Networking giant Cisco (Nasdaq; CSCO) is unveiling a new Internet of Things system on Monday with what it calls a “six-pillar approach” for infrastructure to deliver IoT solutions. These cover much more than bandwidth and routers, including “fog” computing and security.
So what are the “six pillars”announced Monday?
First, why?
“When combined together into an architecture – help reduce the complexities of digitization,” Cisco says.
Here are the six as defined by Cisco:
1. Network Connectivity: This pillar includes purpose-built routing, switching, and wireless products available in ruggedized and non-ruggedized form factors.
2. Fog Computing: ‘Fog’ is a distributed computing infrastructure for the Internet of Things (IoT) which extends computing capability – and thereby data analytics applications – to the ‘edge’ of networks. It enables customers to analyze and manage data locally, and thereby to derive immediate insights from connections. Cisco predicts that 40% of IoT-created data will be processed in the fog by 2018. Over 25 of Cisco’s network products are enabled with Cisco’s fog computing or edge data processing platform, IOx.
3. Security: The security pillar of the IoT System unifies cyber and physical security to deliver operational benefits and increase the protection of both physical and digital assets. Cisco’s IP surveillance portfolio and network products with TrustSec security and cloud/cyber security products allow users to monitor, detect and respond to combined IT and Operational Technology (OT) attacks.
4. Data Analytics: The Cisco IoT System provides an optimized infrastructure to implement analytics and harness actionable data for both the Cisco Connected Analytics™ Portfolio and third party analytics software.
5. Management and Automation: The IoT System provides enhanced security, control and support for multiple siloed functions to deliver an easy-to-use system for managing an increasing volume of endpoints and applications, field operators need an easy-to-use management system.
6. Application Enablement Platform: Offers a set of APIs for industries and cities, ecosystem partners and third-party vendors to design, develop and deploy their own applications on the foundation of IoT System capabilities.
“[D]igitization is complex,” Cisco warns.. “Customers are often connecting devices and objects – or converging unrelated networks – at previously unprecedented scales. Furthermore, they can only realize the value of these connections through the application of advanced data analytics, and even then, customers often still need to create a new class of intelligent applications capable of accelerating new business models or increasing productivity. Of course, all of this has to happen without ever sacrificing security at any point in the system, from the device to the data center and via the cloud.”
The company also announced 15 products for IoT solutions.
Read more at: http://newsroom.cisco.com/press-release-content?type=webcontent&articleId=1667560
Cisco operates one of its largest corporate campuses in RTP.
