Network Virtualization: NFV and SDN

Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) and Software Defined Networking (SDN) will re-shape the network as we know it, but it’s going to be a bumpy ride. Some vendors are partnering up, like NSN and Huawei, to standardize interoperability within their own confines. Others are going it alone, like Cisco, and pushing their own versions of NFV. Playing in the middle are open platform providers. Overall, though, nearly every company that has a play in networking had the acronyms NFV or SDN in their press releases surrounding the event.

The biggest NFV news, in my opinion, was from HP, who announced OpenNFV, a comprehensive program built on open tools like NFV Director, and OpenNFV Labs, what Dave Larson, VP and CTO, HP Networking, calls “heterogenous multi-vendor playpens”. With a wide range of technical services, enterprise services, and HP software, HP is clearly positioned to be the glue that sticks NFV together in a meaningful way.

“NFV represents one of the most significant shifts the telecommunications industry has experienced in 20 years,” said Martin Fink, Executive Vice President and chief technology officer, HP. “HP’s OpenNFV Program combines HP’s technology leadership with a strong partner ecosystem to enable our customers to leverage new market opportunities faster while managing spiraling costs.”

Tail-f’s NFV orchestration solutions are already being used by Deutsche Telekom, and the company announced another big win at MWC. AT&T outlined its vision for Domain 2.0, a network roadmap that is built on a framework of virtualization that promises services like the user-defined network cloud, and praised Tail-f during a keynote address delivered by John Donovan, Senior Executive Vice President, AT&T Technology and Network Operations.

“Our strategy is a vision for our network of the future that delivers what our customers want, when they want it, by tapping into the latest technologies and open network principles,” said Tim Harden, President, AT&T Supply Chain, in a press release for Domain 2.0. “It’s a fundamentally new and unique way to build a user-defined public network that addresses the changing needs of our customers. It’s more than just a change in how the network is designed. It also changes how we do business, our relationships with suppliers and how we manage software. We’re reinventing how we scale and operate to manage our services easier, similar to how they’re provided in cloud data centers.”

According to Tail-f, it was able to "integrate full service orchestration support for new equipment vendors from scratch in a few days. We did it in less than 48 hours with Ciena at AT&T. This brings unprecedented agility to the hands of the network planning and operations teams. The cost of on-boarding new equipment into the orchestration system is now low enough that it is the price and performance of the equipment that drive the decisions to invest or not. This is vastly different from the current situation where the cost and time of integrating new vendors is the most significant factor in any decision to change."

NFV was certainly one of the hottest topics at Mobile World Congress, and it's refreshing to see an innovative vendor like Tail-f receive the recognition it deserves. 

Connected Women Initiative

Pipeline had the opportunity to meet with representatives from the GSMA’s Connected Women initiative, whose aim is to generate global awareness of the business case for greater involvement of women in the mobile industry.  Vicky Sleight, Head of GSMA Connected Women & Senior Director for GSMA Membership, told Pipeline that the work of this group started about two years ago, and aims to position the mobile industry at the forefront of the movement to accelerate the rise of the female economy. The group works with GSMA membership on initiatives such as closing the ICT skills gender gap, attracting and retaining female talent, and encouraging female leadership in the mobile industry.

At MWC14, Pipeline’s publisher attended the Connected Women session Accelerating the Rise of the Female Economy, during which high-profile speakers including Vicki MacLeod, Secretary General, GTWN; Dr. Maria Mobina, Senior Principal, A.T. Kearney; Dragana Linfield, Director of Future Communications, Etisalat; Clara Pelaez, Head of Strategy, Marketing & Communications Europe, Ericsson; and Jessica Rosenworcel, FCC Commissioner, addressed the enthusiastic audience with compelling data on women in the mobile industry, how mobile operators can influence and benefit from the rise of the Female Economy, and the ongoing efforts to strengthen the workforce by increasing female representation with the mobile industry.  The attendance at this session drastically exceeded the capacity of the meeting venue and necessitated an overflow area where eager attendees caught the presentations via a live video feed.  For more information about GSMA’s Connected Women, click here.