Virtualization and Cloud executives share their predictions for 2015. Read them in this VMblog.com series exclusive.
Contributed article by Mark McClain, CTO of Akanda
2015: The year enterprises adopt TOR and open source technology
2014 was a great year for innovation within
enterprise technology sector. As we begin 2015, we will begin to see
companies adopt solutions that allow for better agility and efficiency.
TOR switching may become an industry standard when building data-centers
and we're likely to see more enterprises adopt an open source model.
The containerization craze will undoubtedly continue to thrive, yet the
speculation over security will not be settled. Here is a more in depth
look at our predictions for the coming year.
1. The rise of the Top-of-Rack Switch
The
benefits of commodity Top-of-Rack (TOR) switching are widely known and
have played a key role in recent data center design trends. These
switches now offer improved hardware capabilities, better support for
traditional server configuration management tooling, as well as the
ability to install custom applications within the switch. In 2015, we'll
see more deployments that utilize these features, enabling lightweight
network virtualization without the additional cost and complexity of a
centralized network controller.
2. Enterprises continue to open source products
In
2014, open source proved itself enterprise-ready, providing companies
with flexibility, freedom and customizability. This has led to a new
business tactic for large enterprises - open souring their technology.
Microsoft was a key player in this trend, reinforcing their commitment
to developers by taking .NET open source. In 2015, we'll see a heavy
uptick in the number of companies adopting an open source model,
therefore also leading organizations to further expand capabilities.
3. Continued turbulence within the containerization market
Containerization
was one of 2014's hottest topics and has experienced major growth
within the past year. Nevertheless, many are still skeptical of adopting
the approach, especially at the network level. While incredibly
popular, the containerization market experienced quite a bit of
turbulence over the past year, mostly due to security concerns. This has
led some to shy away from the model while others swear by it. We will
likely see this tug of war continue throughout 2015 and beyond.
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About the Author
Mark McClain is an industry veteran with over 14 years of experience in software
development. Prior to joining Akanda as CTO, McClain served as Senior
Principal Architect at Yahoo! where he contributed to the strategic
planning and architecture expansion of the company’s OpenStack platform
implementations. Prior to Yahoo!, McClain held Senior Developer
positions at DreamHost, Pictage and SignPost Networks. McClain is also a
member of the OpenStack Technical Committee and currently a core member
of OpenStack Neutron.