Make Your Own Networking Career Path

Make Your Own Networking
Career Path
A practical guide on growing your expertise in
network virtualization
NSX

Fact: Web giants are taking a new
approach to networking
In November 2015, Facebook announced that they are replacing their existing
network infrastructure. By moving features that used to be attached to hardware
into software, the social media giant expects to gain unprecedented levels of
agility, security, and reliability.
And they’re not alone.
Facebook and other large cloud service providers are decoupling networking
elements and services from hardware to move faster and stay competitive.
Now it’s time for you to take action.
INTRODUCTION

Your business depends on you
If you’re a networking professional, you know that these advances in technology
signal a big shift in how networks are created and managed.
One you can’t afford to ignore.
No matter the size of your organization, it’s more important than ever to stay
on top of the what’s next and how you can benefit from it.
But first: What’s the problem with the way things are today?
INTRODUCTION
NSX

Physical networks can’t keep up
Hardware-centric networks require ongoing manual configuration and
provisioning — which adds up to hours of mundane work. Even worse, a
single error can derail an initiative for days and delay the delivery of crucial
IT services.
Do any of these issues look familiar?
HIGH COST
INADEQUATE SECURITY
LIMITED AGILITY
1
2
3
THE HARDWARE PROBLEM

THE HARDWARE PROBLEM
Hardware: It’s holding IT back
HIGH COST
Custom hardware is expensive, and manual provisioning errors cost big
bucks — an average of $690,200 per incident.*
Hardware-centric systems keep network operators busy with repetitive,
manual tasks that delay service delivery.
Modern threats enter through legitimate access points. Inside, they use
east-west traffic to spread quickly.
It’s time to move toward a better approach.
LIMITED AGILITY
INADEQUATE SECURITY
*Ponemon Institute, 2013 Cost of Data Center Outages

Save the day with
network virtualization
Network virtualization allows IT to become more agile, increases productivity,
and reduces CapEx and OpEx as never before.
A recent study* found that virtualization delivers these benefits:
NETWORK VIRTUALIZATION
It’s not only good for your company. It’s also good for your career.
*Taneja Group, “For Lowest Cost and Greatest Agility, Choose Software-Defined Data Center Architectures,” August 2014.
31%
200%
Reduce CapEx
costs up to
Reduce CapEx
costs up to
(when using
white-label
configurations)
Increase staff
productivity up to
(when using
custom hardware)
49%

Power up with network
virtualization expertise
Networking professionals at Facebook, Google, and Amazon are playing a key
role in their company’s success — and you can do the same for your organization.
By learning network virtualization, you can take part in the biggest evolution in
networking, and become an even more strategic asset to the business.
Now is a great time to get started.
NETWORK VIRTUALIZATION
What is network virtualization?
A virtual network is software-based instead of hardware-centric, delivering network services from a
software container to connected workloads. Network virtualization makes it possible to create, change,
and delete networks in minutes or even seconds — enabling new levels of agility and efficiency.

Your business users
need a hero — you
Wouldn’t it be exciting to be able to meet
the needs of your business users — and do it
fast? With network virtualization, you can.
You already know the limitations of a
hardware-centric network better than
anyone else in your organization. Now is
your chance to demonstrate your insight
into the business by showing the benefits of
an agile, efficient, secure virtualized network.
NETWORKING CAREER PATH
NSX

With network virtualization, we can
onboard customers and perform
the necessary moves, additions,
and changes to their services more
quickly than ever before.
– Jason Rieger, Principal Cloud Architect for FireHost

It all starts with knowing where
you’re headed
As a networking professional, you are an architect of change, leading the effort
to keep your business ahead of the competition. Adapting and innovating as new
technologies become available will help propel your company into the future.
By learning and implementing network virtualization, you can expect to:
• Make your IT team more agile
• Lower your risk of manual errors
• Free up time to innovate
Ready to find out how?
NSX

Take your knowledge to the
next level
As you start to learn how to deploy and manage networking in a cloud
infrastructure, you’ll want to learn these three skill sets:
CONTINUOUS CONFIGURATION AUTOMATION TOOLS
Get familiar with at least one of the commonly used CCA tools that address
“infrastructure as code” for cloud computing.
Brush up on your understanding of APIs so that you can comfortably discuss API
offerings with your potential vendors.
Become fluent in at least one of the most commonly used programming languages,
techniques, and frameworks.
APPLICATION PROGRAMMING INTERFACES (APIS)
PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES

VENDOR SELECTION
Don’t settle for just any network
virtualization solution
Choosing the right solution provider for your evolving network is crucial to its
success. VMware NSX® is the industry-leading virtualization platform that has
helped hundreds of customers bring the operational model of a virtual machine
to the data center network.
SDxCentral Network Virtualization Report, 2015
VMware NSX62%
47%
32%
21%
19%
15%
15%
11%
7%
5%
3%
Juniper Contrail
Other
Nuage VSP
HP ConteXtream
IBM SDN VE
PLUMgrid
Midokura Midonet
Pluribus Netvisor
Cisco ACI/Nexus 1000V/Intercloud/AVS
Big Switch
VendorSolution
Percentage of Respondents
Did you know?
In 2015, VMware NSX topped SDx-
Central’s list of vendor solutions
most often cited as being used or
under evaluation by customers.

Certification helps you decode the
future of networking
The networking field has always put a high value on certification. Earning a
certificate provides credibility and gives you better leverage in salary negotiations.
As the leading network virtualization platform, VMware offers a rewarding range
of certifications to help you move your career forward:
Get more details >
HOT TIP: Your existing certifications may make you eligible to
fast-track the VMware certification process.
CERTIFICATION
NETWORK VIRTUALIZATION CERTIFICATIONS

Take charge of
your future
The network is turning into a key
asset for organizations of every size.
As a network professional, you are poised
to become an even more important part of
your company’s success. Learning about
network virtualization will usher you into
an exciting new phase of your career.
And VMware is here to help.
NSX
CONCLUSION

Seize the moment — right now
Grow your networking skills with VMware training and certification.
Learn more at VMware >

Make Your Own Networking Career Path

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