Network automation

The cloud has opened up a world of new possibilities for communication service providers (CSPs) by empowering them to offer high-value hosting and managed IT services. This lifeline has arrived just in time to help CSPs escape becoming marginalized through increasingly commoditized services. However, in order to compete in the cut-throat telco industry, they require future-proof networks and architectures that enable them to respond to demand with the same elasticity as the cloud itself. They need to be free from the burden of time-consuming planning, installation and provisioning processes. And this digital transformation impacts every aspect of the network. Hardware-defined networks need to shift to a software-defined approach. Vertically integrated solutions must become disaggregated. While open interfaces and standard protocols, in combination with a central controller, are needed to integrate multiple technologies into a common service production platform. 

While new services promise new revenue, they currently come with a hefty service implementation price tag. All too often, field services need to install new technologies at the network edge that require extra expenditure. Weeks of valuable time negatively impact the business case and customer satisfaction. But with zero touch provisioning, all of this can be avoided. What’s more, with zero touch solutions that combine fully automated activation and advanced security controls, network security risk can be efficiently mitigated. With Ensemble Connector as an NFV infrastructure platform and Adtran FSP 150 programmable edge devices for high-bandwidth business services, we offer two solutions that utilize the most advanced cryptographic methods to safely authenticate devices deployed at the network edge and ensure the integrity of software and configuration data.

The days of vertically integrated network elements are gone. Today’s service providers want to flexibly select and combine hardware and software without restrictions. Disaggregated networks are key in driving this transformation. Purpose-build hardware is being replaced by standard servers and virtual network functions. Similarly, routers and switches are being implemented as white boxes, which are standard, bare metal switches in combination with network operating systems as well as OAM capabilities. And, with fully software-defined networks we can look to the next frontier: network management and control tools capable of adaptive learning and decision-making across multi-layer and multi-domain network architectures, facilitating end-to-end network automation. This will involve augmenting human reasoning with intelligent algorithms, eventually enabling self-controlled networks based on comprehensive historical and current information. While this transition will raise questions around technical visibility and ethical acceptability in the future, for now we can consider the value that AI will bring to operating, securing and optimizing our networks.