Transport network visibility and multivendor management startup Sedona has landed a breakthrough deal with Vodafone Group, adding to its Tier 1 successes.

February 21, 2019

3 Min Read
Vodafone Deal a 'Huge Step' for Sedona Systems

Israeli transport network management specialist Sedona Systems has been selected by Vodafone Group as the preferred supplier of a high-level, hierarchical controller that will enable multi-layer, multivendor management of optical, packet and microwave networks in multiple markets.

Sedona has been focused for years on the development of a software system called NetFusion that provides network operators with a single view, and automated programmable control, of their optical and packet transport network layers. That focus is now paying off, with Vodafone joining Verizon as the vendor's marquee references. (See Verizon Turns to Sedona for Transport SDN Management & Automation Smarts.)

"NetFusion provides a real-time view of the network and services, abstracting all its complexity to a single and easy-to-manage model," said Santiago Tenorio, Vodafone's head of network strategy and architecture, in a prepared statement. "This unlocks many automation opportunities to deliver a highly resilient and programmable network and allows Vodafone to deliver a differentiated customer experience."

Vodafone, which has operations in more than 20 markets across Europe, Africa and Asia-Pacific, undertook almost two years of tests and trials, involving multiple proofs of concept (PoCs) with multiple vendors (mostly major network equipment vendors), before selecting Sedona to help "deliver coordinated management of different vendors and technologies, to build on-demand transport services and maximize service availability."

Ori Gerstel, Sedona CTO and co-founder, told Light Reading that the relationship represents "a huge step for us, especially as Vodafone is being so up front about working with us. We will provide an advanced system to help with fulfilment and assurance, providing visibility down to the fiber level … wherever Vodafone has an SDN controller deployed, we will be there too." Gerstel was unable to provide financial details or identify the Vodafone markets where Sedona would be deployed initially.

Figure 1: Sedona Systems CTO and co-founder Ori Gerstel. Sedona Systems CTO and co-founder Ori Gerstel.

Gerstel says Vodafone is an example of a carrier engagement that is SDN-related, where the operator has SDN controllers that require overall management: Another large European operator and a Canadian operator are also engaged with Sedona on such an architecture.

The other type of engagement is pre-SDN, where Sedona's software is providing visibility into, and providing automated management for, networks with a mix of legacy and SDN-enabled technology. This is most typical of the demands in North America, notes the CTO.

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Sedona hasn't just become technology buddies with Vodafone -- it also has a berth at the operator's booth at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, where Vodafone staff will show a demo of how Sedona's technology could, in theory, enable proactive fault management and automated reconfiguration.

The demo will show that Sedona's software is capable, courtesy of machine learning capabilities, of predicting upcoming faults in a transport network connection, identifying the services running over that connection and re-routing the traffic.

For more on Sedona:

— Ray Le Maistre, Editor-in-Chief, Light Reading

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