Here's an interesting deployment scenario for the virtualization community: China Mobile is to deploy a virtual network function (VNF) from Brocade as part of a broader SDN/NFV implementation.

It's interesting for a couple of reasons.

First, the Brocade Virtual Traffic Manager, which will be used to efficiently manage cloud services, is being integrated into a multivendor deployment that has the Nuage Networks OpenStack-based Virtualized Services Platform as its foundation. Nuage is, of course, the SDN unit created within Alcatel-Lucent and now part of Nokia, which is China Mobile's strategic SDN/NFV supplier. (See China Mobile Taps Nuage for Public Cloud SDN and AlcaLu Lands $1B+ Deals in China.)

That integration is good news for all concerned. The industry needs to see real-world multivendor deployments that prove it's possible to deploy virtualization technology from multiple vendors – interoperability is one of the major issues holding up NFV. (See NIA Tests Reveal OpenStack Version Challenges, Virtualization Confidence Takes Hit in Latest HR Survey and NIA Report: The State of NFV Interop .)

Second, it's a feather in Brocade's NFV hat and one that should help make the vendor's virtualization business more attractive to prospective buyers as Broadcom, which is acquiring Brocade, seeks to offload the units it doesn't want to keep. (See Broadcom Buys Brocade for $5.9B, Will Ditch Ruckus & IP Biz and Arris Bidding for Brocade Unit – Report.)

For more details on the China Mobile deployment, see Brocade Lands NFV Deal at China Mobile.

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

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