YOU ARE AT:Network InfrastructureLumina pushes SDN adoption with new features to Flow Manager

Lumina pushes SDN adoption with new features to Flow Manager

Lumina adds new features to Flow Manager product

Lumina Networks recently announced it has implemented new features in its Flow Manager product, which enables large network providers to start evolving their BGP/MPLS routers toward software-defined networking (SDN), according to the company.

Lumina rolled into the SDN market last year through its acquisition of assets associated with the SDN controller product family from Brocade Communications Systems. Lumina’s Flow Manager serves as a controller-based application, which provides traffic engineering of the network with advanced algorithms, including path-computation for efficient traffic flows.

As part of the new features, Lumina said Flow Manager now supports the ability to define VLAN, MPLS and segment routing intent paths over low-cost switches. Additionally, Flow Manager can assign packet transport services to the paths, including E-Line, E-Tree, L2VPN or L3VPN. To achieve these capabilities, Flow Manager runs using the Lumina SDN Controller, powered by OpenDaylight, in addition to OpenFlow and BGP plugins provided by the controller, according to the company.

“In every SDN deployment, bringing the existing network under an automation framework is the number one priority,” said Lumina CEO Andrew Coward in a statement. “What makes Lumina different, is our ability to operate a single control plane that software defines the existing routed network and enables white-box vendors to integrate into the solution with next-generation switching protocols. This allows our provider customers to offer their existing services seamlessly over both, while at the same time expanding their offers to more advanced services, thus bridging the gap between the old and new.”

Lumina also noted implementation includes a centralized path policy manager function, providing many of the traffic management features found in traditional BGP/MPLS networks. Other features include fine-grained traffic classification at the service ingress node, traffic replication and point to multi-point (P2MP) services, including “anycast” destinations and L2-L4 packet field manipulation at the service egress node.

The company added that Lumina has the tools and background for deep integration with routers deployed from Cisco, Juniper and other tier-1 vendors. Lumina said its NetDev Services will deploy the company’s engineering team to develop the specific integrations needed to move from proof-of-concept to production deployment quickly. Lumina Flow Manager release 6.1 with the SDN controller is currently available as a free trial version.

ABOUT AUTHOR

Nathan Cranford
Nathan Cranford
Nathan Cranford joined RCR Wireless News as a Technology Writer in 2017. Prior to his current position, he served as a content producer for GateHouse Media, and as a freelance science and tech reporter. His work has been published by a myriad of news outlets, including COEUS Magazine, dailyRx News, The Oklahoma Daily, Texas Writers Journal and VETTA Magazine. Nathan earned a bachelor’s from the University of Oklahoma in 2013. He lives in Austin, Texas.