Fujitsu Develops Technology to Simplify Design and Operation of Hybrid- and Multi-Cloud Network Infrastructure

Fujitsu Develops
Technology to Simplify Design and Operation of Hybrid- and Multi-Cloud Network
Infrastructure

Shortens design and configuration time, making
it easy to build and operate virtual network infrastructure on-demandKAWASAKI, Japan, Mar 7,
2017 – (JCN Newswire) – Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. and Fujitsu Laboratories
of America, Inc. have developed technology that makes it easy to design, build,
and operate virtual network infrastructure that extend across multiple clouds
and corporate networks.

With conventional technology it is possible to
build “virtual network infrastructure” within one individual cloud or
corporate location using Software Defined Networking (SDN) technology. However,
when building virtual network infrastructure spanning multiple clouds and
locations, not only are the setup methods different for each cloud and
location, it is also necessary for a skilled engineer to take time to configure
settings for connecting each part of the IT infrastructure individually.

Now Fujitsu Laboratories and Fujitsu
Laboratories of America have developed software technology that abstracts the
structural elements of networks in IT infrastructure, and which can
collectively design, build, manage, and operate across multiple IT
infrastructures. The two companies have confirmed that this technology allows
virtual network infrastructure to be built in one-tenth the time required by
conventional technology, when it is applied to the design and configuration of
the virtual network infrastructure extending across one cloud and a location
with a few dozen devices.

With this technology, it is now possible to
build and operate networks in response to user or application requirements,
contributing to the creation of virtual networks across multiple IT infrastructures
that support a variety of services in the era of 5G mobile communications, IoT,
and the cloud.

Details of this technology were announced at the
Technical Committee Conference on Network Systems, held March 2 in Okinawa.
This technology will also be on display at the upcoming Fujitsu North America
Technology Forum (NATF) 2017, an exhibition to be held March 9 in
Santa Clara, California.

Development Background

In anticipation of an era in which 5G mobile
communications and IoT technology become increasingly widespread, there has
been a demand for technology that can efficiently provide a variety of services
in the cloud in response to diversified needs and requirements.

With SDN and other technology for virtualizing
computer resources, and through the development of virtual network
infrastructure that extends from IoT devices, smart devices, and PCs to the
cloud for each service as needed, it is now possible for cloud service
providers to securely and efficiently provide their services, independent of the
physical infrastructure. These technologies are beginning to be used, for
example, in delivering large volumes of data from IoT devices to the cloud, and
analyzing that data for use in a variety of fields, or in flexibly building
enterprise networks in response to changes in corporate organization. There has
been a demand with this sort of virtual network infrastructure for the ability
to quickly respond to changes in service needs and requirements that
continually arise.

Figure 1: Virtual network infrastructure
extending from devices to the cloud

Issues

With conventional technology, virtual network
infrastructure can be created using SDN technology based on network designs
required by a user, or “logical network,” within a single IT
infrastructure. However, when building virtual network infrastructure that
encompasses cloud services being operated by different companies or in multiple
locations, there are different setup methods for the individual SDN
controllers. In addition, connecting different IT infrastructure usually
requires expert knowledge to manually configure virtual network infrastructures
in between, such as VPNs and VXLANs, thus making network configuration
laborious and time consuming.

Figure 2: Issues when creating virtual network
infrastructure that extends to multiple cloud services

About the Technology

Now Fujitsu Laboratories and Fujitsu
Laboratories of America have developed technology that abstracts the structural
elements of IT infrastructure, and which can automatically design and build IT
infrastructure that extends across multiple locations, managing and operating
it as a single network infrastructure.

Features of the newly developed technology are
as follows:

1. IT infrastructure abstraction technology

Fujitsu Laboratories and Fujitsu Laboratories of
America developed a technology that models structural elements of IT
infrastructure using logical software components to enable key features such as
element configuration and operational status monitoring. Using this technology,
users can automatically build virtual network infrastructures across multiple
instances of IT infrastructure based on the logical network designed by the
user. In addition, enabling operations and fault response management of virtual
network infrastructures, lifecycle management (design, configuration,
operations, and fault response), can also be done on the logical network.

2. Virtual network function automatic
supplemental technology

Fujitsu Laboratories and Fujitsu Laboratories of
America developed a technology to automatically supplement necessary network
functions in virtual network design when converting from a logical network to a
virtual network infrastructure by deriving the designer’s intentions from the
connection status of the logical network.

This technology focuses on the connection
between the structural elements of the designed logical network, and determines
the designer’s intentions and automatically supplements necessary network
functions by checking the connections between objects at different levels, such
as IT infrastructure, subnets, and nodes, located at both ends of the
connection.

Figure 3: Summary of the IT infrastructure
abstraction technology

Figure 4: Virtual network function automatic
supplement technology

Effects

With this new technology, it is now possible to
quickly build a complex virtual network infrastructure that extends across
multiple companies or locations, without expert knowledge. It is possible, for
example, that the design and configuration of a virtual network infrastructure
extending across one cloud and a location with a few dozen devices could be
completed by one engineer in one day, whereas previously four engineers
with expert virtual knowledge took three days. This can shorten the
configuration time to less than one-tenth what was previously required.

In case of migrating enterprise systems to the
cloud, it is now possible to complete migration in a short period of time by
simply performing operations on the logical network. In addition, when setting
up a network at multiple locations, the user can design one logical network,
then easily set up a virtual network at each location and add security
functionality by copying and customizing the same design.

Future Plans

Going forward, Fujitsu Laboratories and Fujitsu
Laboratories of America plan to continue development of other functions for
lifecycle management in logical networks using this technology, with the goal
of Fujitsu Limited conducting its sales as a network management function for
enterprise users of cloud services after fiscal 2017. This function will also
be available on the FUJITSU Cloud Service K5 provided by Fujitsu Limited.