siloed and complex, a product of overlaying new technologies on top of old. But new technologies are emerging to help IT leaders and network administrators resolve these issues. In this first episode of the Design Your Networks for the Internet for the Future podcast, IDG host Barbara Call and guest Gurudatt Shenoy, Sr. Director, Product Management, at Cisco explore why “everything you know about the Internet is going to change.” “Let’s start by looking at the Internet itself and what’s happening,” Shenoy says. “First, raw bandwidth consumption continues to grow on unabated. Now think about what’s coming with 5G and its implications. 5G, as we know, is about more than just higher bandwidth for your cell phone. 5G unlocks fundamentally new enterprise use cases: industrial IoT, automotive IoT, smart utility networks, etc.” “Serving these use cases brings a new set of requirements into the network – that it be extremely responsive; able to handle an order of magnitude, a higher number of devices than it handles today, devices that can potentially come and go dynamically; and it needs to be very secure,” he notes.  The answer to these questions requires a rethink of how networks are built, he continues – meaning they need to become much simpler, in layers and protocols, and in terms of how they are managed. That’s where Cisco’s Converged SDN Transport Architecture comes into play, combining innovations in optics, silicon, routing systems, and automation. This convergence helps simplify the operation and management of the network, in turn allowing operators to substantially change the economics of their network in support of existing and new services.

Innovative technologies are key to the network of the future – including pluggable optics. In fact, your investment in pluggable optics is critical to the customer experience you deliver and your company’s brand. Building on the first episode of the Design Your Networks for the Internet for the Future podcast, IDG host Barbara Call and guest Pat Chou, Product Manager at Cisco, explore the growing importance of pluggable optics.  “Pluggable optics are these little metal modules that you need to connect switches, routers, and service together,” says Chou. “They’re basically optical transceivers which convert high-speed electrical signals into optical signals and vice versa, so we can use fiber optics cables for these connections.” “Once you get to certain data rates over certain distances, copper cables just can’t do it, and fiber optics is really the only option,” he continues. In fact, when it comes to the Internet for the Future, Cisco’s key optics innovations will help IT and network leaders migrate their network to higher speeds both inside the data centers and across the transport networks. Simply put, pluggable optics are essential to building a network for future internet connectivity.

5G holds promise to further society’s digital transformation, delivering solutions and applications for consumers and enterprises alike, and connecting the un-connected and under-served.  While phase-1 of the 5G buildout in large-market countries has largely been completed, the future will reveal how far 5G technologies can take us to real digital transformation. Building on the first two episodes of the Design Your Networks for the Internet for the Future podcast, IDG host Barbara Call and guest Tom Kennedy, Director of Product Management at Cisco, explore how 5G fits into the Internet for the Future and answer such questions as, do companies run the risk of making investments that will quickly be outdated? “When we look at the Internet of the Future, from my perspective, 5G is really a foundational element of that future,” Kennedy says. “As we look at 5G, this really brings us into the next generation, where you’re looking at the ability for any and every device to be connected and touching really every part of our livelihood.” Whether that’s the business or personal side of our lives, he continues, “everything from what we touch, what we put in our refrigerator, what our car is going, 5G will really help us truly connect everything.” Although the transition and the evolution into 5G will take time, and won’t happen overnight, he notes, “We’re seeing it progress today. It’s an exciting time.”