Nokia unveils automation to reduce datacentre network disruptions

It’s only human to make mistakes, but in a datacentre environment, any errors regarding network operations can be hugely costly, and to drive human error in this domain to zero, Nokia has launched the Event-Driven Automation (EDA) platform, which it claims reduces network disruptions and application downtime while also decreasing operational effort up to 40%.

Explaining the reasons for the launch, Nokia said ongoing digital transformation and the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) applications, coupled with datacentre workforce shortages and skills gaps, are driving enterprises to scale and adapt datacentre infrastructures to meet exponential demand and evolving workload requirements. And as more critical workloads move to the cloud, it warned that interruptions in cloud services can have significant economic, safety and social implications.

In addition, despite the benefits of network automation, Nokia cited a study by Enterprise Management Associates showing that most organisations have automated less than half of their datacentre network management tasks. Barriers to adopting automation include a lack of scalable, open, multi-vendor offerings; legacy systems and complexity requiring skilled resources; and a lack of trust in fully automated systems delivering the right outcomes.

To address these issues, Nokia said increasing automation in cloud and networking operations is essential to respond to demand while reducing service disruptions. It said its new infrastructure automation platform is designed to overcome these barriers while providing a new path to addressing key challenges in today’s datacentre network environment.

Nokia is confident the EDA, built for the AI era, fundamentally raises the bar on datacentre network operations with a modern approach that builds on Kubernetes to bring highly reliable, simplified and adaptable lifecycle management to datacentre networks.

The comms tech provider is confident that the risk of human error and associated network downtime is mitigated through EDA’s integrated digital twin, pre- and post-deployment checkpoints, multi-dimensional observability, and a continuous integration and continuous delivery methodology with revision control.

Moreover, it claims that by breaking down barriers for organisations to adopt automation in the datacentre, EDA will no less than usher in a new era of highly reliable, simplified and adaptable lifecycle management to datacentre networks designed for an AI world.

Simplicity in operations is said to be enabled through intent-based declarative automation, generative AI assistance and a low-code/no-code approach to building customised dashboards. Available through on-premise and cloud-based “as-a-service” subscription models, EDA integrates into multi-supplier, multi-domain environments with support for IT service management systems, event notification systems and cloud management platforms.

As a modern software platform, EDA builds on Kubernetes, a cloud automation and orchestration environment with millions of users worldwide, for its cloud-based microservices architecture. The platform adopts Kubernetes constructs to bring an intent-based, event-driven and declarative approach to network automation, and complements it with network-wide transactions.

Further, through leveraging Kubernetes’ Resource Model, application programming interfaces and toolchain, EDA enables network resources to be easily consumed in the same fashion as other datacentre applications.

The Nokia platform complements the company’s Service Router Linux network operating system and extensive portfolio of datacentre switching and routing platforms to provide webscale and enterprise organisations access to fully modernised datacentre networks.

Commenting on the launch, Roy Chua, founder and principal at research and advisory firm AvidThink, said: “Nokia’s decision to leverage Kubernetes for its EDA platform is a smart move. Enabling the network to be managed and orchestrated in the same manner as compute will be a ground-breaking innovation for datacentre operations staff. EDA’s focus on enabling network-wide transactions at speed with enhanced reliability is a key differentiator for automation in swiftly evolving, business-critical datacentre environments.”