VeloCloud today unveiled Outcome-Driven Networking to enable higher levels of network automation based on stated business outcomes. Its Outcome-Driven Networking uses the fundamentals of software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) to orchestrate and automate network processes end-to-end.
It includes a set of capabilities that address the challenge posed by unacceptably high levels of command line interface (CLI), complex parameters even in graphical interfaces, manual learning, and the per-device customization required to achieve the desired outcome.
Outcome-Driven Networking provides businesses with a platform to create a desired state of the network and enforce policies. For example, once an outcome has been stated, such as to access an application resource over a preferred path, the solution learns every site’s legacy network and automatically implements the required routing. It also automatically implements the end-to-end outcome using different configurations depending on each node’s overlay role, as well as learned external context.
In order to achieve this, the platform leverages abstraction and automation, contextual implementation, and self-learning and adapting capabilities. Automating certain IT processes allows for coordination across features driven from APIs or graphical user interfaces, which reduces errors for programming.
Based on the context and position of each SD-WAN overlay node, the platform will provide end-to-end outcomes with automatic per-device implementation, both on premises and the cloud. Additionally, IT organizations will have automated network visibility and analytics with the platform, so new configurations and policies can be adapted automatically, which is not typically possible in typical WAN solutions.
Earlier this month, VMware announced it is acquiring VeloCloud in an effort to add SD-WAN capabilities to its network virtualization platform, NSX. This acquisition placed VMware in a race for the No. 1 SD-WAN spot with Cisco, according to an IHS Markit report.
