Tap DANZing for Visible Cloud Networking

Networking is running blind. It is akin to driving a car in the fog at night without street lights, signs or a navigation system. Simply put, it’s a scary visibility problem, and it impacts the security and availability of the network. When coupled with massive shifts to virtualization, containerization, cloud-native applications and unstructured data, the insatiable telemetry demand is exponential. Every architect is looking for modern analytical methods of networking to gain visibility for millions of devices, data or events efficiently and consistently.

The dictionary definition of telemetry is: an automated communications process by which measurements and other data are collected at remote or inaccessible points and transmitted to receiving equipment for monitoring. The word is derived from Greek roots: tele = remote, and metron = measure. This coordination of network state, combined with precise packet inspection, is a paramount step for advanced telemetry and monitoring.

Introducing DANZ 2017

In 2017, Data ANalyZers (DANZ) exemplifies the power of Arista EOS (Extensible Operating System) for a programmable, state driven, visibility architecture by bringing the next frontier in network packet broker functions (NPB), since the introduction of DANZ four years ago. Backed by thousands of man-years of development and 10 million lines of code, Arista EOS is the ideal stack for open telemetry.

DANZ 2017 provides a unique set of integrated functionality at strategic monitoring points, allowing customers to move from reactive tools to in-band and out-of-band cloud network principles. Arista’s popular 7150 and 7280R leaf switches and 7500R spine switches support DANZ functionality in EOS and also support CloudVision for automation and telemetry. DANZ 2017 is built upon the any-to-any mirroring of network traffic rates of 10 to 100G, whereby unique filters and mirrored traffic can be captured and analyzed at line rate. Built upon high performance switching platforms and highly available universal cloud design, the Arista R-Series platforms assure each packet and flow is consistently redirected to the appropriate destination tool. This provides customers with efficiency and reliability at a 10-60X advantage in footprint, power and density and is a compelling alternative to software or appliance based solutions, as shown in the figure below.

DANZ 2017 delivers state of the art network features with advanced integrated TAP, mirroring and monitoring across ports with capability to each packet at line rate with nanosecond accuracy. This includes real time capture, header manipulation, microburst detection and high resolution time stamping for deep network analysis functionality at interface speeds up to 100G. DANZ also provides security features, line-rate packet truncation and header manipulation at line rate, allowing for detailed forensic analysis of large traffic volumes. In tandem with the EOS switching and routing feature set, DANZ 2017 dramatically reduces the complexity and cost of silo network analysis and security tools at every location. Adapting to the dynamic nature of traffic as workloads traverse the private and public cloud is the challenge of legacy networks. I am excited to introduce Arista’s DANZ 2017 to solve it!

Welcome to the new world of software driven cloud networking, and as always I welcome your comments at feedback@arista.com

Website References:

Press Release

DANZ 2017 Video

DANZ Website

Feb 23: The DANZ Advantage Webinar