Brocade goes after carrier virtualization

Networking specialist Brocade has unveiled a virtualization platform aimed squarely at the cloud and telecommunications service providers sector. Brocade said that its Vyatta platform is the first phase of a multi-year strategy embracing the requirements outlined within the ETSI Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) ISG, and those set out in open source software projects such as OpenDaylight and OpenStack, the company said.

The architecture of the platform is comprised of three core layers: NFV Connection Services, Software Defined Networking (SDN) Structural Services and Functional Orchestration and each layer of this open architecture is modular, the firm said. So: NFV Connection Services deploy Layer 3-7 network functionality with the Brocade Vyatta vRouter and the Brocade vADX products; SDN Structural Services leverage the advancements of the OpenDaylight Project to simplify management through centralised control; while Functional Orchestration engages a range of capabilities from OpenStack and widely interoperable third-party provisioning and orchestration layers.

“The growing complexity of today’s virtualized networks has made it no longer feasible to rely on a single vendor to deliver an end-to-end solution that fits every customer’s requirements of service agility and scalability,” said Kelly Herrell, vice president and general manager of Software Networking at Brocade.

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By adopting a software platform approach, customers gain control over each layer of their infrastructure. “Where individual SDN and NFV technologies will address specific problems, the platform approach will accelerate the full realisation of a modern network model,” Herrell said.

Earlier this week Brocade appointed new datacentre and virtualization specialists to bolster it’s Asia Pacific operations.

Chee Keong Lam was appointed director of Data Center Fabric and Virtualization for Asia Pacific and Beni Sia regional director for South East Asia. Based out of Singapore, both will be responsible for driving the company’s datacentre and SDN strategy and adoption across the regions.

Both Lam and Sia most recently worked at Juniper Networks.