TeleGeography Explains the Internet

It's another case study episode of the pod. Today, we welcome Ian Calderbank, Enterprise Network Architect at PageGroup, to the hot seat.

In his conversation with Greg, Ian details the network transformation process for a multinational staffing agency. An environment packed with knowledge workers and downtown office space sounds like an enviable position to be in as a WAN manager, right? But there's no shortage of lessons learned as the pair gets into pre-SD-WAN solutions, organizing major network transitions, overlay/underlay troubleshooting, and security strategy.

The WAN Manager Podcast is now TeleGeography Explains the Internet. Hosted by Greg Bryan.

In this episode, we dig into sourcing. Our listeners know that we often discuss the migration of large enterprises away from one or two global suppliers for a mostly MPLS network to a novel mix of transport types and suppliers. This is especially true due to changing trends in cloud migration, SD-WAN, and security.

May it be local internet breakouts from a variety of ISPs alongside MPLS or sourcing a backbone between data center nodes, many enterprises have taken on a “telco-like” role in buying connectivity directly.

For more on the state of sourcing, Greg welcomes Steve Rome, Chief Revenue Officer and co-founder of Advantage. The pair wastes no time cutting through the complexity of sourcing the modern WAN.

The WAN Manager Podcast is now TeleGeography Explains the Internet. Hosted by Greg Bryan.

Our data shows that a majority of enterprises have more than one IaaS provider. For SaaS, that number can be dozens, hundreds, even more. And most have moved the majority of their data centers off corporate premises to some kind of shared facility.

This means most companies are dealing with multi-cloud connectivity in some shape or form; WAN managers of course have to handle that from a performance and cost perspective.

Today we hear from a data center insider, diving into network-as-a-service models, multi-cloud connectivity, data center interconnectivity, and the intersection of these topics.

We're joined by Christian Koch, Senior Director of Interconnection at DataBank.

The WAN Manager Podcast is now TeleGeography Explains the Internet. Hosted by Greg Bryan.

We often say we'll " deep-dive" into an issue at the beginning of our pods. Today, we almost mean that literally, as Greg welcomes TeleGeography Research Director Alan Mauldin to discuss submarine cables.

Whether you're joining us from the vendor or enterprise side, you might want to know why submarine cables—usually considered a wholesale telecom issue—are relevant to the corporate WAN.

The WAN Manager Podcast is now TeleGeography Explains the Internet. Hosted by Greg Bryan.

We're going back to the middle. The middle mile, that is.

Like many telecom terms, this is one that you might have to follow up with “what exactly do you mean by that?”

Greg dives into how one approaches the mysterious middle mile with Ciaran Roche, founder & CTO of Coevolve. What are vendors doing? How does Coevolve advise clients on all things middle mile? How is the middle mile space developing? Listen and learn.

The WAN Manager Podcast is now TeleGeography Explains the Internet. Hosted by Greg Bryan.

The average enterprise network had MPLS running at 82% of sites in 2018. That fell to just 58% in 2020. About one-third have active backups—and a quarter have passive backups—for their MPLS service.

Okay, we have to ask: what is the role of MPLS in the WAN moving forward? Industry expert and independent consultant Keith Langridge joins Greg to discuss the many different ways you can try to answer this question.

Is MPLS dead? Dying? Here to stay? Too complicated to say?

The WAN Manager Podcast is now TeleGeography Explains the Internet. Hosted by Greg Bryan.

Greg is joined by Analyst Elizabeth Thorne to dig into TeleGeography's latest WAN Manager Survey data.

From SD-WAN adoption stats to network configuration preferences and MPLS trends, the pair covers a lot of ground. If you want to learn more about the survey, those who take it, how we run it, and what the top-level findings are from our latest batch of data, punch that play button.

The WAN Manager Podcast is now TeleGeography Explains the Internet. Hosted by Greg Bryan.

Our latest episode is all about network monitoring.

Greg is joined by Kentik Co-founder and CEO Avi Freedman; they discuss the history of network monitoring, where it's going, and get a little philosophical in the process.

Most of the enterprises we interview are running dozens or more SaaS applications. And most of our WAN Manager Survey respondents have moved their data centers off-premises—the majority are connecting to multiple IaaS providers. Further, enterprises are increasingly more likely to piece together networks from multiple vendors.

This means we're seeing a more diverse underlay to orchestrate and manage. And a key to the successful management of such includes visibility into and monitoring of the network.

The WAN Manager Podcast is now TeleGeography Explains the Internet. Hosted by Greg Bryan.

Most of our listeners are probably familiar with network interface cards (NICs, if you're savvy). But what about SmartNICs?

Fiserv's Michael Wynston is back with a full explainer on what SmartNICs are and how they differ from your run-of-the-mill network interface card. Greg and Michael look closer at this emerging technology and why WAN managers and those who serve them might want to take note.

The WAN Manager Podcast is now TeleGeography Explains the Internet. Hosted by Greg Bryan.

It's a case study episode. Greg is joined by Johan Ihse, product owner of global connectivity at H&M. As with previous WAN manager interviews, we'll focus on the story behind the network. This includes learning about H&M's network set-up, their transformations, and some goals for where Johan would like to see their network go.

The duo discusses WAN security, the benefits of having a telecom background in WAN management, and the makeup of a network that supports retail locations around the globe.

The WAN Manager Podcast is now TeleGeography Explains the Internet. Hosted by Greg Bryan.