Menu. 1 of 7 3/19/2013 8:19 AM

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1 1 of 7 3/19/2013 8:19 AM Menu One of the strong Cloud technology trends to emerge over the last year or two is `software defined something, with networks and datacentres being the two most prominent ones. This trend brings with it a natural movement up the levels of abstraction away from the base technologies, opening up the possibility for non-technologists to become key players in defining new products and services. This is because the metrics and concepts in which those products and services are defined shift from the bits/bytes/hertz/nanosecond of pure technology to more function-related ideas. This, in turn, leads to vendors looking at ways of creating structured tooling that such people can use to build the products and services this abstraction process allows them to envision. One of the first to take such a step in the world of SDN Software Defined Networks is Overture Networks, and established provider of Ethernet carrier networks based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.

2 2 of 7 3/19/2013 8:19 AM The company has just introduced Ensemble OSA, which it claims is the industry s first open architecture for Software-Defined Services out at the Metro Edge. This is normally defined as the link between high-speed core network services and the end user businesses and consumers. This is where the inevitably intermittent communications requirements of those end users are multiplexed together before being transferred to the core network, or demultiplexed when outbound to the end users. With SDN infrastructures it becomes possible to configure services for specific types of end user that sit out at the metro edge and no longer need to be delivered at least not delivered in their entirety - from the core network. This saves on core network bandwidth, improving overall levels of service across the entire network, and speeds the performance of the individual products or services as they are provided close to the point of consumption. The company sees Ensemble OSA as a response to a need within the service provider community to reduce costs, protect and grow new revenue, and improve customer experience. This combines SDN with Network Function Virtualization (NFV), which exploits the same commoditisation of hardware infrastructure which has spawned Cloud computing to allow the creation of virtualised network server models that can support services defined purely in software, rather than requiring specialised, proprietary hardware on which to run. This means that service providers get the chance to transform static networks into dynamic, virtualised, and automated environments for service creation and delivery. That also makes it the location for some serious revenue-creation potential for service providers if it can be exploited properly. As well as revenue generation, Overture sees Ensemble providing operational cost-cutting opportunities by simplifying and automating essential tasks in service creation, activation, and assurance. Currently, operational expenses can account for up to 85% of a service provider s budget, as current infrastructures consist of multiple proprietary management systems, manually intensive processes, a multi-vendor equipment network, and multiple service provider interconnections. Ensemble OSA is a game-changer for our customers, Overture president and CEO, Mike Aquino, is quoted as saying. Service providers do not have a demand problem they have a revenue and cost problem. They are working to transform their bandwidth business into one focused on the customer application experience while dramatically driving down the cost of managing their infrastructure. With Ensemble OSA, we are helping service providers achieve both objectives by bringing the proven benefits of the Cloud to the metro edge. The company is a member of the Open Network Foundation (ONF) and has engineered Ensemble using open API standards to support straightforward integration into both existing network infrastructures and the evolving communications ecosystem.

3 3 of 7 3/19/2013 8:19 AM It is made up of three layers, resources, orchestration and control, and network applications, each of which may include Overture-developed components as well as those developed by service providers or third party vendors. The resources layer includes elements that provide connect, compute, and storage functionality. They may consist of physical devices such as switches, servers and storage arrays, and/or software functions running on virtual machines. Orchestration and Control consists of software building block functions for data plane control, resource abstraction, and network management that provide the glue connecting the resources to the applications. The network applications layer is where the end user services and applications are configured using software packages that leverage one or more of the Orchestration and Control building blocks. These also tie into the service provider s back office systems and those of their business partners to create a service or network function. TAGS: Overture Networks Ensemble OSA sdn Network Function Virtualisation NFV Martin Banks Technology Editor PREVIOUS POSTS The slow road to Cloud data security The future is hybrid, which means integration SaaSID adds usage analytics to Cloud apps management 0 Like 0 Tweet 0 0

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