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By
Tim Young
Ask anyone who suffers from severe acrophobia: The edge is a complicated place.
The ledge of a building. The rim of a cliff. The outermost edge of a tower. These are beautiful and potentially terrifying locations, whether literal or metaphorical.
The edge of reason. The edge of darkness. The edge of the world.
And the word carries a wealth of other dangerous associations. A razor’s edge, sharp and dangerous, gleaming with purpose and malice, all at once. On one hand, without the blade, where would our society be? Ragged and wanting for homes and fields and pathways forged through underbrush. And yet, a blade can cut deep. It is its usefulness that makes it dangerous, and its danger that makes it useful.
Within the communications context, the network edge maintains a balance between vast potential and substantial risk and danger.
Ginsberg and Hattar's Implementing IP Services at the Network Edge, defines the network edge as the area in which "the network joins various access technologies such as DSL, cable, and wireless connections with the high-speed routed and optical core," which is a definition as apt as any.
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The security on the edge has become more complex as an increasing number of network users refuse to stay put. |
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The complexity and sophistication of edge switches has improved greatly, and VPN access is becoming more stable over time. Still, especially in the case of an internet edge, neither enterprises nor CSPs have a great deal of control over the types of packets that reach their edge. However, in determining what packets get through and which get denied, the network operator walks a fine line between allowing in a possible flood of problematic traffic and throwing out the proverbial baby with the bathwater. Stop too little and your network is overrun. Stop too much and your network becomes so unwieldy that its core value prop is undermined.
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It’s a pivotal region for several reasons. First of all, it’s a particularly vulnerable area for security systems. The handoff between the core and the periphery is tricky under the most ideal circumstances. Furthermore, QoS can be an issue as well, as the edge is more difficult to monitor than the central network. Let’s look a bit more at these issues.
Security
When I speak to industry leaders about the network edge, the concept of security comes up often. Simply put, the security on the edge has become more complex as an increasing number of network users refuse to stay put. Mobile devices (which pose a variety of other issues we’ll address in a bit) and guest users pose security concerns for network operators and enterprise customers alike.
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Technologies like distributed firewalls have been ready for primetime for a decade, but the edge is still overlooked by a number of hardware and software solutions, alike. A well designed service management platform will integrate edge controls, and the better ones do. However, the level of agility required by the network edge dictates that there is still a great deal of growth that must take place.
As at least one other author in this issue notes, in order for OSS/BSS solutions to be able to aid in providing the level of security (and service quality) that is required for optimal network flow, that OSS/BSS provider must have the most intimate picture of the network available to them. It makes sense that this should already be occurring across every network, but that’s not always the case. Until that level of access can be obtained, OSS/BSS providers will sometimes be forced to fight with one hand tied behind their backs.
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