ONF Extends its Open SDN Software with OpenDaylight Support

The second release of Atrium, an open SDN software distribution from The Open Networking Foundation (ONF), extends support for the OpenDaylight platform into the Atrium software router.

Specifically, the router in the new Atrium release is built on the OpenDaylight framework and controls OpenFlow hardware switches using Quagga’s open-source implementation of the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), a control plane protocol for Internet routing. The most important features of Atrium’s first release, namely flow objectives and device drivers, are implemented in the OpenDaylight Device Identification and Driver Module (DIDM) that allows the router to work across multiple different OpenFlow v1.3 hardware pipelines. The work on this portion was contributed almost entirely by Criterion Networks and Wipro. Hardware from NoviFlow interoperates with the OpenDaylight implementation of Atrium, with additional vendors to follow.

This release of Atrium also improves the ONOS version (Atrium 2015/A) by improving scalability and stability and by adding experimental support for the Interior Gateway Protocol (IGP), following interoperability demonstrations and testing in AsiaPac, Europe, and North America. Performance and scale test contributors include Criterion Network Labs (CNLabs) and improvements to the basic router have come from ON.Lab.

In addition, this version of Atrium includes a new feature called the Leaf-Spine Fabric. This is the first Layer 2/3 Clos network fabric built in open source, on Open Compute Project (OCP) hardware, and with SDN principles and notable contributions from ON.Lab, Broadcom, and Accton. The Atrium fabric is designed to scale up to 16 racks, using well-established design principles of Layer 3 down to the Top of Rack (ToR) switch, where packets from Layer 2 are switched within a rack and Layer 3 routed across racks. The fabric is set for a field trial with a major operator soon, as part of the Central Office Re-architected as Data Center (CORD) project with ON.Lab.

“In this release of Atrium, the porting to OpenDaylight provides a large and vibrant community with a new vehicle for adopting open SDN,” said Bithika Khargharia, director of Product and Community Management for the Open Networking Foundation and principal architect of Solutions and Innovation at Extreme Networks. “ONF is actively creating an ecosystem and the architecture needed to assist network operators to more easily build custom solutions and allow vendors to take advantage of common building blocks, reducing their development costs and improving interoperability.”

“We are excited by this latest Atrium release incorporating OpenDaylight as we strive to make the adoption of open SDN broader and easier,” said Dan Pitt, executive director of the Open Networking Foundation. “Application developers seek portability across various control planes and we hope this sets an example of how it can be done. I am especially grateful to our members Criterion Networks and Wipro for undertaking this porting, and to the OpenDaylight community for their collaboration and support.”

“Including OpenDaylight integration within Atrium 2016/A provides greater opportunities for operators and vendors to adopt open SDN architectures,” said Neela Jacques, executive director of OpenDaylight. “The increase of open SDN projects within the industry through community contributions shows that the industry is on the right path to accelerating commercial adoption of open SDN. We look forward to continued collaboration with ONF as the industry evolves its approach to open, programmable networks enabled by open source SDN.”

http://www.opensourcesdn.org

ONF Readies Atrium Open SDN Software Release

Tuesday, June 09, 2015  #SDN, ONF, Open  No comments

The Open Networking Foundation (ONF) announced its "Atrium" open SDN software distribution, integrating previously standalone open source components.

Atrium, which will be released by the end of the month, incorporates the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), the Open Network Operating System (ONOS), and Open Compute Project (OCP) components. The software elements run in either controllers or switches, communicating via the OpenFlow protocol, and include plugin opportunities for other switching solutions to help foster an open ecosystem of interoperable, hardware-based OpenFlow switches.

Atrium 2015/A components include:

• Documentation for installation, configuration, and operation
• A snapshot of ONOS verified to work with the white-box software stack as well as other vendor switches that have provided a driver for their pipeline
• A BGP peering application that runs on ONOS and includes the Quagga BGP stack
• A collection of OpenFlow v1.3 device drivers in ONOS, meant for talking to vendor equipment with different hardware pipelines
• Indigo OpenFlow client together with Open Network Linux and OFDPA for the OCP white-box switches
• Mininet with the use of Open vSwitch (OVS) to emulate the hardware pipelines of the switches involved; (hardware pipelines represent a sequence of match-action tables in an OpenFlow switch)
• Full testing suite for functionality test

http://www.opensourcesdn.org
https://www.opennetworking.org

Read More

Brocade Debuts Virtual Core for Mobile, Announces SDN/NFV/Mobile Edge Partners

Brocade introduced its Virtual Core for Mobile (VCM), a fully virtualized Evolved Packet Core (vEPC) suite of products that supports network slicing with independent localization and scaling of the control and user planes—ahead of the targeted standardization date established by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).

Brocade said its VCM transforms mobile networks by eliminating expensive and proprietary hardware devices, long upgrade cycles and over-provisioning.  Depending on specific network and deployment requirements, the same software package can serve as a complete vEPC or a combination of mobility management entity (MME), home subscriber server (HSS), serving gateway (S-GW) and packet data network gateway (P-GW). The overall deployment model of the Brocade VCM can be used to create network slices that are optimized for IoT traffic profiles to enable a mobile packet core-as-a-service offering for hosting MVNO services or to support non-traditional, innovative services from mobile operators.  The solution interoperates with all major radio and 3G/LTE core network equipment through standard interfaces and bridges 5G capabilities to older networks.

Brocade also announced new technology partnerships targeting SDN, NFV and mobile edge computing and aimed at providing mobile operators with an open network for the demands of 5G. These include Coriant, Rift.io, MetaSwitch and Openet.

Brocade and Coriant are working together to deliver virtualized mobile networking-as-a service for enterprise bandwidth-on-demand provisioning as well as multidomain programmability and control via a web-based service portal. This collaboration enables capabilities such as mobile network slicing.
Brocade and Rift.io are working on network-intelligent and proximity-aware orchestration to help mobile operators deploy virtual network function (VNF) capabilities in data centers and in the right virtual location within the mobile network.
Brocade is collaborating with MetaSwitch and Openet to deliver pre-integrated NFV solutions, including a complete virtual IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) VoLTE solution. Brocade and Openet are collaborating to provide MVNOs and mobile virtual network enablers (MVNEs) with machine-to-machine (M2M) and Internet of Things (IoT) solutions.

Brocade's Mobile Edge Computing platform, which is based on its vRouter, offers mobile edge virtual infrastructure capabilities that integrate routing, IPsec termination, and network firewall functions with the virtualization infrastructure in the host operating system. Applications partners include PeerApp, Saguna, and Vasona, providing capabilities in the areas of video serving and optimization; video caching; network visualization and analytics; network optimization; and VoLTE local routing.

The Brocade open mobile networking ecosystem also includes partners that extend the company’s solutions for network visibility and wireless networking. Network visibility partners include Avvasi, EMC, Guavus, and Viavi. Wireless networking partners include Aerohive, Aruba, and Ruckus.
 
“Today’s announcements solidly plant Brocade in the business of delivering innovative networking solutions that help MNOs and MVNOs solve their most critical business and technology problems,” said Kevin Shatzkamer, chief technology officer of mobile networking, Brocade. “The combined offerings for vEPC, mobile edge computing and network visibility provide a future-proof technology foundation well in advance of 5G availability which will help MNOs accelerate new revenue streams today. Brocade is committed to working with partners in our open mobile networking ecosystem, in order to bring new innovations that put mobile operators on the path to delivering 5G services enabled by New IP infrastructures.”

http://www.brocade.com

Read More

Sequans Shows its Monarch LTE Cat M Chip

Sequans Communications unveiled its "Monarch" LTE Cat M chip, compliant with the 3GPP Release 13 LTE Advanced Pro standard that defines new narrowband capabilities of LTE for machine-type-communications (LTE MTC).

The Sequans Monarch chip supports the vast new range of low data use, ultra low-power, cost-sensitive, narrowband IoT applications such as smart energy meters, industrial IoT sensors, asset trackers, smart city controllers, and consumer wearables. The design integrates baseband, RF, RAM, and power management are integrated in a single, tiny 6.5 x 8 mm FC-CSP package. Monarch supports both of the narrowband categories defined in the Release 13 standard: Cat M1, 1.4 MHz bandwidth; and Cat M2, 200 kHz bandwidth.

Monarch also includes: 1) a programmable RF filtering technology that enables the simple design of a single worldwide SKU that supports nearly any LTE band and enables global roaming; and 2) Sequans’ exclusive low power technology, Dynamic Power Management (DPM), that dynamically adapts chip-level power profiles in real time based on traffic patterns and use cases, making possible 10-15 years2 of battery life in real-world IoT applications.

“Monarch is the industry’s first Cat M1/M2 chip and it is highly optimized to address the size, cost and power requirements of IoT applications,” said Georges Karam, Sequans CEO. “We’ve innovated to minimize power consumption, reduce the bill-of-materials, and simplify implementation of a global-ready device to maximize Monarch’s market reach. The release of Monarch extends Sequans’ LTE for IoT leadership–proven last year with the introduction of our Cat 1 chipset, Calliope–and highlights Sequans’ strong commitment to perfecting the use of LTE for IoT, now including an entire new class of narrowband devices.”

Monarch chip features

• Narrowband LTE UE categories M1 and M2
• Compliant with 3GPP Release 13 (LTE Advanced Pro) for machine type communications (MTC)
• Single chip 6.5 x 8 mm FC-CSP package
• Integrated baseband, RF transceiver, memory, and power management
• Supports extended DRX and PSM network features for long sleep duration use cases
• Includes Sequans’ proprietary Dynamic Power Management (DPM) technology for 10-15 years2 of battery life
• Programmable RF filtering for global band support in a single-SKU design
• Optimized for half-duplex FDD (HD-FDD) operation; also supports full-duplex FDD and TDD
• Throughput:
• LTE UE category M1 (1.4 MHz bandwidth) up to 300 kbps DL/375 kbps UL in HD-FDD
• LTE UE category M2 (200 kHz bandwidth) up to 40 kbps DL/55 kbps UL in HD-FDD
• Supports wide variety of embedded and host operating systems
• Low power serial interfaces

Sequans’ StreamliteLTE product family now includes Monarch, Calliope and Colibri LTE chipset platforms.

http://www.sequans.com

Read More

Huawei Unveils Five Initiatives for Digital Transformation in Telecom

Huawei outlined its five 'Big Initiatives' for the telecom industry:

• Big Video – Everywhere, 
• Big IT – Enabling, 
• Big Operation – Agile, 
• Big Architecture – Elastic, 
• Big Pipe – Ubiquitous.

The company announced innovative solutions for 4.5G, Internet of Things (IoT), 2K/4K video, and Safe City. The Big Initiatives and the innovative solutions represent Huawei's long term commitment to building a Better Connected World through extensive collaboration in the industry.

"Digital transformation is a new engine for telecom industry growth, and it will also empower the innovation of other industries," said William Xu, Executive Director of the Board and Chief Strategy Marketing Officer of Huawei, in London, "Huawei will continue to open up platform capabilities to help carriers to build an open, collaborative, and win-win industry ecosystem to accelerate digital transformation."

http://www.huawei.com/en/mwc2016

Read More

NETSCOUT Intros Flagship Packet Flow Switch for Carriers

NETSCOUT introduced its new flagship blade and chassis Packet Flow Switch -- the PFS 6010 -- designed for Service Providers who have migrated to 100G networks and require monitoring visibility infrastructure that scales with their networks and allows them to leverage investments in existing 1G or 10G monitoring tools.

The PFS 6010 features a 6Tbps non-blocking fabric architecture with port density from 60 to 600 ports in a single chassis. Advanced packet conditioning capabilities include packet slicing, header stripping and de-duplication to ensure their networks are managed efficiently.

NETSCOUT said its new PFS 6010 solves a critical challenge that organizations managing large networks encounter: scaling access to network traffic with the growing need for service assurance, performance management, application management and additional security systems.

“This is a strategic expansion of our portfolio, enabling packet flow switches to scale to the needs of the world’s largest and most innovative service providers who need application visibility,” said Brian McCann, vice president and general manager of NETSCOUT’s Packet Flow Switch Business Unit. “With 6Tbps performance and up to 600 available ports, the PFS 6010 offers the industry’s most scalable packet flow switch solution, supporting advanced traffic optimization, filtering and flow balancing functionality in a single system that support speeds from 1G to 100G.”

Key features and capabilities of the PFS 6010 include:

• Massive scalability supports the largest data center and mobile network deployments, with up to 600 ports of 10G or 60 ports of 100G in a single chassis
• Carrier class reliability and application performance with a non-blocking 6Tbps line rate fabric and fully redundant architecture
• Advanced flexibility easily accommodates various traffic types and requirements, from 1G to 10G to 40G to 100G, with aggregation, replication, load balancing and advanced packet conditioning functionality
• Highly modular 15RU 10-slot chassis, where each blade can be selected and deployed based on speeds, port density and functionality required

http://www.netscout.com/product/service-provider/ngenius-6000-series-packet-flow-switch-service-provider/

Read More

EMC's New VCE Hyper-Converged VxRail Packs up to 76TB of Flash

EMC introduced its new VCE hyper-converged VxRail Appliance family for VMware environments.

The VxRail Appliance family brings together EMC rich data services and leading systems management capabilities with VMware's hyper-converged software that includes VMware vSphere, vCenter Server and VMware Virtual SAN.

The jointly engineered VCE VxRail Appliances tightly integrate virtualization, compute, storage and data protection in one system with a single point of support.

Entry systems for small and medium businesses and remote offices start at a list price of $60,000 and options for performance intensive workloads have more than 76 TB of flash – over 2X more flash than any other hyper-converged appliance.

"The new VCE VxRail Appliance family puts IT organizations on a path to eliminating complexity and collapsing cost structures with hyper-converged infrastructure while leveraging their existing VMware investments. The VxRail Appliance completes our broad portfolio of Vblock, VxBlock and VxRack Systems to provide customers with a converged infrastructure that meets nearly every workload from the edge to the core regardless of size," said Chad Sakac, President, VCE, the Converged Platforms Division of EMC.

http://www.emc.com

Read More

Sierra Wireless Offers Smart SIM for Device-to-Cloud IoT

Sierra Wireless announced its Smart SIM technology and connectivity service for IoT.

“Our Smart SIM technology allows us to provide our customers with a connectivity service designed for the coverage and quality of service that their IoT use cases require,” said Emmanuel Walckenaer, Senior Vice President, Cloud and Connectivity Services at Sierra Wireless. “When combined with our IoT Acceleration Platform, this unique, fully integrated device-to-cloud service accelerates our customers’ time-to-market.”

Sierra Wireless said its Smart SIM automatically selects networks based on the best service available in any given location. It comes with multiple operator profiles already installed, effectively combining several MNO roaming SIMs into one physical Smart SIM. The on-board patented applet then intelligently selects the best available regional network operator at any given time. This results in better coverage and service up-time. In the event a device loses network signal, whether in-transit or otherwise, the Smart SIM will detect this and re-establish the connection with another network automatically.

Sierra Wireless noted that it has more than 700,000 SIM subscribers globally that count on its connectivity offering to power their IoT deployments.

http://www.sierrawireless.com

Read More

LiveAction Raises $36 Million for Visibility Software

LiveAction, a start-up based in Palo Alto, California, announced a $36 million Series B round of financing for its enterprise IT network visibility software platform.

LiveAction, which was initially developed to aid the U.S. Department of Defense in the operation of its networks, provides real-time big data analytics for decision-making and deep integration with routers and switches for unparalleled network control.

LiveAction features unique interactive topology and end-to-end flow visualization. It can be used to simplify voice, video and application troubleshooting in real time and provide historical playback with its network DVR capability.

New York-based venture capital and private equity firm Insight Venture Partners led the investment round with participation from prior investors Accelerate-IT Ventures and Cisco Investments.

“In 2014, we completed our Series A round, led by AITV and Cisco, and invested those proceeds to build a powerful visibility platform used by many of the biggest companies in energy, finance, retail and healthcare. Closing our Series B financing enables us to globalize LiveAction,” said Darren T. Kimura, CEO and chairman of LiveAction. “Insight Venture Partners have helped build successful infrastructure software companies including SolarWinds, Veeam, and Quest Software, and we are looking forward to accelerating our growth via this partnership.”

http://www.liveaction.com

Read More