Zhone joins forces with leading innovators for the promotion and adoption of SDN through open standards development
Oakland, CA — October 2, 2013 — Zhone Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZHNE), a global leader in FTTx network access solutions, today announced its membership in the Open Networking Foundation (ONF). ONF, formed in March 2011, is a user-driven organisation dedicated to accelerating the adoption of open Software-Defined Networking (SDN). Zhone will work alongside 90+ member companies including global giants and startups with a variety of expertise, bringing together diverse perspectives from silicon to systems and software to computing for a variety of users.
SDN is a new approach to networking where network control is directly programmable. This results in an extremely dynamic, cost-effective and adaptable architecture that gives administrators unparalleled programmability, automation and control. Implementing SDN through an open standard allows impressive agility while reducing service development and operational costs for providers.
“The Open Networking Foundation believes that end-user needs should drive SDN standards, and we are especially happy to see new domains of end-user operation adopting open SDN,” said Dan Pitt, executive director of ONF. “Organisations need to achieve better business value from today’s networks. They require a standards-based approach to SDN that will allow them to simplify networking operation, tailor networking to business objectives, and operate heterogeneous multi-party networks that free them from networking-vendor lock-in.”
ONF’s development process is open and collaborative, driven from the perspective of the end-user. ONF is the steward of the OpenFlowâ„¢ standard, the first and only vendor-neutral, standard communications interface between the control and forwarding layers of an SDN architecture. The OpenFlow standard supports traffic steering which allows more efficient use of network resources. It helps enterprises and service providers alike improve their OPEX savings by provisioning and managing their own services. It is programmable and a uniform Cloud API supports the transition of carrier services to the cloud. ONF continues to evolve OpenFlow to ensure that the benefits of SDN continue to expand.
“Operators have long sought the freedom and flexibility that Software-Defined Networks bring,” said Brian Caskey, chief marketing officer at Zhone Technologies. “Zhone Technologies continues to analyze SDN requirements, while evolving and maturing its commitment to the OpenFlow Standard and other evolving SDN standards to address the needs of its commercial and service provider customers and their deployments on a global basis.”
It is clear that SDN has practical value for a wide range of networks, but carriers want to understand how to take advantage of SDN and also leverage their current CAPEX investments. There are three approaches that carriers can take when looking to transition to SDN: overlaying SDN in an existing network, setting up a new service offering based on OpenFlow and deploying SDN and OpenFlow into the company’s IT organization to streamline data center operations.
For more information on ONF, please visit its website at https://www.opennetworking.org/.
About Zhone Technologies
Zhone Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZHNE) is a global leader in all IP multi-service access solutions, serving more than 750 of the world’s most innovative network operators.
The IP Zhone is the only solution that enables service providers to build the network of the future…today, supporting end-to-end Voice, Data, Entertainment Social Media, Business, Mobile Backhaul and Mobility service.
Zhone is committed to building the fastest and highest quality All IP Multi-Service solution for its customers.
Zhone is headquartered in California and its products are manufactured in the USA in a facility that is emission, waste-water and CFC free.
The Kenton Group are a distributor of Zhone Technologies products. For more information on The Kenton Group’s products and services contact +44(0)1322 552000 or email info@thekentongroup.com