IT virtualization has radically changed the face of compute, storage, and network services in data centers and beyond. In response, Colt — a network and communications service provider — back in 2015 began developing a program that has transformed the way the company offers network services to customers, says Javier Benitez, Senior Network Architect, Colt Technology Services, who will be speaking at Open Networking Summit.

According to Benitez, the aim was to move away from a traditional consumption model to one where network services are consumed through an on-demand model based on software defined networking (SDN) and network function virtualization (NFV) technologies. Here, Benitez explains more about Colt’s SDN and NFV solutions, focusing on current development efforts and future plans.

Linux.com: What prompted Colt’s adoption of NFV and SDN?

Javier Benitez: Our transformation toward network virtualization started long ago, in 2010, when we defined Colt’s Ethernet and IP integration strategy which included the virtualization of the L3 CPE router used to deliver managed Internet access and IPVPN services. This virtualization was launched in production early 2012 and pre-dated the ETSI NFV group. The same year Colt joined the Open Networking Foundation (ONF) with special interest in the potential use of OpenFlow in the data center (DC) as well as in the transport network.

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