Virtualisation has transformed the efficiency of the data centre, allowing IT resources and associated costs to be shared across multiple applications and users. If telecom carriers could simply extend this model into the network, they would provide the ideal environment for delivery of Cloud services. Drawing on a vast pool of reusable network resources, the user’s experience of the Cloud would then be indistinguishable from that of locally-accessed services.

              

The problem with this vision is that carrier network infrastructure is poorly suited to virtualisation. Telecom networks have developed over decades to meet a wide variety of needs. The constant evolution of technology and customer demands has encouraged growth of relatively rigid architectures requiring careful management and long-term planning. Specific equipment is often configured to deliver specific services, and so the separation of hardware and service required for virtualisation is difficult - if not impossible - to achieve. 

         

This highly structured approach was appropriate in the past, but is now at odds with the Internet philosophy of instant response and limitless flexibility. This leaves carriers unable to take full advantage of the Cloud phenomenon and end users unable to enjoy the promised cost savings.

                

Intune Networks’ solution is the world’s first ‘whole network virtualisation’ platform. The iVX8000 is a fully programmable, services-oriented architecture capable of responding in real time to unpredictable and rapidly changing demand.