1. 1Info-Tech Research GroupVendor Landscape: Data Center Networking Info-Tech Research Group, Inc. Is a global leader in providing IT research and advice. Info-Tech’s products and services combine actionable insight and relevant advice with ready-to-use tools and templates that cover the full spectrum of IT concerns. © 1997-2013 Info-Tech Research Group Inc. Vendor Landscape: Data Center Networking It may be time to switch up your data center network. Info-Tech's products and services combine actionable insight and relevant advice with ready-to-use tools and templates that cover the full spectrum of IT concerns.© 1997 - 2013 Info-Tech Research Group

2. 2Info-Tech Research GroupVendor Landscape: Data Center Networking Data Center Networking continues to evolve, taking advantage of faster connectivity and enabling private and public clouds, network virtualization, and Software Defined Networking. Introduction Enterprises seeking to select a solution for data center networking. Those enterprises with a data center networking use case that may include: Refreshing an existing data center. Building a new data center. Building a private cloud/hybrid virtualized infrastructure. A service provider building a public cloud service. This Research Is Designed For:This Research Will Help You: Understand what’s new in the data center networking market. Evaluate data center networking vendors and products for your enterprise needs. Determine which products are most appropriate for particular use cases and scenarios.

3. 3Info-Tech Research GroupVendor Landscape: Data Center Networking Market Overview The growth of modern data centers came in the late 1990s during the dot.com era, due to organizations requiring continuous operation of business applications and fast internet connectivity to enhance web presence. Modern data center technologies and practices were designed and implemented to handle the ongoing operational requirements of mission-critical applications and end-user demands. Today’s data center architecture assists organizations in addressing challenges by aligning IT with overall business objectives. Server virtualization-aware networks that automatically migrate port profiles whenever a virtual server moves from one area of the data center to another. Networks built for virtualization from the ground up, allowing private/public clouds to be built more easily. Flatter networks, eliminating the aggregation layer to speed up inter-server data transfers and make network management easier (one or two tiers, instead of three). Network convergence, allowing the same switches to be used for Ethernet, fibre, and storage area networks. Virtual networks (vNetworks), which are software based VLANS that can span data centers, public clouds, and co-located servers. How it got here Where it’s going As the market evolves, capabilities that were once cutting edge become default and new functionality becomes differentiating. 40 Gbps has become a Table Stakes capability and should no longer be used to differentiate solutions. Instead, focus on Fibre Channel over Ethernet and TRILL or SPB to get the best fit for your requirements.

4. 4Info-Tech Research GroupVendor Landscape: Data Center Networking 1234 Data Center Networking Vendor selection / knock-out criteria: market share, mind share, and platform coverage Alcatel-Lucent. A provider of IP and cloud networking solutions with a focus on service providers and enterprises. Arista Networks. A leader in high-performance, high availability data center networking. Avaya. Catapulted into the market by acquiring Nortel’s product portfolio, patents, and much of Nortel’s staff. Brocade. Specializes in data center storage networking solutions with a focus on SAN switching, and adds an enterprise network product line with its acquisition of Foundry Networks. Cisco Systems. One of the pioneers of data center networking, with a large product portfolio. Dell. Focus is on enterprises and service providers with the ability to custom-tailor solutions to the client. Extreme. Targets enterprises, public cloud service providers, and mobile backhaul use cases. HP Networking. Focuses on enterprises and campuses, offering a large portfolio for small businesses up to service providers. Juniper Networks. Designs and produces high performance switches and routers to satisfy ISP level performance. Included in this Vendor Landscape: The data center networking market has moved from largely propriety approaches for delivering 10 Gbps to industry standards in place for 10 Gbps, 40 Gbps, and even 100 Gbps. Ethernet is increasingly moving towards performance and latency parity with Infiniband, bringing high performance within reach of any medium enterprise. For this Vendor Landscape, Info-Tech focused on those vendors that offer broad capabilities across multiple platforms and that have a strong market presence and/or reputational presence among mid and large sized enterprises.

5. 5Info-Tech Research GroupVendor Landscape: Data Center Networking Criteria Weighting: Data Center Networking criteria & weighting factors Vendor is focused on the networking product line and has few distractions from other spaces. Strategy Vendor offers global coverage and is able to sell and provide post-sales support. Reach Vendor is profitable, knowledgeable, and will be around for the long-term. Viability Vendor channel strategy is appropriate and the channels themselves are strong. Channel Implementing and operating the solution is affordable given the technology. Affordability Multiple deployment options and extensive integration capabilities are available. Architecture Usability was not scored in this VL due to proliferation of third party management software. Usability The solution provides basic and advanced feature/functionality. Features Architecture Affordability Product Vendor Viability Strategy Channel Reach Product Evaluation Criteria Vendor Evaluation Criteria

6. 6Info-Tech Research GroupVendor Landscape: Data Center Networking Table Stakes represent the minimum standard; without these, a product doesn’t even get reviewed If Table Stakes are all you need from your Data Center Networking solution, the only true differentiator for the organization is price. Otherwise, dig deeper to find the best price to value for your needs. The products assessed in this Vendor Landscape TM meet, at the very least, the requirements outlined as Table Stakes. Many of the vendors go above and beyond the outlined Table Stakes, some even do so in multiple categories. This section aims to highlight the products’ capabilities in excess of the criteria listed here. The Table StakesWhat Does This Mean? Support for high availability/failover standards like VRRP. Standards- Based Failover Capability The switches are ready to take 40 Gbps Ethernet line cards/modules. 40 Gbps Ethernet Ready Full IPv6 support, with backwards compatibility for IPv4, including tunneling. IPv6 Support Full compatibility with third-party network management systems using standard protocols. Third Party NMS Compatibility What it is: Feature

7. 7Info-Tech Research GroupVendor Landscape: Data Center Networking Advanced Features are the capabilities that allow for granular market differentiation Info-Tech scored each vendor’s features offering as a summation of its individual scores across the listed advanced features. Vendors were given one point for each feature the product inherently provided. Some categories were scored on a more granular scale with vendors receiving half points. The solution contains open APIs to allow programmability and a development kit has been released by the vendor. SDN Enabled Allows for the removal of a dedicated aggregation layer to provide direct, high capacity connections. Virtual Switching Fabric Network management is achieved through a single pane of glass network management system. Single Pane of Glass The solution uses Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Link or Shortest Path Bridging, rather than Spanning Tree. TRILL or SPB Allows for the convergence of the LAN and one or more storage protocols on a single converged network. Fibre Channel over Ethernet The solution is capable of handling 100 Gbps connections. 100 Gbps Ethernet Ready What we looked for: Feature Advanced FeaturesScoring Methodology For an explanation of how Advanced Features are determined, see Information Presentation – Feature Ranks (Stoplights) in the Appendix.Information Presentation – Feature Ranks (Stoplights)

8. 8Info-Tech Research GroupVendor Landscape: Data Center Networking Some vendors have already come a long way in implementing SDN into their solutions. SDN is changing the face of networking through its programmability and automation of tasks Why Scenarios? In reviewing the products included in each Vendor Landscape TM, certain use cases come to the forefront. Whether those use cases are defined by applicability in certain locations, relevance for certain industries, or as strengths in delivering a specific capability, Info- Tech recognizes those use cases as Scenarios, and calls attention to them where they exist. 3 2 Programmability 1 For an explanation of how Scenarios are determined, see Information Presentation – Scenarios in the Appendix.Information Presentation – Scenarios Exemplary Performers A member of the Open Networking Foundation, a silver member of the OpenDaylight project, and a Platinum member of the OpenStack Foundation, HP has gone as far as creating an SDN App Store for its products. Extreme takes advantage of OpenFlow and OpenStack for centralized management while supporting open APIs, including XML and SOAP. Avaya is actively supporting the OpenStack community through development and integration with its Fabric Connect Technology.

9. 9Info-Tech Research GroupVendor Landscape: Data Center Networking Spend time evaluating vendors and products that are ready to support your virtualization needs. As network virtualization needs grow, organizations should look to more robust solutions Why Scenarios? In reviewing the products included in each Vendor Landscape TM, certain use cases come to the forefront. Whether those use cases are defined by applicability in certain locations, relevance for certain industries, or as strengths in delivering a specific capability, Info- Tech recognizes those use cases as Scenarios, and calls attention to them where they exist. Exemplary Performers Avaya’s VENA Fabric Connect technology provides for a service abstraction layer that allows for any logical topology to be built anywhere physical Ethernet connectivity is available. Through its SDN strategy, Arista is committed to outfitting organizations with network wide virtualization. HP’s Intelligent Resilient Framework eases management through the grouping of several switches into a single virtual switch with a single IP address. 3 1 Network Virtualization 2 For an explanation of how Scenarios are determined, see Information Presentation – Scenarios in the Appendix.Information Presentation – Scenarios

10. 10Info-Tech Research GroupVendor Landscape: Data Center Networking The Info-Tech Data Center Networking Vendor Shortlist Tool is designed to generate a customized shortlist of vendors based on your key priorities.Data Center Networking Vendor Shortlist Tool Identify leading candidates with the Data Center Networking Vendor Shortlist Tool Overall Vendor vs. Product Weightings Individual product criteria weightings: Features Usability Affordability Architecture Individual vendor criteria weightings: Viability Strategy Reach Channel This tool offers the ability to modify:

11. 11Info-Tech Research GroupVendor Landscape: Data Center Networking Vendor Landscape Methodology: Overview Info-Tech’s Vendor Landscapes are research materials that review a particular IT market space, evaluating the strengths and abilities of both the products available in that space, as well as the vendors of those products. These materials are created by a team of dedicated analysts operating under the direction of a senior subject matter expert over a period of six weeks. Evaluations weigh selected vendors and their products (collectively “solutions”) on the following eight criteria to determine overall standing: Features: The presence of advanced and market-differentiating capabilities. Usability: The intuitiveness, power, and integrated nature of administrative consoles and client software components. Affordability: The three-year total cost of ownership of the solution. Architecture: The degree of integration with the vendor’s other tools, flexibility of deployment, and breadth of platform applicability. Viability: The stability of the company as measured by its history in the market, the size of its client base, and its financial performance. Strategy: The commitment to both the market-space, as well as to the various sized clients (small, mid-sized, and enterprise clients). Reach: The ability of the vendor to support its products on a global scale. Channel: The measure of the size of the vendor’s channel partner program, as well as any channel strengthening strategies. Evaluated solutions are plotted on a standard two by two matrix: Champions: Both the product and the vendor receive scores that are above the average score for the evaluated group. Innovators: The product receives a score that is above the average score for the evaluated group, but the vendor receives a score that is below the average score for the evaluated group. Market Pillars: The product receives a score that is below the average score for the evaluated group, but the vendor receives a score that is above the average score for the evaluated group. Emerging Players: Both the product and the vendor receive scores that are below the average score for the evaluated group. Info-Tech’s Vendor Landscapes are researched and produced according to a strictly adhered to process that includes the following steps: Vendor/product selection Information gathering Vendor/product scoring Information presentation Fact checking Publication This document outlines how each of these steps is conducted.

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