Big Network Technology Overview

Big Network Technology Overview

Introduction

Big Network is a cloud managed connectivity platform that securely and instantly connects people, places, clouds and their devices anywhere. Big Network provides hardware, software and cloud services in one platform creating an open and connected ecosystem that fuses best of breed technologies, partners and services together at the click of a button. Businesses, MSPs, ISPs, and Integrators use Big Network as a cloud-based controller to deploy composable and elastic networks to extend capabilities, services, solve customer problems, and to create new revenue opportunities. Small businesses and entrepreneurs leverage Big Network as the best work from everywhere platform. 
Technology Overview
Big Network is delivered using a variety of components:
  • Portal and APIs for Connectivity and Policy Design, and Monitoring
  • Cloud Networks: Layer 2 / Layer 3 Overlay Networking 
  • Hardware and Software Endpoints
  • Cloud Services

Portal and APIs

Big Network’s Portal and APIs enable network architects and engineers to express their intended network design - the topology, who and what devices should be able to access it, and how it connects to other elements of the network.
Our Portal and APIs are used to program our global network orchestration software with the desired intent of a network. Network design, topology, addressing, and access control is all defined by use of our Portal and APIs.
Integration with OAuth (Google, Microsoft, A) simplifies access to our services for small and large organizations. Integration with SAML directories is available. Role based access control (RBAC) is used to clearly define who can create and modify networks, as well as the devices and people who can join them.

Cloud Networks: Layer 2 / Layer 3 Overlay Networking

Big Network delivers its service as a Layer 2 / Layer 3 Overlay Networking system. Our technology enables end to end networking between hardware and software clients across the Internet globally, across any mix of access technologies (DIA, Ethernet, MPLS, and LTE). 
Cloud Networks are defined by our customers in our Portal and APIs, and are realized as a fully meshed peer to peer set of tunnels on demand. Tunnels are secured using AES encryption. A unique feature of our solutions is that they are able to traverse NAT and CGNAT seamlessly, eliminating the need for static IP addresses or dynamic DNS solutions. After initial peer discovery, cloud networks are completely hubless and decentralized.
Cloud Networks allow for native micro-segmentation of resources by access control parameters set in our portal and APIs. This allows administrators to create a fine grained level of control in who can access from what device, reducing the scope of exposure of internal networks, to reduce success rates of pivot attacks. “Auto-Join” policy assists in helping end users to join the correct networks instantly, reducing helpdesk requests.
Combined with our Edge hardware, Cloud Networks support multi-path routing automatically. This means that users can take full advantage of having multiple primary and backup Internet connections, over any form of connectivity that can be provided, including wireless mobile and starlink connections.

Hardware and Software Endpoints

Big Network natively supports endpoints by way of hardware and software. The Big Edge is a lineup of flexible hardware solutions designed to connect headquarters, datacenters, and brand offices to Cloud Networks. Big Apps are designed to support users on a variety of devices anywhere in the world.
The Big Edge is built upon the Vector Packet Processing (VPP) framework. VPP allows Big Network to integrate wire speed routing and forwarding on our hardware platforms. The Edge is built for flexibility and reliability - 1G and 10G Ethernet, USB 3.0 connectivity for LTE modems, and dual power supplies. The Big Edge allows for delivery of network services locally such as NAT, DHCP, and Firewall services, but also acts as a bridge for Cloud Services to be delivered “over the top.”
Big Apps feature support for desktop operating systems including Windows, Mac OS X, and  Linux. Mobile operating system support includes Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android. Finally, Cloud Network endpoints can be created across Cloud providers using a headless Linux client.
Our product roadmap includes support for packaged solutions such as VMware, KVM, QEMU, and compatible container formats.
Big Edge and Big Apps are seamlessly controlled by our Portal and APIs, including fully managed software upgrades / deployment lifecycle management.

    • Related Articles

    • Build Your Big Network - Your Edge Demo

      Summary Big Network offers Edge Lite and Edge Pro trial hardware to prospective customers, free of charge, in exchange for product feedback (called a "Demo"). If you are interested in participating the program, please see the terms and conditions ...
    • Using Big Network's API: A Guide

      Introduction Big Network provides a REST API for developers to program Cloud Networks and Edge Devices in their own applications and automation frameworks. This article will guide you through the process of making API requests and provide some ...
    • Big Edge Hardware and Edge Virtual - Network Throughput

      Introduction Big Network offers a variety of hardware platforms and virtual appliances ranging in size from small to large, suited towards a number of Cloud Network use cases. Each hardware and virtual platform is carefully selected to support common ...
    • High Availability Networks with Edge Pro and Edge Lite

      Introduction Big Network's Edge Pro and Edge Lite include multiple high availability features to assist network architects and engineers in achieving Service Level Objectives (SLOs). These capabilities are realized by applying various policies to ...