Featured Story
After losing Nokia, crisis-hit Intel seeks network assets buyer
Nokia is substituting Arm-based chips for Intel silicon in its latest 5G products amid talk of a possible Ericsson takeover of Intel assets.
DriveNets exec Hillel Kobrinsky says cable ops are at the start of a journey to rebuilding the network by virtualizing the core. Comcast, a DriveNets partner, is taking an important step that way via its 'Janus' initiative.
Virtualization is starting to mean something new to the cable industry. After initially focusing virtualization efforts on the access network, operators are now starting to apply more of that attention to the core network.
Comcast appears to be on the forefront of that industry trend with the recent reveal of "Janus," an initiative aimed at virtualizing the operator's core network and introducing new, AI and machine learning (ML)-driven automation capabilities. Comcast's new approach is initially being tested in Atlanta, home to last week's SCTE TechExpo. The plan is to eventually have Janus support Comcast's full core network and use that deployment to boost overall network reliability and performance.
In addition to using a "white box" platform from UfiSpace, Comcast is also using network cloud software developed by DriveNets that handles the routing functions.
Light Reading connected with Hillel Kobrinsky, co-founder and chief strategy officer, at the show to discuss the Comcast deployment and the work the company has underway with other cable operators.
He described virtualization as a "journey" that aims to help operators effectively rebuild their network.
The mission, Kobrinsky explained, is to take "existing, complex networks and turn them into something that is more like the cloud networks … It's virtualized, it's automated, programmable."
Here's a snapshot of what was covered (click the closed captioning button in the player for a lightly edited transcript):
What role DriveNets is playing in Comcast's Janus project (00:33)
What are some of the key changes and benefits that virtualization brings to the core network (01:50)
How DriveNets is connecting with the cable industry, particularly with Tier-1 network operators (03:22)
Virtualizing the core is a journey, so how far into that journey is the cable industry? (05:15)
You May Also Like