Due to the influence of the new coronavirus, the cloud has been introduced at once along with telework. Web conferencing and business chat were used as a matter of course, and systems that were on-premises were moved to the cloud. Yamaha supports such cloud shifts from the perspective of networks. Here, we will introduce cloud-compatible products and services such as DPI, vRX, and YNO.
Cloud shift accelerated by the new coronavirus
The global epidemic of the new coronavirus has led to a redefinition of companies and work styles. Business people who came to work as a matter of course and worked at a company as a matter of course have been forced to work from home after the state of emergency was declared. Old-fashioned work based on paper and seals required rapid digitization, and a mechanism that enables spinach (reporting, contact, consultation) and work visualization even during home-based work has become important. In the rush to introduce telework in such a corona vortex, the cloud shift is accelerating at a stretch in Japan as well.
Originally, Japanese cloud services started for consumers under the name of ASP (Application Service Provider) in the 2000s, and after that, mainly for IT companies, mail services such as Gmail, office suites such as Office 365 and G Suite, Salesforce. It was a situation where the introduction of business applications such as was gradually progressing. Since the opening of the Tokyo region of AWS in 2011, the cloud computing of computing called IaaS has progressed, and the cloud shift of on-premises business systems has begun.
After that, foreign-affiliated cloud services made a full-scale entry into Japan one after another, and cloud-native SaaS such as Sansan, freee, and Chatwork increased the number of users in Japan. Web conferencing tools and business chat such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, Chatwork, and LINE WORKS have increased the number of users worldwide. As of March, Microsoft Teams users increased by 12 million a week, and Zoom's conference attendees increased by 100 million in 20 days.
If the data and systems that used to be in-house are converted to the cloud, and meetings and sales activities that have been commonplace in face-to-face meetings are brought online, it is naturally less necessary to go to the company. With PC-based white-collar workers, you'll be able to work in the same environment as your office, whether you're at home or on a business trip. Companies that have taken on the challenge of working from home in Korona-ka and have achieved certain successes and challenges will be more serious about teleworking in the future. In the process, the restrictions on the box (location) of the company will be removed, and it is expected that the organization will grow into a cloud-based organization that can work anywhere. On the other hand, since so-called "workplaces" such as offices, homes, and satellite offices are subdivided, the information system department in the future will need a mechanism to efficiently manage decentralized IT.
Can networks keep up with corporate cloud shifts?
However, the current situation is that many domestic companies have not been able to keep up with such a rapid cloud shift. Not only is management and labor management unable to keep up, but IT is also unable to respond to rapid changes. The current situation is that information systems and company rules cannot be followed. Especially with regard to networks, it can be said that many companies do not have a network that makes full use of the Internet because they have a server in their company LAN and build it on the assumption that employees will come to work. Let's look at specific issues.
First of all, the number of application communication sessions is increasing explosively. Cloud applications have the characteristic of connecting a large number of sessions to various servers on the Internet, and as the number of applications used increases, the number increases at an accelerating rate, ranging from thousands to tens of thousands. .. In addition to this, web conferencing, which transmits video and audio in real time, has a large amount of data. Therefore, a router with high processing power that enables transmission of a large number of sessions and data is required.
Another issue is the visualization of cloud applications. Traditional routers and firewalls based on packet filtering do not have the ability to identify application traffic on HTTP sessions. Therefore, it is difficult to control such as giving priority to or blocking a specific service. In addition, the ability to appropriately identify and visualize traffic for each application, such as application routing that sends traffic to the optimum network for each application, is required.
Furthermore, if the business system shifts to the cloud, a secure communication path to the public cloud will be required. Of course, there are services that connect directly to the cloud service you are using with a dedicated line or closed network, but in addition to requiring skills to handle routers on the cloud side, it is generally expensive. Therefore, it is necessary to have a mechanism to securely connect to the public cloud with the same feeling as the conventional connection between bases.
Major policy changes will also be required regarding network operation and management. Nowadays, it is difficult for network administrators to operate and manage the networks of each site on-site, as it is required to avoid three-cs and refrain from moving. As the number of bases increases, the number of devices to be managed naturally increases, and the load increases. In order to reduce the burden on network administrators and realize work style reforms, it is necessary to introduce cloud-based services that do not require dedicated systems or servers.
Yamaha's network equipment supports the cloud shift of corporate networks. Yamaha offers a variety of products and services from the perspective of cloud shifting, as well as a home network that supports telecommuting and an in-house network that assumes diverse work styles and remote conferences. Here, let's introduce the application control function "DPI", the virtual router "vRX", and the cloud-based management service "YNO".
DPI that can identify and control your application
First of all, Yamaha routers capable of multi-session and large-capacity transmission, which are intended for use in the cloud, have an optional application control function called "DPI". The license was released as an extension of Yamaha routers from September 2019, and as of September 2020, two types of routers, "RTX830" and "NVR700W", support DPI.
DPI (Deep Packet Inspection) identifies traffic for each application and performs processing such as routing, QoS, and filtering. With the so-called "application (L7) routing" technology, it is possible to select the optimum route for each application, prioritize transfers, and block them.
Controlling your application with DPI
By utilizing this DPI, "Internet breakout" is realized, such as communicating with applications that have a server in the company via VPN, and connecting cloud services and Windows Update directly to the Internet. Even when using the Internet, applications such as P2P and videos that are prohibited from being used can be blocked, so it is possible to appropriately control the business use of the Internet.
These communications can be displayed as a graph on the dashboard of the Yamaha router's Web GUI, and applications and terminals with high traffic can also be visualized. Therefore, it can also be used to identify terminals with extremely high traffic and check whether they have led to security breaches. The "signature" that identifies the application is also updated regularly, so it is possible to get a detailed understanding of the latest cloud service usage.
DPI that realizes application visualization
VRX that securely connects to cloud-shifted business systems
It is the virtual router "vRX" that enables secure communication to cloud services. vRX is a software router that can be deployed on the public cloud and contains many of the hardware Yamaha router features. In other words, existing Yamaha users will be able to respond to cloud shifts while leveraging their existing skills.
Connecting to the cloud using vRX
vRX is currently compatible with Amazon Web Services and runs as one of the instances on AWS. Even if the business system is shifted to AWS, if vRX is placed as a VPN gateway on the AWS side, the business system can be used from the base side without being aware of the cloud. Also, by connecting to VPC (Virtual Private Cloud), which is a closed subnet on the AWS side, it is possible to configure a complex network as if it were an in-house network (Related article: If a cloud engineer uses vRX) , The future of routers has come into view).
Furthermore, vRX supports L2TP / IPsec as a VPN protocol, so you can make a VPN connection from your smartphone or tablet. Since it supports aggressive mode that eliminates the need to specify a destination with a fixed IP address, VPN connections can be made even with terminals and network devices with dynamic IP addresses or private addresses.
As it is a software router that can be deployed on AWS instances, it is highly extensible. Since the specifications are not fixed like hardware, it is possible to scale the speed and the number of VPN grounds by changing the instance type. Also, other servers can be centrally managed from the AWS console as well. I'm looking forward to collaborating with YNO, which will be described later.
YNO that contributes to work style reform of network managers
Lastly, I would like to introduce the cloud-based network management service "Yamaha Network Organizer (YNO)". Yamaha network devices located at each site can be easily managed from a Web browser, contributing to work style reforms for IT managers (Related article: Is "Work Style Reforms with Routers" Real? Yamaha router).
YNO is a service that can centrally manage network devices that previously required a dedicated server from the cloud. The load on the network administrator is such as the zero config function that completes the setting just by connecting the compatible network device to the network, the batch update of the firmware of the target device, and the function that can change the setting collectively by grouping multiple devices. Provide all the functions to reduce.
For troubleshooting, you can receive an email alert about a device failure or check it from the YNO dashboard. Even if a failure occurs, you can quickly set the device and check for abnormalities by using the "LAN map" function that visualizes the network configuration including the router, the switches located under it, and the wireless LAN AP. Also, if you use a function called "GUI Forward", you can check the management GUI for each device from YNO, and you can see the radio wave condition graphically for wireless LAN APs.
"LAN map" function that allows you to quickly set up devices and check for abnormalities
Since the new coronavirus has spread and the state of emergency has been declared, movement and face-to-face restrictions have made it difficult for network administrators to go directly to each site. In addition, on-site management will become more difficult by shifting from offices concentrated in the head office aiming at the efficiency of the conventional concept to office management that is small and distributed to homes and satellite offices by introducing telework. However, by introducing YNO, it will be possible to handle on-site work via the cloud. This time with Corona can be said to be an opportunity to make network management cloud-based. Network administrators no longer need to be stationed at headquarters.
Yamaha network equipment that supports a sitting cloud strategy
Infection with the new coronavirus has not yet settled down, but in Japan, the phase of with corona to prevent infection is entering the phase of after corona with an eye on constant telework. Cloud shifts are inevitable in the future.
However, simply moving the system to the cloud simply changes the location of existing servers and does not provide significant benefits to the enterprise. In order to break through the economic stagnation of the corona vortex, higher productivity is required instead of maintaining the status quo, and if data and systems are moved outside the company and security is lacking, it will be overwhelming. .. We need to seriously consider how to increase productivity and security based on a flexible and highly scalable cloud.
Today, business trends and trends change dynamically, and it is said that the future is unpredictable. In addition to this, if a pandemic, typhoon, or disaster like this one occurs, I can't imagine what my life and work will be like even a year later. Offices may move suddenly, or the workflows that have been taken for granted may change. The cloud shift gives us the flexibility to adapt to these changes and the resilience and competitiveness to keep our business going. Any company will not see the introduction of cloud shifts and hybrid work styles as a fad, and will need a long-term cloud strategy.
Again, Yamaha's network equipment offers a variety of products and services to help these companies shift to the cloud. The DPI, vRX, and YNO introduced this time are examples. First of all, why don't you consult with Yamaha's "telework window" about your company's issues?
(Provided by Yamaha)
