The Virtuora Path Computation application is part of the Fujitsu Virtuora Product Suite for software-defined networking. The product suite is based on a modular architecture designed for simplicity, control, and extreme flexibility. The suite includes a network controller (Virtuora NC) with supporting applications that deliver services to market faster and more competitively.
The Virtuora Path Computation application is an automated software engine capable of calculating the most optimal path for information being sent from one managed network element to another. It is different from traditional path computation in that it has the computational power to thrive in a multilayer, multivendor, multidomain network, as opposed to residing at the node or switch level.
The Virtuora Path Computation application accommodates three primary use cases:
- When a network operator is activating or deactivating a service
- When a working path has failed
- When a network fault alarm has been activated
The Virtuora NC product performs service activation, restoration, and fault management across multiple layers of the physical network. The Virtuora Path Computation application can accommodate constraints like diversity (node, SRLG, and link) as well as cost (hops and latency). The application also provides for more sophisticated path computation that can take into account price of services and risk of failure.
For example, Virtuora engages with the IP layer, assesses the capacity on the Ethernet layer and the physical bandwidth at the OTN and WDM layer. From there, it can activate an optimized service with or without constraints, provide a new path when a protected or non-protected path goes down, or route around the fault that triggered the network alarm.
The real power of the Path Computation application is when it’s paired with Service Restoration. Virtuora is capable of restoring network services based on what’s going on in the network currently. If a critical service goes down, Service Restoration invokes the Path Computation application and automatically switches to a protected path, or gracefully reverts to the original path once conditions clear.
Virtuora goes beyond the logical path, taking into account diverse physical routes that aren’t so obvious. It knows, and shows, fiber pairs and fiber bundles that logically appear to be on different wavelengths, but are in fact physically on the same one. Virtuora will not allow operators to create a circuit using the same link.
Using the application is simple. A network operator opens the Virtuora network controller and clicks a button to create a path for a circuit. Using an intuitive questionnaire-type dialog box on the console, the constraints of the circuit are described and entered, quickly returning a result. The outcome is –Z provisioning that is wholly intentional about network configuration, as well as the current and future state of the network.
Every network using Virtuora can take advantage of the Path Computation application. Because the output is a REST call with the best path calculated, separate but integrated systems like the NFV Orchestrator—and proprietary OSS/BSS systems—can use it.
The Virtuora Path Computation application demonstrates the value of disaggregated SDN architecture, modular applications, and an open-source controller. By separating the control functions from the hardware and logically centralizing and managing them, Virtuora customers gain the ability to work across multiple devices, layers, and vendors quickly, efficiently, reliably, and best of all—automatically. Get started building your network for the connected world using the Virtuora Path Computation application. #fujitsu #humancentricinnovation
*** Special thanks for Anuj Dutia for providing subject matter expertise for this blog post.