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OPINION HOW TO PREPARE IP NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE 5G ERA VINCENTAS GRINIUS, CEO AT IPXO AND ZILVINAS VAICKUS, HEAD OF INFRASTRUCTURE AT IPXO, SHARE A FEW POINTERS TO KEEP IN MIND WHILE PLANNING A 5G MIGRATION STRATEGY The fifth-gen network brings with it immensely fast data speeds, however, it has a short-distance reach: the mmWaves 5G runs on span across only a few hundred metres. To cast a widespread net, a denser network of small cell towers that emit the necessary wavelength have to be set in place. For this reason, edge computing is also stepping into the limelight, in order to accommodate the need for faster data processing. With properly set up edge computing architecture, event processing happens in the edge node closest to the device. Consequently, resource-heavy devices can retrieve data at high speeds as it does not have to travel long distances to a cloud or a data centre. "Fifth-gen requires a tightly-knit network infrastructure. As speed and scale are imperative to the new wireless, the proximity of network components correlates with their capacity to process information at incredibly high levels," said Zilvinas Vaickus, Head of Infrastructure at IPXO. "Data centres as we know them will become an old story," Vaickus continued. "They will clear the way for densely-situated nodes, which will need to be implemented to provide the necessary agility in accordance with the next-gen network." ASSURING BACKLINK COMPATIBILITY IPv6 will have a major role to play in 5G, as IPv4 addresses, which are already in short supply, could never satisfy the evergrowing connection demand further down the road. That said, the majority of systems in place are IPv4-compatible only. To leverage in-house equipment alongside new standards for speed and data processing, implementing a dual-stack network with the capacity to process IPv4 and IPv6 traffic simultaneously becomes a crucial step when upgrading network architecture. "To think that with the coming of 5G and Internet Protocol 6 IPv4s would suddenly become irrelevant would be unrealistic," explained Vincentas Grinius, CEO at IPXO. "Building an entirely new network of IPv6- only equipment would be too much of a grandiose aim that, for most, is not worth neither the time nor the investment. The simple truth is that there will always be systems compatible only with the previous protocol. Thus dual-stacking is a nonnegotiable integration when preparing for 5G migration." Since IPv4 addresses will remain an integral part of the network, IP leasing platforms like IPXO will only grow in importance, as they will be able to lease out IPv4s necessary to ensure overall backlink compatibility among systems. WFH INFRASTRUCTURE CHALLENGE Although 5G technology is more robust and advanced compared to its predecessors, managing its security will not be an easy task to tackle. Addressing network vulnerabilities becomes an even more sensitive issue when you consider the increasing trend of remote working. As security executives try to wrap their heads around overseeing all the possible weak spots concerning the internal network, now they are obligated to look even further and define safeguards for remote workforce. "Fifth-gen supports a huge amount of connected devices. Consequently, this means there is a significantly larger number of possible access points to attempt to highjack," commented Grinius. "While managing core network security remains the top priority, setting up a well-structured WFH infrastructure is definitely coming in as a close second in terms of preventing possible data breaches. Personal computers and networks often have fewer safeguards in place, and thus become an easy target for scammers." All in all, with the new generation rapidly approaching, the focus for most should remain not necessarily on the benefits 5G will bring to the table, but rather how to be better prepared to facilitate smooth integration with existing networks, ensure device compatibility and mitigate associated threats. NC 18 NETWORKcomputing JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2021 @NCMagAndAwards WWW.NETWORKCOMPUTING.CO.UK
OPINION HOW APIs ARE SHAPING THE NEW WORKPLACE JAMES HIRST, COO & CO-FOUNDER, TYK, EXPLAINS HOW APPLICATION PROGRAMME INTERFACES ARE EMPOWERING CUTTING EDGE COLLABORATION TOOLS Over the course of the past year the workplace has changed. Employees have moved from sitting primarily in an office surrounded by work colleagues, to now working from their own homes. While remote working has become more normalised and phrases such as, 'you're on mute' embedded in our lexicon, many organisations are looking at how they can better enable more seamless communication and collaboration across their teams - with the overall goal of keeping productivity high. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, organisations across the globe have quickly moved to invest in technology solutions that provide employees with the tools to do their job remotely. Companies such as Slack and Zoom have seen their value skyrocket over the past few months, with organisations prioritising software solutions to support basic business operations. Key to the success of implementing software into an organisation, is ensuring it brings together and integrates legacy platforms as well as provides the ability to scale as required. With many employees demanding and expecting their workplace tools to deliver the same levels of integration and connectivity that they've come to experience across their personal lives, workplace technology solutions need to be intuitive and have easy-to-use interfaces which can work across a range of platforms - often simultaneously and in realtime. And at the centre of enabling this are Application Programme Interfaces (APIs). CONNECTING THE WORKPLACE Simply put, APIs are the connectors between two applications, enabling them to talk to each other. It works as the messenger or intermediary between two applications. For example, a salesperson may want to search a potential prospect or customer to see the last interaction with them. They enter the customers name into their company database, which sends a request to their sales platform to provide the information. This means your company database is interacting with the separate sales platform to pull the information you require. Collaboration tools are now ubiquitous, but generalised. For many enterprises, they have specific lines of business applications and data siloed away. The value of that data is best realised when it's accessible remotely by teams. I expect demand for more seamless integration between these and the common collaboration tools to grow rapidly. THE ACCESSIBILITY OF AI The pandemic has meant that many organisations are having to address how they run their operations efficiently. This has meant evaluating current staff roles and adopting technology solutions that help people to work smarter, not harder. For many employees the burden of delivering everyday, time intensive admin-based tasks, such as data entry, has meant that the more strategic parts of their role get put on the backburner. Artificial Intelligence can play a key role in providing a workplace solution that can free employees time up to refocus on more high-value strategic tasks that have a bigger impact on the bottom line. The use of AI, more than pretty much any emerging tech today, is also contentious. Ownership of the AI capability and the security and integrity of the data that flows through it will be heavily scrutinised. Putting an architecture in place that recognises this and that enables enterprises to pick, choose and change from AI APIs at will is therefore critical to ensure business value isn't locked up in proprietary vendors. SUPPORTING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN 2021 Organisations are relying on APIs more than ever to help them reach their digital transformation goals, and gain the most value out of their investment into software solutions. In 2017, Forbes contributor, Louis Columbus stated that 2017 was the year of the API economy. Now arguably APIs will come under the spotlight again this coming year, with many organisations' realising that becoming a 'digital first' company is not a preferred option but critical for survival during these uncertain times. As a result, it's likely many will move away from developing bespoke solutions from scratch and towards more efficient solutions that deliver ROI fast. Businesses have had to rapidly adapt in order to survive this year - accelerating and reprioritising technology adoption that they had previously planned to implement in future years. Central to this technology acceleration has been developer teams, who have adapted and innovated quickly to ensure business operations continue to function. This has increased awareness of the importance of the role that developers play in the business - and over the next twelve months, the developer community will start to play an even more strategic role within the business, through implementing new processes and procedures. With the growing need for better digital ecosystems, IT leaders will be looking towards purchasing ready-to-go applications and APIs that they can implement quickly and easily and allowing them to scale as required. NC WWW.NETWORKCOMPUTING.CO.UK @NCMagAndAwards JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2021 NETWORKcomputing 19
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