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Convergence with inbuilt security
The networking market is moving towards convergence, resulting
in demand for networking devices with inbuilt security features, finds Megha
Banduni.
While the market for networking solutions is growing rapidly
due to various reasons, the convergence of voice, video and data is arguably
the most important cause for its spiralling rise. Converged networks are gaining
popularity because of improved bandwidth availability in India.
Along with convergence, security concerns are also rising
and as a result networking equipment with security features are in demand. Unprecedented
security threats in an IP infrastructure are forcing corporates to opt for feature-rich
networking equipment. As a result market players in the networking space are
adding security features to devices like routers and switches.
Prominent trends
Gigabit switches, security-enabled equipment, managed services, wireless products
and converged networks are some of the prominent trends in the networking market.
“According to IDC’s LAN Tracker Q4-CY05, the LAN
market in India is valued at $124 million. The enterprise switch market was
positioned as $67 million with the router market pegged at $57 million,”
says Ranajoy Punja, VP, Marketing, India & SAARC, Cisco Systems.
"The market amounts to about Rs 7,900 crore, and includes routers,
switches, WLAN,
cabling, voice, audio, video and other integration and network
management services"
- Sajan Paul
Head, Technology and Consulting Enterprise Solutions, Nortel India |
Sajan Paul, Head, Technology and Consulting, Enterprise Solutions,
Nortel India states, “The market amounts to about Rs 7,900 crore ($1.7
billion), and includes routers, switches, WLAN, cabling, voice, audio, video
and other integration and network management services. The market grew by 31
percent from the previous year. With the current outlook, we expect similar
growth this year.”
“The Indian market size is about $1,000 million, growing at about 15 percent
every year,” says Rajesh Sahore, Country Manager, India, Allied Telesyn
International (Asia). He adds, “The accent is on managed services. With
organisations focussing on core competencies and service providers offering
value-added services and stringent SLAs, corporations are willing to outsource
their network infrastructure.”
Altaf Ansari, Product Manager, Networking and Corporate Solutions,
ASUS India says, “The latest trends include Power over Ethernet (PoE),
10Gigabit, VoIP and security equipment such as Unified Threat Management (UTM).
Future trends may include IPv6, WiMAX and set-top boxes.”
Says Prasad Babu, SE Manager, India and SAARC, Juniper Network,
“At the enterprise level, the trend is towards building a secured and assured
network that has inbuilt security features and supports quality of service for
application-specific requirements. Integration of security and routing is happening
and the driving force behind this trend is the need to build converged networks.”
| 10G over Copper is the answer to many IT managers’
problems. The launch of copper cabling systems that support 10G speeds on
UTP are part of the new trend.
Although there have been a number of deployments of 10G
over fibre in data centres, there are few of 10G over Copper UTP deployments.
Presently, only those companies that have their own data centres or SANs
need the kind of speed that 10G on Copper brings to the table as there
are no applications today that demand this kind of investment. This infrastructure,
especially the cable installations and termination, needs higher skills
and attention, hence professionals doing this work demand a premium. Observes
Tamhane, “We don’t expect any phenomenal growth in this segment
in 2006. The 10 Gigabyte Ethernet (10GBASE-T) over Copper UTP and Cat
7 are only about offering the customers a more efficient option than they
already have.”
With no end to the current bandwidth explosion
in sight, and given the rate of growth, Gigabit LANs are the norm for
many organisations. With a 10 Gigabit capacity in the backbone, companies
are pushing Gigabit to the desktop, which has become the common requirement
for many organisations in India.
10G UTP connections will initially be implemented
in data centres for mission-critical applications. Although the exact
timing of the migration to higher speeds for a given organisation is not
easily predicted, the selection of a suitable infrastructure today can
determine the ability to react in a speedy and cost-effective manner whenever
the need arises.
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C is for convergence
Convergence is the driving force behind growth in the networking space. A converged
network is the one that is capable of carrying a mixture of voice, video and
data. Market players believe that the demand for converged networks is rising
and that it will continue to do so as broadband penetration rises. The trend
is to have voice, video, and data—all in one network.
“As per estimates by Frost and Sullivan the IP PBX market grew by 47.8
percent in CY05 ($79.6m) and is forecasted to grow to nearly $120m in CY06.
This growth will get more fillip owing to DoT allowing enterprises to run a
single PBX infrastructure with logical partitioning for PSTN & VoIP-CUG,”
says Punja.
Paul elaborates, “There are broadly three types of convergence
domains—media, protocol and application. Media convergence is in the light
of physical connectivity options. Ethernet has become a de facto standard and
continues to be the fastest and cheapest interface available today. Protocol
convergence has become near complete with IP being the de facto standard. With
the advent of IPv6, most restrictions related to addressing space, privacy and
QoS have been addressed. Application convergence is another domain that is growing
fast.”.
According to Tushar Sighat, VP, Channel Business, D-Link India, “Converged
networks mean a combination of voice, data and video. Three to four years back
we heard about this concept, but now it is visible. Its adoption level is high.
It is gaining popularity because of the bandwidth availability and the benefits
that it offers.”
“Convergence is happening on a bigger scale now. Remote branches with small
set-ups are using wireless LAN to save on cabling. Customers are trying to migrate
to IP telephony (IP PBX). We see uptake of video-conferencing in large and medium
enterprises,” adds Babu.
Feature-rich routers
Routing has seen lot of changes in terms of technology in the past. We have
seen security features getting incorporated in routers. Features such as security,
content processing, VPNs and load balancing are being added to routers and are
in demand among Indian enterprises. Quality of service is another area that
everyone is looking at.
Features that were available only in high-end routers will now be seen even
in entry-level models. For instance, features like VPN and encryption that were
available only in the high-end routers are available in entry-level routers
today.
“Additionally, given the boom in the Indian telecom space, carrier class
routers with the capability to handle and route data in terabits will be piloted
and deployed. In the last year, we have seen many telecom majors expand their
backbone network with core routers. Also with their broadband initiatives underway,
vendors are offering a new category of ‘broadband routers’ to service
providers,” explains Punja.
Ansari says, “Everyone is looking at QoS because in the VoIP technology,
the voice packets should have the highest priority to avoid delay. Equipment
such as 2-WAN routers that permit multiple WAN connections are also in demand
as they let you combine the bandwidth, load-balancing, and Demilitarised Zone,
and fail-over to secure your connections.”
When it comes to SMBs, cost remains the major constraint. As a result, service
providers are coming up with low-cost routers with inbuilt security features
as per SMB requirements. For instance, D-Link has developed a product called
DFW100I that has basic firewall features for the SOHO and SMB segments.
“The price for this product ranges between Rs 14,000 and Rs 15,000. ADSL
routers are gaining popularity and will continue to do so in the coming years
because they have the capability of load-balancing and multiplying bandwidth,”
explains Sighat.
Cisco took the lead in integrated boxes with the introduction of Integrated
Service Router with features such as VPN, security and wireless capability.
The Cisco ISR 1800, 2800 and 3800 series are aimed at SMBs looking for routers
that have the capability to offer security, voice and wireless in a single box.
Gigabit switching
Switching is also moving to integrated solutions with in-built features such
as firewall and intrusion prevention systems. Gigabit Ethernet and Layer 3 switches
too are expected to fuel switching demand in the coming years. Layer 4 switches
are widely accepted at the enterprise level but in the case of SMBs, Layer 2
and 3 have been deployed largely due to cost constraints.
According to Sighat, “People are shifting towards Gigabit switching with
10/100/1000 interface. “Layer 3 and Layer 4 switches fit well in the enterprise,
because they require greater bandwidth, security, capacity and speed. In an
SMB, Layer 3 and 4 are not feasible. Layer 3 is still used to some extent but
Layer 4 is not quite there yet because of its high cost.”
“In the switching space, the latest trends in terms of capacity are towards
24 or 48 ports (the SMB segment), security appliances such as UTM, 802.1x security
protocols, and features that include Multiple Spanning Tree Protocol, Access
Control List and PoE. In terms of speed the market is moving towards Gigabit,
even 10G in the backplane,” says Ansari.
Milind Kamat, Principal Representative, ZyXEL Communications feels that the
convergence of voice, data and video services and the rapid growth of the network
traffic is leading to a growing requirement for switches that are intelligent
and dynamic with built-in resilience and security for seamless integration.
Kamat explains, “Enhanced security features, falling prices of laptops
and broadband connectivity have provided further impetus to the growth. In the
mean time, the boundaries of switches and routers have started overlapping.”
Paul says, “Triple speed (10/100/1000 Mbps) interfaces are standard in
most offerings. One of the key trends in switching technology is embedded security.
These technologies could be in the form of embedded denial of service protection,
in-skin state-full firewall, threat protection systems and intrusion prevention
and end-point security and privacy management.”
| Investment in the Indian infrastructure is being
fuelled by MNCs, IT companies and BPOs that are setting up or expanding
operations in the country. This has a multiplier effect on the wired LAN
market and in turn on the structured cabling segment.
Looking at the manner in which companies are expanding
in India, there has to be a corresponding rise in the deployment and utilisation
of networking-and thereby cabling-across cities. Deepak Jagtiani, National
Sales Manager, Molex India says, “BPOs and IT companies are expected
to put up new buildings to house thousands of employees to carry out their
projects. Even if they have just four-ports-a-table for every user, it
would mean a huge increase in the number of ports sold to these companies
in India.”
Other sectors such as banking have also contributed
significantly. Adds Bala Chandran, Managing Director, ADC Krone, India
and SAARC, “Besides the BPO segment, large deployments in the banking
vertical have buoyed the structured cabling market. These along with government-driven
deployments form around 60 to 65 percent of the market. The rest is accounted
for by the financial sector, telecom, defence and manufacturing.”
Moreover, PC sales that are already robust are
expected to soar with the introduction of sub-Rs 10,000 models which are
expected to be popular in the SOHO segment. Growth is also expected from
tier-two cities.
Comments Chandran, “Second tier cities such
as Coimbatore, Noida, Pune, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Lucknow, Hyderabad and
Gurgaon are seeing a lot of growth as large software companies have established
development centres in these regions.”
Industry experts estimate that the structured cabling
market has grown 25 percent in 2005, up from Rs 326 crore in 2004. IT
companies are willing to adopt the latest cabling technology to ensure
that they have the bandwidth they will need in the future. According to
industry sources, the market is expected to touch about Rs 400 crore in
2006.
- Cat 6 is de facto
Cat 6 became a de facto standard among medium and large enterprises.
Cat 5e was limited to the SOHO and small enterprise segments.
In the structured cabling realm, the year saw transition from enhanced
Cat 5 to Cat 6 systems, the emergence of intelligent cabling systems,
and new products such as MPO and MRJ21 factory terminated connectors
and cassettes that expedite installations.
The launch of PoE saw several implementations in many enterprises,
with IP being the platform. Fibre installations have also been on
the rise, with defence establishments taking the lead.
Earlier the talk was about differentiators in products that would
deliver 10G on Copper. Today the second and third generation of patch
panels are present to eliminate alien cross-talk with zigzag placement
of connectors. These have patchcords with boots and a latch to protect
the RJ-45 plugs.
Though Category 7 cabling has advantages, it could not make any
major impact in the Indian market. India being a predominant Unshielded
Twisted Pair (UTP) territory, Category 7 cabling, which is a shielded
solution, could not gain acceptance because of installation difficulties.
Another problem was the backward compatibility issue.
As campus networks increased, fibre backbone was the most preferred
solution with single mode being the media to connect various buildings
across the campus. OM3 fibre was the preferred choice for the vertical
fibre backbone in multi-storied buildings.
- Rise of Cat 6a
Nowadays, IT managers view high quality cabling as a business enabler
and not as an expenditure. Augmented Cat 6-Cat 6a-has emerged as a
key technology and is talked about these days. Some deployments of
Cat 7 have also taken place. The industry has seen the launch of 10G
over Copper solutions by vendors such as ADC Krone and Systimax Solutions.
Even the growing popularity of wireless technology has served to boost
the demand for a wired infrastructure to underpin it.
Unlike Cat 7, Cat 6a cabling is easy to adopt as it can support
10G Ethernet for a full channel distance. Introduction of a UTP cabling
solution that can support 10G Ethernet will further slow down Category
7 adoption.
Vendors are seeing a trend of both Cat 5 and Cat 6 deployments taking
place, and to a lesser extent Cat 7. Some vendors are bullish about
the growth of Cat 6a in the Indian market on account of its higher
capacity.
Explains Rajesh Shenoy, Key Account Manager, India, Belden CDT,
“In the next few years, Cat 6 will be overshadowed by Cat 6a
which is rated for 500 to 600 MHz frequency whereas Cat 6 is rated
for 200 MHz. Higher data capacities and data centre applications that
demand greater bandwidth will lead to this.”
D-Link has a different take on the situation. According to Milind
Tamhane, Vice-president, Passive Products, D-Link, “The next
two years will see a clear shift from Cat 5e to Cat 6 in the enterprise
segment. However, Cat 5e will continue to dominate the upcoming SOHO
and residential cabling infrastructure. Enterprise customers will
standardise on Cat 6a, whereas SOHO and residential segments will
be happy with Cat6 as a horizontal option with fibre at the service
provider's backbone.”
Adds K K Shetty, Country Manager, Tyco Electronics, “Cat 5
usage will continue to be popular in the low-end segment up to a 150-node
network. Cat 6 will be popular with high-end segments like BPOs and
R&D centres that have around 400 to 500 nodes on the network.”
With inputs from Abhinav Singh
and Priya Jain
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Wireless gearing up
The acceptance of wireless technology has gone up. The consensus is that the
market will see more deployments of WiMAX but Wi-Fi will not go. WiMAX has not
been widely deployed, but is picking up well. Vendors feel that in time to come
Wi-Fi and WiMAX will co-exist. Also the trend is moving towards the mobile IP
solution space. For instance, Wi-Fi-based VoIP services.
“Wireless networking seems to be the in-thing. Some of the hottest wireless
technologies that will witness greater adoption in the time to come are Wi-Fi
and WiMAX. Businesses are networking their offices across cities and therefore
remote access which hitherto was a domain of the large enterprises is becoming
a buzzword with the SMBs too,” explains Kamat.
Sighat is of the view that trends in wireless differ from sector to sector.
“Wi-Fi is more useful among SOHOs, SMBs, and corporates because of high
use of mobile devices like laptops. WiMAX is yet to gain full acceptance. It
is more useful for point-to-point connectivity like in the case of connecting
one building with another. Wi-Fi is best suited for connectivity within particular
offices.”
“On the technology front, the merger of Wi-Fi with VoIP is an area that
will see growth. VoWiFi or Voice over Wireless Fidelity means a WiFi-based VoIP
service or wireless VoIP system that is designed to work on wireless devices
such as notebooks and PDAs will grow,” explains Punja.
Sahore says, “The trend is towards ratification of the 802.11n standard
for 100Mbps over wireless. It allows seamless data, voice and video connectivity
at 802.11g speeds, even when travelling. This is achieved using wireless routing
tweaked with exceptional handover technology providing speeds of 54Mbps for
data, voice and video.”
“The Wi-Fi acceptance level is steadily growing, primarily due to the recent
ratification of Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 security protocol with 256 bit encryption.
With a mix of other technologies like end-point security, rogue AP detection
and containment and location management, Wi-Fi can be used for any application,
which otherwise was limited to private LANs,” explains Paul.
Apart from feature-rich routers and converged network the demand for wireless
networking equipment and devices has soared because of the anywhere, anytime
access these provide. Market players see huge scope on the wireless front in
the coming years and feel that routers offering wireless capabilities will be
popular, replacing the need for separate wireless access points for small office
networks. To conclude we can say that wireless networking shall be the next
big thing after converged networking.
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