Network functions virtualisation (NFV) has the potential to transform the networking industry and help free network managers from the constraints of proprietary hardware. Devices such as routers, firewalls and load balancers could be phased out and replaced by software-based network appliances running as virtual machines on x86 servers.
There are tangible benefits to this approach. Capex will fall as hardware is taken out of the network and the need for costly on-site visits and hands-on maintenance will be reduced. The mix of different elements that make up organisations’ networks could increasingly be narrowed down to industry-standard servers, storage devices and switches.
Today’s reality, however, is that a network operator’s infrastructure is composed of multiple technology layers and specialised domains like cloud, metro, access, and core networks. Creating and deploying services from end to end in this environment can be a lengthy and painstaking manual process that entails updating multiple vendor and domain-specific element managers, SDN controllers or cloud management systems and then integrating these changes with the back-end operational support system.
This could make the move to NFV complex and inefficient because, to fully orchestrate services from end to end across both the physical and virtual domains, network operators will have to select vendors for each and then engage in a complex process of stitching this all together using custom software scripts to create services. In moving to NFV, we run the risk of bringing an end to hardware silos while starting to recreate entirely new, software-based ones.
Multi-domain service orchestration (MDSO) is the solution that could help us rid the infrastructure of all silos and finally make truly open, software-defined, multi-vendor networks a reality.
MDSO sits above each domain and enables the automation of services from end to end. It interfaces with network management systems and/or software-defined network (SDN) controllers and other domain controllers and understands available resources, both physical and virtual, that need to be managed. The result is the successful automation of services delivered across a multi-vendor, multi-domain infrastructure and simplified service lifecycle management.
Through open interfaces and APIs, MDSO serves data to the various existing operational support systems. In addition, Topology and Orchestration Specification for Cloud Applications (TOSCA)-based templating technology enables the network operator to program the network themselves, rather than having to utilise large system integrators and their software professional services teams and pay the accompanying fees.
Ciena’s Blue Planet provides an entirely new architecture that changes the way technologies like SDN and NFV are implemented to create open and programmable software-driven networks. It brings together SDN, NFV and service orchestration into a unified, open platform.
The solution is built upon a container-based micro-services architecture, the same modular design concept that major operators are increasingly building their future networks around. This allows for the rapid development and customisation of new applications, including third party and open-source apps. The Blue Planet platform integrates multiple open-source elements, including well-known projects such as Docker, Linux, Kafka and others.
Operators are also equipped with the ability to do their own DevOps-style of self-service resource modelling. Using TOSCA-based service templates, a network operator can quickly create, deploy and enhance services without the traditional reliance on expensive Operational Support System professional services. Integration with existing business support and operational support systems is simplified and streamlined through the use of the Business Process Modelling and Notation (BPMN) standard.
As for those silos we talked about earlier, Blue Planet supports both Ciena and non-Ciena domains, whether access, metro, core or cloud, through the use of resource adapters to interface with a single multi-domain service orchestration layer.
MDSO can help network managers regain control of the multiple, technologically diverse domains in their network. Standardised and automated service delivery becomes possible via repeatable, simplified, and auditable processes.
