Enhancing IoT Device Security and Network Efficiency with PicOS®

Campus networks are evolving to become the hub for cloud, employees and workers, and IoT. With the exponential growth of IoT devices, the vulnerability of IoT networks has become a prominent concern. The manual and rigid network configurations further add to the challenges. This blog post highlights how AmpCon™ and PicOS® address these challenges by introducing virtualization, security and analytics with complete automation into the network.

How PicOS® Enhances Network Security and Efficiency?

PicOS® revolutionizes network management with EVPN and VXLAN virtualization. It integrates seamlessly with NAC for robust device protection, offers proactive monitoring via SNMP and advanced telemetry, and streamlines operations through AmpCon™. These features not only ensure a resilient and secure IoT infrastructure but also enhance network efficiency.

Virtualization with EVPN and VXLAN

The increasing number of IoT devices demands efficient network management. PicOS® provides virtualization capabilities through Ethernet VPN (EVPN) and Virtual Extensible LAN (VXLAN). Besides, Templates and Playbooks are provided to simplify deployment. With these features, organizations can create virtual networks and isolate groups of IoT devices, ensuring secure and efficient communication.

Security with Network Access Control (NAC) Integration

IoT devices often lack robust security features, making them susceptible to attacks. PicOS® supports all of the major NAC vendors for automated endpoint policy enforcement. This ensures that the IoT device only goes in one direction for increased security, or to certain points, minimizing the risk of potential security breaches.

Analysis with Network Monitoring and Streaming Telemetry

Proactive monitoring and analysis of IoT networks are vital for identifying and resolving issues promptly. PicOS® offers traditional network monitoring with SNMP. This works well with major incumbent network monitoring solutions. It also pairs nicely with open-source network monitoring solutions like Zabbix. Provides advanced analytics with streaming telemetry. This is the next generation with big data collection tools developed by third parties such as statistics for the control plane, data plane and even virtualization. These enable efficient troubleshooting and enhance the overall reliability of IoT systems.

Push-button Automation

Manual configuring IoT networks can be time-consuming and error-prone. AmpCon™ Network Controller provides push-button automation for all of your routine daily tasks. This includes switch deployment, enforcing day-to-day security and compliance policies, scheduled backups and upgrades and customization with Ansible playbooks.

Let’s take an example of how our AmpCon™ Network Controller automates the whole lifecycle for white box switches.

• This starts with Day 0 operations with zero-touch provisioning.

• Then AmpCon™ automates Day 1 operations with Deployment.

• This includes creating configurations and deploying policies into the switch.

• For Day 2 operations, AmpCon™ collects data, manages policies, does compliance checks and monitors and backs up the configuration.

• Everything is centrally automated and managed for the lifecycle of the switch.

By single-button operations, AmpCon™ Network Controller streamlines the network management process and reduces the dependency on manual configuration, improving efficiency and minimizing the possibility of human-induced errors.

AmpCon™ and PicOS® Bring Significant Benefits to Your Network

By combining AmpCon™ and PicOS®, businesses can achieve workflow automation and significantly reduce operational costs.

• The most useful automation is for what you do every day.

• Zero Touch Provisioning for a block of 100 switches will save you over three days.

• These are savings that every C-level executive will appreciate, and every network operator can use.

The virtualization capabilities through EVPN and VXLAN enhance network efficiency, while NAC integration ensures robust security. Network monitoring and telemetry enable proactive analysis and troubleshooting, further increasing network reliability. With AmpCon™ and PicOS®, organizations can achieve a secure and automated IoT network infrastructure.