Vello Systems supports Pacnet's SDN deployment

Vello Systems says that Pacnet is using the systems and software vendor’s Connectivity Exchange application based on the VellOS 7.0 Linux software platform to support its recently announced Pacnet Enabled Network (PEN; see “Pacnet launches SDN-enabled network”). PEN is designed to enable Pacnet to deliver “network as a service” offerings to customers in Asia-Pacific using software-defined networking (SDN) concepts.

Vello developed the Connectivity Exchange in partnership with OpenStack company Mirantis. Pacnet will use the platform to enable its customers to provision network bandwidth on-demand as well as support an “intelligent overprovisioning” ability to help ensure WAN links between countries and data centers are fully utilized and monetized via software control of data flows associated with tiered service-level agreements (SLAs), Vello says.

“We are very impressed by the advanced business connectivity capabilities, such as highly granular service level agreements, enabled by the VellOS platform,” said Jon Vestal, Pacnet’s vice president of product architecture. “PEN, leveraging our wholly owned network of data centers and subsea cable network, delivers scalable bandwidth and software-enabled intelligence, allowing customers to dynamically provision bandwidth in minutes through an OpenFlow-based software controller. With the introduction of PEN, we are at the forefront of industry efforts to meet the networking challenges prompted by the growth of cloud computing.”

The Connectivity Exchange supports such functions as on-demand provisioning, just-in-time provisioning, bandwidth calendaring, and automatic path recalculation and failover. For example, Pacnet customers can provision links between remote data centers through a self-service portal and application programming interface (API). When there is a need to move workloads across data centers they can request higher bandwidth (and pay a premium), then automatically revert to the original network settings. Meanwhile, the VellOS Connectivity Exchange will automatically recalculate an alternate path while maintaining SLA compliance in the event of a failure on the links or at the data center, Vello Systems says.

Pacnet plans to have PEN operational in 10 data centers in Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore at launch in Q1 2014. Data centers in the US and China are expected to follow in first half of 2014. The service provider expects to expand PEN capabilities to all its interconnected data centers across 14 cities in the Asia-Pacific region as well.

Said Karl May, CEO of Vello Systems, “The Pacnet PEN offering based on the VellOS Connectivity Exchange application represents what can be achieved in an application and environment-aware network that can adapt dynamically to changing resource requirements of critical business applications.”

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