See how the Forward Platform works
Network Operations Simplified
The Search and Verification Engine of Your Intent-Based Network
The networking industry is at a key inflection point as network admins and operations teams look to manage vastly larger and more distributed networks. Traditional network management solutions and network change management software can no longer tackle the complexity at scale or speed of business, leaving the potential for major network outages and business disruption.
Forward Networks is at the forefront of this transition as the first vendor to accurately model large private cloud and multi-site datacenter network behavior in software to provide a range of new insights and analytical capabilities for intent-based networking.
We enable a leap from relying on traditional tools and testing under explicit scenarios or examining live data in real-time, to running a mathematical verification of network configurations under all conditions. This removes latent errors to de-risk the network and provably demonstrate compliance. We map policy and intent to device configurations and verify network behavior holistically, not box-by-box.
Forward Enterprise consists of three main components: Forward Search, Predict and Verify. These applications accelerate network operations for critical sections of change management, reduce the overhead and expertise required to maintain network policies and identify hidden errors in network and security device configurations.
Search
all networking configurations across switches, routers, firewalls and load balancers within seconds
Forward Enterprise offers a Google-like search interface for topology, configuration, state and both traffic path and forwarding behavior queries
Verify
network intent, connectivity correctness and security policy compliance at speed
No more guessing whether your network is behaving or will behave the way you intended
Predict
- impact of network changes
- network behavior under adverse condidtions
- failover scenarios
Forward Enterprise ensures policy compliance by predicting impact from network changes and quickly isolates configuration errors and remediation steps
Key Business Drivers and Use Cases
Automated Network Documentation
Have an always-up-to-date online copy of your exact network to train admins, maintain inventory and accurately track network configurations and state. Reduce audit overhead by quickly proving compliance with intended policies.
Make Every Admin and User an Expert
With Forward Enterprise, even the most junior admins can quickly drill down to problem sources and identify required changes. Even application teams and line of business managers can view network behavior as a self-service. Safely test any changes in a software sandbox to predict behavior.
Accelerated Remediation
With Forward Search and Verify, problem research and resolution takes a fraction of the time to close trouble tickets and accelerate change windows. Make sure you are ready for business Monday morning!
What Industry Experts are saying about Forward Networks
Organizations interested in intent-based networking can get an early start by deploying network search and verification solutions like the one offered by Forward Networks. These solutions help accelerate processes around analyzing network intent and problem resolution.
Bob Laliberte
Senior Analyst
Enterprise Strategy Group
There will be a strong demand for intent-based networking solutions, where intent is captured explicitly, and policy can be applied to completely de-risk the network and provably demonstrate operational compliance with original intent.
Cliff Grossner, Ph.D.
Senior Research Director and Advisor
IHS Markit
What top investors think about Forward Networks
Backed by Andreessen Horowitz, DFJ, A.Capital, Forward Networks delivers a mathematically accurate network copy to simplify network operations and provide network assurance. Bill Krause, Board Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, Martin Casado, GP at Andreessen Horowitz, Andreas Stavropoulos, Partner at DFJ and David Erickson, Forward Networks CEO, outline their view on the market space, company and strategy