Windstream SDNow extends to 50 U.S. markets
Windstream Wholesale, a Fortune 500 company and provider of network communications, recently announced it is expanding its SDNow transport service to encompass 50 markets dotted across the states. The move is part of a larger initiative by Windstream to transform its network with software-defined networking (SDN).
SDNow is a kind of SDN-based service leveraged by several carriers, designed for optical wave services in data centers in addition to long haul networks. It is intended to provide automated provisioning, among other functions, in the network for 1G and 10G optical wavelength circuits for 1,500 long-haul route combinations, with delivery in 20 days, according to the company. Windstream originally deployed SDNow in third-party neutral data centers in Chicago, Dallas, Ashburn (VA), Miami and Atlanta in May 2017.
By making SDN more widely available, Windstream said it can provide two primary advantages; namely, reinforcing its commitment to offer programmable network solutions as well as improve internal operations by shifting to a network based on SDN.
“We are investing in strategic technologies that enable us to deliver flexible, on-demand services across our multi-vendor network,” said Mike Shippey, president of Windstream Wholesale, in a statement. “Providing SDNow services to our customers via multi-vendor service orchestration and automated provisioning truly differentiates Windstream in the marketplace. Consumers of SDN-provisioned services will see improvement in their customer experience through the removal of human touch-points in the service fulfillment process, and improved accuracy through automated standard configurations.”
Moving forward, the SDNow platform will serve as basis for additional services, such as on-demand and calendared bandwidth. In addition, Windstream plans to add third-party SDN controllers and provide intent-based service orchestration across multiple layers of its network, according to the company.
Windstream also announced that a hyperscale cloud service provider has contracted for the installation of 21 optical wavelengths running at 100 Gbps to increase resilience and minimize latency. In addition, the service provider, along with optical networking partners Ciena, Coriant and Infinera, are taking part in a the Proof of Concept (PoC) showcase in November to demonstrate its SDN-based multi-vendor orchestration capabilities.
