Allied Telesis lowers cost and complexity of enterprise network management

Allied Telesis has announced the launch of the Allied Telesis Management Framework (AMF)—an innovative new technology that will help enterprises reduce the complexity and cost of network management by up to 60%.

Software Defined Networking (SDN)—whereby a software platform is used to centrally control a network—has hit the headlines recently with its claims of better network utilisation and easier management. Unfortunately, most SDN solutions are targeted at large data centres, which puts them out of reach of the typical Enterprise customer who tends to have even greater resource constraints. Allied Telesis recognised this fact and has developed AMF as a practical way for Enterprises to take advantage of the benefits of SDN, without the hefty price tag.

As a leading vendor of Ethernet networking products and solutions, Allied Telesis is focused on delivering the benefits of SDN technology to its customers. The company has introduced integrated network management through AMF and the immediate benefit for Enterprise users is reduced network complexity and reduced time and expertise required to manage the network, resulting in delivering a lower Total Cost of Ownership. Powerful features like centralised management, auto-backup, auto-upgrade, auto-provisioning and auto-recovery, plug-and-play networking, and zero-touch management are the first features to be implemented within AMF. AMF is a framework of strategic importance for Allied Telesis and further development and enhancements to AMF are being undertaken to deliver next-generation network technologies for its customers.

“One of the key challenges we see is the amount of resources that are required to manage large Enterprise networks,” said Jane Brett, UK Sales Director, Allied Telesis. “In addition, customers face the challenge of hiring or retaining technical staff. AMF eases the burden of managing Enterprise networks by automating many tasks that today require a level of involvement by the network administrator. This framework has been developed to make it easier for our customers to manage their networks.”

One of the main advantages of SDN is the promise of centralised management, as SDN treats the network as a single virtual device. Allied Telesis has developed AMF to achieve this and more, with centralised management of an entire network from any single device through a simple and intuitive Command Line Interface (CLI). Configuration files and firmware files are automatically backed up regularly and are available for regenerating failed devices; and configuration changes can be made on multiple devices at the same time. This combination of features enables AMF to lower network operating expenses by reducing the complexity of network management and automating many routine tasks.

“Unlike SDN, which requires a software-based controller external to the network itself, Allied Telesis has embedded the controller functionality within the network, simplifying the delivery of this new technology,” stated Jun Kohara, vice president, product marketing, “This enables many of the benefits of SDN to be delivered without the cost, complexity and overhead that it brings,” Kohara added.

According to Brett, “In numerous cases, the cost of managing a network is a multiple of the capital cost of the hardware. For this reason, many organisations are now focusing on technologies like SDN and AMF as a means of reducing operational costs associated with managing their networks. One early adopter of this technology expects to reduce the ongoing cost of managing their network by 60%, which should be compelling for any customer.”

AMF is available in EMEA, North America and Latin America beginning September 3, on the following Allied Telesis switches: SwitchBlade® x8112, SwitchBlade x908, x610 Series, and x510 Series.