I noted in my introductory blog in AT&T’s and Verizon’s SDN/NFV approach that Verizon has taken a totally different tack with its architecture. Where AT&T is building open-source glue to bind its vendor-controlling D2 architecture, Verizon is defining an open architectural framework for vendor integration. Standards from the ONF, TMF, and NFV ISGs fit deep…
Even a superficial review of AT&T ECOMP shows it’s a whole different way of looking at the virtualization/softwarization of networking. The master architecture diagram is a picture of start-to-finish service lifecycle management, the bottom is a redrawing of SDN and NFV concepts, and the middle is a modeling approach that seems to draw from multiple…
When AT&T and Verizon released their architecture models for SDN and NFV, I did a quick blog overview of the two. I’ve had a chance to talk with operators and vendors about the approach now, and I’d like to revisit the two architectures based on what I’ve heard. This is going to be a three-part…
If network operators want their vendors to embrace software, stories in SDxCentral and Light Reading hint that Nokia may be thinking of doing just that. Details on the notion are incredibly scarce, so we’re left not only to ask the usual question “Is this the right approach?” but also the question “What is the approach?”…
Network operators have accepted open source software. Or, sort of accepted. I don’t want to minimize the fact that operators have indeed made the culture shift necessary to consider the adoption of open-source software, but that’s Step One. There are other steps to be taken, and you can see some of the early attempts at…
Changes in how we build data centers and networks, and in how we deploy applications and connect them, are really hard to deal with in abstract. Sometimes a model can help, something to help visualize the complexity. I propose the whirlpool. Imagine for the moment a whirlpool, swirling about in some major tidal flow. If…
Whatever your party, if you are concerned about the country’s future, I recommend this poem, one I’ve quoted to friends in the past. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Thou, too, sail on, O Ship of State! Sail on, O Union, strong and great! Humanity with all its fears, With all the hopes of future years, Is hanging…
The cloud is a different model of computing, a combination of virtualization and network hosting. We all recognize that “the cloud” is something apart from virtual machines or containers, OpenStack or vCloud, IaaS or PaaS or SaaS. It’s also something apart from the specific kind of servers you might use or the data center architecture…
Telecom is really more about regulatory posture than technology. The US is now looking at a change in the FCC Chairmanship and the overall political balance of the body, and so there’s a chance that regulatory policy will shift. It might even shift sharply. However, FCC workings are murky so it’s not always easy to…
Does a new set of services for network operators imply a new network infrastructure? That’s a question some of you asked me after the series of blogs I’ve just done. I’ve talked about software automation of the service lifecycle, and that has focused primarily on cost management. Obviously, software automation could also facilitate the introduction…