Role and management of mobile networks on the WAN edge

With the popularity of BYOD, mobile networks make WAN more complex. This article introduces the functions and management methods of mobile networks on the edge of WAN.

In the past, WAN boundary definition was very simple in loose traditional enterprises. Now, an uncertain location of a mobile device makes the WAN boundary "Blurred" or "uncertain"-that is, the boundary is connected to a mobile device over a wireless network instead of a wired line.

Although mobility can significantly increase customer response speed, increase revenue and reduce costs, it is also a double-edged sword and may increase the complexity of Security, enterprise access, application delivery, and network management. IT managers must balance two conflicting corporate goals: absolute security and absolute mobile access. Therefore, whether to provide access to key business systems for mobile devices is a concern of the IT manager.

However, mobility already exists, and it is likely to further increase business dynamics in the future. Enterprises have discovered that they have purchased networks and computing technologies to help employees contact customers and replace fixed infrastructure (such as office buildings and offices ), it can form closer business relationships and better service delivery levels. The benefits of mobility include reducing daily expenses, accelerating response time, and improving customer satisfaction.

What role can a mobile network play on the WAN edge?

However, the blurred network edge will also have a certain impact on the quality of enterprise user experience (QoE. Many applications may lose response due to connection issues with Wired/wireless interfaces. In particular, virtual private network (VPN) may have some strange behavior when mobile devices roam and when the signal strength and delay change. If the connection to the roaming device is unstable, the UC application may also experience abnormal behavior.

Another problem is data security. When the data passes through the network, its security is certainly not as good as staying in a heavily protected storage facility. Wireless Networks further increase security risks. In addition, when data is stored on mobile devices, physical security issues may occur. There are too many cases around us that leak customer identity information and private data due to the loss of laptops and smartphones.

Mobility also brings about another important problem: the weakening of terminal control. The network management system enables IT to monitor terminal devices in a fixed network in depth. However, there are few tools that can monitor roaming wireless connections, and they are not reliable. Although the management system may be able to check the status of mobile devices, roaming devices may be interrupted in milliseconds, which may affect the resolution of user service problems. In many cases, IT only tells users that they can always use their smartphones or wireless laptops to access the wireless network (WAN) at will ).

Why do we need mobility?

However, problems related to mobility are not easy to solve. Imagine a "persistent connection" Mobile Network: Enhancing the Reality (Augmented Reality, AR) IT managers who are working on smartphones and mobile laptops are like sprinkling salt on the wound. The main form of AR is the flat display (HUD), which is expected to be available next year and will completely change the access characteristics of mobile users. Currently, smartphones access the WAN intermittently, so they have less network requirements than fixed devices. Once AR occurs, it will cause "keep online" data connections, and the demand for both applications and networks will increase significantly, which will further increase the burden on the management system.

If the IT manager can directly prohibit a mobile device from connecting to the WAN, the situation will be much better. However, mobility has many benefits for businesses and will eventually reshape the WAN architecture of enterprises. In the end, it is likely that WAN will become the main means for enterprises to manage internal data (data transmitted between applications, corporate locations, and data centers) and to serve most users through mobile connections.

How to manage mobile networks on the WAN?

Although IT sounds strange, IT must give up control of the network edge. This does not mean that the firewall is no longer needed, but the focus is shifted from the management of physical devices to the management of mobile user experience. This is especially important if most of the devices managed by IT belong to employees. IT should not take the initiative to set obstacles to network dynamics, but should take the initiative to accept the staff's own mobile devices, because the default built-in mobile devices will reduce the daily expenses of enterprises.

IT should focus on session management control. IT managers should not focus on network connections or device management-because mobility can cause management problems, but on user experience, including performance, data security, and performance.

The most important factor for user experience is the design of mobility. This means that IT organizations need to participate in mobile app development for mobile devices. Users can download these apps directly from the enterprise app store. Mobile applications perform local decryption and display operations. If the settings are lost or stolen, the application can be destroyed by the program.

Prepare for coping with the growth of mobile devices on the WAN

In terms of complexity, mobility is a disaster for the IT community. However, from the financial perspective, mobility is a good way to improve employee efficiency and per capita income. IT personnel need to look at the problem from the next perspective and introduce some methods to improve mobility. The most important method is to design apps that support mobile access, implement data security through encryption, and manage network access at the Session Layer. Using the correct method to solve the problem of fuzzy wan edge network can make IT worse and prove its own value to enterprises.