The Network enables the mission command warfighting function – allowing leaders to understand, visualize, describe, direct, lead and assess to accomplish Unified Land Operations. US Army vision is for “A network that is secure, integrated, standards-based, which ensures uninterrupted global access and enables collaboration and decisive action throughout all operational phases across all environments.” Achieving this vision demands a fully coordinated and synchronized approach across the community.
CIO Lt. Gen. Robert Ferrell floated software-defined networking and “self-healing” networks as types of capabilities the Army might explore. Ferrell made clear why more strategizing is needed. “Right now, we have so many disparate networks” and “too many vulnerabilities, too many backdoors that can get into our enterprise,” he said. “When you talk about the cyber threat, we can’t even see ourselves.”
By 2040, the Army will have implemented a software-defined data center (SDDC) architecture, where all infrastructure components are virtualized and delivered as a service. Control of the data center is fully automated by software, meaning component configuration is maintained through intelligent software systems. The outcome will be a network that can adapt to mission needs, as well as to underlying changes in the operating environment.
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