Designed
to be intuitive, Cisco’s new network can recognize intent, mitigate threats
through encryption, and learn over time, unlocking opportunities and enhancing
business agility
Dubai, UAE
— June 22, 2017 — Today Cisco unveiled intent-based networking solutions
that represent one of the most significant breakthroughs in enterprise networking.
The introduction is the culmination of Cisco’s vision to create an intuitive
system that anticipates actions, stops security threats in their tracks, and continues
to evolve and learn. It will help businesses to unlock new opportunities and
solve previously unsolvable challenges in an era of increasing connectivity and distributed technology.
This new network is the result of years of research and
development by Cisco to reinvent networking for an age where network engineers
managing hundreds of devices today will be expected to manage 1 million by
2020.
“The network has never been more critical to business success, but
it’s also never been under more pressure,” said Chuck Robbins, chief
executive officer for Cisco. “By building a more intuitive network, we are
creating an intelligent platform with unmatched security for today and for the
future that propels businesses forward and creates new opportunities for people
and organizations everywhere.”
Today companies are managing their networks through traditional IT
processes that are not sustainable in this new age. Cisco’s approach creates an intuitive system that constantly
learns, adapts, automates and protects, to optimize network operations and
defend against today’s evolving threat landscape.
“Cisco’s Encrypted Traffic Analytics solves a network security
challenge previously thought to be unsolvable,” said David Goeckeler, senior
vice president and general manager of networking and security, Cisco. “ETA
uses Cisco’s Talos cyber intelligence to detect known attack signatures even in
encrypted traffic, helping to ensure security while maintaining privacy.”
With the vast majority of the world’s internet traffic running on
Cisco networks, the company has used its unique position to capture and analyze
this immensely valuable data by providing IT with insights to spot anomalies
and anticipate issues in real time, without compromising privacy. By automating
the edge of the network and embedding machine learning and analytics at a
foundational level, Cisco is making the unmanageable manageable and allowing IT
to focus on strategic business needs.
Informed by
context and powered by intent
With this
new approach, Cisco is
changing the fundamental blueprint for networking with reimagined hardware and the most advanced
software. This shift from hardware-centric
to software-driven networking will enable customers to experience a quantum
leap in agility, productivity and performance. The intuitive network is an
intelligent, highly secure platform — powered by intent and informed by
context:
·
Intent:
Intent-based networking allows IT to move from tedious traditional processes to
automating intent, making it possible to manage millions of devices in minutes
— a crucial development to help organizations navigate today’s ever expanding
technology landscape.
·
Context:
Interpreting data in context is what enables the network to provide new
insights. It’s not just the data that’s important, it’s the context that
surrounds it — the who, what, when, where and how. The intuitive network
interprets all of this, resulting in better security, more customized experiences
and faster operations.
·
Intuition: The new
network provides machine-learning at scale. Cisco is using the vast data that
flows through its networks around the world, with machine learning built in, and
unleashing that data to provide actionable, predictive insights.
The
technologies that power the intuitive network
Cisco Digital
Network Architecture (DNA) provides customers with a portfolio of
innovative hardware and software to bring the new era of networking to life. Today
Cisco is introducing a suite of Cisco DNA technologies and services designed to
work together as a single system and empower customers to move at digital speed:
·
Software-Defined Access (SD-Access). SD-Access uses automated policy
enforcement and network segmentation over a single network fabric to
dramatically simplify network access for users, devices and things. By
automating day-to-day tasks such as configuration, provisioning and
troubleshooting, SD-Access slashes the time it takes to adapt the network,
improves issue resolution from weeks and months to hours, and dramatically reduces
security breach impact. Initial analysis with field trial customers and
internal testing have shown a reduction in network provisioning time by 67%,
improved issue resolution by 80%, reduced security breach impact by 48%, and
opex savings of 61%.
·
Network Data Platform and Assurance. This powerful new analytics platform
efficiently categorizes and correlates the vast amount of data running on the
network and uses machine learning to turn it into predictive analytics,
business intelligence and actionable insights delivered through the DNA Center
Assurance service.
·
Encrypted Traffic Analytics. Today, almost half of cyber-attacks are
hidden in encrypted traffic and this number keeps growing. By utilizing Cisco’s
Talos cyber intelligence and machine learning to analyze metadata traffic
patterns, the network can identify the fingerprints of known threats even in
encrypted traffic, without decrypting it and impacting data privacy. Only Cisco
can enable IT to detect threats in encrypted traffic with up to 99% accuracy,
with less than 0.01% false positives. As a result, the new network provides
security while maintaining privacy.
·
Catalyst 9000 Switching Portfolio. Cisco is introducing a new family of
switches built from the ground up for the new realities of the digital era,
centered on the demands of mobility, cloud, IoT and security. The Cisco
Catalyst 9000 delivers unmatched security, programmability and performance by
innovating at the hardware (ASIC) and software (IOS XE) layers.
·
Software Subscription. Cisco is now making software
subscription an essential element of its flagship campus switching portfolio.
When purchasing the new Catalyst 9000 family of switches, customers will access
the DNA software capabilities by subscription, either via pre-bundled Cisco ONE
software suites or a-la-carte components. Available across the entire
enterprise networking portfolio, Cisco ONE software provides businesses with
access to ongoing innovation, budget predictability, and a more agile way to
consume the technology.
·
DNA Services. To help customers embrace intuitive
networking with speed and confidence, Cisco has created a new portfolio of
services that leverage our proven experience, best practices and innovative
tools. Whether customers are looking to transform their entire network or
integrate new security and automation capabilities into their existing network,
Cisco has a comprehensive lifecycle of advisory, implementation, optimization
and technical services to help them on their journey. Cisco channel partners
can also resell these services and build networking practices that incorporate software,
security, automation and analytics for their customers.
·
Developer
Center. Cisco is
releasing a new DevNet DNA Developer Center with resources to help developers
and IT professionals create network-powered applications and integrate them within
their IT systems and workflows. This includes new learning tracks, sandboxes,
and developer support resources for using APIs and building skills.
Availability
·
June
2017 – Catalyst 9300 & 9500 Series (orderable)
·
July
2017 – Catalyst 9400 Series (orderable)
·
August
2017 – DNA Center, SD Access (controlled availability)
·
September
2017 – Encrypted Traffic Analytics (scheduled to be available)
·
November
2017 – Network Data Platform (orderable), Assurance (scheduled to be available),
SD-Access (scheduled for full availability)Supporting
quotes:
Accenture
“As large organizations and governments pivot towards digital,
their network infrastructures are coming under immense pressure – pressure to
scale, pressure to secure, and pressure to enable digital business services.
Working with Cisco, Accenture is accelerating our clients' digital journey
through the adoption of dynamic, secure, and application-centric networking.”
Gene Reznik, Senior Managing Director, Ecosystem & Ventures,
Accenture
DB Systel GmbH
“Transportation is at a disruptive shift; with SD-Access we can
consolidate our locations across the country with consistent policy in one
solid view.”
Sebastian Meissner, Network Architect, DB Systel GmbH
NASA
“The Cisco Catalyst 9000 has exceeded NASA’s mission-critical
requirements for security and segmentation—and at twice the performance.”
Eric Latta, Solutions Architect. NASA
Royal Caribbean
Cruises Ltd.
“From a technology standpoint, our cruise ships are like small
cities. Cisco’s intent-based networking is transformational in how our IT can
securely and remotely provision cruise ships around the world.”
Michael Giresi, Chief Information Officer, Royal Caribbean
Cruises
Scentsy
“SD-Access automates network segmentation down to
the user-level. This is a huge shift for the lean-IT experience.”
Kevin Tompkins, Network Architect, Scentsy
Additional Resources
Executive Blog: Breaking Down Cisco's Biggest Innovation in
the Past Decade (DavidCisco Launches a New Era in Networking
Feature Story: Seeing
threats hidden in encrypted traffic
About Cisco
Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide
technology leader that has been making the Internet work since 1984. Our
people, products, and partners help society securely connect and seize
tomorrow’s digital opportunity today. Discover more at newsroom.cisco.com and
follow us on Twitter at @Cisco.
