Nokia profiles its upgraded CloudBand as a cost-cutter for 5G

via Flickr © Slipshod Photog  (CC BY-ND 2.0)

via Flickr © Slipshod Photog (CC BY-ND 2.0)

  • OpenStack included with Application Manager, VNF manager, Network Director and cloud resource orchestrator
  • Smaller footprint for the edge and sharper cloud management
  • Cost savings of up to 92% over five years claimed

 

Nokia has released what it’s calling its upgraded ‘CloudBand Infrastructure Software’ aimed at 5G cloud deployments.

CloudBand came to Nokia via Alcatel-Lucent and it’s now that company’s NFV MANO portfolio of software products, comprising Infrastructure Software for virtualized infrastructure management,  an Application Manager, a generic VNF manager and a Network Director for network service and cloud resource orchestration. This 5G-aimed release includes unadulterated industry standard OpenStack software (directly from the Open Source community, it says).

Major 5G-friendly additions include support the smaller footprint required for edge deployments, and an ability to manage both virtual machines (VMs) and containers in the cloud to ease the transition to the multi-vendor, cloud-native environments of the 5G era, says Nokia.

The main thrust of the offering, however, is that its claimed to have “sharper” cloud management which should  improve service delivery and significantly reduce operating costs as 5G deployments get underway.

It gives CSPs the capability to unify their Network Function Virtualization Infrastructure/Virtualized Infrastructure Manager, or NFVI/VIM, in order to support centralized and distributed edge cloud deployments and workloads, it claims. The  upgrade streamlines operational procedures by providing a single NFVi/VIM for all cloud deployment needs, such as support and management for both VM and containerized workloads.

Guy Shemesh, Head of CloudBand at Nokia, said: “Nokia’s latest CloudBand Infrastructure Software improves on OpenStack’s operational state and removes risk and complexity for CSPs. CloudBand Infrastructure Software supports a combination of IT and Telco network cloud deployments, including stringent radio requirements, as well as Enterprise cloud needs. It is the best-in-class solution for converged cloud management solutions. This next-level solution is being swiftly rolled out for Nokia customers.”

In a 5G digital services era, there is greater dependence on containers in the cloud and Nokia CloudBand Infrastructure allows CSPs to gain experience with cloud-native architectures without introducing completely different tool chains, it’s claimed

“Operators risk unwanted complexity and costs in their OpenStack infrastructure by creating new virtualized silos, and they stand to benefit from a unified approach ,” Peter Fetterolf, CTO of ACG Business Analytics. “By streamlining process definition, execution, and maintenance across multiple vendors for activities like onboarding Virtual Network Functions, deploying and updating software, and troubleshooting using disparate tool chains, operators can reduce the cost of managing and maintaining cloud infrastructure by 92% over a five-year period and total cost of ownership by 56% over the same period.”

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