by Angela Guess
Bill Lemons recently wrote in GCN, “Information is not all linear or easily consumable. While data about water consumption at Fort Bragg or the traffic flow in and out of Fort Meade can be considered fairly manageable, much of the new data that is received is dynamic information. That, along with the growing volume of data, will continue to push network administrators to examine new and innovative ways to manage data through networks that weren’t built to handle that much traffic. One way to manage this kind of scale is through applications that deliver tailored information that caters to each individual’s interests. Administrators can provide agency employees with the big data equivalent of Uber or Waze — apps that are easily downloadable and serve specific needs. While this removes the IT middleman to some extent, it accomplishes the overall mission of providing end users with easy access to actionable information, delivered in bite-sized chunks.”
Lemons goes on, “However, even that doesn’t change the fact that agencies will need networks equipped to handle the delivery of those applications and the data they present. This is a challenge that is just as big as the data itself. To handle the big data dilemma, agencies must implement networks that are highly agile, flexible and scalable. They must become the critical pieces that allow intelligent data to be pushed out on-demand at any time to any place, especially as military intelligence operations become more decentralized. Software-defined networking (SDN) is the ideal conduit for this type of service because it creates a network that is elastic, resilient and built for delivering applications and data on-demand. Software-defined networks can serve as the cornerstone for modern Defense Department networks, which are no longer necessarily static or physical installations that exist in a single place, but are built on agility and fluidity.”
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