You’ll start to hear the term Hybrid Networking bandied around shortly. Whilst hybrid can mean many things, in this case we are talking about Hybrid Network Unification. In this article, we’ll try and help you understand what it means. Hybrid network unification is the joining of traditional networks such as MPLS with the Internet. This provides a theoretically seamless network across which traffic can be delivered between sites. But why do this?
The case for hybrid networking
Cost is the main driver for wanting to perform a hybrid network unification. The cost of Internet links is typically about one tenth of a managed network link. If you can move a portion of your traffic to the Internet, you could start saving money.
Currently the amount of traffic on a given network is approximately 20%-30% being sent to the Internet direct from end-users. File transfers and replication traffic to sites from the data centre typically take another 30%, with email providing a final 30% of traffic. The most critical corporate applications use between 10% and 20% of the network traffic.
Moving 80%-90% of the traffic to a link which costs a tenth the price means a big saving, provided you can make the other changes to justify it. The challenge with hybrid networking is not the savings, but being able to realise them.
Challenges to realising Hybrid network savings
The are many challenges to gaining the savings of a hybrid network. The bigger ones are contractual and some are technical. So often it only makes sense to switch to a hybrid network when you are close to the end of your telco providers contract.
Contractual Challenges
- Minimum revenue guarantees
In order to offer larger discounts, you may have a minimum revenue guarantee (MRG) clause in your contract. This means that no matter what savings you make, once you drop below the MRG threshold, you still pay the same amount.. or face a charge to reset or remove this. - Sunk money in initial circuit costs
You will never gain savings from the money sunk in the initial circuit costs. This normally covers any excess construction charges, trenching, wayleave rights or other costs incurred in the provision of your circuit to the premises. You’ll quite often face this on at least one leg of a backup or load-balancing circuit if you ordered path separacy.
This will occur for both lines you cease, but also any new line deployed. - Backup circuit discounts
You typically pay full rental on the circuit in the ground for backup circuits. The cost of the “traffic” or port charges in the network may, however, be discounted substantially. This is the case as the provider recognises that you will only use the second link in event of a failure, and you are already paying for this traffic as part of the primary link.
If you remove a backup link, you won’t be saving half the cost of service to that site. - Additional Vendor Management
The use of additional links requires either additional support from the current vendor, or to achieve a more cost optimal solution from one or more additional vendors. The extra engagements requires additional vendor management, during the initial contract negotiations, and subsequently in operational service.
Technical and operational constraints
- Security of the network
Connecting any device to the Internet creates a security risk. You must ensure that traffic does not leak into the Internet unexpectedly, and that the device does not present a vector for others to attack your network. - The additional connections may require additional hardware
Adding connections to the network may require additional hardware, either in the form of upgrades or replacements. This also generates additional cost for a hybrid network solution. Deploying this additional or upgraded equipment will require outages in the network. - Hybrid networks are more technically complex
Implementing a hybrid network is considerably more complex, because the network team now have to understand and manage traffic, not just as packets, but as application flows. This requires a more highly skilled team to deploy, operate and troubleshoot the network. This may generate some higher operational costs (or contractual costs if operated on your behalf by a telco or other third party.)
Mitigating the challenges
The contract challenges can be mitigated in part by negotiation. If you or a third-party manage the network but not the connectivity, then you have additional control, in being able to introduce the extra circuits into the network. But the savings only come when you optimise the expensive connections. The supplier you are currently will aim to try and keep your business. You are in control by being able to take that business away from them.
The additional hardware may be mitigated in most cases, as modern routers have multiple Ethernet interfaces, so these can provide the additional connection for the Internet. Security is handled by a license upgrade to support an built-in firewall. Training your teams will help them handle the additional complexity.
But routers and firewalls aren’t the only way to create a hybrid network. Using a device that is naturally in the network path for another purpose also can provide a hybrid networking solution (given the appropriate software).
So start planning now to integrate the Internet more closely into your network. Start looking at Internet suppliers for your sites. Start conversations with your current supplier, as they may be able to offer Internet and MPLS at a substantial discount to keep your business. Read what you can on the subject. Look for training courses for your teams.
Hybrid networking is here for the long haul, it can help reduce your network costs. Will your management make the decision on your behalf, or will you help them make it with you?