How to achieve network edge performance visibility: part 1

5G networking will expand the network edge to a new and unprecedented level of connectivity and performance. According to Gartner, Inc., “By 2023, there could be more than 20 times as many smart devices at the edge of the network as in conventional IT roles.” That’s a lot of network connections!

What will remain the same are the underlying network edge issues that are true now and will continue be true into the future. That is edge performance and security monitoring, to ensure user experience and information protection, will remain paramount.

When devices such as appliances, industrial machines, vehicles, and the like are connected to the network and be expected to function autonomously, without failure. This sets the bar extremely high for both ensuring performance and security for an extremely extensive network mesh.

Gartner recently published a report, “Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2019: Empowered Edge” which concludes:

• Moving processing and content collection/delivery closer to the sources and consumers of information offers significant benefits and could provide the opportunity for new business models.
• Cloud computing and edge computing are complementary concepts, not competitive styles of computing. Organizations that use them together will gain the benefits of both centralized and decentralized approaches.
• Rapid expansion of advanced artificial intelligence (AI), compute, storage and sensors at or near the edge will bring enhanced capabilities. It will also create a management challenge with many devices having life cycles of five, 10 or 20 years.
• 5G has the potential to be an important enabler of edge computing, but won’t be fully realized until at least 2023.

Accedian Skylight addresses the strict requirements for successful network edge monitoring. Starting with advanced sensors that monitor all the traffic traversing the network mesh and features high-precision microsecond microburst detection, Skylight solves these problems by providing visibility that extend from limited function edge devices all the way to the core cloud and datacenter.

This precise range of network traffic capture is aggregated and turned into a highly efficient metadata stream which is retained for performance analytics and security forensic analysis. Skylight analytics uses advanced machine learning methods to avert false alerts and provide detailed information for performance issues and security threats.

Get ready for the extreme network edge. Download our “Managing the Network Edge with Skylight” solution brief today.