Current Filter: Network>>>>>Feature>

   

Software Defined Networking (SDN) is in an important transitional stage as carriers move from initial technology research and proof-of-concept trials towards the initial steps of pragmatic implementation in production networks. The larger the carrier, the greater the implementation challenges. To harness value in large scale commercial networks, the fundamental network level innovation of decoupling network control from the physical network elements using software-based controllers needs to be augmented by tools and processes that are available to all the functional groups involved in enabling SDN innovation and creating an end-to-end service.

SDN has potentially huge implications for a carrier's organisation, ranging from network planners designing next-generation architectures and engineers implementing physical layer connections, to operations staff managing revenue traffic and marketing teams creating new customer value propositions. As SDN makes its way into the network these diverse business functions must begin working more holistically in order to actually transform the company into a next-generation business in line with the next-generation technology it is implementing. In addition, operators must identify what impact SDN applications and virtualised functions will have on operations and business support system capabilities, ensuring the tools already in place can handle a new set of demands.

Leveraging SDN innovation across the organisation is central to creating competitive differentiation, especially for Tier 1 carriers intent on seizing the opportunity that the era of the Internet of Everything and cloud computing is unleashing. These operators now face new, non-traditional market challengers, many of whom are at the forefront of SDN adoption, with business models specifically designed for the IT transformation underway in enterprises.

The primary attraction of SDN is its ability to address critical financial goals such as reducing OpEx, reducing CapEx and creating new revenue sources. These benefits are realised through important SDN attributes including multi-layer programmability, automation, and open interfaces. For many operators, the initial proving ground for SDN will be the underlying infrastructure, firstly for packet-layer functionality and then for transport-oriented connections. This multi-layer infrastructure provides the bandwidth for higher-layer services and applications, while also serving as the foundation for high-capacity offerings (e.g. 10G, 40G, 100G+) such as wavelength services and data centre interconnect.

Within the infrastructure of traditional carrier networks, deployed technologies are typically a reflection of legacy networks and applications, that is, primarily voice-centric and mass-market broadband data services. This has resulted in several challenges to the status quo. For example, stratified network islands of technology that require specialists to manage their idiosyncratic complexities, hub-and-spoke topologies that fail to take advantage of advancements in distributed processing power, and expensive infrastructure that forces resiliency and control mechanisms into node-based implementations and therefore, expensive infrastructure. These challenges are compounded by cross-functional inefficiencies and complexities that create obstacles to fast service implementation.

SDN innovation, coupled with other emerging technologies such as Network Functions Virtualisation (NFV), provides a multi-dimensional technology framework (as shown in the adjacent diagram) that enables carriers to address these operational challenges while positioning them to advance in a more competitive market. This framework includes horizontal extensions into the operational domain with automated management of complex operational procedures, as well as vertical extensions into the transport network, where SDN controllers enable operators to harness embedded real-time planning and workflow intelligence. These photonic layer assets can be utilised by diverse functional groups (field personnel, planners and NMS staff) and operational tools (inventory and network management systems) to accelerate service delivery and create new high-speed offerings, including bandwidth-on-demand (BoD) and Network as a Service (NaaS).

In the new networked world, sustainable competitive differentiation will require orchestration of more than just multi-layer networking technologies and protocols. Leveraging SDN innovation across business functions will, ultimately, define the true value of the technology. NC