AT&T and Colt announce first successful software-defined networking interoperability trial

API lets SDN Architectures from Different Network Service Providers Work Together

Proof of Concept is First Step for Businesses’ Ability to Scale, Add and Change their Global Networks in Minutes

AT&T* and Colt Technology Services are accelerating the adoption of software-defined networking (SDN) through the creation, testing and successful trial of a standard application programming interface (API) infrastructure. It lets SDN architectures from different network service providers interoperate with each other.

During the trial between the two networks in the U.S. and Europe, AT&T successfully provisioned network services between the east coast of the U.S. and various locations in Europe. This allowed SDN-to-SDN control using a programmatic API-to-API interface between the separate SDN architectures, proving that SDN-managed services can be set up and run across multiple networks in just minutes. They can also be managed and flexed in near-real time. This creates a template for providers to deploy new services in a matter of minutes over each other's networks.

Business customers will benefit from on-demand, flexible, scalable network services as they can take advantage of new technologies through more open, standardized and software-centric networking services.

The proof of concept reveals that users could reserve ports, order a point-to-point Ethernet service, flex the bandwidth up and down and turn down the service in near-real time.

The API trial integrates AT&T’s and Colt’s on-demand network capabilities. The companies expect that these capabilities will drive further industry collaboration and standardization. They also plan to share the network-to-network interface and open API code with standards bodies and industry forums.

“Our work at AT&T Labs and AT&T Foundry, and our collaboration with Colt will help enable customers to have more cost-efficient, flexible and adaptable networks,” said Roman Pacewicz, senior vice president, Offer Management and Service Integration, AT&T Business Solutions. “Businesses looking to provide a seamless connected environment for their customers can benefit greatly from a unified industry ecosystem that’s focused on interoperability.”

“This proof of concept is a key building block giving enterprises the power to provision scalable, flexible network services on-demand. The API in our trial makes managing integrated SDNs accessible, agile, flexible, and easy to adopt,” said Rajiv Datta, chief technology officer, Colt. “As use cases and APIs continue to evolve, we’ll be able to add attributes, services and enhancements that will drive further innovation. This will be critical as SDN becomes increasingl­­­y important in our business climate.”