Transforming Network Infrastructure Week in Review: Calix, DataGryd, Intel

Automation continues to expand its reach into more and more areas of technology. Google, Tesla, and others are building cars that can drive themselves. And data center and network operators are working to adopt new technologies to allow them to automate more functionality so they can save money and turn up new services and capabilities more quickly.

As recent research by Intel reveals, creating solutions that allow automation, and then employing those capabilities, is not as simple as it sounds. But, as the chip giant also notes, the effort involved in getting automation solutions up and running can have significant payoffs.

The study, according to Transforming Network Infrastructure contributing writer Michael Guta, showed that 43 percent of data center personnel surveyed leverage manual techniques to do tasks that could be automated, and 35 percent of those surveyed said they don’t leverage automation because they think it is too expensive to implement. However, Intel says that automated data center infrastructure management tools can more quickly identify problems so organizations can address them before they result in costly and lengthy service outages.

Software-defined networking technology is, of course, one technology area that is expected to usher in more automation. Indeed, as I noted in an Oct. 20 article in Transforming Network Infrastructure, CenturyLink and various other telco service providers have recently begun to adopt SDN as well as network functions virtualization in an effort to leverage automation and software-centric networks so they and their customers can provision new services and capabilities on the fly.

While operators such as CenturyLink are beginning their NFV and SDN efforts within their network cores, there’s also now a push to apply SDN to access networks.

In fact, as contributing writer Joe Rizzo reported yesterday, broadband access equipment provider Calix earlier this week launched the Access eXtensible Operating System, which allows reusable software components to run on any vendor’s appropriate hardware, allows for in-service upgrades, and enables automated workflows related to management and operations.

Here are a few other news items from Transforming Network Infrastructure this week:

• An article in Data Center Knowledge explained how the Internet of Things will impact the data center.

• DataGryd Data Centers is partnering with Telehouse to offer co-location services at DataGryd’s 60 Hudson St. facility in New York.

• Extreme Networks and PC Connection Inc. issued their quarterly results.