The new Avaya Automated Campus builds on the company’s software-defined data centre framework, now spanning the data centre and the campus. Avaya’s software-defined data centre framework leverages Avaya Fabric Connect with enhanced Shortest Path Bridging and intelligent orchestration capabilities. With the Avaya Automated Campus, IT departments can turn up scalable cloud-based services by provisioning end points at the data centre edge and the Wiring closet edge – without having to configure any devices in between. IT simply sets up their critical distribution and core switches once, then turns up and makes changes to services at the edges.
The announcement also includes the automated attachment of end-user devices, such as wireless APs, IP cameras and phones, and non-fabric switches with a new feature called Avaya Fabric Attach. This Best of Interop finalist in the networking category can save IT managers hours – even days. Fabric Attach can significantly reduce the potential for errors by eliminating hundreds of edge CLI commands that can cause end user service delays and costly downtime and performance issues. Avaya Identity Engines as integral part of this suite authenticates end-user devices, empowering their dynamic assignment to the appropriate cloud-based service based on a user’s credentials. Avaya also enhanced Identity Engines to provide both unified network and application access with Single-Sign-On capabilities for Avaya applications. This functionality allows network administrators to centrally set, assign, securely store and change access credentials. A second, Best of Interop finalist for Avaya, this one in the security category, simplifies the enforcement of policies in a consumerised IT era.
Zeus Kerravala, principle, ZK Research, commented “Avaya is one vendor who is addressing network simplicity from multiple different angles. Their delivery of a single virtualised network architecture that spans data centre to Campus is unique in the industry and accelerates the delivery of services by eliminating both protocol overlays and network touch-points. The combination of eliminating provisioning in the critical core and distribution nodes, with the zero-touch on-boarding of devices creates a very simple, automated environment that dramatically reduces downtime and performance issues as a result of human error.”
Marc Randall, senior vice president and general manager, Avaya Networking, added "Network downtime and performance issues hurt business operations and can affect careers, but too many companies treat it as an inevitable symptom of today’s overly complicated networking technologies. It doesn’t have to be this way. Avaya has developed a new approach that simplifies the entire service delivery process from the data centre to the end device and saves our customers valuable time while eliminating the risk. We did it for the 2014 Sochi Olympics and now, for the third time as part of InteropNet, and we can do it for businesses everywhere.”