Multi-layered SDN with enriched analytics helps operators to improve customers’ quality of experience

Software-defined networking (SDN) controllers support the delivery and management of the network paths that underpin customer services, but operators need to be aware of the availability of all the underlying network resource layers in order to achieve a high quality of service. Resources are typically managed in logical, independent network domains for IP, Ethernet, optical transport and optical physical networks. Each has its own network management system (NMS), which means that visibility and control of the network path is fragmented into a complex array of systems. This fragmentation is often stitched together using manual processes, which introduces operational and monitoring delays and also introduces errors, all of which has a negative impact on the customer experience. These issues can be addressed by controlling all layers from a single software system.