Independent market research and competitive analysis of next-generation business and technology solutions for service providers and vendors Achieving WAN Automation Today A Heavy Reading white paper produced for Ciena Blue Planet AUTHOR: STERLING PERRIN, PRINCIPAL ANALYST, HEAVY READING
INTRODUCTION The idea of network automation is not new, but new software-defined networking (SDN)- based approaches make automated provisioning across the wide-area network (WAN) more powerful than it has ever been in the past. An automated WAN provides a programmable foundation that simplifies service providers' ability to transform and offer new virtualized, on-demand services. This white paper provides an overview of SDN-based WAN automation and focuses on the drivers and benefits of WAN automation, the roles of SDN and network functions virtualization (NFV) as technology enablers, challenges hindering progress toward full automation, and proposed solutions for addressing these challenges. DRIVERS & BENEFITS OF WAN AUTOMATION The advent of SDN is ushering in a new age of automation in communications networks. Tasks that were previously performed manually by technicians and operations personnel are increasingly being performed through software, remotely and in real time. Some of the biggest opportunities for software programmability are in the service provider WAN, and this is typically called WAN automation. Heavy Reading identifies three high-level drivers for the need to automate the WAN: Dynamic demands of the cloud: At the top of the list is the migration of applications consumer, business, and mobile to the cloud. The cloud model is based on sharing storage and computing resources across wide geographies. For these resources to be shared efficiently, however, the communications network must be both dynamic and flexible a dramatic change from the static-pipes communications model of the networking past. Here automation enables on-demand changes and cuts network service setup times from months down to minutes. Automation is a key enabler for networks and services operating at the speed of the cloud. Finding new revenue streams: Revenue has stagnated over the past decade, and new cloud and over-the-top (OTT) players have emerged in market growth areas, capturing revenue streams and obtaining huge market capitalizations. For top management at telecom network operators, the top priority is profitable revenue growth in existing markets of network connectivity, as well as in new markets that put them in direct competition with newer rivals. Here, automation enables competitive differentiation via turn-up and provisioning speed. The programmability and software control used to implement automation is also a catalyst for innovation and the development of new services. Reducing network costs: Pressure to reduce costs in transport networks has gathered a new sense of urgency. To date, the industry has largely addressed the mismatch between rapid traffic growth and slow revenue growth by reducing network hardware costs and spending (i.e., capex reduction). Service providers and their suppliers are increasingly turning to software innovations to create a new cost curve that addresses both the capex and opex sides of network costs. Here automation simplifies network operations, enabling one user, with one click, to fulfill and assure network services. Automation also regulates and improves the accuracy with which services are turned up. Fewer errors translates into less troubleshooting, fewer process restarts and more streamlined operations. HEAVY READING JUNE 2017 ACHIEVING WAN AUTOMATION TODAY 2
ROLE OF SDN & NFV IN ENABLING WAN AUTOMATION SDN and NFV have emerged as key technologies to address network operators' challenges in the age of cloud, and as key enablers for WAN automation. Initially, operators saw SDN and NFV primarily as capex-saving technologies particularly through the addition of commodity white-box hardware but operators' goals for SDN/NFV have evolved significantly over the past four years. More recent Heavy Reading global operator surveys consistently place the ability to create and deploy services more rapidly, along with network and service agility, as the top priorities for SDN/NFV. These priorities are consistent with the top operator challenges of generating new revenue and adapting networks to the demands of the cloud. Saving money is still important, both on the opex and the capex side, but these goals are clearly secondary to the mandate to generate more revenue more quickly, and to differentiate on the business side. In a recent one-on-one interview, a Tier 1 North American network operator summarized the roles of SDN and NFV as follows: "Our approach is that we see both as the keys to making the network automated and programmable. SDN is not the goal, and NFV is not the goal. The goal is a flexible, automated and programmable network to reduce opex and deliver services faster to market. That is the goal, and SDN and NFV are the tools to get there." For operators, the connection between SDN and WAN automation is also clear. In a 2016 survey, Heavy Reading asked network operators from around the world to identify their top SDN use case priorities. Figure 1 ranks operator SDN use case priorities, in descending order from highest to lowest priority. Figure 1: Operator SDN Use Case Priorities High priority Medium priority Low priority Automated provisioning of WAN links (e.g., LSPs, etc.) 56% 37% 7% Monitoring, management and proactive planning 53% 38% 10% Multilayer optimization (IP/MPLS & optical integration) 51% 39% 10% Bandwidth on demand 49% 40% 11% Portal-based control of enterprise services, apps & connectivity 48% 43% 10% Software control of data center connectivity 42% 44% 15% Automation of mobile backhaul network 30% 41% 30% Disaggregation of packet technology onto white box 28% 48% 24% Disaggregation of optical technology onto white box 24% 44% 32% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Source: Delivering on the Promise of Multi-Layer Integration With SDN: A Heavy Reading Multi-Client Study, June 2016; N=86 HEAVY READING JUNE 2017 ACHIEVING WAN AUTOMATION TODAY 3
Automated provisioning of WAN links ranked first on the priority list, selected as "high priority" by 56% of the survey group, and overall the top use cases gelled around three priorities: automation, assurance and optimization. From our survey data, we see how vast changes in network services delivery driven by the cloud is creating a need for networks that are much more scalable, dynamic and flexible than in the past. Operators are looking to address challenges and new requirements where SDN and NFV are the primary technology enablers to achieve these WAN automation goals. PATH TO AUTOMATION Challenges While the operator goal of WAN automation is clear, the path to reach this end goal has some challenges that must be addressed. During a recent Light Reading webinar entitled "WAN Automation The Time Is Now" (December 14, 2016), we polled the audience on their expectations for how service providers should implement automation. The results from the webinar audience are shown in Figure 2. (Note that respondents included a mix of service providers as well as suppliers.) Figure 2: Expectations for How Service Providers Should Implement Automation Learn and become knowledgeable enough to implement automation on their own 62% Leverage skill set of a third-party system integration 21% Rely on incumbent vendor and their professional services 9% Outsource the implementation of automation, but not sure to whom 4% Other 4% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% Source: "WAN Automation - The Time Is Now" Light Reading Webinar, December 14, 2016; N=53 More than 60% of respondents said that becoming knowledgeable enough to implement automation on their own is the best path forward for operators a large majority, and well above the second option of third-party system integration. But by their own analysis network operators lack the skills to do this today. In a 2016 global operator survey, 60% of network operators reported that skill sets of staff is the top organizational challenge to SDN/NFV deployment, followed very closely by mindsets bounded by current methods (see Figure 3). HEAVY READING JUNE 2017 ACHIEVING WAN AUTOMATION TODAY 4
Figure 3: Top Operator Organizational Challenges in SDN/NFV Deployment Skill sets of staff 60% Mindset bounded by current methods 58% Operational model limitations 52% Lack of resources due to priorities focused on existing in-market offers 48% We have no organizational issues that present a significant challenge to SDN/NFV deployment 5% Other 5% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% Source: Delivering on the Promise of Multi-Layer Integration With SDN: A Heavy Reading Multi-Client Study, June 2016; N=85 Solutions Phased implementation strategies, adopting DevOps practices and using model-driven templates where possible, are three important solutions addressing the challenges described above. Here, we examine these three solutions in more detail. Employ Phased Implementation Strategy To date, successful strategies are focusing on a phased implementation approach one that moves from simple applications to more complex and sophisticated applications over time. The phased approach allows operators to "build their own," but to do so incrementally while collectively learning skills and lessons along the way. One example of the phased approach is Windstream. In May, Windstream publicly launched its SDNow service, offering automated provisioning of optical wavelengths at five carrier-neutral data center locations in Chicago, Dallas, Ashburn, Miami and Atlanta. Multidomain service orchestration (in this case, Ciena's Blue Planet) is being used to automate wavelength provisioning across a multi-vendor transport network, and a DevOps process was used internally to speed development. SDNow moved from concept to production in three months. Expansion plans for the WAN automation service are both geographic and up the OSI stack. This summer, Windstream expects to expand the SDNow wavelength service to 50 additional locations. The operator also plans to introduce WAN automation for its Ethernet and IP services. While SDNow primarily targets wholesale customers, the coming Layer 2 and Layer 3 services will be aimed at enterprises. HEAVY READING JUNE 2017 ACHIEVING WAN AUTOMATION TODAY 5
Adopt DevOps Culture & Practices DevOps is another important tool to help operators succeed in software-based innovation. Coming from the IT industry, DevOps is the combination of software developers, IT and network operations staff to build, test and release software collaboratively. Benefits for service providers adopting a DevOps methodology include: Rapid, frequent and more reliable software releases and upgrades. Placing control in the hands of the service providers themselves to make the right software changes to meet their customers' specific requirements, on schedules that work for the service providers' organizations. Helping to meet the best practice of a phased implementation, using existing employees and avoiding forklift upgrades. The DevOps methodology stands in stark contrast to traditional operator OSSs that are based on closed software systems. Software changes to legacy systems even minor ones must be made by the software vendors themselves, under professional services contracts. This process is not just costly, but also rigid and time-consuming the opposite of what operators are looking to achieve via automation. The drive from legacy software practices to DevOps must come from the top. AT&T's John Donovan is perhaps the most famous example of the top-down approach to organizational change. The Chief Strategy Officer and Group President of AT&T Technology & Operations has been a relentless champion of DevOps adoption, both internally and externally. Other leading operators, including CenturyLink, have achieved success in adopting DevOps by combining both CTO (the network) and CIO (IT) functions under the same title. Use Model-Driven Templates Senior executive buy-in is critical, but not sufficient. Ultimately, the work of delivering automation falls on the engineering and operations staff. Here, model-driven templating is a key tool for service providers to build and implement software automation incrementally, using their own in-house staff. Model-driven templates are used to specify configuration and define relationships, dependencies and sequencing of resources needed for a new application (in cloud) or network service (in networking). Templates also help developers create basic building blocks that can be reused for other services. By making software easy to use and build upon, templates simplify the service creation process. And by providing reusable building blocks, templates accelerate the end-to-end service creation process. Although relatively new to network applications software, software templating like DevOps is another highly successful concept borrowed from IT and cloud. Topology and Orchestration Specification for Cloud Applications (TOSCA) is an industry standard for orchestrating cloud applications that has been broadly adopted across cloud and IT. More recently, some networking software suppliers, including Ciena Blue Planet, have found that TOSCA's ability to describe topology and orchestration make it equally suitable for describing networking applications, as well. In fact, TOSCA-based templates are now field-proven in networking applications (in addition to cloud), and are enabling WAN automation in large network operators, including Windstream and CenturyLink. HEAVY READING JUNE 2017 ACHIEVING WAN AUTOMATION TODAY 6
CONCLUSIONS Heavy Reading research shows that network operators are looking to WAN automation to address their major network requirements in the cloud era, and that SDN and NFV are the primary technology enablers to achieve WAN automation goals. But while the operator goal of WAN automation is clear, they are faced with a dilemma: They know the most effective strategy is to build and implement WAN automation on their own, but they currently lack the skill sets and structures internally to achieve the goal. Amid these challenges, new tools and best practices are emerging to aid service providers in their migration to software-based innovation and WAN automation. Of importance are: Employing incremental and phased implementation strategies that avoid drowning organizations in overwhelming change, and that allow teams to apply early learnings to future projects. Adopting DevOps culture and practices to accelerate software releases, better match releases to customer requirements, and place more control in the hands of the operators themselves. Investing in model-driven templates that speed applications development, are much simpler than programming, and can be used and reused across multiple services. Significantly, the solutions and practices identified in this paper do not exist in isolation, but rather are most effective when combined and adopted together. Operators cannot afford to wait on the road to WAN automation. Fortunately, leading operators are using the steps outlined in this paper to make a successful transition to WAN automation today. For more information on this topic, see the Light Reading webinar "WAN Automation The Time Is Now." HEAVY READING JUNE 2017 ACHIEVING WAN AUTOMATION TODAY 7