Alcatel-Lucent CloudBand helps communications service providers deliver a better class of cloud services. This solution lets service providers use their network assets to move beyond today’s centralized and transaction-based service offers. Using CloudBand, service providers can create cloud services that offer virtually limitless growth and that capitalize on their broad range of distributed data center and network resources. By building their own carrier clouds, service providers can meet stringent service level agreements (SLAs) and deliver the performance, access and security that enterprises and consumers demand.
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CLOUDBAND
Building a carrier cloud calls for an integrated cloud platform and management system that can automate and orchestrate resources across the network and across geo-distributed data centers. Alcatel-Lucent has developed CloudBand to enable service providers to build a carrier-grade cloud infrastructure that can orchestrate, automate and optimize services between the communications network, the data center, internal platforms and other cloud environments. CloudBand is a complete integrated carrier cloud platform that can be set up in a single day. It is composed of two distinct elements: the CloudBand Management System and the CloudBand Node.
THE CLOUDBAND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
The CloudBand Management System brings together the wide area network (WAN) and the data center resource pools to provide global visibility and control over the cloud environment. It enables service providers to treat all resources as a single carrier-grade pool. The goal of the management system is to leverage cloud and network resources to deliver the best service for the customer at the lowest possible cost. For example, the system delivers intelligence that optimally places services to achieve the best customer result. These optimizations can be tailored based on factors such as cost to operate and customer requirements.
THE CLOUDBAND NODE
The CloudBand Node is a pre-configured, all-in-one cloud platform that allows service providers to immediately implement CloudBand and begin offering cloud-based compute and storage resources across the cloud. It includes hardware and software that can be delivered in a central office or data center-deployable rack. The CloudBand Node is designed to greatly streamline the service launch process and accelerate time to market.
“I think this hits a lot of the right buttons with carriers — they want to develop a differentiated cloud from other public cloud providers.” - Heavy Reading
CloudBand Leverages the Network to Deliver:
- Faster cloud startup with lower risk
- Reduced development time and cost
- Greater service agility
- Lower latency for better customer experience
- Better resource and energy use for improved TCO
- Holistic management of the cloud environment
CloudBand Orchestrates and Automates across Data Centers and the Network
CloudBand holistically orchestrates and automates cloud resources across the network and across geo-distributed data centers. It utilizes Bell Labs algorithms to automatically optimize the placement of workloads in the cloud. These algorithms follow established business policies, look at application needs and consider network, compute and storage status to deliver stronger performance, reliability and SLA adherence.
CloudBand Monitors and Uses Analytics-driven Business Intelligence
CloudBand monitors the entire carrier cloud environment so that it can understand resource consumption, identify trends and predict future demand. With CloudBand, the cloud environment is monitored from an easy-to-use portal that simplifies the configuration of virtual machines, storage, hypervisor and business intelligence, and that automates resource placement to ensure optimal customer results. CloudBand monitoring provides:
- Quick isolation and response to network-related issues
- Information used to automate remedial actions and optimize customer experience
- Network performance measurements based on standard Ethernet OAM protocols
- Measurement of latency and jitter between CloudBand Nodes or between virtual machines and the customer
- Heat maps to simplify monitoring of large multiple data center locations
- A view of the deployed Node status and utilization levels
- Fault detection that provokes proactive measures
CloudBand utilizes programmed business recipes and policies that account for geographic constraints, performance, customer SLAs and regulatory requirements. These recipes and policies ensure that the placement and utilization of cloud resources delivers an optimal customer experience.
CloudBand Provides Complete Application Lifecycle Management: Carrier Platform as a Service (cPaaS)
CloudBand enables service providers to control the development, delivery and management of applications in the carrier cloud. This control helps lower the cost and risk involved in application development and operations. CloudBand provides full support for application on-boarding, deployment, monitoring, scaling, healing and termination. Service providers can use CloudBand to on-board and manage their own applications and to provide developers and independent software vendors (ISVs) with a comprehensive carrier PaaS service.
CloudBand is an Open Multivendor Carrier Cloud Platform
Alcatel-Lucent has adopted an open approach to integrating best-of-breed open-source cloud technologies. Alcatel-Lucent joins other leading communications and IT companies in supporting the OpenStack Foundation. The Foundation is dedicated to open cloud development throughout data centers. In addition, Alcatel-Lucent utilizes Apache CloudStack® in the CloudBand Management System, and supports the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud™ (EC2). CloudBand’s unique, open approach gives service providers greater flexibility when selecting cloud platforms. CloudBand provides:
- Freedom of choice with no vendor lock-in
- Fast and iterative development in step with the current technology wave
- Easier integration with existing OSS/BSS applications
In the past, the introduction of carrier cloud services was limited by the lack of interoperability between cloud solutions and multivendor service provider environments. CloudBand removes this limitation by providing compatibility with network equipment from other vendors. This compatibility gives service providers the flexibility they need to introduce carrier cloud services while ensuring that they benefit from their existing network investments.
CloudBand Enables Network Functions Virtualization
Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) is essential for enabling a carrier cloud environment. Alcatel-Lucent is committed to the development of NFV, and plays a leading role in the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) standards group for NFV. By virtualizing the network and moving it onto an elastic and distributed cloud platform service providers will be able to move toward a homogeneous, cloud-based infrastructure that increases service agility and reduces costs.
With NFV, network elements and applications are implemented as sets of virtual machines, storage devices and associated network configurations. This creates an infrastructure that can be shared across all applications. The network infrastructure becomes a platform that simplifies and accelerates the service provider’s operations and service offerings. Learn more about NFV.
CloudBand Can Bring Your Business Together in the Carrier Cloud
Service providers want to virtualize and transform their businesses to achieve:
Agility
Introduce and scale cloud services rapidly
Operational simplicity
Streamline planning, deployment and application life cycle management
Cost efficiency
Reduce hardware and software costs, cut down on manual processes and optimize asset utilization
New revenue streams
Differentiate by offering compelling cloud services
Alcatel-Lucent is helping service providers move to a carrier cloud model with open, multivendor, ready-to-go technologies that protect their investments and ensure the fastest return on them.
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- Why All Clouds Are Not Created Equal
- Cloud Clout with open APIs
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IN THE NEWS
- Alcatel-Lucent expands CloudBand ‘carrier cloud’ solution to support wider range of cloud platforms and networking equipment vendors
- Alcatel-Lucent is Working Together with Citrix to Introduce Carrier-grade Cloud Service Innovations
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