Koby Bergman of data network hardware leader ADVA updated Telstra Wholesale customers on the trends and drivers that ADVA sees changing the global game in Ethernet networking.

The telecommunications industry has undergone considerable disruption and is shifting away from traditional models and architectures in response. Underpinning and facilitating that shift are significant changes happening at a network level, driven by five key trends.

From my perspective, the first trend is to consolidate infrastructure. Traditionally organisations utilised multiple network types, combining fixed line, mobile, or the IP network, together with each serving a specific purpose. Now organisations want to optimise their technology stack and make it more efficient.
 

"There is a transition away from traditional networking and towards evolution of disaggregated networks, with more compute power." Koby Bergman, ADVA

Secondly, there is a physical change taking place within telco operations. There is a transition away from traditional networking and towards evolution of disaggregated networks, with more compute power. Today’s networks require far less space in telecommunication firms’ corporate offices. As telcos need less space for exchanges and more compute power for digital services, they are undertaking a process termed ‘central office redesign to data centre’.

The third key trend is the move towards programmability. The rapid growth in data consumption has challenged the traditional service delivery model. Lengthy provisioning processes are no longer acceptable to customers who want to respond quickly to their end-users’ demands. Organisations want to consume network resources as they need them, on-demand, and networks can only enable that if they utilise automation.
 

(Above) Koby Bergman and the ADVA team at the Telstra Wholesale Business Connect event.

Fourthly, as more organisations migrate workloads to cloud services, they are starting to realise that they need smart devices at the end point to cater for local network capability delivery.

The fifth and final driver is security. The more we use automation and virtualisation in our networks, the more we need multiple security mechanisms at all layers of the stack.
The global Ethernet community is responding to these trends with the development of the MEF 3.0 standard, a new framework that promotes the use of network services and APIs.

Telstra has always been at the forefront of global effort to deliver great Ethernet services. It was the first telco in Asia Pacific and the second in the world to implement the MEF 2.0 standard.
 

"Telstra’s current Ethernet network, which uses ADVA network termination units, is built to be proactive and cater for the monitoring tools that are a vital component of a more flexible and virtual network." Koby Bergman, ADVA

Telstra’s current Ethernet network, which uses ADVA network termination units, is built to be proactive and cater for the monitoring tools that are a vital component of a more flexible and virtual network. We are working with Telstra at the network level to enable them to deliver consistent service, whether customers connect directly to the Telstra network or via the nbn network.

The world is moving towards a future where more of the network is automated and user-friendly to the customers. Thanks to strategic investment in network technologies and a strong partnership, Telstra Wholesale and ADVA are well-set to help customers adapt to this future.

This article was written in conjunction with our Partner ADVA. About ADVA:
ADVA Optical Networking is a company founded on innovation and driven to help our customers succeed. For over two decades our technology has empowered networks across the globe. We’re continually developing breakthrough hardware and software that leads the networking industry and creates new business opportunities. It’s these open connectivity solutions that enable our customers to deliver the cloud and mobile services that are vital to today’s society and for imagining new tomorrows. Together, we're building a truly connected and sustainable future. www.advaoptical.com.