ETSI Open Source MANO announces Release 4.0

ETSI announced the availability of OSM Release FOUR, its most ambitious and innovative to date, and a huge leap forward in terms of functionality, user experience and maturity.

New functionalities of OSM Release FOUR:

• New northbound interface, aligned with ETSI NFV specification SOL005, providing a single pane of glass to control the OSM system. To facilitate the interoperability with existing and new client applications, the details of the interface are entirely available in OpenAPI format.
• Cloud-native install that brings a large set on improvements in terms of user experience and optimization. With a reduced footprint, this Release is much faster, responsive and stable than ever, and provides more convenient means for event logging and diagnosis. In addition, a new graphical user interface (GUI) and a set of optional components can be installed on top of the core components to enrich the experience in terms of visualization, VIM sandbox, etc.
• Monitoring and closed-loop capabilities have also been extended. On-demand and descriptor-driven setting of alarms and metrics are now much simpler and convenient to configure and consume. Likewise, the support of push notifications and configuration of reactive policies, via the new Policy Manager, opens the door to closed-loop operations.
• Modelling and networking logic have also been enhanced. The full support of IP profiles, the consistency checking of addressing, the ability to configure specific MAC addresses for non-cloud-native VNFs, the support of service function chaining assisted by the VIM, or the possibility of using alternative images for public clouds, are only some examples. It also sets a solid path for the support of native charms - so that conventional Juju applications can run natively in OSM - and for the seamless management of Physical Network Functions (PNFs) or hybrid components (physical and virtual), enabling a true end to end service orchestration across virtual and physical network domains.

“ETSI OSM is a growing community which includes many Global Service Providers, leading IT/Cloud players and VNF vendors who drive OSM’s roadmap on a use-case basis. A growing ecosystem of commercial OSM distributions and a large number of OSM-ready VNFs are key indicators of the success of ETSI OSM in terms of market relevance and adoption,” says Francisco-Javier Ramón, chairman of ETSI OSM group.

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New Zealand's Chorus to test Nokia's wavelength services

New Zealand's Chorus will test Nokia's wavelength services solution for on-demand assurance and fulfilment of Layer 1 services compliant with the emerging MEF standard for L1 subscriber services.

The solution under trial will enable Chorus to offer new standards-based optical services to service providers.

Nokia's wavelength services solution includes the compact and carrier-class Nokia 1830 Photonic Service Demarcation (PSD) for customer premises functions.

Chorus is pursuing a "One Open Access Network Infrastructure" vision - an open platform from which it can accelerate the monetization of its infrastructure by offering fiber access, transport services, premium co-location and network hubs.

Ewen Powell, CTO at Chorus, said: "Chorus is looking forward to trialling the Nokia wavelength services solution. With its support for compact demarcation devices and end-customer portal access to fully instrumented service assurance dashboards and reports, we believe that solutions like this will further advance our service offer, and put more network control in the hands of our service providers."

Sam Bucci, head of optical networks for Nokia, said: "Our strategy for optical wavelength services, combined with open assurance and fulfilment tools, perfectly aligns with Chorus' wholesale strategy. Our partnership is founded on this shared vision, and we look forward to trialling this first-of-its-kind solution, which has the potential to open up an entirely different approach to wholesaling optical wavelength services, especially with the imminent release of the new MEF standard."

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Zayo adds wavelength route from Marseille to Strasbourg via Milan

Zayo activated a new coherent wavelength route from Marseille to Strasbourg via Milan. The route, which also provides connectivity to Paris, Frankfurt, London, and Amsterdam, leverages Zayo’s European fiber network acquired from Viatel.

Zayo said it already has customers for this new route,  include an India-based carrier which is looking to extend and harden its network into Europe. Additional customers committed to this route include a U.S.-based global Internet services provider and an international wholesale telecommunications provider.

Zayo is expanding its dark fiber and long-haul wavelength network in Europe, and now has several 100G and dark fiber routes out of Marseille, a city that serves as a strategic gateway and key aggregation point between Europe, Africa, and Asia via subsea cables.

“With our expanded capability, we are well-positioned to meet the needs of a growing base of global customers,” said Randy Dunbar, senior vice president, Transport. “Our connectivity options in and out of Marseille are opening up new international markets for us, and we continue to see strong demand from multiple verticals.”

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Lumina raises $10 million for its OpenDaylight-powered SDN controller

Lumina Networks, a start-up based offering an SDN controller powered by OpenDaylight, announced $10 million Series A financing, including $8 million in new funding led by Verizon Ventures. Other new investors included AT&T and Rahi Systems.

Lumina was formed in August 2017 as a spin-off from Brocade.

"This investment by both Verizon and AT&T demonstrates the strategic importance of open source networking to the automation and digitization of their networks,” said Andrew Coward, Founder and CEO of Lumina Networks. “We understand the value of our mission to take open source networking out of the labs of our customers and into production deployment. This funding will enable us to reach a wider customer base and realize the industry vision of easily deployable open source software-defined networking (SDN)."


“SDN has emerged as a key architectural model in delivering the promised goals of next generation wireless networks such as 5G by enabling high speeds and low latency at lower cost points,” said Alexander Khalin, Director at Verizon Ventures. “Open source is instrumental to Verizon’s digital transformation, and the team at Lumina Networks has built world-class, carrier grade products and solutions in this space and truly understands how to effectively work with network operators on their transformational journey.  We look forward to their continued success in this field."


“SDN is at the heart of our network transformation, and we’ve committed to virtualizing and software-controlling 75% of our core network functions by 2020,” said Chris Rice, Senior Vice President, AT&T Labs, Domain 2.0 Architecture and Design.  “Lumina’s leadership and work in OpenDaylight is important to creating a scalable software-defined network. Their open source business model is what our industry is moving to. Much of our future network will be powered by open source software, such as our white box initiative, and we’re excited to help drive innovation and collaboration in this space.”

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Windstream to offer 300 Mbps home broadband over its cable TV network

Windstream plans to upgrade its cable TV network in north Georgia to deliver 300 Mbps residential broadband downlink speeds.

The upgrade will make 300 Mbps available to 67,000 households in 13 communities. Just last year, Windstream first began offering broadband over its cable TV network with speeds of 100 Mbps.

"This project underscores Windstream's commitment to best-in-class internet and entertainment services.  We evaluate the unique characteristics of each community in our service area and then deploy the technology that meets our customers' needs in the fastest, most cost-effective way," said J Berkshire, president of Windstream Operations in Georgia. "I'm delighted that this approach is bringing faster speeds to more of our customers in Georgia."

Windstream's cable TV network serves Dahlonega, Blairsville, Clarkesville, Cleveland, Commerce, Cornelia, Dawsonville, Helen, Hiawassee, Homer, Jefferson, Nicholson and Young Harris, as well as Hayesville, N.C.

Windstream also has expanded its fiber-to-the-premises, 1 gigabit internet service to eligible customers across 43 Georgia communities.

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Nutanix posts revenue of $289.4 million, up 41%

Nutanix reported revenue of $289.4 million for its third quarter of fiscal 2018, ended April 30, 2018, up 41% year-over-year, and reflecting the elimination of approximately $52 million in pass-through hardware revenue in the quarter as the company executes its shift toward increasing software revenue.


GAAP gross margin was 67.0%, up from 59.5% in the third quarter of fiscal 2017.  GAAP net loss was $85.7 million, compared to a GAAP net loss of $96.8 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2017. Non-GAAP net loss amounted to $34.6 million, compared to a non-GAAP net loss of $45.7 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2017.

“Demand for our solutions remains strong as we saw 67 percent growth in software and support billings and 55 percent growth in software and support revenue. We had strong success in our hiring in the quarter that positions us to deliver on our future growth plans, as we outlined at our March Investor Day,” said Duston Williams, CFO of Nutanix. “The continued growth in our software and support billings and gross margin expansion in the quarter demonstrates we are successfully executing on our transition to a software-defined business model.”

Some highlights:

• During the quarter, Nutanix grew software and support billings by 67 percent year-over-year, including three software and support deals worth more than $5 million each. Pass-through hardware billings decreased to 17 percent of total billings in the quarter, down from 25 percent in the year-ago quarter.
• Improved AHV Penetration: Grew adoption of AHV, the company’s built-in hypervisor, to 33%, based on a four-quarter rolling average of nodes using AHV as a percentage of NX nodes sold.
• Nutanix ended the third quarter of fiscal 2018 with 9,690 end-customers, adding 820 new end-customers during the quarter and growing deals greater than $1 million by 28 percent year-over-year.

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