Cloud architectures are leading to radical changes in data center organization, with multi-tenancy becoming ubiquitous in public, private, and hybrid clouds. To future-proof evolving cloud-based infrastructures, network architects are turning to Distributed Services Platforms.
In Building a Future-proof Cloud Infrastructure , network pioneer Silvano Gai shows how to implement Distributed Services Platforms with multiple service modules in diverse hardware. Gai shows how to provide essential shared services such as segment routing, NAT, firewall, micro-segmentation, load balancing, SSL/TLS termination, VPNs, RDMA, and storage - including storage compression and encryption. He demonstrates how distributing service modules near applications enables very high performance, low latency, low jitter, deep observability, and rapid troubleshooting, combining the performance benefits of hardware with the exceptional flexibility of programmable software.
Focusing on business benefits throughout, Gai places Distributed Services Platforms in the context of current trends in network and cloud architecture and virtualization. He compares four leading architectures: Sea of Processors, FPGAs, ASIC, and P4, reviewing the advantages and tradeoffs of each, and illuminating key concepts with intuitive illustrations. He also previews P4 extensions that may offer significant value. By the time readers have finished, they'll know how to evaluate solutions, ask pertinent questions, and plan the best Distributed Services Platform strategies for their own environments.
