How NFV & SDN-Based Communication Services Help Enterprises Leverage the Cloud

These days, millions of businesses are connected to one or more networks. As a result, the systems and data centers used to transport and house content are getting bigger, more pervasive, and increasingly complex.

Enterprises face a daunting challenge to keep up with the requirement for more data capacity and support more flexibility to use and connect to a variety of publicly hosted and private cloud-based services.

This shift in the enterprise adoption of virtualized and cloud-based services is causing enterprise IT executives to review their future requirements for use of telecom services such as Internet, VPNs, Ethernet, and other managed services such as UC services alongside cloud services.

IDC’s 2013 survey of 200 enterprise CIOs on Data Center Interconnect indicates that over 70% of these companies are already using more than 50% virtualized infrastructure in their own network and plan to increase the use of virtualized IT servers and services such as compute and storage during the next 2 years.

2013

Companies already using more than 50% virtualized infrastructure in their own network.

Source: IDC’s 2013 survey of 200 enterprise CIOs on Data Center Interconnect

Today there is a lot of buzz in the industry around two new acronyms: Software-Defined Networks (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) and how do the SDN and NFV developments impact the enterprise IT communication service strategy and are they both important for making a communication service selection.

Let’s first look at SDN:

SDN is an architectural framework for creating intelligent networks that are programmable, application-aware, and more open. SDN allows the network to transform into a more effective business enabler. SDN enables applications to request and manipulate services provided by the network and allows the network to expose network state back to the applications.

Some CSPs are already building new network infrastructure based on SDN architecture and controllers, which will enable the CSP to offer dynamic, cloud-based services for enterprises to more rapidly deploy suites of on-demand, virtualized services for flexible workload environments.

Now let’s look at NFV:

Network function virtualization (NFV) promises to enable CSPs the flexibility to move network functions from dedicated hardware appliances such as routers, WAN optimizers, and firewalls to generic x86-based servers and deliver NFV-based software services on-demand via a download similar to the “App Store” in the mobile consumer segment. Using standard IT virtualization technology, NFV aims to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry-standard, high-volume servers, switches, and storage; doing so makes the networks more agile and efficient.

Combining NFV and SDN technology enables CSPs to deliver innovative new WAN-Cloud Connect services and new NFV-enabled services for enterprises that are transitioning their workloads and communication requirements to a hybrid WAN/Cloud environment.