1. Running head: VIRTUAL NETWORKING TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS: CISCOVS.VMWARE 1
Virtual Networking Technology Solutions: Cisco vs. VMware
Vincent Belken
University of South Carolina

2. VIRTUAL NETWORKING TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS: CISCO VS. VMWARE 2
Abstract
The purpose of thisresearchpaperis to provide informationon anew technologythatSCANA
Corporationdoesnothave,butgreatlybenefitfrominthe future.The ideaof researchingVirtual
NetworkingTechnologycame fromRandySenn,CIOof SCANA.He statedthatthe networkteamwas
currentlylookingintothistechnologyandinformedme thattheynarroweddownthe vendorstoCisco
and VMware. What I have done isdefinedwhatthe technologyis,explainedhow itisused,identified
whothe vendorsare,givena competitiveanalysisof the two,andexplainedhow itwouldenhance
productivityforSCANA.InmyconcludingparagraphIhave statedwhichvendorwouldbe the bestfitfor
SCANA.

3. VIRTUAL NETWORKING TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS: CISCO VS. VMWARE 3
Virtual Networking Technology Solutions: Cisco vs. VMware
Everyday technologyisadvancingbyleapsandboundsasnew ideascome intoexistence.One
of the mostrecentinnovationscomingintoplayisVirtual NetworkingTechnology,alsoknownas
Software Defined Networking.Thistechnologymakesitpossibleto liberate networkingsoftware from
the confinesof theirhardware components. Due tothe absence of physical connectionstoperipheral
networkdevices,dataisable to be transmittedmuchfaster.Inthe nextfew yearsVirtual Networking
TechnologyorSDN,will make networksfaster,more flexible,andmore secure.
Accordingto KevinSingletary,Managerof ITfor SCANA,“Software definednetworking(SDN) or
networkvirtualizationisthe conceptof takingthe OSImodel,layer3and above tobe specific,and
definingthe configurationandnetworkservicesinasoftware controller”(Singletary,2015). To further
explain,the OpenSystemsInterconnection(OSI) model isatool usedbythe majorityof IT specialiststo
helpvisualize andunderstandthe transmissionof information.The layersof the OSIModel are as
follows: Applicationlayer,Presentationlayer,Sessionlayer,Transportlayer,Networklayer,DataLink
layer,andPhysical layer.AsstatedbyKevin,onlylayerthree (the Networklayer) throughlayerseven
(the Applicationlayer),are the mainfocus since the DataLinkand the Physical layerspertainonlyto
hardware.Informationbeginsatthe Applicationlayerandgetsprocessedfurtherbyeachsubsequent
layer.Once ithas reachedthe Physical layeritisconsideredapacket.Each layertransformsthe
informationateachstage intoa formthe nextlayercan understand.Once the informationishanded
off,ittravelsback upthe OSImodel andgetsunpacked.Forexample,someoneusesMicrosoftOutlook
to compose andsendan email.Outlookisanapplication;henceitslocationatthe Applicationlayer.It
thenpassesthroughthe Presentationwhere itisformattedsothatitcan be recognizedbythe receiver.
Nextitpassesthroughthe Sessionlayerwhere connectionsare made until all informationissent. After
that, itgoesthroughthe Transportlayerwhichsendsitto the network,whichbringsittothe Network

4. VIRTUAL NETWORKING TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS: CISCO VS. VMWARE 4
layer.Here networkaddressesare addedtothe packetssothat it can getsentto the correct network.
Next,itpassesthroughthe Data Linklayerwhere hardware addresses,alsoknownasMachine Address
Codes(MAC) addresses,are addedtoensure thatthe informationwill getreceivedbythe intended
recipient.Finally,ithitsthe Physical layerwhere itistransmittedintoasignal overthe hardline.Once
thishappensitfollowsthe OSImodel backupto the Applicationlayerwhere the recipientcanopenup
hisor her Outlookandviewthe email. Now Imagine how muchfasteritwouldbe if the Data Linkand
Physical layersdidn’texist.Insteadof the twoextrasteps itonlyhasto go throughthe network and
followthe layersbackupto the Applicationlayer.Thinkof itincomparisontohow nervesinthe body
work.A painsignal fromyourfootwouldtake longertoreach your brainthan itwouldfora painsignal
fromyour nose. Nowthatthisnewtechnologyhasbeenexplained,itsuseswill make muchmore sense.
Once Virtual NetworkingTechnologyisinplace itwill be usedtomanage large corporate
networksmore easily.Giventhe factthatall of the networkingsoftware andcontrollersare locatedin
one place,networktechnicianswon’thave togoout and configure or reconfigure networkinghardware,
whichsave a lotof time andfrustration.Anothergreatuse forthistechnologyisthatitcan prioritize
whichprotocol getsusedat any givenmoment. Protocolsare aset of rulesdefinedtohandle specific
typesof data. For example,Simple Mail TransferProtocol (SMTP) handlesemail andothermail related
traffic,File TransferProtocol (FTP) handlesthe transmissionof documentsandfiles,andVoice over
InternetProtocol (VoIP) handlesanykindof voice traffic.Ontoday’ssystemsif acertainprotocol isset
the majorityof the network’sbandwidthgetsdedicatedtohandlingthatspecifickindof traffic.Itcan
still handle the otherprotocolsbutitwill be muchslowertoprocessbecause of the bandwidthbeing
tiedupwiththe dedicatedprotocol (Eli,2013).To illustrate, if someone istryingtohave a skype call
withtwoor more users,the qualitywillbe verypoorbecause of the bottleneckof informationtryingto
gettransmitted.However,if Virtual NetworkingTechnologywasinplace the bandwidthwillbe able to
adjustautomaticallytoanyprotocol withhighdemand.Thisway, if FTPwas the dedicatedprotocol,

5. VIRTUAL NETWORKING TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS: CISCO VS. VMWARE 5
large filescangettransferredordownloadedmuchfasterandonce that isfinishedthe bandwidthwill
adjustto the nexttype of data traffic. There are several vendorswhodevelopthistechnology;however
the onesSCANA islookingatare VMware and Cisco.
VMware and Ciscoare the most well-knowncompaniesof Virtual NetworkingTechnologyand
are majorcompetitors.Evenso,theirapproachesonhow itshouldbe establishedare quite different.
Accordingto KevinSingletarytheseare the differencesbetweenthe two,
“Ciscohas a line of physical networkswitches,whichalsoprovidesSDN capabilities. Ciscoisahuge
physical networkcompanysotheyare not going tosell youon the premise that‘the hardware doesn’t
matter’. VMware is all about commoditizedhardware andvirtual workloadssotheyare sellinga
‘hardware doesn’tmatter’bill of goods”(Singletary,2015).
VMware’sSDN product isknownas the NSX switch,otherwiseknownasa vSwitch.Accordingto
VMware,
“VMware NSXis the networkvirtualizationplatformforthe Software-DefinedData
Center(SDDC).Bybringingthe operational model of avirtual machine toyourdata center
network,youcan transformthe economicsof networkandsecurityoperations.NSXletsyou
treat yourphysical networkasa pool of transport capacity,withnetworkandsecurityservices
attachedto VMs witha policy-drivenapproach”(VMware).
Thisis a virtual switchthatis installedonexistinghardware andisusedtocreate networksinseconds.
WithNSX,configuringsoftware iseasierthanever.Troubleshootingissuesisalsomade easiersince
technicianscantrace themto a specificconfiguration file onthe virtual networkratherthantracking
downa problematichardware component.VMware alsoclaimsthatthisNSXsoftware functionsasa
hypervisorbetweenthe physical hardware andthe applications;anditstill worksthe same waybecause

6. VIRTUAL NETWORKING TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS: CISCO VS. VMWARE 6
the applicationscan’ttell the difference betweenavirtual networkinfrastructure andaphysical
networkinfrastructure (VMware).Justtorecap,VMware’svirtual networkingsolutionisstrictly
software thatisusedto overlaya virtual networkacrossanexistingone.Thisallowsforbetter
connectivityandprovisioningbecause physical hardwarecancommunicate withvirtual clientswith
ease.Cisco’ssolutionisquitedifferent.
Everyone worldwide knowsof,orhasheard about,Cisco.Fromtheircommercial it’scleartosee
that theirgoal isto provide connectionstopeopleandplacespreviouslythoughttobe unreachable.
Theirmethodisthroughthe use of hardware.AspreviouslystatedbyKevinSingletary,Ciscoisa
hardware company.Asa hardware companytheyare goingto stickto what theyknow best.Since
Cisco’ssolutionishardware withbuiltinvirtual networkingtechnology,insteadof implementing
software,acompanywouldhave tochange outall of its hardware for whateverCiscosaysitneeds.For
some companiesthismaynotbe the bestoptionbecause itcanbecome costly,unlessit’sabrandnew
businessbuyingintoCisco’ssolutionfromthe beginning.The official titleof theirsolutionisApplicati on
CentricInfrastructure (ACI) anditsgoal isone that, “simplifies,optimizes,andacceleratesthe entire
applicationdeploymentlifecycle.Withitscentralizedautomationandpolicy-drivenapplicationprofiles,
ACIdeliverssoftwareflexibilitywiththe scalabilityof hardware performance” (Cisco). Thismethod
involvesanotherpiece of softwarecalledan ApplicationPolicyInfrastructure Controller (APIC).APICisa
frameworkthatallowscommunicationbetweenanACIenvironmentandservicesfoundinlayersfour
throughseveninthe OSImodel. (Cisco,Cisco).If SCANA hadthiskindof software,itsproductivitywould
increase dramatically
SCANA isa verylarge corporationwhodealsinutilities,specificallyenergy.Asaverylarge
corporationithas a verylarge network.Afterworkinginanenvironmentwhere aphysical network
isstill inuse,itis clearto see thatSCANA wouldbenefitgreatlyfromimplementingthistechnology.

7. VIRTUAL NETWORKING TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS: CISCO VS. VMWARE 7
The area that wouldbenefitmostwouldbe those dealingwithFTP.Asof todaydownloadingand
installingapplicationsandapplicationfilestakesforevertocomplete.However,if Virtual
NetworkingTechnologywasinplace,the flexibilityof the networktoadjustbandwidth asneeded
wouldmake installingsoftwareonworkstationsmuchfasterthanitcurrentlyis.Thismeansthat
customers,employeesof SCANA,wouldbe able toreceive theirmachinesthe daythattheir
machinesare prepared.Thiswouldalsomeanthattroubleshootingissueswouldbe easierdue to
configurationfilesresidinginthe networksoftwareratherthanona physical server’ssoftware.
SCANA alreadyhasvirtual environmentsinplace throughVSphere,anotherone of VMware’s
technologysolutions.Since this isalreadyavailable,VMware’sNSXsoftware wouldintegrate
seamlesslywithSCANA’scurrentsetup.Nottomentiontheywon’thave todeal withcostly
hardware purchasesfromCiscoto achieve thisgoal.
Software DefinedNetworkingisgoingtobe the nextbigthingonce it hitsthe enterprise market.
Withits flexibility,security,andspeeditwillallow networkstogrow and evolve withthe business. This
isimportantbecause,businessestodayare heavilyITdependentandif it’snotadvancingand improving,
it couldleadtotrouble inthe longrun. It’sbetterto getwiththe timesnow thanto playcatch up later
on.

8. VIRTUAL NETWORKING TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS: CISCO VS. VMWARE 8
Bibliography
Cisco.(n.d.).RetrievedJuly22,2015, fromCisco:
http://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en/us/solutions/collateral/data-center-virtualization/application-
centric-infrastructure/at-a-glance-c45-732732.pdf
Cisco.(n.d.).RetrievedJuly22,2015, fromCisco:
http://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en/us/products/collateral/cloud-systems-management/aci-
fabric-controller/at-a-glance-c45-730001.pdf
Eli,t. C. (Director).(2013). SoftwareDefined Networking (SDN)Introduction [MotionPicture].Retrieved
July20, 2015, from http://www.elithecomputerguy.com/2013/05/15/software-defined-
networking-sdn-introduction-2/ion-2/
Singletary,K.(2015, June 30). Software DefinedNetworking.(V.Belken,Interviewer)
VMWare.(2007). RetrievedJuly19,2015, from VMWare:
http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/virtual_networking_concepts.pdf
VMware.(n.d.). NSX.RetrievedJuly22,2015, fromVMware:http://www.vmware.com/products/nsx/