Unless you work at a Bay Area IT company or in the technology industry, keeping up with the ever-changing tech terminology can be both confusing and exhausting. Luckily, you will never need to thoroughly understand the abstractions behind most of these terms. However, if you are considering IT solutions in the San Francisco Bay Area, learning the basics of some of the common concepts will enable you to make the right decisions. Thus, you should become familiar with the following three concepts: software-defined networking (SDN), network virtualization (NV), and network function virtualization (NFV).
Bay Area IT Company Basics of SDN, Network Virtualization, and NFV: Similarities and Differences
Software-defined networking (SDN), network virtualization (NV), and network function virtualization (NFV) are terms often prominent in tech blogs and vendor-created marketing materials. You might also hear them in technical discussions between vendors and clients. Here are some of their main similarities and differences, as well as when they can be applied to benefit your network:
- NV refers to the simulation of a hardware platform, such as a storage device or server. NV enables a Bay Area IT company to manage their network services virtually, which supports both network alignment and the virtual environment. NV also offers a considerable level of convenience and efficiency for network programming.
- SDN and NFV are both closely related to NV. In fact, they are subsets of network virtualization.
- SDN is often confused with the broader topic of network virtualization; like NV, it is used to manage and optimize IT hardware. By virtually controlling an entire network of separate planes, applying SDN can be very useful. This may also be highly beneficial to vendors who specialize in each specific area, so they can market them independently. However, a new construct is necessary to implement SDN, in order to keep the data and control planes separate.
- NFV involves virtual operations in relation to specific functions, and does not require an independent construct for functionality. Additionally, NFV may be used to support SDN, in that it may offer the infrastructure needed for the SDN to operate. Therefore, using SDN and NFV as complements could be the most comprehensive and viable solution for many networks.
Providing IT Solutions in the San Francisco Bay Area
Even for those in-industry, evolving technology terms and concepts can be confusing. Fortunately, your own expertise in these areas is not required, as a Bay Area managed service provider can help you decide which is right for you and manage all aspects of your technology needs. Eaton & Associates offers an IT help desk for Bay Area businesses and networks. For more information on our services, call (415) 282-1188, send us an email, or fill out our online contact form.
