This week’s NFV/SDN Reality Check looks at some top headlines, including an AT&T deal with Radcom, and speak with Genband on NFV challenges
For our featured interview this week we spoke with Sanjay Bhatia, VP of solutions marketing and strategy at Genband to discuss NFV development and integration challenges for vendors.
But first, let’s take a look at some of the top headlines from across the space over the past week.
AT&T said it plans to migrate network probe functions to the cloud using a service assurance software platform from Radcom, noting the move is expected to boost performance optimization and help the carrier identify and isolate network issues.
The deal calls for AT&T to use Radcom’s MaveriQ software to deploy virtual probes as virtual network functions running on the telecom operator’s AT&T Integrated Cloud. The virtual probes will be integrated into the overall network scheme using AT&T’s enhanced control, orchestration, management and policy platform.
AT&T has said its Integrated Cloud platform is where the carrier runs VNFs using OpenStack software at its core. AT&T said it set up 74 AIC physical locations in 2015, with plans for 105 by the end of this year and adding “hundreds more” by 2020.
Also this week, the Open Network Operating System’s central office re-architected as a data center project said it delivered its first open CORD reference implementation targeted at providing a single integrated solution platform for creating new customer services.
The reference design is said to build on software-defined networking, network functions virtualization, cloud and open source platforms from ONOS, Trellis, OpenStack, Docker and XOS, with claims a developer can autobuild CORD on a single node within one hour. The reference implementation is also designed to support CORD’s three domain of use in the form of residential, enterprise and mobile.
In addition to the reference design, the CORD and ONOS project also welcomed Broadband Forum, Lime Micro, NTT East, Quortus and Telefonica as collaborators. The CORD initiative last month gained new partners in Google, Radisys and Samsung, which joined previous members including AT&T, Verizon Communications, China Unicom, NTT Communications and SK Telecom, as well as vendors like Ciena, Cisco, Fujitsu, Intel, NEC and Nokia.
ONOS last month in collaboration with the Linux Foundation spun off the CORD initiative as an independent open source project.
As mentioned, for our featured interview we spoke with Sanjay Bhatia, VP of solutions marketing and strategy at Genband to discuss NFV development and integration challenges for vendors.
Genband, which is focused on real-time communication solutions, is a proponent of the open architecture envisioned by the move from the telecom space towards virtualized platforms. The company recently demonstrated the ability to use NFV to launch a completely new network in minutes via its network functions, as well as the ability to optimize traffic on the network and scale services.
Thanks for joining us on this week’s show, and make sure to check us out again next week when we are scheduled to speak with Intel on what operators should expect in terms of the business transformation that comes along with rolling out NFV and SDN.
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