siliconindia | | December 20188By Prayson Pate, CTO ­ Ensemble, ADVA Optical NetworkingADVA Optical Networking is a global provider of intelligent telecommunications infrastructure solutions offering Scalable optical transport, Packet edge and aggregation, Disaggregated network elements, Network virtualization, Network infrastructure assurance, Timing and synchronization and many other services.Tin my opinionNFV: USING THE CLOUD TO DELIVER THE CLOUDhe cloud is driving today's network expansion, both in terms of coverage, as well as in bandwidth. With net-work functions virtualiza-tion (NFV), communications service providers (CSPs) can use cloud tech-nologies to drive their own transfor-mation. In other words, they can use the cloud to deliver the cloud. NFV is the key element that enables CPS to leverage the relevant cloud technolo-gies. CSPs are deploying NFV today to provide scalable and on-demand services, creating major benefits for end-users and building a basis future growth and innovation.What are the specific benefits of NFV?Back in 2012, CSPs were seeing the benefits of the cloud for their end-users. They invented NFV to get those benefits for themselves. Here is a summary of the benefits that CSPs are seeing today:· Develop services in days and weeks, not in months and years· Build services from micro-components, not huge monolithic blocks· Deploy services instantly with LTE, not waiting on a wireline for connectivity· Build services on an open platform, not in closed silos· Use best of breed and open source, not everything from a single supplier· Pay for what you use, when you use, not all up front· Work closely with their customers and suppliers, not at arm's lengthAs you can see, these benefits are significant. They enable CSPs to ac-complish goals that are not achievable using traditional approaches.What are the essential aspects of the cloud for telecom?In other words, what technologies or concepts do we need to map from the data center into the telco network? Here is a short list:· Low-cost standard computer platforms ­ enable CSPs to use the latest technology, and to match the platform to the service size (e.g., small, medium, large) or special requirements (e.g., environmental hardening or local regulatory compliance).· New cost models ­ enable options for capex & opex, pay as you go, and shared risk/shared reward.· Software components from an ecosystem of suppliers ­ provide the means for selecting best of breed for each application.· Virtualization, abstraction and layering ­ facilitate the use of components in complex systems by hiding and containing complexity.· Modern languages and open APIs ­ increase the productivity of developers.· Development methods ­ Agile & DevOps.· Partnering with suppliers and customers ­ working together speeds-up the process of defining, developing and deploying new services.Do end-users care about NFV?While some sophisticated end-users understand the benefits of NFV and care, most don't. But all end-users do care about the benefits of NFV, especially regarding services:
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