Cyan Introduces Planet Orchestrate, the Industry’s First Orchestration Application that Integrates Cloud Services, NFV, and WAN

Cyan (NYSE: CYNI), a leading provider of SDN, NFV, and packet-optical solutions for network operators, today introduced Planet Orchestrate, a multi-vendor and multi-domain, NFV and Cloud orchestration application for Cyan’s Blue Planet, the industry’s first carrier-grade SDN platform for network operators and the WAN. Unlike other siloed solutions on the market, Planet Orchestrate combines the power of WAN service creation and automation with the orchestration of virtual resources – creating a software-defined engine for revenue generation in carrier networks.

Defining the Orchestration Challenge

Network operators need to be able to quickly introduce, automate, and operationalize new virtualized services between data centers, on top of existing network services, and across the WAN. Legacy hardware-based appliances dedicated to performing a single function within the network are expensive and inefficient. Orchestration solves this problem by delivering the framework, templates and processes essential for stitching together virtual and physical resources, as well as automating and dynamically configuring these resources across multiple network domains.

“The top motivation driving service providers to pursue SDN and NFV is the ability to deploy services much more quickly for new revenue opportunities – it’s about revenue and service agility,” stated Michael Howard, principal analyst, Infonetics Research.  “While operators are certainly attuned to the capital and operational benefits of these transformative technologies, it is the orchestration of virtual compute, storage, and network, combined with the automation of existing network resources that will lead to new, higher-margin revenue streams and happier customers.”

Planet Orchestrate Simplifies Service Orchestration

Planet Orchestrate is purpose-built for managing, automating and orchestrating end-to-end services that leverage physical and/or virtual resources, including compute, networking, and storage from a “single pane of glass.” To rapidly speed time to market, customers will be able to define and create new service types using Planet Orchestrate’s service template architecture.

Planet Orchestrate provides multi-domain orchestration, cloud services orchestration, and NFV orchestration (based on the ETSI NFV ISG Management and Orchestration framework). This new Blue Planet application utilizes open APIs to ensure interoperability with different OSS/BSS platforms, cloud management systems, SDN controllers, and virtualized network function (VNF) managers.

Key Planet Orchestrate Features:

• Multi-Domain Service Orchestration: Planet Orchestrate enables seamless service delivery across multiple domains. It can leverage existing SDN controllers (e.g., Cyan’s Blue Planet SDN Platform, OpenDaylight, etc.) and management platforms (e.g. cloud managers, network managers, element managers) to deploy end-to-end services. Through a single pain-of-glass, Planet Orchestrate can help break down management silos and enables network operators to provision and manage services across networks comprised of both legacy and new SDN/NFV-enabled components. Multi-Domain Service Orchestration supports service-chaining between VNFs and physical network functions (PNFs) to allow operators to efficiently deploy services across networks. Available: Third Quarter 2014. PoCs and trials now.

• NFV Orchestration: Planet Orchestrate is designed to fulfill the roles of the orchestrator and VNF manager functionality described in the ETSI NFV ISG architecture. Planet Orchestrate NFV orchestration is both VNF vendor and function neutral, providing a platform for operators to deploy and manage a variety of VNFs at varying degrees of scale and performance. Planet Orchestrate supports VNF management and orchestration across one or more data centers, as well as distributed architectures where VNFs may be deployed at the customer premise edge. Furthermore, the NFV orchestration engine supports intelligent VNF placement to maximize performance within a virtualized infrastructure. Available: Third Quarter 2014. PoCs and trials now.

• Cloud Orchestration: Planet Orchestrate enables network operators to offer flexible data center service offerings, such as IaaS, PaaS, etc. and coordinate that across a wide area network. Operators will be able to offer their customers the ability to dynamically instantiate new cloud resources, such as virtual machines, new tenant networks, and storage, on-demand through an enterprise portal with the ability to control network (bandwidth-on-demand) and virtual (VM) resource allocation. Available: Fourth quarter 2014. PoCs and trials now.

Production Networks, Trials, and PoCs

Cyan’s Blue Planet is currently deployed and providing SDN control and service automation in over 120 networks today. Planet Orchestrate, the new application for Blue Planet, is being validated in customer labs, official ETSI proof-of-concept demonstrations, and Cyan’s Blue Orbit Lab, which is dedicated to testing, demonstrating, and delivering real-world, multi-vendor SDN and NFV solutions. The first live proof-of-concept demonstration of Planet Orchestrate functionality was showcased at Tokyo Interop in June of 2013. Two additional ETSI-approved operator-sponsored proof-of-concept demonstrations have since followed in 2014 including “End-to-End vEPC Orchestration in a Multi-vendor Open NFVI Environment” and “Multi-vendor Distributed NFV.”

“Planet Orchestrate combines the capabilities of a WAN service automation and network management system with an SDN controller and orchestrator to enable network operators to deliver new services, on both physical and virtual infrastructure, more quickly and at a lower cost,” said Michael Hatfield, President, Cyan. “Developed in collaboration with network operators and other industry-leading Blue Orbit partners, Planet Orchestrate is ahead of the market and has already proven its viability and interoperability via multiple real-world trials and proof-of-concept demonstrations.”

Cyan SDN and NFV Professional Services for Network Transformation

While the benefits of network transformation are clear, the specifics of how to bring together multiple network domains, VNFs and cloud can seem daunting. Cyan’s Professional Services organization is available to help carriers accelerate technology integration and speed new service introductions. By working closely with service provider IT and DevOps teams, Cyan’s team of SDN and NFV software engineers will be able to help ensure that Blue Planet applications are integrated seamlessly into a carrier’s existing BSS/OSS environment.

About Cyan

Cyan enables network transformation. The company’s software-defined network (SDN) solutions deliver orchestration, agility, and scale to networks, that until now, have been static and hardware driven. Serving carriers, enterprises, governments, and data centers globally, Cyan’s open platforms provide multi-vendor control and visibility to network operators, making service delivery more efficient and profitable. Cyan solutions include Blue Planet SDN software and Z-Series packet-optical transport platforms. For more information, please visit http://www.cyaninc.com or follow Cyan on Twitter at https://twitter.com/CienaBluePlanet.