Data Center LAN Migration Guide - Juniper Networks
Data Center LAN Migration Guide - Juniper Networks
Data Center LAN Migration Guide - Juniper Networks
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<strong>Data</strong> <strong>Center</strong> <strong>LAN</strong> <strong>Migration</strong> <strong>Guide</strong><br />
Introduction to the <strong>Migration</strong> <strong>Guide</strong><br />
IT has become integral to business success in virtually all industries and markets. Today’s data center is the centralized<br />
repository of computing resources enabling enterprises to meet their business objectives. Today’s data center traffic<br />
flows and performance requirements have changed considerably from the past with the advent of cloud computing<br />
and service-oriented architecture (SOA)-based applications. In addition, increased mobility, unified communications,<br />
compliance requirements, virtualization, the sheer number of connecting devices, and changing network security<br />
boundaries present new challenges to today’s data center managers. Architecting data centers based on old traffic<br />
patterns and outdated security models is inefficient and results in lower performance, unnecessary complexity,<br />
difficulty in scaling, and higher cost.<br />
A simplified, cloud-ready, two-tier data center design is needed to meet these new challenges—without any<br />
compromise in performance. Migrating to such a data center network can theoretically take place at any time.<br />
Practically speaking, however, most enterprises will not disrupt a production data center except for a limited time<br />
window to perform scheduled maintenance and business continuity testing. Luckily and within this context, migration<br />
to a simpler two-tier design can begin at various insertion points and proceed in controlled ways in an existing legacy<br />
data center architecture.<br />
<strong>Juniper</strong>’s <strong>Data</strong> <strong>Center</strong> <strong>LAN</strong> <strong>Migration</strong> <strong>Guide</strong> identifies the most common trigger events at which migration to a<br />
simplified design can take place together with design considerations at each network layer for a successful migration.<br />
The guide is segmented into two parts. For the business decision maker, Chapter 1: Why Migrate to <strong>Juniper</strong> will be most<br />
relevant. The technical decision maker will find Chapters 2 and 3 most relevant, particularly Chapter 3, which covers<br />
the data center “trigger events” that can stimulate a transition and the corresponding insertion points, designs, and<br />
best practices associated with pre-install, install, and post-install tasks.<br />
Audience<br />
While much of the high-level information presented in this document will be useful to anyone making strategic<br />
decisions about a data center <strong>LAN</strong>, this guide is targeted primarily to:<br />
• <strong>Data</strong> center network and security architects evaluating the feasibility of new approaches in network design<br />
• <strong>Data</strong> center network planners, engineers, and operators designing and implementing new data center networks<br />
• <strong>Data</strong> center managers, IT managers, network and security managers planning and evaluating data center<br />
infrastructure and security requirements<br />
<strong>Data</strong> <strong>Center</strong> Architecture and <strong>Guide</strong> Overview<br />
One of the primary ways to increase data center efficiency is to simplify the infrastructure. Most data center networks<br />
in place today are based on a three-tier architecture. A simplified two–tier design, made possible by the enhanced<br />
performance and more efficient packaging of today’s Ethernet switches, reduces cost and complexity, and increases<br />
efficiency without compromising performance.<br />
During the 1990s, Ethernet switches became the basic building block of enterprise campus network design. <strong>Networks</strong><br />
were typically built in a three-tier hierarchical tree structure to compensate for switch performance limitations. Each<br />
tier performed a different function and exhibited different form factors, port densities, and throughputs to handle the<br />
workload. The same topology was deployed when Ethernet moved into the data center displacing Systems Network<br />
Architecture (SNA), DECnet, and token ring designs.<br />
6 Copyright © 2012, <strong>Juniper</strong> <strong>Networks</strong>, Inc.