Huawei Helps CyberAgent build IDN Cloud DC

Background

Pioneer of Japanese Pan Entertainment

CyberAgent, Inc. is a well-known Internet company in Japan. It provides services in multiple fields, such as online communities, Video On Demand (VOD), gaming, advertising, and Internet venture capital. In 2018, revenue is expected to exceed US$3.8 billion. Gaming is an important growth engine. CyberAgent has seven major game titles and dozens of smartphone games. An animated version of hit titles such as “GRANBLUE FANTASY” has been made to entertain users with the world of the game in different way. Media is a major investment area of CyberAgent, such as AbemaTV, a internet TV station which offers about 20 channels for free, and FRESH LIVE, a live streaming service with many celebrities and popular personalities.

Challenges

As cloud computing, AI, and big data go global, rapid service changes pose higher requirements on data centers. Services such as VoD, gaming, and search services often cause traffic surges. Current data center devices cannot cope with this problem. In addition, one of the major challenges that CyberAgent, Inc. urgently needed to overcome was how to construct a data center network with high availability and high scalability while achieving smooth evolution towards Intent-Driven Networking (IDN).

Tomohiko Sawadaishi, Chief Network Architect of CyberAgent, Inc., talks about the successful experience in building a cloud data center network using Huawei CloudFabric solution

Solution

Build an IDN-Capable Cloud Data Center Network with All-Fixed Switches

Huawei CloudFabric has served 2,800 enterprises in over 120 countries. In particular, it has been put into large-scale commercial use in industries such as finance, Internet, Media & Entertainment (M&E), cloud service provider, and telecom carrier. CloudFabric is dedicated to using the IDN architecture to drive the construction of data center-centric next-generation network platforms for more enterprises.

Huawei CloudFabric breaks the norm to construct a network entirely out of fixed switches. The solution uses the mainstream spine-leaf architecture, supports technologies such as EVPN and VXLAN, and can be integrated with third-party automation management tools. It is the best solution for small and medium-sized enterprises when building next-generation data center networks. The following are some of its key features:

1. High-bandwidth interconnection and large-buffer access

CE8800 series switches, used as spine nodes, provide 64 x 100 GE ports, the highest-density in the industry. CE6800 series, used as leaf nodes, provide 100 GE uplink ports, achieving 100 GE interconnection within the data center. In addition, the CE6870 series provide an ultra-large buffer of up to 4 GB, effectively coping with traffic surges on the network and providing high quality transmission of services such as VOD, gaming, and searching.

2. High network-wide reliability, ensuring zero service interruptions

With the industry’s most-comprehensive inter-device link aggregation technology, the device networking coupling relationship evolves from stacking at the control plane to the use of M-LAG and then finally to coupling-free M-LAG Lite. This achieves active-active server access and zero-interruption when upgrading switches, ensuring services are available 24/7.

3. Compact and easy to manage, reducing CAPEX and OPEX

The CE8860 series supports cards with four rates (10 GE, 25 GE, 40 GE, and 100 GE) while taking up just 2U in space, achieving high-density access of servers with different interface rates and saving equipment room space. Devices can be integrated with third-party tools such as Ansible, implementing integrated network and IT management.

Benefits

With the help of Huawei’s CloudFabric Solution, CyberAgent, Inc. successfully built a cloud data center network with IDN capabilities and comprised fully of fixed switches. The construction of this next-generation cloud data center effectively meets the growing requirements of CyberAgent, Inc. in areas such as media, Internet advertising, and gaming, maximizing their business value.

Industries are now starting to enter the latter stage of their digital transformation. Enterprise data centers are no longer merely business support centers, but have also become value creation centers. Huawei will adhere to the principle of customer-centricity, respond to requirements of top global customers from industries such as finance and Internet, and improve network automation and intelligence with AI and big data technologies to continuously lead the industry development.