Nokia SDN adds assurance capabilities for telecoms

nokia-event-in-2016Telecom network and software major Nokia has added assurance capabilities to its Network Services Platform (NSP).

The main benefit is that mobile operators will maintain the highest levels of customer satisfaction while optimizing their network assets to move confidently into the next era of carrier SDN.

Nokia will be demonstrating its NSP in booth #97-99 at the SDN World Congress Oct 11-14 at the World Forum in The Hague, Netherlands.

Nokia’s NSP is already offering automation and network control features. The new assurance enables telecom network operators to establish and maintain SDN networks and services. Nokia said the dynamic consumption patterns of cloud applications makes demand and traffic patterns less predictable.

Nokia said assurance provides the missing link operators need to start large-scale commercial SDN deployment, spurred by the growth of cloud, video and Internet of Things (IoT).

Telecom operators can ensure the delivery of on-demand network services using automated provisioning through real-time network control. Telecoms need assurance in addition to automation with inline optimization as SDN projects move from limited live trials to broad deployment and commercialization.

Nokia SDN automation and control capabilities allow operators to make assurance processes far more efficient and impactful than ever before. With automated (or dynamic) assurance, KPIs and analytics can be used to dynamically trigger changes at the SDN control layer without the need for manual intervention.

The KPIs and analytics capabilities of the NSP will:

# Allow service providers to quickly gain visibility into potential problems within their multi-vendor carrier SDN networks and assess overall impact

Trigger and guide automated corrective measures, so that networks and services remain healthy

Drive SDN control policies that can redirect paths, traffic and bandwidth at any layer – flow, IP, Ethernet or optical – and across both physical and virtual domains

The NSP dynamic assurance capability is part of Nokia’s multi-domain Service Assurance program, and a key component of the company’s domain-specific closed-loop automation architecture to drive greater network agility and optimization.

“Service assurance is a critical requirement for successful SDN-based automation and optimization in the WAN (carrier SDN). Without assurance capabilities, uptake of carrier SDN has been slow, particularly for complex multi-domain, multi-vendor networking applications. CSPs are recognizing the need for integrated assurance and asking vendors for solutions,” said Dana Cooperson, research director, Network, Software and Virtualization, Analysys Mason.

Nokia is extending this expertise to multivendor services and elements managed by our carrier SDN offering.

“We address the need for assurance, and provide additional value by leveraging our investment in policy-based SDN control to automate assurance processes,” said Sasa Nijemcevic, general manager of the Network & Service Management business at Nokia.