Good network architecture helps ensure that business strategy and IT investments are aligned. As the backbone for IT communications, the network element of enterprise architecture is increasingly critical. Service Oriented Network Architecture (SONA) is Cisco’s architectural approach to designing advanced network capabilities into your infrastructure. SONA provides guidance, best practices, and blueprints for connecting network services and applications to enable business solutions.
SONA is an open framework for network-based services used by enterprise applications to drive business results. This framework includes three interconnected layers.
Primary is the Core Common Services Layer, comprising an extensive library of network-based service categories working together to create functionality that can be used by the Applications Layer, which contains all types of business applications used across the enterprise.
At the Physical Infrastructure Layer, Cisco designs, tests, and validates sets of modular, connected infrastructure elements organized by places in the network (PINs).
These branch, campus, and data center reference solutions form a quick starting point for understanding how network-based services can be deployed with business applications in a variety of industries.
The Core Common Services layer is distinctive to Cisco in that no other vendor offers the breadth and depth of integrated services throughout an enterprise-class network architecture. This layer comprises seven major core service groups, which deliver consistent and robust capabilities throughout the network:
Real-Time Communication Services offer session and media management capabilities, contact center services, as well as presence functions.
Mobility Services provide location information, as well as device dependent functionality.
Application Delivery Services use application awareness to optimize performance.
Security Services help protect the infrastructure, data, and application layers from constantly evolving threats, and also offer access-control and identity functions.
Management Services offer configuration and reporting capabilities.
Virtualization Services deliver abstraction between physical and functional elements in the infrastructure, allowing for more flexible and reliable service operations and management.
Transport Services help with resource allocation and deliver on the overall QoS requirements of the application, as well as routing and topology functions.
Cisco Core Common Services are centered on two principles: application-focus and reusability. These services use a variety of open protocols (such as SIP and XML) and published APIs that allow IT developers as well as an innovative community of global development partners to improve reliability and performance and deliver new capabilities.
