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Cisco Digital Network Architecture - Next Generation Networks

Today i will talk about the concept of the next generation networks and that is called as Cisco DNA which means Cisco Digital Network Architecture. Well may be some of you already aware of the Cisco DNA in detail but i am sure many of you listen this term first time. Well Cisco DNA is consists of many infrastructure and architecture binding into one solution where you have the following bindings :

  • Cloud Service Management : Cisco Term ( Policy Orchestration )
  • Automation : Policy push driven into System
  • Analytics : Visualisation in the network
  • Virtualization : Replacing Physical boxes into Virtualized systems
Fig 1.1- Cisco DNA Architecture



If you are not able to relate this, i can help you here to relate. Lets talk about the Cloud Service Management, In Cloud service Management as a cisco term can relate with the SDN ( Software defined network ) in general term in the market. So Cloud service Management works as a SDN layer. I already explained in detail about the SDN. 

Automation: APIC-EM Controller
Cisco uses automation for which a set of the software driven policy is pushed to various devices in the network. Let me explain, for example we have 100 devices across the globe in a enterprise network and we want to configure the Qos policies to all the devices. The ways are either you manually configured the policies on all the devices and for that you need to create the templates or the other way to use the APIC-EM controller to define the policies, it will automatically create the CLI version of that policies and pushed them in all the 100 devices in one go. you can go to any one of the switch and check the policy it will be configured there. It totally depends what policy you defined for the devices to configured.

Analytics : Cisco Tetration
Cisco is analysis the market and the demands across the network in enterprise and the datacenter environment and as per the demand on the software defined solution, Cisco build the in-way solution with integration of the analytics part in the network to actually have the analysis the data in your network. I will cover this in another article in detail.

Virtualization: NFV Concept
Well in the today's world everyone sliding towards the software defined network and NFV is the big solution for the Branch and Remote sites where you actually replacing almost all the physical devices with the virtualization by putting that virtualized features on the X86 server platform. With one X86 Platform server ( May be B blade Cisco UCS server ) on the top of it using virtualized functions to define the features of Router, Firewall, Wan optimization and Wireless platform in a single NFV box. I already explained the NFV in my previous articles as well.

Apart from it we have the SDA where we are creating the access layer to be a software defined layer as well. I will discuss that in another article as well in detail. I am winding up the things now as i want at this point of time you just need to understand the basics of the Cisco DNA architecture.

This is one of the most demanding architecture of enterprise network now a days and enterprise networks are moving towards it.

I am ready to provide the full solution and the services on it if you are looking to have the full infrastructure ready with the Cisco DNA. 

You can contact me at following Email id:
networks.baseline@gmail.com