Data center managers are challenged with designing data centers that centralize servers and applications while keeping them accessible from a variety of locations. This white paper shows you how to create a best-in-class virtualized network environment that uses open standards-based and industry-accepted interfaces.

You will learn about network virtualization and the various technologies that provide data, control, and management plane virtualization. This paper outlines networking best practices, technologies, and products that support virtualized data centers, with a special focus on the requirements of government agencies' data center networks in the areas of:

• Energy efficiency
• Visibility
• High availability disaster recovery
• Network connectivity and security