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FierceTelecom.com 20 19 M ay 2 0 13 M ay 2 0 13 FierceTelecom DukeNet is working with Cyan to better understand SDN's capabilities SDN holds a lot of potential for a regional provider like DukeNet Communications, which is why the Southeast U.S.-based fiber provider is engaged in a proof of concept effort with its lead vendor Cyan. "For a regional carrier like DukeNet, an architectural shift like this is an area of opportunity, a chance to leapfrog some of our larger incumbent competition," said David Herran, vice president of network architecture and technology for DukeNet. It's also an opportunity to optimize the DukeNet internal infrastructure, using SDN to improve capacity and performance planning as it's tied to service assurance and maximizing workflow via service automation. That's why DukeNet is testing SDN in-house before deploying it in its customer networks. "I see us working towards monetizing some of those service capabilities and productizing some of those service capabilities for our customers," Herran said. "The proof of concept touches a lot of things and gives us an extreme case of what is possible around SDN so we'll take slices of that and potentially apply them in our day-to-day use." mULti-VENDor iNtEropErABiLitY FoCUS While Cyan is the lead vendor in the proof of concept trial, both the vendor and the service provider understand that multi-vendor interoperability is the only way SDN will fly in the long term. IP has made the computer environment that's driving the network elastic, but the network itself remained somewhat rigid; a layer 1 model in a layer 2 and 3 situation. SDN has the ability to restructure the network for various customer demands—whether the customer is the service provider or the enterprise that the service provider is servicing. "To get the network to catch up you must have vendors and network partners working together sDn's Potential leads Dukenet to Proof of Concept effort By JIM B A R t hOl d in a way that's open," said Joe Cumello, Cyan's newly-appointed chief marketing officer. "We are supporting platforms beyond our own and embracing that openness to make sure when the SDN technology is deployed our technology works on top and can manage a multi-vendor network." Interoperability, said Herran, is "absolutely a requirement" for third party software that will ride atop a DukeNet network. "A few years ago all my software development was happening within my network and (with) hardware gear makers," Herran said. "Going forward, as this SDN concept evolves, I may have software developers as part of my team helping generate new services, new applications that I might use to monitor and manage the network in a different way." UNDErStANDiNG SDN'S VALUE Herran emphasized DukeNet is not married to SDN. "DukeNet is exploring this architecture. In no way have we implemented aggressive forms of SDN into our networks," he said. "It's important for us to understand the platforms, the benefits and the capabilities as well as the risks." One of those risks is loss of network control. That, said Eric Clelland, Cyan's co-founder, won't happen because "SDN allows them to be in control, non-vendor locked in." Taking it a step further, he said, the software-defined network is actually a "carrier-defined network, not the vendor-defined network." SDN itself is not a totally new concept, said Herran, whose network has in the past used servers to quantify data that sits on the SONET network, analyze the data and re-route SONET-based traffic based on that computer analysis. What is new is "the concept of an open platform with respect to software-defined networking," he said. "We're demanding that our vendors be open and that they develop interfaces either through the open networking foundation or some of their own interfaces." That's why, despite saying that the "proof of concept with Cyan is pretty important for us right now," Herran also noted that DukeNet is "working with at least two other vendors both from a methodology and architectural perspective as well as a proof of concept." The goal, he said, is "to identify the risks and whether the benefits outweigh the risks." At the same time DukeNet is also observing customers from data centers to enterprises move more applications into the cloud and demand more bandwidth flexibility from their networks to handle these applications. This growing bandwidth demand could be sated by SDN's potential to make networks more elastic. Of course first the service provider must determine what SDN can actually do and that means putting the technology through the paces internally. If it works as expected, DukeNet can pretty quickly move into the market with applications it believes its customers will want—and, in some cases, answer demands from customers who have applications that they want handled. "We envision a world where our customers are connected to the DukeNet network," Herran said. "They may demand a service to a particular location today but tomorrow they may need a service or different type of application at another location." A pure SDN environment provides the opportunity to provision and allocate resources quickly and efficiently and even, perhaps as the end game, give the end user customers the opportunity to use their own network appliances to dynamically allocate bandwidth as needed. "That is an extreme level of control," Herran conceded. It's also a level of control that Herran envisions will push DukeNet into the forefront of application provisioning, although he takes the pragmatic approach that SDN, even as it speeds applications and improves network performance, is but a cog in a bigger picture that must still be brought into focus. "Long-term we are definitely interested in the appeal that it may bring this network as a service component," Herran said. "But we're trying to wrap our heads around how you monetize that service and what impact it has on your legacy business today and the services you offer today." l "For a regional carrier like Dukenet, an architectural shift like this is an area of opportunity, a chance to leapfrog some of our larger incumbent competition." DaviD herran, vice presiDent of network architecture anD technology for Dukenet "To get the network to catch up you must have vendors and network partners working together in a way that's open." Joe cumello, chief marketing officer at cyan

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