In an SDN or network virtualization environment, networks can be automatically provisioned and optimized to adapt to the needs of applications and workloads. This change in technology requires a change in the way networking pros build and then manage networks.
“We used to have silos: server professionals, applications teams, and various others.… The recognition that’s come about as a result of virtualization and the migration to the cloud is that everything has to be aligned to be successful,” said Brad Casemore, research director of data center networking at IDC.
Server pros have long had to seek new skills to implement and manage virtualization. Now, “network professionals don’t want to be left behind, not only with SDN, but in regard to network virtualization, greater network programmability, greater automation and greater visibility into how the network is interplaying with applications and the infrastructure,” said Casemore.
While network professionals must still learn basic protocols, CLIs, configuration, they’ve also got to gain “a good rounding” in automation tools and provisioning.
“They need to look at the network, open-source technology and also how proprietary IT can provide automation through provision management,” Casemore said. Learning how this works with cloud orchestration and management servers like CloudStack is essential as well. “Networking is more than a box. [What's needed] is a systematic approach to how [networks] work with applications. It’s necessary to get beyond the protocol training that everyone’s had up until now.”