Graphiant offers customers a next-generation network with the performance to replace MPLS and SD-WAN. Graphiant is built on a private network that allows it to deliver enterprise-grade speed and scale. These functions are delivered as a service through the channel.

Graphiant Stateless Core handles the data plane, which provides a multitenant, programmable global transport network. Software on-premises adds a Graphiant label to each packet and encrypts it within an IPsec VPN tunnel that connects to a Graphiant PoP where the VPN is terminated. Once a packet is within the core, its metadata label routes it based on customer-defined and application-specific policies. At the exit PoP, the label is stripped off each packet, and it is delivered to its destination in an IPsec tunnel.

We expect the bulk of innovation in MCN to come among partnerships among the cloud providers and vendor community. Some key startups to watch in the vendor community include Alkira, Arrcus, Aviatrix, Graphiant and Prosimo. Leading cloud providers such as Amazon, Google and Microsoft will build out their networking tools at the edge and work with colocation providers such as Equinix, CoreSite and Digital Realty to extend network connection points and built software-driven, cloud-connected infrastructure. Software companies such as VMware and IBM will use their cloud infrastructure platforms to extend networks inside of clouds.

What was the most valuable piece of career advice that you received? I can highlight two pieces of career advice that I found invaluable. At every stage of your career, take risks and never give up. Risk shows leadership, vision, and a willingness to be vulnerable. I think about these every day at Graphiant. They have led me to this company, and I’m extremely excited for the future.

The first power utilities emerged 140 years ago. What happened? Power became more efficient, reliable, and safe. The industry advanced more quickly, free from the need to spend valuable resources generating power. And, advances in power came more quickly (alternating current, solid-state, and a steady progression leading to the all-digital smart grid of today).

“Unlike traditional SD-WAN where the device sits at the edge and either drops traffic directly out the underlay or puts it into an overlay (and tunnels to a headend device), the Graphiant solution utilizes a private backbone as part of its service,” explained Lerner.

“Two things became very clear to me. Number one, we need to create that private network over these co-location facilities so we can give them the enterprise-grade reliability because it’s predictable, we give them the privacy and we give them the security,” Raza said. “And, number two, it has to be as a service…It has happened to compute and storage, why is it not happening to networking?”

Take a Network Break! This week we cover a new Trident ASIC that can support threat analysis, the startup Graphiant goes after SD-WAN and MPLS, and Iranian-backed attackers are suspected of targeting the Albanian government.

Raza, whom some have dubbed the “father” of SD-WAN, said Graphiant is solving a big networking problem that other SD-WAN players – including Cisco – are ignoring: The increasingly distributed workloads and network complexity that is in turn creating more complexity and security issues for businesses.

Graphiant says its solution is unique as it doesn’t require building new networks for each resource, edge network, customer hybrid cloud and partner. Instead of handcrafting each connection using VLANs, each resource connects to Graphiant’s Stateless Core. The Graphiant Core then handles all routing and the traffic remains encrypted throughout the process, with SLA-grade performance guaranteed.