We’ve seen some major changes in how applications and network resources are consumed over the past few years and the challenges they create for IT teams. More people are working at home, on the go, and places in between, while the edge has become more distributed. At the same time, advances in microservices-based computing and communication technologies like 5G are fostering new cloud-native edge compute use cases. These developments are making it more important than ever to deliver networking and security services with cloud-powered agility and speed.
VMware SASE™ is a great way to deliver simplicity, scalability, flexibility, low latency, and pervasive security to support remote work, as well as advanced edge compute use cases. Some of its key differentiators are powered by technology ecosystem partners such as Intel and Lumen.
Performance and scalability powered by Intel at the edge
One of the main advantages of VMware SASE is its use of the Intel architecture at the infrastructure edge, which provides scalability and consistency across a variety of devices and use cases. VMware SD-WAN™ Edge devices are built upon a variety of Intel platforms, using Intel Xeon D and Intel Atom processors. The virtual services on the Intel-based VNF infrastructure at the edge help minimize the need for additional hardware at edge locations.
SD-WAN Edge device capacity depends on the throughput required by applications that users are accessing. It’s also determined by the number of virtualized network services like firewalls and intrusion protection that are running as VNFs on the appliance.
Experts from Lumen, Intel and VMware discussed edge computing and SASE at VMworld 2021
Organizations need the right level of performance, and the ability to scale up or scale down to address today’s workloads—and tomorrow’s. Intel’s product line was developed with scalability in mind, enabling organizations to build on their investment. The company offers hardware options that can support WAN connectivity from 100 Mbps all the way up to multi-gigabit speeds. No matter which edge solution organizations choose, they will be able to take advantage of consistent management, security, and control across their branch and other remote environments.
Partnering with Lumen for cloud innovation
VMware is also building on its long-standing partnership with Lumen, a global technology service provider that offers cutting-edge platforms for adaptive networking, security, unified communications—and of course, edge computing.
Lumen built a joint solution with VMware that wraps SD-WAN and security in a SASE model on top of the Lumen platform. The company is in the process of rolling out SASE services in combination with VMware and Intel and also has another a range of services that tie to SASE around edge compute. The organization has rapidly deployed edge compute capabilities across the world, and today, Lumen has established over 60 nodes in the U.S. These nodes cover about 98% of U.S enterprises and offer low latency, five-millisecond connectivity data edge compute.
Lumen has collaborated closely with Intel and VMware on the deployment and uses Intel hardware for all its edge compute nodes. VMware plays a critical role as part of the total software solution that Lumen uses for managing that edge compute solution, tying it back to public and private cloud networks, and building private clouds for customers.
Together, SASE and edge compute offer the ability to distribute those virtualized functions much closer to the point of digital interactions. The result is better performance, as well as improved security management and support for security policy.
The innovation continues through a Joint Innovation Lab, where VMware and Lumen are combining their architecture and design, marketing, and sales services to develop Lumen-managed services in edge computing, work-from-anywhere, and security.
Ready to learn more?
If you’d like to learn more about how VMware is teaming with its technology partners to drive new advances in edge solutions, check out our video from VMworld 2021, Deliver Reliability, Better Security and Scalability with Edge Computing and SASE. Join Bob Ghaffari, GM, Enterprise & Cloud Networking at Intel, Shefali Chinni, Sr. Marketing Manager at VMware, Craig Connors, VP & CTO, SEBU at VMware, and Paul Savill, SVP, Strategies, Alliances, Technology Services at Lumen. They’ll talk about how Intel, VMware, and Lumen have worked to optimize cloud-native edge computing and VMware Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) services, including VMware Anywhere Workspace solutions.
