Oracle launches four new NFV platforms targeting CSPs
Oracle continues to bolster its virtualized platform that targets communication service providers, announcing four new products it claims are designed for network functions virtualization deployments.
The products, which were announced today at the LTE World Summit in Amsterdam, include its Communications Session Border Controller, Communications Converged Application Server, Communications Services Gatekeeper and Communications Policy Management. Oracle said the products are designed to lessen complexity “inherent in bridging physical and virtual environments” as operators move toward NFV.
Oracle said the Communication Session Border Controller is designed to support the release of fixed-line and mobile services as a virtual network function able to run on “a variety of hardware platforms.” This design is said to offer greater agility in responding to network conditions and in the rollout of new services.
The Communications Converged Application Server is said to provide a carrier-grade and standards-based platform in support of next-generation communications applications and deployable as a VNF. The platform is designed to support Java standards and is built on “cloud-ready technologies” that provide quicker service deployment and improved fault resistance.
Oracle said its Communications Services Gatekeeper is designed to allow operators and enterprises to manage application program interface life cycles using a graphical user interface that is able to generate APIs “in minutes.” This ability is said to accelerate application development and onboarding of development partners, while driving asset monetization and reducing operational expenses. The platform is deployable on generic hardware or in a cloud environment.
Finally, the Communications Policy Management platform is designed to support the rollout of LTE networks, including voice over LTE, IP multimedia subsystem and virtualization. This support includes the ability for tighter integration with charging and billing systems, network insights through an integrated policy analytics solution, and the ability to serve all subscribers from a “single policy management instance regardless of network access type.”
The newest platforms build on previous NFV-related launches from Oracle. The company earlier this year said that through a partnership with Intel and parts of the OpenStack platform it had produced the first successful demonstration of carrier-grade network performance using NFV.
Oracle also recently updated its NFV service orchestration platform with the launch of its Network Service Orchestration Solution, targeting one of the greatest challenges facing mobile network operators as they make plans toward virtualizing parts of their operations using NFV and software-defined networking technology. Oracle stated that the solution is part of its broader orchestration framework designed to analyze “network performance information, evaluates the network’s operation against predefined policies and business rules, and can trigger the appropriate action to automatically modify the behavior of services, network functions and virtualized infrastructure.”
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