Alkira Cloud Area Networking

Alkira's Cloud Area Networking addresses the complex challenge of securing and managing multi-cloud environments by providing a unified, cloud-native network architecture. This solution tackles the operational blindness and fragmentation inherent in multi-cloud deployments by offering a single-pane visibility and control interface.

Technically, Alkira's architecture is built entirely in the cloud, leveraging a full-stack, edge-to-cloud approach that includes built-in routing and network services. It eliminates the need for agents or virtual overhead, allowing for agentless deployment and management. The platform integrates with major cloud providers such as AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and Oracle, enabling users to connect clouds, sites, users, and SD-WAN fabrics with ease and speed.

Key operational considerations include the ability to auto-connect various network elements and deploy security services like cloud firewalls from a centralized GUI. Alkira's intent-based policy framework allows for the definition of security zones that map to micro-segments, ensuring consistent policy enforcement across the network. The platform also features symmetric traffic steering and elastic auto-scaling of firewalls to maintain network integrity and performance.

From a technical details perspective, Alkira's Cloud Area Networking supports end-to-end security with global visibility, regardless of the cloud provider or geographic location. It enables the instantiation of commercial-grade firewalls from its marketplace, which can autoscale based on capacity demand. This approach ensures that security policies are consistently enforced across all network domains, including WAN and public clouds, without the need for complex routing configurations or backhauling traffic to data centers.

However, there are limitations to consider, such as the potential for increased costs associated with the elastic scaling of resources and the need for careful management of security policies to avoid configuration errors. Nonetheless, Alkira's solution significantly reduces the complexity and time required for cloud network provisioning, making it a compelling option for enterprises seeking to streamline their multi-cloud operations.