Telstra’s director, global platforms, Jim Fagan, will today outline the telco’s plan to offer customers access to software-defined networking (SDN) and network functions virtualisation (NFV) capabilities, cloud infrastructure, data centres, and local and international networks through a single integrated platform.
“The Telstra Programmable Network is designed to help our customers meet the rapidly growing global demand for data and the proliferation of applications, as well as embrace cloud computing by offering flexible and dynamic access to our high bandwidth, low latency and secure networks,” Fagan said in remarks prepared for the ITW Conference in Chicago.
In addition to local Telstra business customers, International IP-based Virtual Private Network (IPVPN) customers will be able to access the platform through 2000 points of presence, the telco executive said.
Last year Telstra brought its SDN offering PEN (the former Pacnet Enabled Network , acquired in 2015) and its own SDN/NFV service under the umbrella of its cloud services division. In September, Fagan offered the first details of Telstra’s plan to offer cloud services and SDN-based network services through a portal.
Telstra said today it plans a “significant capability upgrade” for its core international IP network, adding bandwidth that will be required by the Telstra Programmable Network. The upgrade will increase Telstra’s peering capacity by up to 70 per cent, the company said, and also provide increased ability to combat DDoS attacks.
“These initial investments will establish the groundwork for the Telstra Programmable Network with future enhancements, such as orchestrated real-time SD-WAN and security, to be announced in the coming months,” Fagan said.
“We see the need for a new type of networking infrastructure, and the enhancements to our international IP core network and creation of a new software-enabled platform provide the building blocks needed to support the roll out of the Telstra Programmable Network, which leverages our world-class network.”