Ekinops collaborates with French research institute bcom on SDN

b<>com, a French research institute, says it is working with Ekinops to bring software-defined networking (SDN) capabilities to the systems house's Ekinops 360 DWDM system.

b<>com is developing a range of SDN-friendly add-on modules compatible with open-source SDN controllers (including those compatible with OpenDaylight and ONOS) that will enable support of a variety of virtual network functions (VNFs). The capabilities will support integration of access and 5G core VNFs as well as support legacy interfaces and network components and protocols. NETCONF, CLI, and OpenFlow support will be foundational elements, according to b<>com.

"The evolution of 5G networks requires more flexibility and autonomy in their operation. It is based on SDN and NFV concepts. The interface layer developed with Ekinops fully meets those promises." says Xavier Priem, business developer for the Networks & Security group at b<>com.

"The interoperability experiment was extremely successful," adds Francois Xavier Ollivier, Ekinops's CTO. "In light of the increasing interest in SDN, this demonstrates Ekinops' commitment to offering service providers DWDM Layer 1 solutions that are proven to be SDN-aware”.

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