KUALA LUMPUR, March 25 - Juniper Networks, an IT and networking products manufacturer, was recently in the capital to talk about the advantages of using cloud computing, and more specifically, its own addition to the technology known as a 'cloud-ready data center.'

At the ‘Data Centre Green Tech’ conference, CK Lam, Enterprise Solutions Marketing Manager for Juniper Networks APAC (picture below), explained that existing networks throughout the world faced the problem of complexity as more users plugged into the Internet.

Coupled with the increasing demand for media-rich content, Lam mentioned that existing networks would be increased in size upon to deal with this problem. However, this often meant that a network would in turn grow more difficult or complex to manage; an issue that could be solved through cloud computing.

Cloud computing involves the dynamic sharing of resources in a pool, whereby these resources would then be allowed to be used through virtualization. Rather than rely individual servers to meet demands, virtualization would involve the allocation of storage and network resources through the combination of a few physical devices.

Juniper's solution

According to Juniper, its 'cloud-ready data center' concept would help to simplify, share and secure a client's data center network. Part of the functions included in the 'cloud-ready data center' solution will involve designs for securing traffic flows between servers within and into a data center, the reduction of autonomous devices, virtualization of servers, as well as getting multiple physical devices to act as one logical device.

Additionally, Juniper has also been working together with IBM on a project known as the Stratus Project, which will supposedly create a data center fabric. It is expected that the Stratus Project will enable networks operating on the cloud to scale accordingly to performance, simplicity and be flexible enough to support fully converged and virtualized data center environments.

According to Lam, the idea of cloud computing on a global scale was a concept that was both efficient and elastic, as it would grow or shrink depending on the amount of service required.

Cloud computing in Asia

While not a recent phenomenon, cloud computing has only enjoyed usage by certain corporations such as Amazon and Google in the United States. And while cloud computing was not as prominent in Asia, Lam explained that countries with higher broadband penetrations, such as Malaysia, would turn out to become early adopters of cloud computing. However, he also mentioned that for this to happen, a mindset change would have to occur.

When asked what kind of edge Juniper had over its competitors when it came to cloud computing, Lam mentioned that there was currently no way to measure the difference, calling it a comparison 'between apples to apples.' However, Lam was confident to reply that Juniper's cloud solutions did much better in terms of consolidating network layers.

Headquartered in California, Juniper Networks has been supplying telcos with high-end routers, Ethernet switches and security products since 1996. With the rise of cloud computing in the United States, the company has recently shifted its focus onto the technology.