Nokia says that it has incorporated assurance capabilities to its Network Services Platform (NSP) to support carrier software-defined networking (SDN) facilities. The new capabilities allow telcos to establish and maintain SDN multivendor, multilayer networks and services. This is especially important with unpredictable demand and traffic patterns.
Telecom operators today need to ensure the on-demand network services they bring to market are delivered using automated provisioning that makes the best use of available assets through real-time network control. But, as SDN projects move from limited live trials to broad deployment and commercialization, providers are discovering they need assurance in addition to automation with inline optimization.
Their NSP will:
- Allow service providers to quickly gain visibility into potential problems within their multi-vendor carrier SDN networks and assess overall impact
- Trigger and guide automated corrective measures, so that networks and services remain healthy
- Drive SDN control policies that can redirect paths, traffic and bandwidth at any layer – flow, IP, Ethernet or optical – and across both physical and virtual domains
Dana Cooperson, Research Director, Network, Software and Virtualization, Analysys Mason, said: “Service assurance is a critical requirement for successful SDN-based automation and optimization in the WAN (aka ‘carrier SDN’). Without adequate assurance capabilities, uptake of carrier SDN has been slow, particularly for complex multi-domain, multi-vendor networking applications. CSPs are recognizing the need for integrated assurance and asking vendors for solutions. In this market context, Nokia’s announcement of NSP with assurance is both important and timely.”
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