Huawei, a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider, today announced the launch of its Software Defined Network (SDN) Enabled routers, which will help carriers effectively address pressing challenges brought to the IP bearer networks by rapid growth of cloud services, over the top (OTT) video, and mobile Internet.

The IP bearer network has entered a prosperous age symbolized by the rise of rich services and new business models, such as cloud storage, and Internet of Things. The popularization of smart terminals and introduction of innovative applications have contributed to rapid traffic growth, while at the same time brought more challenges to carriers multi-service IP networks. The challenges include complicated operation and maintenance, the need to rapidly introduce and deploy new services, and utilizing the network more efficiently. Carriers are considering how to simplify operation and maintenance, fully explore network potentials, and create more values out of the network.

Huawei SDN Enabled router is the latest solution from Huawei to help carriers to meet tomorrow’s needs based on the SDN concept. Based on a high-performance, large-capacity hardware platform and industry 1st fully distributed IP software platform VRP, Huawei SDN Enabled router features centralized control plane and software-defined forwarding plane, enabling carriers to build a SDN-ready network featuring fast service deployment, better resource utilization, and open interface for 3rd party application support.

With abstraction of the control layer and the orchestration layer, Huawei's SDN Enabled router support separation of control and forwarding functionalities while ensuring high speed forwarding. With Huawei's SDN Enabled routers, carriers can rapidly deploy new services at minimal cost, because the routers are easily adapted to new services or and protocols without the need to change the forwarding hardware. With support for Openflow, Huawei's SDN Enabled routers realize decoupling of hardware and software. In addition, E2E path calculation based on routing policies is possible with a centralized controller. These features help open carrier networks to third parties, expedite service deployment and significantly improve efficiency of forwarding and protection of carriers' IP networks. The innovative SDN Enabled router improves and simplifies IP network management and introduces open and innovative business models. All these features ensure a better and faster access to rich service experiences for users.

Huawei's SDN Enabled router provides flexible solutions to suit different network scenarios. For IP core networks, the RaaS technology realizes control plane distribution and virtualization across chassis and across devices, achieving high-speed forwarding and high reliability (>99.999%). Huawei is the first to introduce 480Gbps wire-speed forwarding line card on router. At the metro convergence layer, high-speed forwarding is separated from service processing with SDN Enabled broadband network gate (BNG), so that service processing resources are managed in a centralized and software programmable mode. These allow carriers to innovate services easily and to provision services quickly. At the access layer, a series of network virtualization solutions ensure efficient management of massive access devices, thus cutting network OPEX and making network more agile.

Gai Gang, President of Huawei's Carrier IP Product Line, said: "Huawei’s SDN Enabled router can help carriers cut OPEX significantly and alleviate impacts on networks caused by service changes through network virtualization and programmability. In addition, the network openness enables carries to continuously create value from existing resources. Huawei's NE40E high-end router already supports Openflow1.2 protocol, and has tested for interoperability at the Open Network Forum (ONF) this year."

As a leading provider of IP products and solutions for carriers, Huawei serves leading global carriers, including British Telecom (BT), France Telecom (FT), Swisscom, Telefonica, and SingTel. Huawei's unveiling of the industry first SDN Enabled router for carrier IP network again demonstrates its technological strengths and customer-centric innovation capabilities.