Firms including NEC, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone, NTT Communications, Fujitsu and Hitachi have launched a new ‘Open Innovation over Network Platforms’ research and development (R&D) project, which would allow developing world’s first wide area Software-defined networking (SDN).
Also dubbed as the ‘O3 (O Three) Project,’ the new joint research project is based on research of the communications ministry’s ‘Research and Development of Network Virtualization Technology.’
The project is aimed at developing a range of wide area network elements compatible with SDN such as platforms for systematically incorporating and overseeing various wide area network infrastructure and applications.
However, the SDN has already been launched in corporate networks including those at data centres (DCs), while the latest project facilitates R&D to apply SDN to wide area network infrastructure, including that of telecommunications carriers and Internet providers.
The project is also aimed at establishing network virtualisation technology that allows multiple telecommunications carriers and service providers to design and develop networks and control operations liberally as per their requirements.
Further, the move would enable telecommunications carriers to lessen the time required for designing, creating and modifying their networks to about 10% of the earlier required time over a WAN.
As a result, the time required to launch and withdraw services is trimmed down.
