Background
For most large-scale enterprises, a Wireless LAN (WLAN) is still a necessary part of the corporate network infrastructure for several reasons. In addition to affording employees the convenience and flexibility of a wireless network connection, it also allows extending the network to temporary users such as guests and contractors. This service may transform from a convenience to a necessity as the organization expands or implements a ‘wireless-first’ network solution.
The importance of this combined network scenario will increase as IoT endpoints proliferate on the network to incorporate building controls and security infrastructure functions and other IoT endpoints. As network infrastructure formerly managed as Operational Technology converges with I.T. networks, the proliferation of IoT endpoints will become critical components in the I.T. domain.
Requirements
Creating hybrid wired/wireless networks requires several components to form the network infrastructure. When a leading vendor needed solutions, they partnered with Lanner to achieve this. They chose Lanner network appliances as the basis for their network controller platform.
A combined wired/wireless network controller deployment has several requirements:
- Provide an S.D.N. architecture-based management platform that limits the need for future hardware upgrade investment.
- Prevent network service interruption with highly reliable N+1 PSU redundancy. (NCA-5710/6210)
- Support communication protocols and call flows based on authentication standards. (IEEE 802.1x, AAA).
- Advanced LAN Bypass capability with bypass ports that allow for uninterrupted network traffic. If any in-line appliance is shut down or crashes, traffic throughput is maintained. Lanner’s design engineering has achieved improvements over standard bypass capability to enable higher reliability and greater control.
- Scalable Hardware design with F.A.S.T. N.I.C. or PoE modules. F.A.S.T. N.I.C. support for 1G/10G/40G/100G Ethernet speeds in one or more modular slots where modular kits can be retrofitted via either a copper or fiber interface. Also have support for PoE functions, such as NCS2-POEIG802 and NCS2-POEIG402. PoE enables both data connection and electrical power over one cable, which is used for connecting devices such as wireless access points, I.P. cameras, and VoIP. PoE simplifies power delivery, which enhances deployment convenience.
- QAT (Quick Assist Technology) for secure and encrypted network access. Native support for QAT is necessary to off-load crypto packets over 5G networks. The latest Intel® Scalable Xeon® CPUs and Atom® C3000 platforms have embedded QAT. Network appliances with QAT optimize network performance in IPSec or VPN networks.
Solutions
Lanner has designed optimized solutions for building the foundational infrastructure layer of an SDN-based deployment.
Lanner’s NCA-2510 is a 1U 19" rackmount network appliance with virtualization, optimized design, and an Intel Atom® C3958, C3758, or C3558 CPU (codenamed Denverton). It offers up to 16 cores, 10GbE interface for SFP+, SR-IOV support, Intel® AES-NI, and Intel® Quick Assist Technology, running at 20Gbps.
Additionally, our NCA-5710 and NCA-6210 appliances, powered by the second generation of the Intel® Xeon® Processor Scalable Family and either the Intel® C627 or C621 chipset, feature optimization and virtualization capacity in compact 1U, or 2U form factors with dual LGA3647 CPU sockets, 4x or 8x N.I.C. module slots, and up to 384GB, or 640GB, of DDR4 system memory. They deliver a bevy of advanced networking features for maximizing packet processing efficiency and cryptography acceleration.