Maintaining virtualised networks the easy way

In the realm of enterprise networks, IT teams have been doing this for years and are well ahead in implementing, and benefiting from, virtualised networks. But there are important differences between enterprise networks and critical infrastructure. For starters, unlike critical infrastructure operators, enterprise networks come from a tradition of in-house development, which is supported by IT teams with requisite skills and cultural mindsets. In addition, telecom networks and industrial control systems have far higher reliability requirements than enterprise networks, which cannot be compromised in the transition to virtualisation.

These considerations are especially relevant in the context of selecting the virtualisation platform. The right software platform will contribute to the anticipated capex and opex savings, as well as the increased flexibility and productivity, which will be built into the network virtualisation business case.

Operators can certainly opt for the roll-your-own approach for the virtualisation platform by downloading the latest vanilla OpenStack distribution or choose a solution that was originally designed for enterprise networks. But these solutions cannot meet the strict performance and reliability requirements of critical infrastructure operators, and they do not optimise processes like installation and maintenance to maximise operational cost savings.

Just look at the implications for network maintenance. When network managers need to install a patch or upgrade, as they routinely do, newly virtualised critical applications cannot be more cumbersome to maintain than the legacy systems they replaced. The longer the process takes, the higher the cost to the business. And a single mistake during routine maintenance could cause a system-wide outage, which would add unexpected costs rather than reduce operating costs.

The right software platform should cost-effectively simplify and automate network maintenance, and thereby eliminate unplanned down-time. That’s just what Titanium Cloud virtualisation platforms do.

Through in-service patching and hitless upgrades, Titanium Cloud enables systems to stay up to date without disruption to services. Whether it is a minor patch or a full system upgrade, an integrated wizard automates the entire process. For a system upgrade, virtual functions are live migrated from one server node to another; then, the operating system, OpenStack components, hypervisor, and virtualisation infrastructure manager (VIM) are upgraded along with the rest of the Titanium Cloud package. Network managers also have complete visibility into the process through messages, logs and alarms while rollback points are also created for controlled fallback, if needed.

These maintenance capabilities ensure that the system and all its features are not compromised in any way during upgrades.

While network maintenance can be perceived as unremarkable and routine, it should not be overlooked as a potential area for significant operational cost savings in the transition to network virtualisation. Titanium Cloud was designed to make maintenance easier for critical infrastructure operators. Leveraging open source software and virtualisation technology, Titanium Cloud is optimised specifically for critical infrastructure requirements.

For more on how Titanium Cloud delivers operational cost savings, please see the recent video series and download the new whitepaper on this topic.

Courtesy of Wind River.