Software: Huawei strikes SDN deal with China Telecom; NSN bolsters security efforts

Software is becoming an increasingly important part of telecommunication networks and deployments as both wired and wireless carriers look to add functionality to operations while increasing simplicity and reducing costs. RCR Wireless News is keeping an eye on recent developments through its weekly “Software” wrap up.
—Huawei announced a deal with China Telecom’s Beijing branch to jointly develop a commercial software-defined network in which SDN technology is applied to the Internet data center.
The deployment is set to include a smart network controller using Huawei’s “carrier-grade” Flow Engine SDN control algorithm and “orchestrator” NetMatrix solution to handle traffic optimization policies. Huawei announced its Flow Engine product earlier this year, which it said offers centralized monitoring and control over a telecom’s network resources, allowing administrators to dynamically allocate resources and optimize performance with relative ease.
Huawei recently showed what it terms a prototype SDN virtual transport platform with a built-in “APP” system that it said could dynamically create “multiple virtual networks on demand to meet individual tenant needs, all from the same physical network;” the system’s flexible optical network control application is designed to allow for automatic on-demand adjustment in modulation format and line rate based on need; and the network health analysis application is designed to track network resource utilization, performance KPIs and alarms in real time.
China Telecom noted that its current IDC is already the “data hub” for north China with plans to use SDN technology to further enhance its operations.
—NetCracker Technology this week announced that Canada’s Shaw Communications was set to deploy select options from its NetCracker 9 product suite. The options include its Order Entry, Order Management, Product/Sales Catalog and Service Library.
The deployment extends Shaw’s current relationship with NetCracker.
–Nokia Solutions and Networks recently announced plans to support the OpenSSL Project’s efforts to bolster security in light of the recent “Heartbleed” bug. NSN said the support would include “a substantial donation, to be made over two years as their first Platinum sponsor,” as well as providing the support of NSN’s Mobile Broadband Security Center facilities.
“With its donation, NSN wants to express its gratitude to the OpenSSL Project for providing the leading open source cryptography library used across the industry,” NSN noted in a statement.
NSN recently garnered increased attention from parent company Nokia following the sale of the company’s handset division to Microsoft. Nokia last year bought out former Nokia Siemens Network partner Siemens from the infrastructure venture.
–In case you missed it, a recent report from Maravedis-Rethink predicts Ericsson was set to increase its reliance on software to drive future business, citing the vendors recent restructuring announcement that will see the company split its networks unit into two groups.
Make sure to check out the latest in telecom related software news at RCR Wireless News’ dedicated software page. Also, if you have telecom software news to share, please send it along to: dmeyer@rcrwireless.com.
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