SEN Software Services
To streamline and optimize cloud networking, Viptela offers next generation software services that run on the secure, virtual IP fabric:
- CloudExpress service—CloudExpress service optimizes the performance of Software as a Service (SaaS) cloud applications. It provides clear visibility of the performance of individual applications and automatically chooses the best path for each one. CloudExpress service calculates metrics about loss and latency using a formula customized for each application.
- vAnalytics platform (available in beta)—vAnalytics platform is a SaaS service hosted by Viptela as part of the SEN solution. vAnalytics platform provides graphical representations of the performance of your entire overlay network over time and lets you drill down to the characteristics of a single carrier, tunnel, or application at a particular time.
CloudExpress Service
Enterprises have been adopting business critical SaaS applications including Microsoft Office365, Salesforce, Dropbox, and others. Enterprises use three primary methods to offer connectivity to SaaS applications for their users:
• Direct Internet Access (DIA) from a branch office.
• Internet access through gateways in regional facilities.
• Cloud exchange or direct connection through gateways in a Carrier Neutral Facility (CNF).
Latency and packet loss have a direct impact on the performance of applications and on end-user experience, but in many cases network administrators have limited or no visibility into the network performance characteristics between the end-user and SaaS applications. When path impairment occurs and application performance suffers, shifting traffic from a primary to an alternate path usually requires the network administrator to performa a set of complex, manual, time-consuming, and error-prone steps.
Viptela CloudExpress service provides visibility and continuous monitoring of network performance characteristics. It makes real-time decisions by choosing the best performing path between the end-user and SaaS application for an optimal user experience. It automatically reacts to changes in network performance by intelligently re-routing application traffic away from any degraded network paths.
CloudExpress service supports all access methods for cloud-based SaaS applications, including DIA, internet access through a regional facility, and access through a CNF.
CloudExpress service calculates an application performance value called the Viptela Quality of Experience (vQoE) for enterprise cloud applications. The vQoE value weighs loss and latency using a formula customized for each application. For example, email applications tolerate latency better than video applications do, and video applications tolerate loss better than email does. The vQoE value ranges from zero to ten, with zero being the worst quality and ten being the best.
You enable CloudExpress service in vManage NMS with a few clicks of the mouse, and then you access the CloudExpress dashboard in vManage NMS for continuous visibility into the performance of individual applications.
vAnalytics Platform (Available in Beta)
Now available in a beta release, vAnalytics platform offers visibility into the performance of applications and the network over time. vAnalytics platform is a SaaS service hosted by Viptela as part of the SEN solution. vAnalytics platform provides graphical representations of your entire overlay network and lets you drill down to display the characteristics of a single carrier, tunnel, or application at a particular time.
The vAnalytics dashboard serves as an interactive overview of your network and an entrance point for more details. The dashboard display information for the last 24 hours. When you drill down, you can select different time periods for different data sets to display. The dashboard displays data for network availability, WAN performance by carrier, and applications.
vAnalytics platform calculates application performance with the vQoE value, which is customized for individual applications. This value ranges from zero to ten, with zero being the worst performance and ten being the best. vAnalytics platform calculates vQoE based on latency, loss, and jitter, customizing the calculation for each application.
vAnalytics platform offers insight into planning the WAN and into its operational aspects, from historical performance, to forecasting, to providing recommendations for optimizing the WAN. vAnalytics platform stores months of data, applies machine learning algorithms, and provides unique insights and recommendations.
vAnalytics platform offers:
- Visibility—vAnalytics platform provides visibility into application and network performance based on information collected from your overlay as well as correlated information from other networks. This gives you insight into top to bottom performing applications as well as anomalous applications over a period of time.
- Forecasting—vAnalytics platform can help you plan for sites that may need additional bandwidth in the next three to six months.
- What-If Scenarios—What-if scenarios help you identify opportunities for balancing cost, performance, and availability of networks and applications.
- Recommendations—vAnalytics platform runs machine learning algorithms to identify opportunities to fine tune the WAN. For example, vAnalytics platform can recommend application-aware routing policies based on historical information from your environment. In addition, vAnalytics platform can mine data across a variety of network service providers and recommend network service providers for a specific location.
Application visibility features include:
- Best and worst performing applications—Display the best and worst performing applications and drill down to details at the site level.
- Most bandwidth consuming applications—Display applications consuming the most bandwidth and drill down to sites and users.
- Anomalous applications families—Display changes in bandwidth consumption over a period of time.
Network visiblity features include:
- Network availability and circuit availability—Display network availability and correlate network and circuit availability.
- Carrier health views—Display providers and their network characteristics.
- Best and worst performing tunnels—Display the worst performing tunnels and circuits and the providers on which they run.
You enable vAnalytics platform in vManage NMS with a few clicks of the mouse. You log in with a username and password provided by Viptela, and then you access the vAnalytics dashboard from vManage NMS.