We discuss the following topics in this blog:
- What is Network Virtualisation?
- Importance of Network Virtualisation
- How does Network Virtualisation Work?
- Benefits of Network Virtualisation
- Examples of Network Virtualisation
In addition to these topics, we shall also be answering the following FAQs:
- What is External Network Virtualisation?
- What is the most common type of network used for Virtualisation?
Overview
Contents
The concept of Virtualisation is to use programs and software to replicate the existence of hardware.
Network Virtualization has become the go-to option for organizations with on-premise server environments becoming more complex and expensive.
They are virtualizing more and more of their IT infrastructure. Network Virtualisation enables the network administrators to automate many of the tasks previously performed manually.
Virtualization adoption is growing beyond servers. As of 2020, 92% of businesses are already using server Virtualisation.
This blog will discuss everything you need to know about network Virtualization, including how the network works, its benefits, and some examples.
What is Network Virtualisation?
Network Virtualisation implies the process of separating the control plane and the management plane. This is done by combining software network resources and hardware like routers and switches into a software-based, single administrative entity.
This entity is known as a virtual network and can be accessed via virtual machines. But what is the virtual network?
The virtual networks are designed to simulate or replicate the functionalities of traditional hardware. The network administrator will create a software-based view of the network, which can manage and deploy network services.
The hardware, on the other hand, will only be responsible for forwarding data packets. Network Virtualization in cloud computing ensures that hardware use is minimized.
Importance of Network Virtualisation
Network virtualisation involves creating new rules for the way network services are delivered. This includes software-defined data centres (SDDC), the cloud, and the edge.
Virtualization helps move networks from inflexible, inefficient, and static to optimized, agile, and dynamic. Modern virtual networks require keeping up with the demands for cloud-hosted, distributed applications while tackling cyberthreats to deliver agility and speed.
Network Virtualization enables you to deploy and update applications within minutes. This means that there is no need to spend time provisioning the infrastructure for supporting the new applications.
How does Network Virtualisation Work?
Network Virtualisation automates many of the network services previously performed manually on hardware. Network administrators can programmatically create, manage, and provision networks in software while using the hardware as a packet-forwarding backplane.
Physical network resources like virtual private networks (VPNs), load balancing, firewalling, routing, and switching, among other things, are pooled together and delivered in software.
You only need Internet Protocol (IP) packet forwarding from the hardware or the physical network to achieve this. Network services are distributed to a virtual layer and can be accessed via individual workloads like virtual machines.
There are different types of virtual machines available. The best virtual machines allow the network administrator to access all the aspects of a network from a single access point.
Benefits of Network Virtualisation
As you can see, network Virtualisation eliminates the need for physical networks. It helps organizations achieve some significant advances in Virtualization security, agility, and speed while saving money.
Network Virtualization automates many processes required to run data centre networks and manage security and networking in the cloud.
With that said, the following are key advantages of network Virtualisation:
- Enhanced network security within the data centre.
- Move and establish workloads independently.
- Automates manual processing, ensuring greater operational efficiency.
- Lowers network provisioning time to minutes.
Examples of Network Virtualisation
Among the many use cases of network Virtualisation, the most common example you see daily is virtual LAN.
Virtual LAN or VLAN is a part of the local area network created using programs and software. In VLAN, network devices are combined into a single group, irrespective of where they are located.
A Virtual LAN helps in improving the performance and speed of busy networks.
Another common example of the software which helps in network Virtualization that we can think of is network overlays.
Overlay technologies like virtual extensible local area network (VXLAN) offer a framework to overlay layer two virtualized networks over layer three virtualized networks.
FAQs
What is External Network Virtualisation?
External network Virtualisation combines multiple local networks into a single virtual network for improving network performance and efficiency.
What is the most common type of network used for Virtualisation?
Operating system Virtualisation is the most common type of Virtualization. OS Virtualisation, also known as virtual machines, involves putting a second or multiple instances of an OS on a single device.