Avaya Data Solutions Launches Virtualization Strategy
End-To-End Architecture Simplifies Data Center, Campus Networking
BASKING RIDGE, N.J. - Avaya, a global leader in enterprise communications systems, software and services, today launched a new data networking architecture that helps enterprises reap the benefits of virtualization in a more simplified and cost-effective manner. This technology utilizes a new, end-to-end enterprise-wide architecture designed to help CIOs and IT departments meet the surging demand for new content and business collaboration applications.
Avaya Virtual Enterprise Network Architecture (Avaya VENA) allows organizations to more easily optimize business applications and service deployments in and between data centers and campuses. Avaya VENA reduces costs and significantly improves time to service by more efficiently optimizing the network connections between application servers and end users - essentially providing an end-to-end connection from the desktop all the way to the data center. It also reduces risks for CIOs by simplifying provisioning and policy configurations, reducing network re-designs, and providing new, streamlined tools for network management.
Avaya is also announcing a series of relationships in support of Avaya VENA with companies including VMware, an industry leader in virtualization and cloud infrastructure; QLogic, an industry leader in converged networking; Coraid, an industry innovator in converged Ethernet SAN storage; and Silver Peak Systems, the leader in data center WAN optimization - in addition to many other companies that have joined as members of Avaya's DevConnect program, an initiative to develop, market and sell innovative third-party products that interoperate with Avaya technology. Avaya VENA is based on open industry standards, and Avaya is aggressively pursuing and building out a broader ecosystem of technology collaborators to support the architecture.
"No one else can offer this level of simplicity around virtualization and collaboration," said Kevin Kennedy, president and CEO, Avaya. "Together with our technology partners, we are delivering a truly revolutionary and unique solution that maximizes the business model for virtualization and data center networking. The new Avaya VENA architecture, coupled with our cutting-edge innovation in business collaboration, is re-defining the way enterprises communicate."
"Enterprises today are asking for more than just choice when looking at networking solutions. They clearly need solutions that will empower IT to quickly respond to changing business requirements, improve time to service, while simplifying their network and reducing costs," said Mark Fabbi, vice president and distinguished analyst, Gartner. "Enabling the agile enterprise requires a new way of approaching network architecture. It requires a new level of synergy between collaborative real-time applications, the virtualized data center environment and the underlying, enabling network."
The new architecture features a 'Virtual Services Fabric' that spans the entire network and enables one-touch provisioning for the full range of capabilities provided by Virtual Services Networks. This architecture increases flexibility and scalability by delivering an infrastructure that creates a 'private cloud', to deliver always-on content and access to applications in a dramatically simplified model. This approach also protects enterprises' core networks from the costly failures and human-error issues that are often experienced by the traditional, complicated process for provisioning or adding, deleting or changing applications in a virtualized environment.
"Yankee Group research shows that human error accounts for 37 percent of all network downtime - the single biggest factor in network disruption. Avaya's Virtual Enterprise Network Architecture reduces costs and improves time to service by providing a more efficient way to manage the connectivity between users and their content," said Zeus Kerravala, senior vice president and distinguished research fellow, Yankee Group. "Avaya VENA provides an end-to-end connection from the desktop all the way through to the data center - a critical requirement to the success of virtual computing. The new architecture also reduces risks for CIOs by providing new, streamlined tools for network management, IT agility and simplifies the process of provisioning and policy configurations."
Avaya VENA's Virtual Services Fabric is built on enhanced IEEE Shortest Path Bridging to provide resiliency, simplicity and a consistent interconnect that transparently supports co-existing services. Avaya VENA is implemented on new data center modular and fixed platforms in addition to being a simple upgrade option for existing products. It also includes comprehensive tools for effective management of a virtualized environment.
Avaya VENA expands Avaya's proven Data Center solutions that have been deployed by customers for almost a decade. The new technologies leverage existing data network infrastructures and investments, and are scalable to provide a path for future growth.
ZF, a leading worldwide automotive supplier for Driveline and Chassis Technology headquartered in Germany, and with 123 production companies in 27 countries, is among the first customers to implement Avaya Virtual Enterprise Network Architecture and the Avaya VSP 9000. "We are upgrading our critical Data Centre infrastructure today with the powerful virtualization platform Avaya VSP 9000 to further enhance the stability, performance and capacity of our network to meet all of the increasing requirements", explained Dr. Steinbach, Senior Manager Support Center Network, ZF. ""We also plan to deploy the latest virtualised services based on Shortest Path Bridging technology between our Data Centers in the near future. This will simplify our network infrastructure design and give us the ability to reduce time to market for new services with a far better cost control at the same time."
The new architecture is supported by the Avaya Virtual Services Platform 9000 (Avaya VSP 9000), a future-ready platform that has been architected to scale in support of emerging 40/100G technologies. Avaya VENA is also supported by Avaya Ethernet Routing Switch 8600 and 8800 products. Avaya is currently developing a range of next-generation, Top-of-Rack solutions as part of its VSP portfolio for data centers to support high-density 10G with an evolution to 40/100G and FCoE. Additionally, a series of campus products will be introduced in 2011 allowing easy extension of the fabric all the way to the campus and branch edge. Avaya data products are designed to deliver energy efficiencies that can reduce enterprise operating costs, while evolving current infrastructure investment to help eliminate the need for costly forklift upgrades.
The Avaya VSP 9000 provides fully redundant hardware with no single point-of-failure, including a hardened data center operating system with instantaneous re-route capabilities. It offers efficient Layer 2 and 3 network virtualization along with high-density 10GbE today, and provides a seamless evolution to 40/100 Gigabit with a life-cycle architecture that has been designed to scale up to 27 Tbps.
"Avaya's VENA architecture is radically different conceptually," said Kevin Schukraft, manager of network technology, Kutztown University. "We actually have the Avaya VSP 9000 working well in limited production today as we continue with our roadmap to fully deploy the technology. From an operational standpoint, it consolidates systems, reduces footprint and decreases the risk of downtime, which is critical for us as we support round the clock student activity. And, it positions us to keep up with new app demands of our tech savvy students."
About Avaya
Avaya is a global leader in enterprise communications systems. The company provides unified communications, contact centers, data solutions, and related services directly and through its channel partners to leading businesses and organizations around the world. Enterprises of all sizes depend on Avaya for state-of-the-art communications that improve efficiency, collaboration, customer service and competitiveness. For more information please visit www.avaya.com.
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