Sdn/Nfv Technologies Innovative Use Cases and Operator Strategies

The hype cycle for software defined networking (SDN) and network function virtualization (NFV) has been long and steady. SDN separates control plane (network management) from data plane (traffic handling), allowing dynamic bandwidth, provisioned with quality of service levels. NFV replaces hardware with software apps able to operate in a compute environment, eliminating specialty WAN equipment and associated costs. The world's major network providers are trialing these technologies heavily to understand their benefits, both for themselves and for their business customers. They also seek to understand how, if they are not first-in, competitors with disruptive business models might try to use these emerging technologies against them.

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The end goal for a fully software-driven and virtualized network is clear: A dynamic, on-demand global fabric where each application can order, set up and tear down services, performance and features as they are needed through automated API function calls. But the correct steps from the current state to this future end state are anything but clear. It may seem that operators based in Asia and North America have pioneered SDN/NFV, and that European operators (with notable exceptions such as Colt and Deutsche Telekom) are not as advanced. When it comes to customer-facing commercial service launches, this is partly true. But large operators realize the risks of misplaced technology bets and single vendor lock-in. A growing number use SDN/NFV internally; they are also exploring and trialing the technologies externally, to see what benefits they can bring to customers. SDN's on-demand bandwidth is capturing business from companies with seasonal variations, or with temporary needs. Many large enterprise IT departments however underscore the skills gap: they are not yet ready to embrace a fully...