We don’t install all our servers in the same DC. But what about clouds? Would you trust one Cloud Server Provider for all your applications?

This is the premise of Multicloud.

Aviatrix

I’ve been reading about Aviatrix for a while, registered for the Aviatrix ACE training a few times and canceled for $busyness reasons.

Last week I dedided to dig deeper to understand what is Multicloud and what problem it tries to solve.

The ACE program provides ongoing education that enables architects, engineers, and technical staff to develop advanced competency in native cloud capabilities and provides a framework for applying this knowledge to network architecture and design patterns.

The self-paced training provided by Aviatrix is quite clear and the quality is similar to other training I did online.

Despite the focus of the training being Multicloud, the parts that I enjoyed the most were the clear explanations about how packets move inside and outside the clouds, with a focus on transit and the differences between CSP (AWS, Azure, GCP, OCI).

It becomes quite clear that lack of visibility, tools and scalability are common problems of all CSP. It gets worse when there is a requirement to connect CSPs while maintaining some standards.

I’m not sure that creating an additional overlay is the best solution, but it seems to be the least bad solution available today. Aviatrix proposes a product that provides Network Operations teams all the necessary tools to configure, maintain and troubleshoot networking in the Cloud/Multicloud.

What about competition?

Vendors like Cisco and VMware provide their multi-cloud solutions. It may be the next step for network engineers: to manage yet another abstraction layer.

There is no multi-cloud, it’s just just someone else’s cloud

The Crystal Ball

The cloud started with regions, availability zones, and now we get multi-cloud.

What’s next? When a problem becomes too complex, the solution is to move it to another abstraction layer1.

Will we ever get a request to merge multi-clouds? Is Multiverse 2 the next step?

Don’t forget the certification

Aviatrix is kind enough to provide training materials and a coupon to take the Aviatrix Certified Engineer exam for free.

I watched the videos and played with some labs to gain confidence before attempting the exam.

I passed the AWS Networking Specialty some time ago, and now I’m preparing for the Azure AZ700 exam. I have no experience with GCP or OCI .

I think this was enough to attempt the exam and I passed on the first try.

The experience of the online exam was positive. I suggest to any network engineer to have a look at the training and do the exam eventually.

  1. Rule 6  ↩︎

  2. This is a joke, of course! Or not? 😉 ↩︎