The Open Platform for Network Functions Virtualisation (OPNFV) open source group, set up by the Linux Foundation, has announced its first release - Arno. Interested parties can go to the website to download and can auto-deploy, says Heather Kirksey, Director of OPNFV, talking with Martyn Warwick at TM Forum Live in Nice. 

The first release is for developers and it’s about setting the platform foundation. “People can start deploying it into their own infrastructure, they can start testing to see how it works and deploy their own VNFs on it," says Heather. "We want to find out what works and what doesn’t. We’re looking for feedback.“
So why Arno? It’s a river thing. The Arno runs through Florence and into the sea near Pisa (thanks Mr Warwick) and we think rivers are an excellent version-naming convention - much better, say, than desserts which Google fastened on to chart the progress of Android, making us all feel sick by the time we got to Donut.  Plus famous rivers are, by their nature, multinational. What's not to like?

Trouble is we can’t think of any really famous ones beginning with ‘B’ without recourse to Wikipedia where I discovered the Barito in Borneo (which nobody’s ever heard of). 

The OPNFV says its mission is “to be a carrier-grade, integrated platform that introduces new products and services to the industry more quickly.” To that end it will work closely with ETSI and others to press for consistent implementation of open standards.

“We believe in the power of the industry coming together to work on solving the problems.” said Heather in an earlier interview with Martyn Warwick. “The work is out in the open so non-members are welcome to join calls and everyone has a chance to participate. It’s complex so we believe that by bringing everyone together we can get there faster.”

The approach, she says, is to Integrate components from various upstream projects as well as taking  features back to those projects. “OPNFV’s success will depend on how well we are able to build relationships with our upstream partners. We’re at 55 members now, so one of the great things is that there is a lot of interest."

Filmed at:TM Forum Live! June 1-4, 2015, Nice, France