Using software to enhance network services

There are many recent examples throughout the IT industry where information technology managers who are being forced to do more with less are trying to push the envelope as it pertains to virtualization. While virtualization to some means systems and server virtualization to others like large enterprise and or service providers alike view software and network virtualization into the definition.

In fact there are three areas that would fall into such definition:

• Software-defined networking
• Network functions virtualization
• Network virtualization

To be clear the above are closely associated with each other. I will, however, do my best to clarify what each is in the simplest of definitions:

• Software Defined Networking is defined whereby the network control plane is separated from the forwarding plane. SDN provides a more centralized illustration of the distributed network, which can result in more efficient orchestration, and automation of services.
• Network Functional Virtualization is really focused on optimizing the network services such as domain name services by separating these functions from the network elements or server appliances they traditionally have run on. Thus the virtualization of the “network” function, which in turn would increase the velocity of service commercialization and delivery.
• Network Virtualization is the virtualization of traditional services that enable the network to be highly scalable and elastic such as network based firewall services. We see this most often in service providers who are looking to replace traditional on-premise CPE based firewalls with network or cloud based virtualized firewall services delivered in a multi-tenant architecture scalable to hundreds if not thousands of customers.

The above three concepts are all intrinsically linked since each aims to virtualize these traditional services by using software at the core. By using a software-based approach and virtualizing traditional networking services the end result can lead to increased scalability, agility and ultimately increased business transformation by accelerating the service innovation experience of network services. These improved service postures in turn can drive greater customer acquisition by providing improved and or differentiated service innovation if used properly.