Video: Margaret Chiosi on AT&T's Pursuit of Open

Openness is a now fundamental design principle at AT&T, says Margaret Chiosi, Distinguished Network Engineer at AT&T and President of OPNFV.

AT&T's new SDN/NFV infrastructure is composed of many functional blocks, each of which is evolving in its own way. Openness allows best-of-breed for each functional blocks.

This 3-minute video covers AT&T's participation in multiple open networking projects, as well as the Domain 2.0 initiative.

See Video https://youtu.be/AeV5Rp1-HjI

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AT&T Picks Metaswitch’s Virtualized SBC

AT&T has selected Metaswitch’s Perimeta Session Border Controller (SBC) to power a portion of the carrier’s software-centric network.  Financial terms were not disclosed.

Metaswitch said its Perimeta SBC will enable AT&T to connect its LTE network traffic with other carriers’ networks via SBCs, which are deployed as virtualized network functions (VNFs).

"By embracing VNFs like the Perimeta SBC, AT&T can offer its customers a wide variety of differentiated services on a cost-effective, flexible and programmable network,” said John Lazar, CEO of Metaswitch. "Metaswitch is committed to collaborating with AT&T to deliver agile and high-quality software for AT&T’s software-centric network vision."

http://www.metaswitch.com/

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Big Switch Unveils Big Cloud Fabric 3.0 with Elastic Pricing

Big Switch Networks unveiled its Big Cloud Fabric 3.0 architecture based on SDN, inspired by hyperscale cloud networking deployments, and featuring an elastic pricing structure.

Big Switch's architecture features an external SDN controller, advanced fabric design and open networking (bare metal) hardware. The new Big Cloud Fabric 3.0 brings deeper integration for both VMware and OpenStack environments, providing organizations with greater networking automation, resiliency, and simplicity.

Specifically, Big Cloud Fabric 3.0 delivers a unified physical + virtual SDN fabric for deploying resilient OpenStack clouds. Big Switch's Switch Light software is deployed on open networking switches (Switch Light OS) as well as on virtualized KVM servers (Switch Light VX). Its OpenStack Neutron plugin for L2/L3 networking provides resiliency necessary for production-grade OpenStack deployments. The Big Cloud Fabric 3.0 Controller acts as the single pane of glass for provisioning, troubleshooting, visibility and analytics of the entire physical and virtual network environment. This accelerates application deployment, simplifies operational workflows and provides immediate root-cause analysis when application performance issues arise.

Big Switch is offering several starter kits, pre-configured with switch hardware, cables, support and Big Cloud Fabric software for OpenStack, starting at $49k.


In addition, Big Cloud Fabric 3.0 deepens its integration across multiple VMware products in support of the Software Defined Data Center (SDDC). This includes natively supporting advanced network automation and deep visibility for vSphere environments, now including vSphere 6; as well as support for VMware Integrated OpenStack (VIO).

Big Monitoring Fabric (formerly Big Tap) is a next-generation network packet broker (NPB) that leverages SDN principles and Open Networking switches to provide scale-out data center monitoring at 30% of the cost of traditional NPBs. Popular customer use cases for Big Monitoring Fabric include: Pervasive monitoring, remote monitoring, mobile/LTE monitoring & DMZ / Inline security. Innovations include support for scale-out and low cost monitoring services such as de-duplication and packet modification with an x86 service node, with the Big Monitoring Fabric controller acting as the single pane of glass for both monitoring fabric and service nodes for simplified operational experience.

Big Switch is also introducing a hyperscale-inspired elastic pricing model to provide customers with flexibility, reduced cost and a pay-per-use consumption model for Hardware, Software and support. For the same CapEx amount used to purchase the SDN fabric -- physical switches, software and support -- customers can elect to receive twice the capacity with an "Elastic SDN Fabric" at no additional cost. For example, for the price of a 4 rack configuration, Big Switch would ship 8 racks of SDN fabric. The excess capacity of Elastic SDN Fabric is consumed on an as-utilized basis at $599/switch/month.

http://www.bigswitch.com/

• Big Switch recently announced global expansion and year-over-year growth of 365%. The company now has customer wins across the US, APAC and EMEA regions, in verticals that include financial services, government, telecom service providers, tech and higher education. Customers include the U.S. Federal Government, Intuit, Clemson University, CleanSafeCloud, and U2 Cloud, a cloud service provider (CSP), 5 of the top 10 telcos in the world, a leading global credit card company, multiple global financial services firms, media companies, and a leading virtualization provider.

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Palo Alto Debuts Highest Performance Firewall

Palo Alto Networks introduced its highest performance, next-generation firewall.

The new PA-7080 next-generation firewall, which can deliver up to 200Gbps throughput and 100Gbps with all security capabilities enabled, is designed for non-disruptive integration into large networks and data centers. It uses nearly 700 function-specific processors for networking, security, content inspection, and management.  It supports virtual wire, L2 and L3 networking, high availability modes combined with simplified management, simplified licensing, and intelligent traffic management. The PA-7080 is NEBS compliant, has front-to-back cooling, and AC/DC power supply options as standard features.

"By providing industry-leading performance with the full set of Palo Alto Networks security capabilities enabled, the PA-7080 is architected to deliver safe application enablement and to prevent against cyberattacks at the scale needed by service providers and the largest enterprises; it is an integral component of a prevention-minded, integrated platform approach to securing these organizations' networks," said Lee Klarich, Senior Vice President of Product Management.

https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/content/campaigns/pa-7000-series/pa-7000-series/index.html

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Integra Expands West Coast Fiber Footprint with opticAccess

Integra agreed to acquire opticAccess, which provides high-capacity, fiber-based connectivity solutions for large enterprise and domestic and international carrier customers through its 3,500 route mile network.

The opticAccess network stretches from Seattle to San Diego, with the majority of its metro fiber route miles in the Bay Area and Los Angeles metro areas.

Integra said the acquisition strengthens its western metro fiber network footprint. Following the transaction, Integra will have dense, unique metro fiber routes in all major western markets, enhancing Integra's ability to serve high-demand end-user markets including content and technology providers, financial services companies and international carriers (including the Asia-Pacific market), in high-demand geographies such as the Bay Area. Integra estimates that, following the acquisition, its addressable near-net demand (defined as telecom spend within 2,500 feet of its more than 4,000 route mile metro fiber network) will increase by approximately 40 percent, and it will have sizable additional opportunities within reach as it continues to expand and build its network.

"OpticAccess has become a trusted provider to many leading enterprises, as well as regional, national and international carriers with our unique routes along the West Coast and a high-touch customer service philosophy," said Brady Adams, CEO of opticAccess. "Our network assets and business focus are well aligned with Integra, offering a solid fit to accelerate their growth throughout the region."

"The acquisition of opticAccess reinforces Integra's fiber-centric network investment and growth strategy, and reaffirms our standing as one of the largest regional fiber network operators in the United States," said Robert E. Guth, CEO of Integra. "The combined assets of the two companies will significantly expand Integra's network reach and improve our ability to deliver the high-bandwidth, high-reliability network solutions that our sophisticated wholesale, government and enterprise customers demand."

http://www.integratelecom.com/

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Aliyun to Open Singapore Cloud Data Center

Alibaba's Aliyun cloud computing arm is completing construction of a new cloud data center in Singapore.  The facility, which will be Aliyun's headquarters for overseas business, is slated for an early September launch.

The new cloud data center leverages on Alibaba Group’s recent US$1 billion investment for cloud computing, and will enable more businesses to benefit from secure and reliable Aliyun-powered cloud services while riding on record foreign direct investment flows in Southeast Asia.

This is Aliyun's seventh data center globally. It will have direct connections to Aliyun's data center network via Beijing, Hangzhou, Qingdao, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Silicon Valley.

“Singapore is a natural destination to be our headquarters for overseas expansion. The city state is a natural springboard into the Asia Pacific region, not only for us, but for our target audience. We are seeing healthy demand for cloud-related data management services in Singapore because of the ease of doing business, comprehensive transport and telecommunications connections and robust intellectual property regime. The stable geo-political climate and abundance of highly skilled talent are advantages too,” said Sicheng (Ethan) Yu, Vice President of Aliyun.

http://www.aliyun.com

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Intel Backs "America's Greatest Makers" Competition

Intel is sponsoring a new, reality TV competition called “America’s Greatest Makers,” which will be produced by United Artists Media Group CEO Mark Burnett and premiere in the first half of 2016 across the Turner Broadcasting.

The show will challenge makers to create wearables and smart connected consumer devices powered by Intel's Curie technology.  There is a $1 million prize.

http://www.intel.com

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