Telstra to consolidate services into Telstra Programmable Network

Telstra has outlined plans to offer its software defined networking (SDN) and network function virtualisation capabilities (NFV), cloud platform and data centres, and global and Australian networks in a single, integrated and intelligent platform that provides networking as a service.

This new network, the Telstra Programmable Network, will be programmable at its core and enable the automation and provisioning of services. Telstra says it will help businesses quickly add new capabilities without significant infrastructure upgrades. It will also enable simple and secure access to multiple cloud services via a simple user interface.

“The Telstra Programmable Network is designed to help our customers meet the rapidly growing global demand for data and the proliferation of applications, as well as embrace cloud computing by offering flexible and dynamic access to our high bandwidth, low latency and secure networks,” said Jim Fagan, Director Global Platforms.

“Our vision for the Telstra Programmable Network is to help businesses optimise their IT by offering automated, on-demand and near real-time provisioning, consumption-based pricing and new data insights on network usage.

“The Telstra Programmable Network brings together all of our SDN technologies such as PEN, Telstra’s first globally connected on-demand networking platform, and continues their development under one vision, architecture and investment programme.”

International IP-based virtual private network (IPVPN) customers will also be able to access the Telstra Programmable Network’s capabilities from any of Telstra's 2,000 points of presence worldwide after launch. This includes extending their network via Telstra’s portal or API to access the Internet and public cloud services including AWS and IBM SoftLayer.

In a milestone towards rolling out the Telstra Programmable Network, Telstra will implement a capability upgrade of its core international IP network in the coming months. This will introduce increased bandwidth and flexibility, which the Telstra Programmable Network will demand. In addition, these enhancements will also increase Telstra’s peering capacity by up to 70%, and provide enhanced security with traffic segregation capability to mitigate distributed denial of service (DDoS) traffic.

“These initial investments will establish the groundwork for the Telstra Programmable Network with future enhancements, such as orchestrated real-time SD-WAN and security, to be announced in the coming months,” said Fagan.

“We see the need for a new type of networking infrastructure, and the enhancements to our international IP core network and creation of a new software-enabled platform provide the building blocks needed to support the roll out of the Telstra Programmable Network, which leverages our world-class network.”

“In the age of digital disruption, an organisation’s network needs to support its future growth, whether that involves expanding into new markets, creating new products or improving efficiency.”