NetUK3

An Introduction to Data Centre Networks

6 Jul 2026, 09:30

2h

TBC (The Brewery)

Workshop Workshop 1 Workshops

Speakers

Mr Foeh Mannay Utkarsh Shah

Description

Short Abstract: 
Given the rapid pace at which technology is evolving, there is a growing gap between fresh graduates and the expectations of entry- to mid-level roles. Many positions that previously required highly specialised expertise now demand a broader and more diverse skill set. At the same time, data centres networks have rapidly evolved for almost every type of organisation—including enterprises, colocation and service providers. Changes in business requirements, traffic types, patterns, applications and increased availability has redefined data centre architectures. 

In this context, we would like to propose a workshop that introduces the key concepts behind modern data centre networks and campus fabrics. The session would explore the inner workings of modern data centre fabrics, how interconnections extend across different environments, and the role telecommunications providers play within this ecosystem. We would also provide a brief overview of common tools and traffic flows. As data centres are now classified as Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) in the UK, we believe it is important to highlight their real-world importance and the need for designing highly available, high uptime and highly resilient architectures. As part of the workshop, we would present three practical real-world use cases to demonstrate how end-to-end networks operate in modern data centre environments. These examples would help illustrate the critical nature of these mission-critical systems and provide attendees with a clearer understanding of the broader picture.

We would also briefly discuss the evolution of modern data centre networking, giving participants insight into how architectures have developed to support today’s scale, resilience, and performance requirements. To make the workshop engaging and interactive, we propose having two speakers, each covering a different dimension of the topic. Three real world case studies would further help tie theoretical concepts with real life applications for these architectures. These examples would help illustrate the critical nature of these mission-critical systems and provide attendees with a clearer understanding of the broader picture. We would also actively involve the audience throughout the session to ensure participants remain engaged and enthusiastic.  There are no prerequisite requirements for the audience and we believe our talk will cover audiences with limited experience to computer networking as well as entry-level to mid-level network engineers.

Summary

Hi NetUK Team,

We hope you’re doing well.
My colleague, Foeh Mannay and I (Utkarsh Shah) would be grateful for the opportunity to contribute to NetUK3 by delivering a talk and conducting a workshop. We’ve carefully aligned our proposed sessions with the community’s core philosophy, focusing on knowledge sharing, community development, professional exposure, and fostering inclusion and diversity. We’ve put together a brief overview of a workshop that we believe would resonate well with the audience given our past attendance and the on going transformations we see across the industry.
?We would greatly appreciate your guidance and approval on these topics before we proceed further. If they align with your expectations, we would be happy to move ahead with developing the detailed content and preparing the slides for your review and submission. We look forward to your feedback.

Short Abstract: Given the rapid pace at which technology is evolving, there is a growing gap between fresh graduates and the expectations of entry- to mid-level roles. Many positions that previously required highly specialised expertise now demand a broader and more diverse skill set. At the same time, data centres networks have rapidly evolved for almost every type of organisation—including enterprises, colocation and service providers. Changes in business requirements, traffic types, patterns, applications and increased availability has redefined data centre architectures.

In this context, we would like to propose a workshop that introduces the key concepts behind modern data centre networks and campus fabrics. The session would explore the inner workings of modern data centre fabrics, how interconnections extend across different environments, and the role telecommunications providers play within this ecosystem. We would also provide a brief overview of common tools and traffic flows. As data centres are now classified as Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) in the UK, we believe it is important to highlight their real-world importance and the need for designing highly available, high uptime and highly resilient architectures. As part of the workshop, we would present three practical real-world use cases to demonstrate how end-to-end networks operate in modern data centre environments. These examples would help illustrate the critical nature of these mission-critical systems and provide attendees with a clearer understanding of the broader picture.

We would also briefly discuss the evolution of modern data centre networking, giving participants insight into how architectures have developed to support today’s scale, resilience, and performance requirements. To make the workshop engaging and interactive, we propose having two speakers, each covering a different dimension of the topic. Three real world case studies would further help tie theoretical concepts with real life applications for these architectures. These examples would help illustrate the critical nature of these mission-critical systems and provide attendees with a clearer understanding of the broader picture. We would also actively involve the audience throughout the session to ensure participants remain engaged and enthusiastic. There are no prerequisite requirements for the audience and we believe our talk will cover audiences with limited experience to computer networking as well as entry-level to mid-level network engineers.

Agenda (Draft)

Data Centre Architectures
In this section, we will begin by discussing legacy data centre architectures and the challenges associated with them. This will then lead into an exploration of how modern data centre and campus fabrics are designed, along with the many benefits they provide in terms of scalability, resilience, and operational efficiency. We will also briefly highlight some of the commonly used network operating systems, popular automation frameworks, and vendor tools that assist with network deployment and operations, as well as the role of packet forwarding engines in enabling modern data centre networks.

Breaking the Magician’s Code
In this session, we will peel back the layers of the onion to introduce attendees to the concepts of EVPN and VXLAN powering modern data centres. The speaker will explain the intelligence of the EVPN control plane, how information is encoded and exchanged between nodes within a fabric, and the role of VxLAN traffic encapsulation by explaining how flows operate on a hop-by-hop basis within modern data centre networks.

Data Centre Interconnect
Here, we will discuss the role and importance of service providers in modern networking environments, as well as the need to interconnect multiple data centre sites. We will explore several of the options available today for interconnecting sites and walk through the end-to-end traffic flow across these environments, helping the audience develop a clear understanding of the broader architectural picture.

Real-World Case Studies
In this section, we will connect the theoretical concepts discussed earlier with real-world implementations. We will demonstrate how modern fabric architectures are applied in practice through two/three examples: a colocation data centre network and a large-scale global enterprise network. These case studies will help illustrate how the concepts translate into real operational environments and briefly highlight how network automation can speed up deployment and visibility into the network.

Networks for AI and AI for Networks
To conclude the workshop, we will provide a high-level overview of how modern data centre principles are being used to design and build AI-focused network fabrics. We will also discuss how existing data centre networks may evolve towards AI-driven operations (AIOps) and leave the audience with key considerations and ideas for the future of network operations.

Presentation materials

NetUK - An Introudction to Data Centre Networks - Workshop Draft Presentation .pptx