The transformation from Hardware to Software based Operations, AT&T's Network Transformation

I started my career in manufacturing and distribution logistics, then moved to hardware, and eventually operating systems and other software.  Most of what drove the changes in what I do is got bored and was looking to learn new things.  But, most people don’t like to change, they like predictability of what needs to be done. 

In AT&T’s Domain 2.0 document is a long list of transition they plan on making going from a hardware approach to a software approach.  

I don’t know about you, but I like the right side of the list much better than the left side.  The left side is easier from a micro management of what needs to be done, but it misses the customer focus which dominates the right side.  

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AT&T announces its Embracing Cloud Principles for its Network

AT&T announced its User-Defined Network Cloud which is kind of puzzling.  So, the current network is a non-user defined specialized equipment environment where people (mostly men) picked their favorite equipment in self serving perspectives thinking of their jobs and users should trust these people to be the experience they wanted? This was the old way, but technology is moving too fast, and users expectations are growing.  Here is a graphic that illustrates the change AT&T is making.

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NFV aims to address these problems by evolving standard IT virtualization technology to consolidate
many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume servers, switches and storage that
can be located in data centers, network PoPs or on customer premises. As shown in Figure 2, this
involves the implementation of network functions in software, called VNFs, that can run on a range of
general purpose hardware, and that can be moved to, or instantiated in, various locations in the
network as required, without the need for installation of new equipment.

The document that has this graphic is here.

Here is another graphic that shows the change.

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Here is the blog post from AT&T’s John Donovan.  I think if John had added these simple graphics to his blog post it would have communicated much more clearly what AT&T is doing.

I found this information thanks to GigaOm’s Kevin Fitchard post.

Software is eating the mobile network, too, as AT&T begins its journey into the cloud

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cloud-cell-tower
photo: Gigaom Illustration
SUMMARY:

AT&T is taking the first steps toward transforming its network into a data center. It’s not touching the cellular network — at least not yet — but it will start virtualizing its mobile core and application infrastructure.

Cloud is not a Panacea, Yin and Yang, Public Cloud and Private

The way some people talk about the Cloud it is a Panacea.

a remedy for all ills or difficulties :  cure-all

Many people have built marketing initiatives and customers are ready to buy the Cloud believing it is the Panacea for their IT issues.  

Myself I have tried to argue that the Cloud has limits, and others will say no they can point to customers who have been successful being in the Cloud.

My latest attempt is to try and discuss the Yin and Yang concept.

In Chinese philosophy, the concept of yin-yang (simplified Chinese: 阴阳; traditional Chinese: 陰陽; pinyin: yīnyáng), which is often called "yin and yang",[1][2][3][4] is used to describe how opposite or contrary forces are interconnected and interdependent in the natural world; and, how they give rise to each other as they interrelate to one another. Many natural dualities (such as light and dark, high and low, hot and cold, fire and water, life and death, and so on) are thought of as physical manifestations of the yin-yang concept.

Some may think their data center was the dark days and the solution in AWS is the light.

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The Yin and Yang is drawn to show even in the light their is a bit of dark and in the dark is a bit of light.

Even when you look at AWS which is the epitome of Public Cloud it has bits of private in it.  The data centers are built or leased by Amazon.com and there are no public disclosures on those data centers.  The equipment in the data center is a guarded a secret.  The BIOS, Processors, RAM, HD, Network, and Storage Systems are all private.

What is the change management process for APIs?  Is it in control of the public or does amazon.com make the decisions on when they will make changes?

The strength of the Public Cloud is following a retail model to address consumer needs.  Where IT has gone to dark side is where they think they can dictate to users what their needs are.

If the internal IT group is customer driven and customers have options, then there is not as much a reason to go the Public Cloud.

 

 

 

Netflix made 11 presentations at AWS Re:Invent

AWS Re:Invent had many sessions and the folks at Netflix created a post so you could find the Netflix one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven.

Yes there are eleven Netflix presentations made at AWS Re:Invent.  Here are two.  You can go to this link to see all.

Netflix Presentation Videos from AWS Re:Invent 2013

 

AWS recorded all the talks, there are hundreds of videos, so to make it easier to find the Netflix related ones, here are links to the videos.

DMG206 - Development Patterns for Iteration, Scale, Performance and Availability
Neil Hunt - Chief Product Officer



ENT203 What Enterprises Can Learn From Netflix
Yury Israilevsky - VP Cloud and Platform Engineering


Wow, Apple files a permit and media is all over its expansion in NC

Apple files a permit to expand data center capacity and the media is all over it.

Search Results

  1. Mac Rumors

     

    Apple Is Once Again Expanding Its North Carolina Data Center

    AppAdvice-10 hours ago
    Like the previous tactical data center, plans for the new one shows banks ... All in all, Apple's North Carolina data center is a huge setup that's ...

The data center media caught it too.

 

REPORT: APPLE PLANS ANOTHER DATA CENTER IN NORTH CAROLINA

Company files for permit for a 14,000 sq ft facility in Maiden

21 February 2014 by Yevgeniy Sverdlik - DatacenterDynamics

 
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Report: Apple plans another data center in North Carolina
Apple's main Maiden, North Carolina, data center

Apple is planning to build a second mid-size data center on its property in Maiden, North Carolina, which currently has one 500,000 sq ft facility and a smaller, 21,000 sq ft one.

 

The company has filed papers for a permit with Catawba County that describes a 14,000 sq ft data center at the site, Hickory Record reported. Plans in the paperwork include a building with office and other ancillary space and a data hall cooled by 11 air conditioning units.