When the SDN World Congress convenes in The Hague this October 9th - 13th, it marks 5 years since the release of the original network function virtualization (NFV) White Paper. Following closely on that came the creation of the ETSI NFV ISG, which began to write specifications to leverage software-defined network (SDN) concepts into an architecture for NFV in the next generation communications network infrastructure.
A great deal has transpired in the network function verification world since then. This includes a shift to involve the entire supply chain in collaborative open source projects such as OpenStack, OpenDaylight, OPNFV, FD.IO, ONAP, OpenDataPlane (ODP), Data Plane Developer Kit (DPDK) and the CORD initiative to drive the industry to level the playing field and drive relentlessly towards the realization of the vision. Observers have realized that this is likely not the huge Capex play originally thought and that hardware still matters. Indeed, hardware offload and platform capability will end up playing a key role meeting the goals of quality-of-experience and 5G capacity goals at the same time as automating the complexity of rolling out new revenue generating services in minutes, not months.
Having said this, I think anyone who thought this would happen overnight in the NFV/SDN world was not being realistic, and I have consistently believed that this journey requires patience into the end of this decade to allow this massive transformation to happen in the right way.
The Arm ecosystem has been there from the beginning the specification process, pushing for recognition of the need for multi-architecture in the specs, delivering innovation in network I/O with standardized APIs in ODP and pushing the DPDK community, building PoCs that demonstrated the value of the innovation coming from the Arm partners. Then continuing by showing up in the all of these community projects, steadily increasing our presence- integrating, testing and optimizing the relevant software stacks on Arm platforms for lab and field trials so that service providers can leverage the full advantage delivered by our ecosystem.
The Arm ecosystem presence at the SDN World Congress will be our biggest yet, as a Diamond Sponsor, you will see us everywhere starting from Day 0 on October 9 in the Customer Briefing Day. Here is a short list of the opportunities you will have to see and hear the latest from the Arm ecosystem:
Arm Ecosystem Zone booth in the Main Aisle booths B27, 28, 33 and 34 featuring Core Network Dynamics, Enea, Marvell, Telco Systems/NXP, 6WIND/Qualcomm Server, Virtuosys all showcasing unique Arm-based solutions for different use cases.
There are many more partners with their own booths and additional speaking slots, and so check the schedule for these and we hope to see you there at the show. We have a meeting room dedicated to the Arm ecosystem and we hope to be able to meet with you one on one and/or take you on a tour around the Zone and out other partner presence! Welcome to The Hague and the growing momentum of the Arm ecosystem in SDN/NFV!
For more information about the event and links to the event registration please view our event calendar.