The growing trend toward data center consolidation is challenging IT managers to cost-effectively optimize the performance and availability of enterprise applications network infrastructure. The networked world makes it easier to access applications from anywhere, but more difficult for the consolidated data centers to maintain optimal application delivery services. IT managers understand that traditional scaling of bandwidth and latency reduction are only part of the solution and are challenged to build application-level intelligence in the network to transparently support server, protocol, and application scalability of traditional mainframe and today's e-commerce and multimedia applications.
SERVICE OVERVIEW
The Cisco® Application Networking Assessment evaluates the data center network infrastructure to verify compliance with the scalability and availability service-level agreements (SLAs) of the application. It also assesses the ability of the features and performance characteristics of the current network infrastructure to meet the interactive and noninteractive response time, user perception, and other network dependencies of the applications. It provides guidance for the use of intelligent network intermediaries such as load balancers, caches, content engines, and protocol offloaders to optimize multimedia content, software, virus patching, and application delivery. The assessment may also provide recommendations about the placement of servers and the resiliency of the network infrastructure to support server farms. It assesses the scalability and availability of critical enterprise network services such as Domain Name System (DNS), e-mail, authentication services, e-communication streaming servers, and data files hosted in the data center.
LEADING CISCO DATA CENTER AND APPLICATION NETWORKING EXPERTISE
Cisco data center architects and consultants have direct experience in all phases of the planning, design, implementation, operation, and optimization of the infrastructure of large data centers. They hold several industry certifications and have a broad range of experience from helping run network operations for many global Fortune 500 companies. The assessment covers topics such as application SLAs, end-user response times, server performance, and optimized support for multimedia applications (such as IPTV).
Table 1 summarizes the topics and potential benefits of the Cisco Application Networking Assessment.
Table 1. Assessment Topics and Benefits
Cisco Application Networking Assessment Topics
Potential Benefits
Data center network
• Data center devices (IP, storage area network [SAN], network attached storage [NAS], server, and storage array)
• Application performance optimization hardware and software
• Content networking devices and protocol offloaders
• Verify the ability of the current data center infrastructure to meet the application SLAs.
• Achieve optimal performance from the network infrastructure that supports essential business applications.
• Optimize the response times of ERP and Web applications.
• Improve the user perception of the application response time.
• Improve server performance by understanding the fit of protocol offloaders.
• Gain a clear understanding of the application hosting capabilities of the data center by analyzing scalability, high availability, and the feature and performance characteristics of the network infrastructure to assess the ability to support multimedia, streaming, and other business applications.
• Improve the use of data center resources.
• Achieve cost savings through data center consolidation.
ASSESSMENT DELIVERY PROCESS
The Cisco Application Networking Assessment is delivered in a structured process that consists of the following phases:
1. Data collection-Cisco sends the customer a questionnaire to collect baseline data about the data center infrastructure. The collected data helps Cisco assess what the customer requires and provide an assessment that is very specific and focused on the customer's needs. The high-level data collected provides information about expected application service levels, crucial enterprise services Infrastructure, and application performance objectives.
2. Application networking workshop-In this workshop, conducted at the customer site, the Cisco application networking architect and customer IT team jointly review input from the questionnaire and collect data to determine the status of the data center infrastructure to outline requirements, constraints, processes, and future deployment strategies.
3. Analysis-The Cisco application networking architect analyzes the collected information and develops an initial draft of the Application Networking Assessment report. The initial draft is created by the application networking team in conjunction with several members of the customer IT team. The intent of this report is to solicit feedback from the customer as to whether the draft recommendation meets the customer's general requirements.
4. Completion of the report-The Cisco application networking architect evaluates and incorporates the feedback from the customer and Cisco data center architect team and continues to finalize the report. The final Application Networking Assessment report has the following structure:
• I. Executive Summary
• II. Current Status of Data Center Infrastructure (Applications, Application SLA, and Essential Enterprise Services)
• III. Customer Requirements Analysis
• IV. Assessment Findings
• V. New Application Networking Architecture Proposal
• VI. Application Networking Architecture Evolution
• VII. Conclusions
5. Review and final presentation-Electronic copies of the Application Networking Assessment report are sent to the customer for review prior to presentation of the report, in person, to the customer's management at the customer's location.
AVAILABILITY
The Cisco Application Networking Assessment is available in all theatres.
SUMMARY
The Cisco Application Networking Assessment supports customers in various technology areas with advanced application networking expertise from Cisco Advanced Services. It helps customers cost-effectively optimize the performance and availability of their network and application infrastructure.
ORDERING
The Cisco Application Networking Assessment is a custom service offering and is ordered through a statement of work and purchase order.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
For more information about the Cisco Application Networking Assessment or Cisco Advanced Services, contact your Cisco Systems® representative.
