It seems possible, based on the results of the MWC show, to speculate a bit on what infrastructure and service considerations are likely to arise out of the 5G specs. “Speculate” is the key word here; I’ve already noted that the show didn’t address the key realities of 5G, IoT, or much anything else. I…
What Would Edge-Hosting Mean to Infrastructure and Software Design?
If computing in general and carrier cloud in particular is going to become more edge-focused over time, then it’s time to ask just what infrastructure features will be favored by the move. Even today we see variations in server architecture and the balance of compute and I/O support needed. It is very likely that there…
A Slightly Early MWC Retrospective
The iconic MWC conference is now pretty much history. The big announcements have been made, the attendees have largely exhausted themselves (the exhibitors certainly have!), and it’s time to take stock and decide whether anything important was really said and shown. In terms of point announcements, it’s rare for something huge to come out at…
How Could We Accelerate the Pace of New Edge-Deployed Data Centers?
There should be no question that I am a big fan of edge computing, and so I’m happy that Equinix is pushing storage to the edge (according to one story yesterday) or that Vapor IO supports micro-data-centers at the wireless edge. I just wish we had more demand focus to explain our interest in the…
Are You in the Mood for Indigo? AT&T’s New Concept Could Change Your Mind!
When you have an architecture that set the standard for NFV, what do you to for an encore? AT&T’s answer to that question is “Network 3.0 Indigo” or in short terms, just “Indigo”. It’s another of those huge concepts that’s difficult to describe or to understand, and its sheer scope is certain to create healthy…
How Can We Get to Modular Infrastructure for the Carrier Cloud?
In a blog last week, I mentioned the notion of an NFV infrastructure concept that I called a “modular infrastructure model”. It was a response to operators’ comments that they were most concerned about the possibility that the largest dollar investment in their future—carrier cloud—would end up creating a silo. They know how to avoid…
Just How Much of a Problem is VNF Onboarding and Integration?
We had a couple of NFV announcements this week that mention onboarding or integration. Ericsson won a deal with Verizon that includes their providing services to integrate VNFs, and HPE announced an “onboarding factory” service that has the same basic goal. The announcements raise two questions. First, does this move the ball significantly with respect…
Cloud Computing Service Success for Operators: Can It Be Done?
Operators have been fascinated by the public cloud opportunity, and new initiatives like that of Orange Business Services seem to promise that this fascination could be gaining some traction in the real world. But Verizon at the same time is clearly pulling back from its public cloud computing commitments. What’s really going on with operator…
The Road Ahead for the Networking Industry
Think network hardware is going great? Look at Cisco’s results, and at Juniper’s decision to push even harder in security (which by the way is also a hot spot for Cisco’s quarter). Look at the M&A in the vendor space. Most of all, look at everyone’s loss of market share to Huawei. USTelecom Daily Lead’s…
Don’t Ignore the Scalability and Resilience of SDN/NFV Control and Management!
It would be fair for you to wonder whether the notion of intent-based service modeling for transformed telco infrastructure is anything more than a debate on software architecture. In fact, that might be a very critical question because we’re really not addressing, so far, the execution of the control software associated with virtualization in carrier…