Silicon Updates: Cisco Digital Network Architecture - The software-driven networking

Information Security has been under rigorous instability due to the recent security breaches, leaving different sectors into chaos. Suppose that the IT department is capable of simply eliminating the infected sections of the network. The new software and hardware rollout from Cisco features more than this capability. Deploying IoT and handling security threats are the major challenges of traditional networks being answered by the software-driven networking approach Cisco's Digital Network Architecture (DNA).

Cisco DNA

The DNA comes with wide range of capabilities - Cloud Service Management, Automation, Analytics, Virtualization, and DNA-ready Physical and Virtual Infrastructure. The features of DNA are:

1. Automation of network - Provide business transformation and scalability simply by automation across the network.
2. Lower WAN cost - Lower the cost incurred for WAN applications by consistent performance, security and reliability of a network.
3. Predictable performance - Increase performance by providing wide range of troubleshooting tools with machine learning to deliver accurate insights.
4. Detect and mitigate threats - Address security loopholes and breaches in a network including encrypted traffic analytics (ETA).

DNA Software Capabilities

The Cisco's new Software Defined Access (SDA) allows the users to restrict the access to unauthorised data, which prevents most of the security breaches. Conventionally, this restriction was held by the management of a firm manually. Scentsy is one of the customers gaining advantage of the Cisco's software-driven DNA and many other firms are on list to collaborate with Cisco in network security.

Once you can do segmentation based on users, not just an IP address, and a user can log in from anywhere on any device- It goes from, ‘I wish, but it will never happen, to we can do that tomorrow. - Kevin Tomkins, network architect at Scentsy.

With DNA, the networks, essentially, has the capability of gaining contextual knowledge, which help the network admins to set security policies and customize them. With DNA, the hardware-driven networks can be converted into software-driven networks, with the added advantages of automation, built-in security and the capability to convert network data into business insights. Cisco is working hard on DNA for further features so that application developers can be provided with the APIs to work with!

Featured products compatible with DNA