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Learn more about Blue Planet intelligent automation software.

What is Closed-loop Automation?

Automation has  become a strategic priority for all network operators,  enabling them to streamline operations and accelerate profitable service  delivery. From the use of custom scripts and zero-touch  provisioning to automate basic administrative and configuration tasks, to cutting-edge SDN/NFV implementations  that improve service agility and control, many network operators  are well along the evolutionary path toward closed-loop automation, which reduces  the need for manual intervention in key  operational processes.

Closed-loop automation continuously assesses real-time network conditions, traffic demands, and resource availability to determine the best placement of traffic for optimal service quality and resource utilization, according to operator-defined policies.

Closed-loop  automation is achieved with a continuous and repeating cycle of communications  between the network infrastructure and software elements, including analytics,  policy, and orchestration, to enable self-optimizing capabilities:

  • Analytics collects andevaluates network-generated telemetry in real time to assess  network state and traffic demands and generate actionable insights
  • Operator-defined  policies help determine ideal network configurations,  and the best placement of traffic for optimal service quality, and maximum  resource utilization
  • Orchestration optimizes and automates end-to-end configuration and provisioning instructions  to the network
  • Network infrastructure is dynamically controlled—closing the loop, and streaming telemetry back  for continuous analysis

Although these  tasks happen dynamically, it’s important to note that human operators plan  these automated actions, and can manually modify them at any point within the ‘loop’  to optimize or approve changes. This permits  a pragmatic, low-risk, and business-driven evolution to self-configuring,  self-healing, and self-optimizing networking that protects current investments  in personnel and processes.

Blue Planet enables closed-loop automation

The Blue  Planet Intelligent Automation Platform—a comprehensive, open  software suite that combines SDN/NFV orchestration, advanced analytics, assurance,  and inventory federation in a common microservices-based architecture—automates  end-to-end service creation and delivery across physical and virtual domains,  making closed-loop automation a reality.



Built on the  foundations of agility and collaborative innovation, Blue Planet provides the  extensibility and openness to build intelligent networks for powering the  digital age. Products can be deployed individually or in any combination, and  include:

  • Blue  Planet Multi-Domain Service Orchestration simplifies the end-to-end  management and automation of network services across physical and virtual  networks
  • Blue Planet  NFV Orchestration automates the delivery and lifecycle management of  NFV-based network services
  • Blue Planet Inventory federates data from multiple inventory systems and presents it in a single  dynamic view that accurately reflects the current state of all network and  service resources from end to end
  • Blue Planet Manage, Control and  Plan is a domain controller for automating the complete service  delivery lifecycle across Ciena’s packet-optical networks
  • Blue Planet Analytics is an integrated network analytics and machine learning framework for deriving  actionable insights from network performance data. Network Health Predictor is  an add-on analytics application that enables proactive network assurance in  multi-vendor networks by predicting element failures before they occur
  • Blue Planet  Route Optimization and Assurance provides real-time visibility into how  routing behavior affects service delivery, and traffic engineering

Closed-loop  automation is a key component of Ciena’s Adaptive  Network, which expands on autonomous networking concepts to transform the  static network into a dynamic, programmable environment driven by analytics and  intelligence.



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