The network is, finally, the application in the public cloud. In this episode of the Tech Field Day Podcast, recorded before Cloud Field Day, features Jon Myer, Michael Levan, Larry Smith, and Alastair Cooke. Deploying applications across multiple clouds requires the network be the common connector to integrate applications across those clouds. Everything is an API, deploying networks on the cloud is software defined but every cloud has its own API and many on-premises networks have their own APIs. Observability across a multi-cloud application is far more complex than when everything was on-premises in our own data center, there are so many new places where issues might arise. The pace of change in modern applications makes analyzing and troubleshooting applications challenging too, when networks are built using a CI/CD pipeline the network configuration can change every day, with new software version deployment. Observability is vital; metrics, logs, and traces need to be fed into a single location where insights can be gained, without the insight there is no reason to collect the data.
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Learn more about the delegates and presenters for Cloud Field Day 22 on the Tech Field Day website.
The Network is, Finally, the Application
The reality for most enterprise organizations is that one cloud is never enough, whether it is an on-premises cloud and a public cloud, or multiple public clouds, there is always more than one. Whether it is through mergers and acquisitions or simply applications with different requirements, multi-cloud is a reality for most large organizations. Business applications are spread across multiple locations and multiple clouds so integration between applications needs some network integration, meaning that the network is the application.
One of the challenges of hybrid multi-cloud networking is that each cloud platform and each on-premises network has its own API and capabilities. While everything is an API, it is not a universal API meaning that it is up to each business to integrate a collection of APIs to build a cohesive network. Cloud neutral Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools, such as Terraform, allow a single tool to work across multiple clouds. Often networks are built by combining IaC with CI/CD pipeline automation, new networks might be built for every new software feature that is released.
A further challenge is troubleshooting issues with these complex multi-cloud networks. Troubleshooting a single on-premises datacenter was relatively simple, and application tended to be monolithic so there was only a single place to look. Modern cloud-native applications might be spread across cloud providers and cloud locations and composed of many small ephemeral objects like containers or serverless servers. Observability is vital, collecting metrics, logs, and traces into a coherent location to create insights into application behavior. Collecting data for the sake of having everything is no longer practical, there are simply too many moving parts. Observability requires that we collect the data we can analyze and use to act, closing the loop to improve the applications on the network.
Training and education are another area for focus. The current generation of senior technologists grew up with physical servers and on-premises virtualization. Hardware they could touch, hear and feel. The coming generation will seldom have that experience as part of their daily work, software-defined and on-demand resources do not have the same tactile experience. Yet, most of these newer services are grounded in the way that the physical devices operated. Learning the principles of how computers operate is very different in a cloud-native world. Many newer technologists will need to get their fix of physical systems outside of work, building their own home labs and learning outside work.
Podcast Information:
Alastair Cooke is a Tech Field Day Event Lead, now part of The Futurum Group. You can connect with Alastair on LinkedIn or on X/Twitter and you can read more of his research notes and insights on The Futurum Group’s website.
Jon Myer is the Chief Content Officer at Myer Media. You can connect with Jon on X/Twitter or on LinkedIn. Learn more about Jon and Myer Media on his website.
Michael Levan is an independent cloud consultant and engineer. You can connect with Michael on LinkedIn or on X/Twitter. Learn more about Michael on his personal website.
Larry Smith, Jr. is an automation delivery manager at World Wide Technologies. You can connect with Larry on LinkedIn and learn more about him on his delegate information page on the Tech Field Day website.
Thank you for listening to this episode of the Tech Field Day Podcast. If you enjoyed the discussion, please remember to subscribe on YouTube or your favorite podcast application so you don’t miss an episode and do give us a rating and a review. This podcast was brought to you by Tech Field Day, home of IT experts from across the enterprise, now part of The Futurum Group.
