Layer123: Verizon Expands Secure Cloud Interconnect Internationally

Verizon Enterprise Solutions announced a significant expansion of its Secure Cloud Interconnect service to Latin America and to additional sites in Europe and the U.S.

Verizon’s Secure Cloud Interconnect service, a software-defined networking offering, helps enterprises seamlessly connect, manage and secure their cloud environments that often extend across multiple clouds and data centers around the globe.

In total, Secure Cloud Interconnect service now offers secure, private connections to six cloud providers (Amazon Web Services, Google, HP, Microsoft Azure Express Route for Microsoft Office 365/Skype for Business/Government Cloud, Salesforce; Verizon ) and three data center providers (Equinix, CoreSite, and Verizon) at more than 30 global locations in the Americas, Latin America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

“Verizon’s Secure Cloud Interconnect allows users to connect to applications simply, securely and reliably,” said Shawn Hakl, vice president of enterprise networking and innovation for Verizon. “SCI customers will find our solution delivers an unbeatable combination of performance, security and efficiency to help enable their digital transformation while reducing the complexity often associated with cloud computing.”

Verizon’s Secure Cloud Interconnect global footprint:

• Amazon Web Services: Sao Paulo; Silicon Valley, Los Angeles and New York; Singapore, Sydney, and Tokyo; London and Frankfurt, Germany 
• Google: Chicago and Denver; and Hong Kong and Singapore 
• HP: Atlanta (2); and Frankfurt and Russelsheim, Germany
• Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute and Microsoft ExpressRoute for Office 365: Silicon Valley, Washington, D.C.; London; Hong Kong and Sydney
• Salesforce.com: Chicago and San Jose, Calif. 
• Verizon Cloud: Sao Paulo; Culpeper, Va., Denver, Miami; and Santa Clara, Calif.; and London and Amsterdam.
• Future expansion plans include a significant build out in the Asia-Pacific region slated to be completed this fall. 

Verizon Enterprise Solutions also announced the expansion of the Secure Cloud Interconnect in the public sector. The service – now available at more than 30 locations across the Americas, Latin America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region –  supports cloud (public, private and hybrid) and colocation solutions from a growing roster of connected cloud providers.

http://www.verizon.com/about/news/verizon-secure-cloud-interconnect-service-expands-latin-america-deepens-european-us-footprint

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Layer123: Softbank Deploys Cisco Evolved Services Platform

Softbank is deploying Cisco's Evolved Services Platform (ESP) Orchestration, software defined networking (SDN) and network function virtualization (NFV) technologies to support its White Cloud SmartVPN.

The Softbank service offers enterprise customers a differentiated network service with a selection of multi-vendor networking equipment offerings. The White Cloud SDN creates software-controlled service chains in which traffic is steered through the appropriate security functions for a given flow, based on customer profile, service type or other parameter. A self-service online portal gives customers a simple way to select security policies and scalable network services associated with changes of business requirements.

Softbank is using Cisco's Network Services Orchestrator (NSO) enabled by Tail-f for the provisioning of both its physical and virtual elements.  Cisco said its enhanced architecture reduces the time to deployment for new enterprise services from weeks to minutes, while allowing for greater elasticity of customer demand by utilizing service chaining of new virtual network functions. Using strict, standardized YANG models for both services and devices, NSO automates all of the multi-vendor devices, making it easy to change and reconfigure services on-demand, without time-consuming and error-prone manual effort.

Softbank has also deployed Cisco’s Virtual Topology System to stitch the dynamic service chains within the data center.  The Cisco Virtual Topology System is a standards-based, open software-overlay management and provisioning system. It automates data center network fabric provisioning for virtual and physical infrastructure.

"Our new Cisco architecture has enabled us to dramatically increase our ability to provide highly responsive customer experience,” said Sadahiro Sato senior vice president of ICT innovation, Softbank. “The flexibility and open nature of the Cisco Evolved Services Platform will equip us with the tools to innovate new services at a rapid pace and keep ahead of our competition. Automation and elasticity on demand will also help us dramatically reduce both our operating and capital costs as we grow the offering.”

“We are delighted to partner with Softbank to unlock network innovation and accelerate service creation and deployment,” said Gee Rittenhouse senior vice president of cloud and virtualization, Cisco. “Softbank was able to leverage an open, modular multi-vendor architecture that suites its specific needs by utilizing Orchestration, NFV and SDN products from Cisco’s Evolved Services Platform. This new business solution is an exciting opportunity for Cisco to work with such an innovative and customer-centric service provider.”

http://www.softbank.jp
http://www.cisco.com

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Layer123: Telstra, HP, F5 Networks and Nuage Demo ETSI NFV

Telstra, HP, F5 Networks and Nuage Networks demonstrated a Networks Functions Virtualization (NFV) proof of concept (PoC) solution that has been certified by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) at this week's SDN & OpenFlow World Congress in Düsseldorf, Germany.

The ETSI PoC #38 showcases:

• Full ISO 7-layer stack fulfillment, activation and orchestration of virtual network functions in carrier networks.
• How NFV and SDN technologies can be complimentary in providing compelling value proposition to the carriers to be able to deploy services faster and also to be able scale capacity elastically on demand.
• 18 specific use cases highlighting the advantages of deploying F5 virtualized network functions in a multi-vendor environment.
• Integration of F5 BIG-IP technologies with HP NFV Director and HP Helion CloudSystem for the comprehensive end-to-end lifecycle management of virtualized network functions, including VNF instantiation, provisioning, orchestration and service assurance.
• Integration of F5 virtualized network functions with Nuage Networks Virtual Services Platform (VSP) to enable service insertion and traffic toward the appropriate services independent of their location. VSP ensures data paths between VNFs have consistent communications and security policy enforcement throughout the infrastructure.

“Telstra has a strong working relationship with HP and other organizations, with the goal of furthering our NFV strategies and programs through proof of concepts and field trials. Partnering with multiple vendors helps us to deliver impactful virtualization and orchestration capabilities within a flexible architectural framework. As service providers look to build seamless Application Delivery Networks, vendors that have qualified their technologies with the industry’s standardization groups are seen as more attractive to customers.” – David Robertson, Director, Transport & Routing Engineering, Networks, Telstra Operations

http://www.hp.com

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Layer123: BTI Debuts Virtual Network Edge for its Packet/Optical

BTI Systems introduced a virtual network edge solution for its metro packet/optical portfolio.

The BTI 7800 Virtual Network Edge, which enables next-generation broadband services delivery, leverages the high density and massively scalable, SDN-enabled BTI 7800 Series metro packet-optical platform. BTI said it is pursuing a unique architectural approach by integrating virtualization software in an open and converged network infrastructure platform that has been purpose-built for the metro cloud. BTI integrates optical transport and wire-speed routing with applications software in an open system that supports rapid development using third-party commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) compute blades and open carrier-grade Linux OS.

Key features of the BTI 7800 Virtual Network Edge solution:

• A high-performance packet-optical transport platform integrated with a NFV applications plane, and sharing a common non-blocking switch fabric, power, cooling and management for efficiencies and cost savings;
• Scalable performance and economics by leveraging best-of-breed merchant silicon and horizontally-scalable COTS compute in a multi-slot chassis design;
• Increased service velocity and innovation with open management interfaces (NETCONF/YANG, RESTful APIs and OpenFlow), an open NFV plane (COTS compute, X.86 processor, carrier-grade Linux OS) and open standard SDN control (OpenDaylight today);
• Flexible hosting of BTI or third-party Virtual Network Functions for services innovation and differentiation; 
• Central-Office ready architecture with full redundancy, NEBS3, DC (and AC) power and minimal cabling;
• Fast service deployment backed by an agile, responsive and experienced professional services organization.

BTI is showcasing the Virtual Network Edge solution at this week's Layer123 SDN & OpenFlow World Congress in a Proof-of-Concept demo with Active Broadband Network’s Virtual Broadband Network Gateway (vBNG).  The companies will feature the hosting of Active Broadband Network’s Software-Defined Virtual Network Gateway (SDN-vNG) software on the BTI 7800 Series.  Additionally, the demonstration will show the Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) capabilities integrated in the BTI 7800 Series platform, being controlled and managed from an OpenDaylight SDN controller.

“Service providers are transforming their rigid, proprietary and fixed-function networks to open, virtualized and web-scalable infrastructures that enable much faster response to the historic pace of change in today’s competitive environments,” said BTI Systems Chief Technology Officer Robert Keys. “This transformation to a new architecture is happening at the network edge, and requires the use of virtualized network functionality to aggregate subscriber access traffic, including DSL, PON and Ethernet services, in a more efficient, on-demand and cost effective manner.

http://www.btisystems.com

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ONOS Project Joins Linux Foundation

The initiative to develop the Open source SDN Network Operating System (ONOS) will now be managed as a collaborative project under The Linux Foundation.

The partnership will focus on creating disruptive SDN solutions featuring open source software platforms, white boxes, a range of network control and management applications and the ability to rapidly create and deploy innovative services. By becoming a Linux Foundation Collaborative Project, ONOS will leverage the Foundation’s depth of expertise in open source software project governance and community participation, significantly enhancing the project’s capabilities in the crucial strategic area of open source processes and practices.

The ONOS project and platform includes several compelling SDN/NFV solutions for service providers, a global footprint in Research and Education (R&E) networks and a growing community around the globe.


“Service providers are increasingly adopting open source software to build their networks and today are making open source and collaboration a strategic part of their business and an investment in the future,” said Jim Zemlin, Executive Director of the Linux Foundation. “The Linux Foundation recognizes the impact the ONOS project can have on service provider networks and will help advance ONOS to achieve its potential. The partnership combines the best of the two organizations’ capabilities in support of a strategic vision to transform service provider infrastructure with open source SDN and NFV.”

“Now is the perfect time to partner with the Linux Foundation,” said Guru Parulkar, Executive Director and Board Member at ON.Lab/ONOS project. “They bring a number of resources and also provide a measure of trust and sustainability through a well-built brand that delivers extended reach to our collaborative community and accelerates innovation on an even larger scale. ONOS’ services provider, vendor, and research partners welcome the partnership and look forward to the benefits of scale, awareness and sustainability that it will provide.”

The ONOS project has issued four open source releases of ONOS since December 2014 and demonstrated its architecture’s features including scalability, high performance, high availability, modularity and the ability to support OpenFlow as well as NETCONF and other southbound protocols. The project has also demonstrated a number of service provider solutions enabled by ONOS such as CORD (Central Office Re-architected as Data Center), packet-optical convergence, SDN-IP peering, and others.

http://www.onosproject.org
http://www.linuxfoundation.org

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DOCOMO PACIFIC Deploys Ciena's 6500 Packet/Optical

DOCOMO PACIFIC will deploy Ciena's 6500 Packet-Optical Platform to build Guam’s first 200G network to deliver high-speed services for enterprise, government and carrier customers. The network will link all major communications hubs on the island, including three cable landing stations, via a ring-protected, underground fiber optic backbone.

With a new all-fiber optical core, powered by Ciena’s WaveLogic3 Extreme chipset, DOCOMO PACIFIC can now transport high-bandwidth traffic across a protected network with buried fiber and offer a flexible mix of 10G and 100GE services over a single 200G wavelength.

DOCOMO PACIFIC was formed through the merger of Guamcell Communications and HafaTel prior to acquisition in December 2006 by NTT DOCOMO.  DOCOMO PACIFIC officially merged with MCV Broadband and is now Guam and the CNMI's leading provider of telecommunications and entertainment services.

http://www.ciena.com

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