< PreviousIT outages www.networkseuropemagazine.com 40 IT outages still a major issue: how to prevent problems before they arise Daniela Streng VP and GM EMEA LogicMonitor The modern enterprise technology environment has always been increasingly complex and dynamic. However, the current pandemic has accelerated these issues as organisations have rushed to embrace a host of new technologies and approaches that have helped them to respond to customer needs as they did prior to the pandemic, if not more quickly. IT outages www.networkseuropemagazine.com 41 For example, take hybrid cloud. A recent 451 Research survey indicates that 65% of businesses expect to run applications in both on- and off-premises environments. In addition, container technologies and microservices architectures bring even more complexity to the environment. As IT infrastructures continue to expand with new technologies and become even more critical to operations during the current pandemic, one of the most critical values is IT availability. Availability is as vital to most business sectors as it is simple. The term refers to whether IT infrastructures are functioning properly. Despite its importance, enterprises still continue to struggle with expensive outages, which can incur costs that go far beyond the bottom line. As such, the rush to digitally transform is creating new challenges for the operations and DevOps teams in charge with driving top performance for IT environments and the business overall. The reality of downtime IT outages are the result of an organisation’s systems and services being unavailable, while brownouts are the result of systems and services failing to function at their optimal level. In the past three years, 51% of UK organisations have experienced five or more outages, while 49% of UK-based IT decision makers have experienced four or fewer outages. In terms of the industry in which businesses operate, the organisations that experienced outages and brownouts most frequently over a three-year period are finance (41%) and technology (37%) organisations, followed by retail (34%) and manufacturing (28%). One of the biggest concerns from UK companies is that a major brownout or outage will be so severe that it makes the media. Zoom is a prime example, as when its video app recently left users unable to create or join group calls. 38% of UK companies were concerned about the media attention, while 35% believed someone would lose their job as a result of downtime. It is no wonder that these worries exist, as downtime is expensive and it also impacts the business as a whole. Indeed, companies that have outages experience 16-times higher costs that companies who have fewer instances of downtime. Monitoring is key to availability Organisations can prevent downtime by investing in a comprehensive monitoring platform that provides full visibility into their IT infrastructure within a single, unified view. This will enable IT teams to identify and resolve issues within their infrastructure effectively, and long before they can have a tangible effect on business operations. Visibility is key to maintaining a proactive stance, versus the reactive nature of solving the problem once an outage occurs. It is far better for businesses that IT teams focus on optimisation and innovation, rather than damage control. For many companies, they will employ a monitoring solution to guarantee visibility. However, there is a range of criteria that has to be met for the solution to be effective. The solution must be extensible, meaning that it integrates well across all of their other IT systems. Gaps in visibility must be identified and addressed, otherwise, it is here that outages might spring from. Equally crucial is that the selected monitoring platform is not only flexible across the infrastructure, but that it gives IT teams early visibility into the trends that could signify trouble ahead. When it comes to monitoring across varied infrastructure, this can be an arduous task. As such, it is better to pick a ‘smart’ monitoring platform that employs artificial intelligence in IT operations (AIOps). Through machine learning and AIOps, these platforms can detect the warning signs that precede availability issues and alert IT teams accordingly. Once these key solutions are integrated, businesses will be better positioned to save money and crucial labour-hours, allowing IT teams to focus on moving the business forward. There is no doubt that organisations are being haunted by availability issues. However, the good news for IT decision- makers is that a solution exists in the form of holistic monitoring practice. Leaders on the issue will find that investment in monitoring pays dividends, as business operations and the customer experience are no longer plagued by IT downtime. naccelerating digital transformation 42 While digital transformation was always inevitable, the scale of recent events has accelerated it. Businesses are increasingly realising that innovative, agile and transformative technologies will play a key role in helping them move forwards. And at the heart of every digital transformation initiative is something they already have: a network. From switches and routers to network fabric and the cloud, each component plays an important role in generating desired digital transformation results. Yet, to support new technologies and applications, many organisations have previously resorted to patching their networks with physical servers. As a consequence, most traditional networks are static, complicated, difficult to service or change, and lack visibility - often making tracking down a connectivity issue feel like trying to find a needle in a haystack. But long-term business success requires organisational agility, automation and security, and this is exactly what a modern network approach can offer. Fabric networking is the answer. It can deliver on these demands by optimising network performance, streamlining processes, and reducing the risk of human error across multiple data centres - creating a resilient foundation for digital transformation efforts. So how and why can modern networks, like fabric networks, accelerate digital transformation efforts and ultimately help businesses not only survive but thrive, moving forwards? Only modern networks will support and accelerate digital transformation Working regulations are constantly in flux due to the pandemic so it is no surprise that organisations are thinking ahead to what the ‘new normal’ will look like in a post-COVID-19 world. This involves evaluating how employees can return to the office as well as continue to work remotely if possible while doing so safely. Dahwood Ahmed Senior Country Manager UK&I Extreme Networksaccelerating digital transformation 43 Only modern networks will support and accelerate digital accelerating digital transformation 44 www.networkseuropemagazine.com Maintain security - prevent any vulnerabilities Deloitte’s Cyber Intelligence Centre has observed a notable spike in phishing attacks, malspams and ransomware in 2020, with many threat actors using COVID-19 as bait to mislead employees working outside the office. A wider array of devices accessing the network, remote workforces, and constant demand for networked services mean that the corporate network is under increasing risk from unwitting users as well as malicious attackers. Fabric networking alleviates these risks through various features, including hyper-segmentation. This involves creating thousands of private virtual networks, which segment the attached assets and protect critical applications, data or users, by stopping access to other areas of the network. Should a breach occur, a particular vulnerability will remain isolated, preventing the attacker from lateral movement across the network. Traditionally, as organisations and their networks scale up, so do the number of endpoints and therefore potential vulnerabilities for cybercriminals to exploit. And, with additional devices and segments, the IT team must repeatedly review permissions - a laborious ongoing task. With fabric technology, services extend and retract dynamically as corporate assets, IoT devices and authorised users connect and disconnect from the network. This ultimately removes human error when reviewing permissions. By removing network configuration profiles from switches and wireless access points as users and devices disconnect from the network, the number of entry points and vulnerabilities is reduced. This, together with network hyper-segmentation, helps devise a safe, automated and agile network - and a solid base for digital transformation. Accelerate productive time - ditch the downtime Currently, network updates or configurations tend to require downtime. Not only is this a time-consuming and error-prone process for IT teams, but it also requires these staff to work outside of business hours to avoid disruptions to the traditional 9 to 5. Further, downtime can have a significant financial impact. Gartner estimates the average cost of downtime is approximately £4,200 per minute which equates to more than £220,000 an hour. Businesses need now, more than ever, to be able to go about their day-to-day operations as normal and to keep accelerating digital transformation 45 www.networkseuropemagazine.com finances afloat. Organisations’ networks should not interfere with uptime, particularly as today’s ever- changing environment often calls for rapid and precise reactions. As such, disruptions and downtime must be kept to a minimum - but networks must still be kept up to date to ensure their smooth and secure running. With fabric networking, any updates can be carried out without disruption to operations. For example, new services or service changes can be set up easily at the edge of the network, meaning that network- wide configurations can be eliminated. Meanwhile, additions and changes to the network can be conducted in real time, and staff do not need to work outside of business hours. The core nodes of these networks do not need to be managed, so maintenance windows can be shortened significantly. Fabric networking also leaves less room for error in maintenance, meaning IT teams can gain back lost administration time. This allows organisations to stay on the front foot by addressing the urgent changes which today’s environment brings so they can focus their efforts on digital transformation, rather than on firefighting. Underpinning an organisation's digital transformation is its network. The network is the determining factor for how rapidly, comprehensively and securely every employee - and every app and device they use - can work. With modern networks having the power to form the foundation of successful business operations, they must be an essential strategic focus for organisations if they want to not only survive but thrive in 2021 and beyond. ngood connector www.networkseuropemagazine.com 46 What makes a good connector design? There’s more to it than you think... Whether they’re used in a commercial aircraft, on a military vehicle, or a medical ventilator, very few components are subjected to extreme conditions in the same way as connectors. Here, Ammar Lokhandwalla, customer application engineer at connector specialist PEI-Genesis, explains what makes a good connector design.good connector www.networkseuropemagazine.com 47 According to a 1986 essay by Dr Fred E.H. Schroeder, “The electrical appliance plug is something that Thomas Edison did not invent. It was a curious oversight because Edison anticipated almost everything that might relate to the incandescent light bulb and its applications”. You see, the concept of an "appliance" or something that could be readily plugged into a wall outlet didn't come around until the twentieth century, around two decades after the popularisation of the light bulb. The initial popularity of electric lighting was based on the assumption that these devices would be permanently wired into the house. Today, engineers across the world consider the complete lifecycle of every component from cradle-to-grave. A modern A380 aircraft, for example, is made up of some four million individual parts produced by 1,500 companies from 30 countries around the world. Connectors, and more specifically those used in aviation and military applications, must endure extreme conditions. Whether it’s the rapid temperature fluctuations and changes in humidity, to persistent vibration, impacts and signal interference, these cables must operate reliably to ensure their users can get the job done. Take the industry-standard D38999, for example. This is a military- specification connector that was originally designed in the 1970s and is now on its third-generation design. Like other connectors of its kind, it’s made up of a few basic components: a hard outer shell, a neoprene rubber insert with holes to house the pins or contacts, and sometimes a back shell on the outer housing that provides additional shielding and durability. Material choice When selecting a connector, engineers must consider a wide variety of properties depending on their application. One of the primary considerations is the choice of materials, for both the electrical terminations and shell housing. For example, although copper offers better electrical and thermal conductivity, aluminium is cheaper and easier to form and plate. So, while copper may be chosen for high-voltage industrial applications where heat dissipation and conductivity are vital, aluminium may better serve aerospace and military applications where weight and corrosion- resistance are more important. Water barrier Ingress protection is another consideration. Connectors designed for industrial food and beverage manufacturing must be sealed against water jets to allow equipment and machinery to be washed down between shifts. This protection extends to marine applications, such as those in the oil and gas sector where equipment may need to be fully submersible for prolonged periods of time. In these applications, it may be necessary to select a polycarbonate connector, with the right o-rings and grommets to provide a moisture seal. Plating While aluminium is the preferred choice of connector material for many construction, rail, industrial and military applications, it may still need to undergo plating to improve its corrosion-resistance, to provide further electromagnetic shielding, and to meet camouflage and colour needs. For example, some military applications use olive-drab green, a colour that was historically achieved with a toxic cadmium coating. In recent years, this has been replaced with a black zinc nickel plating that meets RoHS and REACH regulations. If engineered correctly, this black plating can deliver the same performance as cadmium coatings and withstand over 500 hours of salt-spray. Soldering vs crimping Many people may not be aware, but not all connector contacts can be solder-terminated. Under certain extreme conditions, the operating temperature of the application can exceed the melting point of the solder, causing connection failure. For applications where this is a risk, engineers may prefer to specify a crimped connector. With crimping, contacts are joined to the wire by mechanically squeezing them together to ensure that they remain in contact no matter the temperature. Instead of a soldered connection where the w ire is fed through an eyelet or hook and then soldered, crimping involves material being deformed to lock the termination together using a special crimping tool. Design early, design once One of the biggest mistakes manufacturers make is considering connector design too late in the design process of their product. This often means that a product’s time-to-market is delayed while the design is reworked. It’s important to remember that your connector may have physical design constraints like a minimum wire-gauge or number of contacts, so it’s vital to consult with your connector supplier early in the process. At PEI-Genesis, we’ve made this problem easy for our customers by offering customers a 3D wire model of the connector that customers can drop into their design to see if it fits. If it doesn’t, our engineering team can help refine or redesign the existing design, or propose a different connector entirely, that meets the specification. This includes changing features like threaded, bayonet and friction fittings, or accessories like backshells, or something simple like a dust cap. So, while Edison might have made a curious oversight by not inventing the electrical plug, luckily manufacturers don’t have to make the same oversight today by considering the factors that make good connector design. n What makes a good connector design? There’s more to it than you think... Ammar Lokhandwalla Customer Application Engineer PEI-Genesisdawn of a new internet era www.networkseuropemagazine.com 48 more speed, more devices, but infrastructure is lagging behind The dawn of the new internet era Increased use of internet services, broader application of IoT devices, and COVID-related shift to remote work are just a few factors, accelerating the transition to the new era of the internet. However, the current network architecture is falling behind the imposed expectations to support new-age integrations, leaving to wonder if the gap will close up any time soon. The use of internet resources has been growing exponentially, reinforcing the need for a more capable cyberspace infrastructure to support the immense surge. Although many complex tech solutions are leading the internet to a new era, the current network architecture is lagging to progress at the same speed, raising the question if the fallback will force current developments to hit the brakes till it can catch up. Fast-paced development Business Insider projects there will be over 41 billion IoT devices by the year 2027 – a staggering growth in comparison to 2019, when there was about 8 billion. The fast-paced development of the Internet of Things is one of the main triggers, pushing the network to evolve infrastructure-wise. Heavily reliant on real-time data, IoT needs significant data speeds to utilise its full potential. Vincentas Grinius, CEO at IPXO has shared several insights about the situation at hand and how it will impact progress going forward. He believes that low latency and high-speed data processing are prerequisites for IoT applications. Since 4G is fairly limited in terms of signal strength, the need for more capacity became one of the triggers driving the 5G development. Fifth-gen carries the promise of unmatched speed and reliability, able to fuel the growing number of Internet connections. Yet, with the disagreements among the main market players and a global pandemic, the 5G rollout is bound to experience some slowdown. Coverage In China, although being the frontrunner in the new wireless, 5G is also not living up to the hype: many of the new high-tech towers, transmitting 5G bandwidth, are only operational for half a day. Furthermore, it is estimated that approximately 10 million stations still need to be installed to reach similar coverage as 4G currently has.dawn of a new internet era www.networkseuropemagazine.com 49 more speed, more devices, but infrastructure is lagging behind The dawn of the new internet era Vincentas Grinius CEO IPXO Alongside infrastructure, other integrations are being developed to speed up the web as well. For example, the Noia Network – a software solution that runs on top of the public internet, enabling to route connections via the best available path. However, if the core network remains the same, such integrations alone will have little impact on the overall traffic speed. Further developments will revolve around refining the core architecture, most likely with an emphasis on edge computing. This, in turn, could make similar solutions more viable – but not the other way around. Always-on connections IPv6 has also established a sound role in the new internet era by being a crucial element in supporting the demand for always-on connections. However, in areas where IPv6 is not widely deployed, a transition protocol is needed to ensure back-to-back compatibility between the two protocols. While there is an abundance of IPv6s, the industry was forced to say “goodbye” to new IPv4s a while ago. Perhaps IP leasing could prove to be the key to the problem at hand in helping to acquire the necessary IP resources to fuel further progress and mitigate the transition impact on the companies. This would provide the means to continue developing infrastructure while maintaining operational affinity between IPv6-driven and older systems, compatible only with IPv4. Infrastructure expectations The Internet evolution has leap-frogged the expectations of many and continues to paint quite a remarkable technology-driven picture ahead. However, as it is with any innovation, how fast this turns into an every-day reality depends on how quickly the infrastructure experts can resolve the current hiccups, hindering the progress.Next >