News

CenturyLink Advances Virtualized Network Gateway with SDN/NFV Platform

Carrier takes another step to fully virtualize its global network with next-generation technology.

• By David Ramel
• 03/23/2017

CenturyLink Inc. took another step in its effort to fully virtualize its global network with next-generation technology, yesterday announcing a deployment based on the Central Office Re-architected as a Datacenter (CORD) design.

CORD is an open community project targeting service providers that combines new-age technologies including software-defined networking (SDN) and network functions virtualization (NFV) with cloud-enabled agility, commodity servers, white-box switches, disaggregated access technologies and open source software.

CenturyLink claimed an industry milestone in announcing the CORD deployment -- providing broadband services -- using its own virtualized Broadband Network Gateway (vBNG).

The company said it was the "the first carrier to use its own [vBNG] to support broadband services using the [CORD] design. This key step in CenturyLink's efforts to virtualize its infrastructure within the central office is part of the company's commitment to have full global virtualization coverage in its IP core network by the end of 2019."

CenturyLink uses an OpenDaylight-based SDN access controller to integrate its legacy operations support systems with modern orchestration platforms.

"Our CORD deployment is a significant milestone on our path to achieve full network virtualization," said CTO Aamir Hussain in a statement. "This is a key component in our strategy to bring virtual network services to our customers while driving virtualization into our last-mile network, allowing us to quickly and efficiently deliver new technologies that meet our customers' rapidly changing needs."

The carrier said it's also continuing to create and implement virtualized services along with virtualizing its own infrastructure spread out over 55 global datacenters. These virtualized services include a virtual firewall, datacenter interconnection and software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) targeting enterprises.