Virtualization

The modern-day cable industry is represented by a complex framework of legacy data systems.   Problems arise in the integration of these systems. Traditionally, the industry has relied on project-based integration approaches, which are often architected in isolation and removed from a more holistic enterprise view. Cable operator business owners and technology partners are often in […]

Last week, as I was walking down the hallway, I came across two gentlemen painting a hallway door. They paused and kindly let me through. While I waited, I caught a glimpse of a door with a sign that read, in big bold red letters, “pre-action sprinkler control”. What exactly is a “pre-action”?, I thought, […]

In September, I blogged about the launch of the Open Platform for NFV (OPNFV) initiative, this week saw another significant event, the second release of ETSI NFV Industry Specification Group (NFV ISG) documents. These documents cover the following NFV topics: Architectural Framework Revision 2 Infrastructure Management and Orchestration Performance & Portability Best Practices Resiliency Requirements […]

Software defined, programmable networks are becoming ubiquitous. They need an underlying software orchestration and infrastructure layer to accelerate their adoption. Without reimaging network management to run at scale without constant human intervention, operational savings will never be realized. After attending The OpenStack Summit in early November, and seeing what the NFV working group has planned, […]

Almost exactly two years after a group of 13 network operators launched Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) onto the world stage, there is now another seismic industry shift taking place towards using open source software for networks. Open Platform for NFV (OPNFV), which launched today, is a new open source initiative that brings together the network […]

Up until a few years ago, the encoder/transcoder market was dominated by systems based on ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) architectures that provided excellent performance with minimal power consumption.  These audio/video compression workhorses have allowed cable operators to provide more and more high-quality video to their customers in an increasingly bandwidth-constrained head end environment.  Fast-forward […]

Cisco recently predicted that Internet traffic will reach 1.4 zettabytes per year by 2017. This traffic explosion is putting pressure on service providers to rein in costs while increasing capacity.  Enter Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV).  In much the same way that virtualization and Cloud have changed computing, the combination of […]