September 12, 2023

In the early days of the networking one could put together a simple diagram of computers, routers, and switches. The more complex it became, the more detailed was the diagram.
When you combine containers, services and virtualization, today’s networks make early systems look like child’s play. Containers have proliferated because they can house all the necessary elements to run in any environment.
When you combine them into pods and clusters you can increase effectiveness; however, this next generation relies on services to communicate. During this interview Branden Wood details how Tetrate offers a solution to this situation.
They offer something called the “service mesh.” Essentially, it is a dedicated infrastructure layer that facilitates this service-to-service systems architecture.
"we have now become the de facto standard for service mesh capabilities inside of the United States Air Force. "
Branden Wood, Tetrate Tweet
Branden delved into the details during the interview, but the real value is, when constructed in a manner that can manage these services, it offers high availability. It can allow for encryption across systems. It can offer concepts like discovering what services are available, internal load balancing and compliance improvement.
One challenge for the Air Forces is to be able to deploy code rapidly from many locations. The Air Force has several “factories” scattered across the United States. Using Tetrate as their provider to allow encryption in transit for highly sensitive information. This means systems can be changed, altered, and improved in days, not months.
If you enjoyed this article, you may want to listen to Ep. 89 Federal Websites: How to Transform the Experience

John Gilroy
John Gilroy appeared on National Public Radio in Washington DC for 25 years. He wrote 523 technology columns for The Washington Post. Currently, John is an award-winning lecturer at Georgetown University. Forgot to mention — he has recorded over 1,000 interviews.
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