At last year's GEN14, MEF generated a huge amount of interest with their vision for the Third Network. We were given a clear view of a world where network operators would be able to deliver on-demand self-service applications over agile, assured and orchestrated networks. The aim was to create a centrally controlled, NFV/SDN-enabled network, one with converged IT/communications and hierarchical abstraction. What wasn't yet clear, however, was how it would all be accomplished. What specifications would describe the interfaces between the different building blocks? What exactly were the practical steps that would lead to this paradigm shift in network architecture?
Exciting as visionary tech is, in reality it's the things that can be done right away that create value. As Deutsche Telekom CTO, Alex Clauberg, pointed out at this year's GEN15, networks don't evolve through marketing. Progress only occurs after a lot of technical effort to turn blue-sky thinking into real-world implementation. This theme was re-enforced by several speakers who highlighted the need for a seamless transition from present fault-prone manual processes towards automated, self-provisioned communication services.
That's why I felt that the concrete ideas and clarifications showcased at GEN15 were much more significant than the high-level overview of 12 months ago. This year's demos and presentations gave us a new level of detail. They mapped out the vision with actual network strategies and solutions. Here were the blueprints for real-life business cases built on dynamic, secure, managed solutions with converged network, storage and server resources.
Several exhibitions gave practical demonstrations of how NFV can have an impact on today’s operations support systems (OSS) and many proofs of concept highlighted the benefits of centrally orchestrated resources. Our ADVA Optical Networking demonstration with Time Warner Cable Business Class and Juniper Networks revealed how management tools can start to move from simply monitoring connectivity resources to embracing compute resources in a holistic approach. We focused on how NFV can be integrated into a service provider’s existing OSS as we showcased a virtual customer premise equipment solution able to host a variety of virtual network functions.
The real-world network scenarios on display at GEN15 seemed to make a genuine impression on a lot of operators. It was clear that many were starting to understand that this technological shift will not only impact on a particular area of the network but will fundamentally transform the way data transport systems are developed and grown. Today, a scalable network is only possible with a complicated system of distributed routing protocols. But, with NFV and SDN, the central allocation of resources facilitates a completely different approach.
Communication service providers are also now aware that innovation will not move forward in a linear, sequential way. It’s going to be driven by what works practically for customers, with speed of innovation one of the key concerns. That’s why it will progress in transformational steps according to the agile method rather than the classic waterfall model of development.
The MEF will be vital to this progress. It needs to continue the very effective work it’s been doing to harmonize network interfaces. Key MEF specifications and implementation agreements have done a great deal to support and encourage the widespread adoption of Carrier Ethernet 2.0 services. Now more action is required. The next step is moving towards more automation and tackling the problem of too many manual processes in networks today.
There’s also a growing focus on security as a key requirement of an increasingly cyber-risk aware IT community. High-profile news stories have led to a rise in public awareness of the issue but the risk profile and attack surfaces have also increased due to the nature of the technology itself. As proprietary hardware is removed, the layer of security that comes with obscurity also goes. Suddenly, potential hackers have more tools they can utilize.
And, as the vision starts to become more complete, other grey areas also need to be addressed. On the last day of GEN15 there was a session that looked at the work of different standards bodies and industry alliances such as MEF, ITU, TMF, ETSI NFV ISG, ONF and OpenCloud Connect. One common theme that emerged was the issue of overlap. Too many activities have been kicked off in parallel. A boom in the number of standards bodies, as well as planning on a regional level and a big increase in strategic industry alliances, further complicates the picture. Urgent harmonization is required and it’s going to be essential to get the major standards bodies together. We need common consensus to avoid overlap and agree a clear value proposition.
We’re in the middle of a difficult but highly creative innovation process and all the discussions and disagreements are a necessary part of the journey to a higher level of networking. It felt that this year’s GEN15 and the MEF played a big part in this process. But the question still remains: Are we getting everything to work together so that, step-by-step, the Third Network can become reality?