Astellia : and b<>com ensure full traffic visibility in NFV

Rennes, France, November 17 2016 - Astellia, leading provider of network and subscriber intelligence for mobile operators, announced today that it will be integrating Tap Manager for flow duplication in its virtual monitoring solution. This key enabler for virtualized network monitoring has been co-developed with the Institute of Research and Technology bcom.

For the last two years, Astellia has been working with bcom, a French Innovation Center with strong expertise in NFV/SDN (Network Function Virtualization/Software Defined Networking), to ensure the good integration of monitoring solutions in an NFV environment.

When functions in the network become virtualized, the interfaces can no longer be physically tapped. This changes how and where to monitor. Monitoring solutions must be virtualized to be deployed together with the network and to follow network elasticity. Monitoring solutions hence become themselves a Virtual Network Function (VNF) as part of the virtual network.

To meet new IP flow duplication requirements, Astellia actively contributed within bcom to the Tap Manager application definition and development. The application detects any changes in the network and instructs the network controller to duplicate and forward the relevant flows to virtual probes. The Tap manager leverages the northbound Application Programming Interface (API) of SDN network controllers that manage the network in an end-to-end perspective, connecting all VNF functions together. The solution is fully integrated in the OpenStack Virtual Infrastructure Manager (VIM) and respects all constraints regarding network security of Neutron (OpenStack Network-as-a-Service module).

'Mobile network operators that embrace NFV will realize several advantages including increased network scalability, improved operational efficiency and CAPEX savings. But it brings also increased complexity to network management. Having a good solution to monitor and validate is therefore paramount. With the integration of Tap Manager in our monitoring solution we allow operators to constantly monitor and troubleshoot their service performance in a virtualized environment, providing the intelligence needed to drive service quality, maximize operational efficiency and improve the customer experience,' assures Julien Lecoeuvre, co-founder and CTIO of Astellia.

'With the help of Astellia and other key members such as Orange, bcom has specified and developed building blocks that pave the way to future 5G networks. bcom is an active member of the Openstack community which manages a free and open-source software platform for cloud computing. The co-developed Tap Manager relies on OpenStack's VIM to dynamically mirror the network flows between VNFs to Astellia's vProbes,' confirms Michel Corriou, Networks & Security Director at bcom.

About bcom

With its innovations, the Institute of Research and Technology (IRT) bcom is taking part in the European digital transformation. Its 230 researchers develop tools, products, and services that make everyday life easier. They focus on two fields of research: Hypermedia (ultra-high definition images, 3D sound, smart content, virtual and augmented reality) and more agile ultra-high speed networks (cloud, cybersecurity, ultra-high speed mobile, network resilience, Internet of Things). Of the many fields of application for these technologies, e-health has allowed bcom to participate in the digital revolution going on in medicine. Founded through a public/private partnership, the IRT gathers the best experts from industry and academia at its campus in France. www.b-com.com