4 min
Subnetting can improve network performance, security, and overall network administration. But what is it, and why does your organization need it?
Let’s find out.
What is Cloud Networking?
Cloud networking refers to hosting or using a network in the cloud. Traditional on-premise networks use physical hardware located within the organization’s buildings. In contrast, cloud networks deliver the same services from data centers owned and maintained by the cloud service provider that are accessible via the Internet.
How Does Cloud Networking Work?
The easiest way to understand how cloud networking works is to break down its key components. They are:
- Virtualization: Cloud networking uses software versions of traditional hardware network components, such as firewalls, routers, load balancers, etc.
- Data centers: Cloud networking does have physical infrastructure, but it is stored in the cloud provider’s data centers.
- Internet connectivity: Finally, users and organizations connect to the cloud network over the internet.
Types of Cloud Networks
While we’ve locked down the basics above, there are different types of cloud networks that work in distinct ways. They are:
- Cloud-enabled networks: The core network infrastructure remains on-premise, but network management, monitoring, and security services are handled on the cloud.
- Cloud-based networks: The entire network is hosted on the cloud, with physical hardware managed by the cloud provider.
- Cloud-native networks: Traditional networking hardware is replaced by cloud-based software services, eliminating the need for physical networking appliances.
Benefits of Cloud Networking
Here are the six top reasons why organizations are embracing cloud networking.
- Scalability: Cloud networks are incredibly scalable, allowing businesses to adjust their network resources based on demand. These networks are a solid choice for growing organizations because they can deploy new sites in mere hours without requiring significant infrastructure investments.
- Performance: Cloud networks can offer lower latency times, which improve data transfers and response times. Furthermore, they allow using content delivery networks (CDNs) that optimize performance by distributing content across multiple servers.
- Reliability: Redundant data centers and robust disaster recovery strategies can help minimize downtime, which is essential for productivity and company reputation.
- Cost-effectiveness: Perhaps the most attractive aspect of cloud networking is its cost-efficiency. Organizations can reduce network hardware expenditures and lower IT costs by offloading network management to cloud providers. Additionally, cloud providers offer pay-as-you-go business models, which lower operational costs.
- Security: Cloud services are heavily focused on security. Connections and transfers are protected by encryption and other advanced security measures, while software and security protocol updates are automated and instant.
- Easier management: Cloud networking streamlines network management processes by
centralizing monitoring, reporting, and troubleshooting systems and efficient provisioning and deploying network resources.
Challenges of Cloud Networking
While cloud networking has some fantastic upsides, there are some complexities to implementing these services that organizations must overcome.
Complex connections
Cloud networking is typically more complex than traditional network setups.
Some of the things you need to consider include:
- Cloud networks are highly segmented, allowing for more connectivity choices than traditional setups. More flexibility means more complexity.
- Designing cloud network infrastructure is also challenging because of additional factors such as peering, traffic management gateways, and nested networks.
- Cloud-based services that provision and de-provision on-demand require fast-adapting networks, which is something that must be factored into design.
- Finally, many organizations use cloud networking across different regions and a diverse set of cloud service providers, which complicates the design of wide area network (WAN) topologies.
Security
While security is a major feature and selling point of cloud networking, it presents unique security challenges compared to on-prem setups.
- Each new application with a public IP endpoint expands the potential attack surface.
- The distributed nature of cloud networks means cybersecurity teams must implement security measures across different segments.
- Storing and transmitting sensitive data in the cloud requires robust security measures.
Monitoring and troubleshooting
Cloud networks involve many interconnected elements, making observability challenging. Proper monitoring must incorporate various components, such as load balancers, virtual network logs, traffic flows, and Kubernetes clusters.
The key point here is that traditional network visibility tools may not be effective in cloud environments, underlying the need for cloud-specific monitoring solutions.
Why Should You Care About Cloud Networking?
Cloud networking adoption has exploded in recent years, which is no surprise when considering the advantages it gives organizations. Here are some of the reasons you should care about cloud networking.
- Cloud networking gives organizations access to advanced technologies such as containerization, microservices, and serverless computing without the burden of managing complex infrastructure.
- As businesses become more remote and international, cloud-based services offer greater connectivity, communication, project management, and collaboration.
- Cloud networking provides a consistent experience across different locations and devices and enables remote access from anywhere in the world.
- Teams can scale network resources up or down, allowing for greater flexibility while reducing costs.
- Cloud networks are perfect for a wide array of services, including access to AI and ML capabilities, without incurring the associated prohibitive infrastructure costs.
What IT Teams Are Responsible for Cloud Networking?
Implementing a successful cloud networking setup requires collaboration between various IT teams. Here are the main players involved:
- NetOps teams to configure, maintain, and optimize network architectures.
- SecOps teams to ensure security across multiple networks, conduct audits, and ensure compliance with industry standards and regulations.
- Cloud architects to design multi-cloud networking strategies and align cloud networking solutions with overall business objectives.
Data Center and Compute Infrastructure teams to manage cloud infrastructure, implement and maintain virtualization technologies, and enforce application-aware policies across the network.
Cloud Networking Examples
Here are a few illustrative examples of how businesses can use cloud networking to their advantage.
- A startup chooses to distribute its app using a public cloud. This setup allows global reach and scalability while reducing upfront hardware and software costs.
- A healthcare provider can use a private cloud network to store and process patient records across the organization while still meeting strict regulatory requirements, such as HIPAA.
- A financial services organization implements a hybrid cloud setup, where the mix is a private cloud for storing and transmitting customer data while using a public cloud for customer-facing applications and analytics.
- An e-commerce business might use a multi-cloud setup, such as using different cloud providers for its website, data analytics, and CRM platform.
Further reading:
Share via Social Networks