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Telcos pave way for deploying new services on each other’s networks in a matter of minutes.
AT&T and Colt on Tuesday announced they have successfully trialled interoperable software-defined networks (SDN), paving the way for telcos to deploy and manage new services on each other’s infrastructure in a matter of minutes.
During the trial, AT&T provisioned network services between the east coast of the U.S. and various locations in Europe. SDN-to-SDN control was achieved using an application programming interface (API) between the two separate infrastructures.
The trial demonstrated that users could reserve ports, order a point-to-point Ethernet service, flex bandwidth up and down, and turn down the service in near-real time on another telco’s network.
"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 of Colt, in a statement.
"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," he said.
"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," added Roman Pacewicz, SVP of offer management and service integration at AT&T Business Solutions.
AT&T and Colt said they plan to share the network-to-network interface and open API code with standards bodies and industry fora.
"Businesses looking to provide a seamless connected environment for their customers can benefit greatly from a unified industry ecosystem that’s focused on interoperability," Pacewicz said.
