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Adapter
A new class of networking product that
leverages open source to deliver deployment
simplicity and operational agility.
Table of Contents The Internet of Things (IoT) is a term thats getting a lot of
airtime these days, both inside and outside of the technology
Enter the new Open
industry. Placed in a business context, a wide variety of
Networking Adapter................... 1 conventional devices such as medical terminals,
manufacturing equipment will be networked in order to
Avaya ONA: a closer look........ 3
deliver enhanced functionality or productivity. One of the
Leveraging an Open themes of IoT is that these devices can be monitored,
Framework.................................... 4 modified, and managed remotely. However, this vision can
darken when faced with practical considerations.
Use Case Examples.................... 5
Firstly, an enterprise may have thousands of these IoT-type devices and
The Promise of SDN.................. 7 provisioning them using conventional techniques could well be impractical, if
not impossible. Crucially, it would be a brave organization that was prepared to
introduce these devices to the corporate network without due consideration for
security or quality of service. Businesses that do plan to isolate IoT traffic across
a network will need an easy way set up and modify these network-wide
partitions. And lastly, many IoT end-points could be running older operating
systems that lack modern protection against viruses or malware: potentially
putting the entire network at risk.
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Highlights mission-specific stealth network, one that is isolated from other corporate
traffic and carries unique flow restrictions and quality of service attributes. This
Bridges Ethernet-equipped limits the ability for end-points to interact with systems other than those
specifically related to their defined role. Given these capabilities the
devices to the Fabric Connect
deployment potential for the Avaya ONA is very broad.
private cloud.
The ONA is a revolutionary new
Seamlessly transforms concept, delivering a versatile,
illiterate business end-points field-deployable implementation
into smart nodes. of Open vSwitch, facilitating
network connectivity and
Creates deployment simplicity automating provisioning. Open
and operational agility vSwitch (OVS) is a virtual
networking platform that delivers
Delivers automated a software-definable solution for
provisioning and centralized traffic forwarding, isolation and
service definition. filtering, monitoring and traffic
mirroring, queuing and shaping,
feature-rich functionality For those unfamiliar with the vSwitch and its role in server virtualization, the
and evolution. vSwitch can be considered as the networking side of a Hypervisor
implementation: Virtual Machines are provided with virtualized access to CPU,
Part of the Avaya SDN Fx memory, disk, and also via the vSwitch to internal and external networks.
architecture that addresses
Open vSwitch is leveraged by many third party Hypervisor solutions, including
the end-to-end relationship
Xen, KVM, VirtualBox, with ports available for VMware ESX and Microsoft
between applications,
Hyper-V, and it has also been integrated into OpenStack. Avaya and Wind River
business logic, and
have collaborated to contribute the Fabric Attach auto-attachment
networking services.
functionality to the Open vSwitch community, thereby making this innovation
widely available.
By leveraging OVS in this innovative way taking it out of the conventional Data
Center/Server role and utilizing it at the Edge to facilitate intelligent network
access Avaya is redefining networking. Hundreds, thousands, of network
illiterate business end-points can be seamlessly transformed into smart
nodes, network entities in their own right. Enabled by Avaya ONA, these end-
points can now be monitored and managed; their networking capability
centrally administered and controlled.
The execution of the Avaya ONA concept is both strikingly simple yet
immensely powerful; its simplicity and its openness allows customers to harness
the power of open source and Avaya-specific innovations. The Avaya ONA is a
key component of Avayas SDN Fx architecture, integrating third party devices
with the SDN-programmable Enabled Edge.
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De-Mystifying Open Avaya ONA: a closer look
vSwitch: A closer look reveals that, at its core, the Avaya ONA is a ruggedized,
Server virtualization changed the standalone Open vSwitch implementation that enables the auto-attachment
access layer from having to be leveraging Fabric Attach of non-networking devices to Avaya Fabric Connect.
connected to a physical Switch; the
It is Fabric Attach that empowers ease of deployment. Avaya has taken a fully
Virtual Switch vSwitch was born.
standard OVS implementation, packaged it appropriately to make it field-
vSwitch is a software layer that resides deployable, and added a management capability to make it efficient and useful.
in the Server hosting Virtual Machines ONA is, essentially, OVS-in-a-box, enabling simple, scalable, and cost-effective
(VMs).
service agility for legacy business end-points.
VMs have logical or virtual Ethernet
The hardware of the Avaya ONA is based on a
ports; these connect to the vSwitch.
commercial-off-the-shelf processor,
Open vSwitch created by at Nicira delivering performance sufficient to forward
(later acquired by VMware). traffic at line rate and with minimal latency.
OVS intended to meet the needs of the The CPU, memory, and other components are
open source community, since there housed in a ruggedized aluminum casing that
was no feature-rich vSwitch offering for delivers heat dissipation and mitigates the
Linux-based Hypervisors need for an internal fan. This provides the
ONA with an industrial design, suited to the
OVS quickly become the de facto
vSwitch for XEN environments harsh environments where they are likely to
be deployed. The hardware is specifically
Now playing a large part in other open
designed to be easy to deploy by non-IT staff. Labeling clearly identifies user-
source projects, like OpenStack.
and network-side ports, and visual indicators simplify the display of power and
OVS supports VLANs, LACP, port system status. Included in the management strategy is an ability to easily
mirroring, NetFlow, sFlow, etc. identify, register, and deploy ONAs by leveraging device-specific QR codes.
Practical considerations include the provision of multiple options for securing
From a control and management
perspective, OVS can leverage the ONA together to its partner end-point, including a Kensington lock option.
OpenFlow and OVSDB. Deployments are further simplified by removing any user interface or
configuration requirement; upon power-up the ONA communicates with a
OVS is often incorporated into SDN
central controller, load any custom configuration, and seamless connect the
strategies:
business end-points to its services. This has the added benefit of enhancing the
Critical to many SDN deployments security of deployments: making the ONA more tamper-proof helps prevent
in Data Centers; tying together VMs them from being hijacked for use as launch points in a network attack.
within a Hypervisor
Avaya intends to develop a range of Adapters with physical characteristics that
Entry point for VMs sending
match mainstream business requirements across a broad range of typical
traffic to the network
deployment scenarios. Considerations include:
Ingress point into overlay networks
running on top of physical networks The ratio of user-side and network-side ports; this will range from 1:1 in
support of the simplest of end-point device connectivity requirements, to
Considered the core element
many: many that would deliver both network link resiliency and multiple end-
of many DC SDN deployments.
point connectivity.
OVS can also be used to direct traffic
The physical media of Ethernet interfaces; RJ45 copper would provide for
between network functions for
service chaining. effective connectivity to most end-points and networks, but there may also
be deployment scenarios that require the flexibility of supporting long-reach
Source: SDxCentral
fiber connectivity.
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The provision of power, both for the Adapter itself and potentially providing
power to end-points; different implementations could see ONAs supported by
Power-over-Ethernet delivered by the network-side port, or alternatively
ONAs could provide power to end-points.
The openness and off-the-shelf nature of both the hardware and software
makes Avaya ONA a very versatile networking component. Given that ONA is
based on the Open vSwitch platform, any and all evolutions in OVS functionality
and be equally applied through the environment, be that for a Hypervisor in the
Data Center or a business end-point attaching via ONA.
Avayas SDN Fx architecture is based on an open foundation and there has been
a conscious decision to base our SDN products on the Open vSwitch, the Open
Daylight SDN Controller, and OpenStack. Avaya has membership of and actively
contributes to these industry-wide groups.
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limited to traditional network access, but as any point where the users and their
applications interact with service infrastructure. Ranging for a Hypervisor in the
Data Center through to an IP Phone on the desk, and now via the Avaya ONA to
anything in between, the Edge defines where user and applications interact
with the infrastructure. It is at the programmable edge that the real power of
SDN is revealed, and Avayas SDN Fx architecture integrates infrastructure
and business processes in a new, far more agile way.
Establishing a seamless solution for effective business IoT mobility can improve
customer satisfaction by delivering real-time service agility, while at the same
time it can reduce operational cost. Releasing IT staff from mundane
configuration has the associated benefit of allowing them to concentrate on
strategic tasks.
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Internet-Connected Branch
Problem: The traditional Branch Office is undergoing something of a quiet
revolution, driven by less permanently based staff, as people increasingly opt
for mobile connectivity and remote access. Businesses are looking to right-size
their real estate footprint. Often matched with a parallel transition of CRM
applications into the Cloud, MPLS connectivity, expensive in comparison with
generic high-speed Broadband, becomes increasingly more difficult to justify.
Solution: Predicated on the fact that virtually all Branch Office traffic flows to
and between remote application systems either in the corporate Data Center,
or to Cloud-hosted platforms the SDN Fx solution for the Internet-
Connected Branch moves the connectivity traditionally delivered by a WAN
Router to the Cloud.
Service operators can remotely manage users and their devices, monitor policy
compliance, and manage application and resource access. This solution also
features the ability to pro-actively monitor and report on service quality,
helping to provide the highest possible service level for both staff and
customers. For example, Contact Center Agents can be dynamically moved
between different client accounts without complex re-configuration or
extended downtime, all based upon the actions of a centralized controller
enacting business policy. If an individual Agents connection falls below pre-
defined quality or performance thresholds, proactive reporting tools flag this in
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real-time, and policy-based dynamic re-provisioning takes the appropriate
action, making the necessary service and infrastructure changes. This solution
can massively increase flexibility, and reduce operational cost and complexity.
The Avaya Open Networking Adapter is a new class of networking product that
leverages open source to deliver deployment simplicity and operational agility.
Utilizing ONA, businesses can seamlessly transform conventional end-points
into intelligent network nodes; monitored and managed, their networking
capability administered and controlled centrally. This transition can empower
enhanced functionality and productivity.
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About Avaya
Avaya is a leading, global provider of customer and team engagement solutions and
services available in a variety of flexible on-premise and cloud deployment options.
Avayas fabric-based networking solutions help simplify and accelerate the deployment
of business critical applications and services. For more information, please visit
www.avaya.com.