Technologies Such As Virtualization, Docker, Kubernetes, And Cloud Computing Have Attracted The Attention Of Companies And Users To The Extent That Information Technology Specialists Have Thought About Virtualizing Various Network Components. 

So that companies can have virtual access to necessary equipment and technologies of the network world quickly and with the least possible complexity. Virtualization allows IT professionals and organizations of different scales to implement network infrastructure components according to their business needs and provide all network infrastructure components to the relevant units in the shortest possible time.

However, one of the most exciting efforts in the field of virtualization is the concept of Network as a Service (NaaS).

Yes, you read that right. Technology has advanced so much that today the Network itself is offered as a service. More precisely, it has been several years since the Network as a service has found its place in the IT industry. It is available to users in various models through Internet service providers.

Undoubtedly, shortly, you will hear the name of this service a lot, and you may become one of its customers.

The move to everything as a service

Companies have used the as-a-service concept in interacting with cloud computing services and consumption-based capacity models for several years.

Research conducted by the research institute IDC in the field of network infrastructure shows that more than 75% of the infrastructure at the edges of the Network and up to 50% of the infrastructure of the data centers will be presented in the form of cloud-based models by 2024.

The Forrester Institute has conducted another study in this connection, which shows that the perspective of the technology industry is moving towards providing more flexible consumption models.

In the meantime, the Corona epidemic has accelerated the adoption of “as a service” models by organizations. More precisely, if we examine the developments and events of 2020 and 2021, we see that the necessity of making changes in business plans, goals, and priorities to keep pace with the events in the field of information technology is inevitable.

So that almost two-thirds of IT managers (64%) understand the current and future conditions of technology, move towards models based on Opex (operating costs) instead of Capex (capital costs) and use flexible consumption models such as “as a service” in the field of technology. Information has started.

What is Network as a Service (NaaS)?

At present, the success of NaaS technology depends mainly on the objectives and commercialization of cloud service providers. An article published by IDC senior analyst Brandon Butler on NaaS points out that a network as a service is an integrated set of hardware, software, licenses, and support services that consumers provide in a flexible, subscription-based manner.

Neil Anderson, senior director of network solutions at World Wide Technology, says: “Instead of paying for the purchase, installation, and operation of network infrastructure equipment, organizations are better off renting the Network in the form of a subscription service offered by infrastructure service providers. They can invest because the cost will be much lower than the implementation of traditional networks.

• Hardware subscription-based model: Instead of outright purchasing hardware equipment (Capex), a monthly subscription fee (OpenX) is paid for the required hardware. Still, the responsibility for installation and operation rests with organizations. Anderson categorizes Naas services into the following three models:

• Model-based on management services: In addition to hardware, you rent the management service related to your business needs.

• Network model as essential software: the providers of this service take ownership of the hardware and all the operations related to the installation and operation of all the equipment, and you only pay the monthly rent of the service.

Jay Gill, senior director of products and solutions at Pluribus Networks, says: “Any virtual structure of the network and infrastructure created by a company and provided to different departments or companies can be called a network as a service.”

The foundation of NaaS is based on network virtualization because it removes the dependence on physical devices and equipment, and like other cloud services, companies will have the possibility to set up their networks without reliance on hardware. In this way, all companies need is an internet connection. Large organizations can choose and expand the products and services required by their business using NaaS services.

How is the Network as a service implemented?

The Network as a Cisco service, Cisco Plus, is one of the most exciting efforts in this field. Considering the history and reputation of Cisco, it is not far from the expectation that this company decided to provide the Network as a service in the form of a commercial product to consumers. Companies operate this process differently, but Cisco’s approach in this field works better. Cisco provides two NaaS services to consumers in the Cisco Plus package.

Cisco Plus Hybrid Cloud

Nicco has written on the company’s official website: “Cisco Plus hybrid cloud service has been available to users since the middle of 2021 and is based on the Pay As You Go model; as a result, if you are not using a service, you will not pay a fee) works and is available to users within 14 days after payment. It includes data center processing, Network, and storage layers along with third-party software and storage components provided by Cisco’s Intersight cloud management package. Consumers can choose the service level they want to plan, design, and implement the infrastructure using programming interfaces.

Cisco Plus Cloud Service

The second service is based on the SASE Secure Access Services Edge service model, which aims to increase cloud infrastructure security and better manage network edges. The above service combines Cisco SD-WAN solutions and Cisco Umbrella cloud security software.

Also, Metro Ethernet, L2VPN, L3VPN, IPsec, MPLS VPN, and SD-WAN services are all available to users in the form of hardware-independent and virtualized virtual communication services. In addition, some communication services such as vCPE, firewalls, and Remote Access Gateway are also capable of virtualization. All efforts are aimed at achieving the highest level of physical network abstraction.

NaaS offered by other companies.

Services that provide “Software-Defined Interconnect” services. Some network s providers, such as Megaport and PacketFabric, which have their network infrastructure, are focused on providing flexible and cost-effective NaaS services at small scales. The most crucial feature of such services is the simplification of communication-based on public clouds and the ability to communicate benefits with services provided by different companies.

Leading cloud service providers are currently building SD-WAN solutions or other NaaS services on top of other providers’ network infrastructure and providing them to consumers. For example, Alkira, engaged in providing cloud services, offers its virtual NaaS service based on the infrastructure received from public cloud providers.

“Consumers can lease NaaS for a one-, three-, or five-year term,” Anderson says. Organizations can pay the entire subscription fee in full, monthly, or annually. “The pricing is influenced by factors such as the number of users, the amount of space used in square feet, and the bandwidth required.”

What are the uses of NaaS?

Today, some companies or organizations use NaaS, but as Anderson said, using NaaS in the subcategory of remote access services has entered the cloud computing world as a mainstream.

Anderson says: “Networks are no longer limited to connecting clients of a local network to each other and have found more comprehensive applications. The reality is that a vast world of inter-cloud and intra-cloud networks is taking shape. For example, organizations can use wide private networks (Private WANs) to connect their sites to other sites, like a remote data center, and operate cloud services similar to public Internet services to communicate their sites.

Other uses of NaaS include providing services to an entire branch as a Store-as-a-Service (Store-as-a-Service) with a complete set of network infrastructure, wide-area network paths, wireless networks, etc., for a monthly subscription fee.

NaaS providers provide consumers with a complete infrastructure for only a monthly subscription fee by designing, purchasing, installing, and operating all network equipment.

 These services can be delivered to consumers in other areas, such as security and collaboration, with a fixed monthly subscription fee.

“In general, organizations that use NaaS models experience faster deployments because they benefit from the skills and experience of professionals working at NaaS service providers to accelerate the infrastructure implementation process,” Butler said.

“Network as a Service provides access to new technologies such as Wi-Fi 6 and 100 Gigabit networks through the latest equipment, ensuring that the network will provide the highest performance and scalability to meet business needs.”

In addition, the Network as a service provides work update cycles due to the continuous upgrade of services with the lowest network downtime rate. It enables the use of newer equipment and increases business services. Finally, Network as a Service allows organizations to ditch outdated and inefficient infrastructure. An approach that ultimately improves performance.

Network experts believe that the best use for network services is in remote locations, small and temporary offices. Also, offering network services is reasonably practical for building remote networks for home and traveling users who need secure and reliable applications for their work activities.

What challenges does the Network as a service face?

One of the biggest challenges of implementing network services as a service is to support a robust and integrated security system. “Most organizations like to be responsible for managing and controlling information security and compliance by their policies, whereas when using Network as a Service, part of the monitoring and security processes are the responsibility of the NaaS service provider, which can be a security gap,” says Anderson.

It created organizational security in architecture”. For example, how can a customer perform network traffic assessment and monitoring or use network traffic analysis tools in conjunction with NetFlow and security tools to detect and prevent intrusions?

Who is responsible for leaking and stealing information during cyberattacks, dealing with these attacks, and compensating for the damages caused to organizations?

In addition to the issue of security, experts point out the ability to customize services based on specific business needs as another significant challenge surrounding this service. “As with any managed service, companies or organizations tend to install the cheapest equipment and use it for a certain amount of time,” says Anderson.

 Here there is another challenge called service level agreement (SLA), which should pay attention to the following points when setting up such an agreement:

• What are the critical criteria and requirements related to the successful performance of services? Specifically, how is the bandwidth per user, increased Up Time, application performance, etc.?
•  What is the guaranteed service level or Up Time?
•  How often should equipment be updated with the latest technology?
• What tools does the NaaS service provider use to measure and manage capacity and performance?
•  How are additional costs and policies related to changes managed? For example, if a customer plans to double-configure their infrastructure and needs to add more staff to their portfolio, how do they manage the extra equipment and capacity? Similarly, what arrangements should be made if the flow is reversed?

The Network world site writes this:

“Migrating to NaaS is difficult and time-consuming for medium to large organizations that have invested significantly in remote network security infrastructure, branches, campuses, and data centers. Environments consisting of equipment and services belonging to different vendors complicate the situation. Since NaaS requires fast and low-latency Internet services, any disruption or delay in the vast network communication channels can weaken or disrupt the performance of the enterprise network. Due to the new nature of this service, the pricing of NaaS services is still unclear. Hence, CEOs may face higher operating costs than budgeted.

What is the future of Network as a service?

As large enterprises and organizations move towards cloud services, the adoption rate and popularity of NaaS will increase. On the other hand, the desire of large companies active in the network and network equipment industry, such as Cisco, to build more effective and efficient network solutions and models in cloud environments will make NaaS play an influential role in the field of information technology.

With the deployment of more applications in private cloud environments, there is no doubt that the NaaS services provided on private clouds will be among the most impocriticalure benefits. In this regard, Gill says: “Networks must move towards virtualization and automation so that operations in cloud environments can be done more quickly. However, the big question is, which services and business models will take over the vital artery of technology along with these massive changes?

Also, as NaaS enters the IT world, it will become easier to use multiple public clouds. Organizations will not have to hire a wide range of specialists to reap the benefits of multi-cloud environments.

“With the proliferation of Cloud/SaaS-based applications, network traffic patterns will change significantly,” says Anderson. In the past, we have implemented campus networks by consolidating layers into the core layer and running our workloads and applications on a private data center based on this architecture. However, will we need core networks in the future as more traffic moves to cloud environments and SaaS services?

In my opinion, organizations in the future will only need Hot Spot centers that provide fast and stable Internet access. Facing security challenges will be the future turning point for these services.

Nowadays, the issue of network security has become a severe challenge to cyber experts. Suppose an organization considers its network infrastructure based on NaaS service implementation. In that case, it must carefully consider the control and network visibility (Visibility) issue and, as a result, will need a SecOps team. For this reason, I think we will see hybrid ideas like NaaS/Security-aaS in the future. For example, we can mention using the SASE model in this context.

However, trusting cloud service providers to provide the security required by organizations is one of the fundamental challenges of the future, especially for large organizations involved with regulatory requirements such as

It will be HIPAA, PCI, NERC/FERC.”