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From original TechZine article
Can the virtualized evolved packet core (vEPC) be deployed today in large scale, LTE networks? Mobile network operators (MNOs) are increasingly convinced that the vEPC has become viable both financially and technically. And I think so, too, based upon the advances made over the past year that I'll discuss in this blog.
Advancements in vEPC scaling and performance
Early in 2014, the vEPC proofs of concept and field trials of virtualized mobility management and gateway products were limited in both scale and performance. But as the year progressed, advancements in the design and architecture used network functions virtualization (NFV) tools and capabilities that greatly improved their capacity and performance.
These improvements, together with other software enhancements, such as the Data Plane Development Kit (DPDK), have the vSGW/vPGW approaching the capacity and performance of dedicated hardware platforms.
Converged NMS/VNF manager: The key to seamless vEPC network operations
A lot of progress has been made with enhancements to the ETSI Management and Orchestration (MANO) architecture. However, rather than having separate element management system (EMS) and VNF manager (VNFM) functions, there's been a move to converge these functions since both are integral to managing the VNFs. (The EMS described by MANO includes both network and element management (NMS/EMS) functions).
By unifying the VNF manager and NMS functions, an MNO can seamlessly manage and orchestrate the vEPC. This makes it easy for an MNO to perform VNF lifecycle management functions from the same NMS that is used on a day-to-day basis for network operations.
When EMS and VNFM are converged:
The traditional NMS Fault, Configuration, Accounting, Performance and Security (FCAPS) management function is now applicable to both the EPC VNFs and the physical network functions (PNF). This enables a common and consistent approach.
This also provides the topology and logical connectivity of the individual VNFs/PNFs and more advanced performance and SLA reporting. A single manager simplifies overall coordination and adaptation for configuration and event reporting between the virtualized infrastructure manager (VIM) and the NMS.
Troubleshooting is simplified because traditional NMS faults/events are correlated with VNF related events/faults. The VNFM provides lifecycle management and automates the self-healing of VNFs. It uses recipes to describe the vEPC VNF, its VNF components (underlying VM instances) and their interdependencies. Each VNF component has its own recipe, which includes a description of how to monitor, self-heal, and scale it.
With coordinated fault management and automated self-healing, the MNO's operations team will have the visibility and intelligence to understand whether alarms are caused by normal maintenance activities or are indeed an emerging issue that they need to react to quickly. In addition, new advanced NMS approaches to network assurance visualization will speed problem assessment for both VNF and PNFs. These developments will also provide the VNF and network event data to support reporting and analysis.
When the VNFM and the NMS are combined into a single management functional instance, the management and orchestration of the vEPC VNF and integration of the vEPC into the existing OSS/BSS infrastructure is greatly simplified. This is because the VNFM/ NMS has complete knowledge and visibility of VNFs within the physical and virtual EPC network.
Is the vEPC ready for commercial deployment?
Based on the progress made in both the scalability and performance of the vEPC VNFs and the advances made in management and orchestration of the vEPC, 2015 will be the year for vEPC deployments to commence at some Tier 1 mobile operators. The momentum and confidence of mobile operators in NFV will make it a reality.
Alcatel-Lucent at Mobile World Congress
Alcatel-Lucent will have a large presence at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. I will take part in a panel discussion on "Unifying Network IT and Telco IT" on Thursday, March 5th from 11.30 – 13.00.
We will also be demonstrating our vEPC at our booth. There you will be able to see the dynamic scaling of our Virtualized Mobile Gateway and the operational elegance of our NMS/VNFM system. I look forward to seeing you there and discussing how our vEPC solution can meet your NFV evolution plans.
Related Material
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OpenStack isn't an as-is solution for telco network functions virtualization (NFV) infrastructures. OpenStack is an open-source cloud management technology that provides many of the capabilities needed in any NFV environment. And this has prompted interest among many telco service providers.
But to realize the full benefits of NFV, service providers need NFV platforms that provide additional capabilities to support distributed clouds, enhanced network control, lifecycle management, and high performance data planes.
The OpenStack/NFV backstory
In 2010, RackSpace® and NASA jointly launched OpenStack®, an open-source cloud computing platform. Since then, the OpenStack community has gained tremendous momentum, with over 200 member companies.
Originally, OpenStack was not designed with carrier requirements in mind. So in 2012, a group of major telecommunication service providers founded an initiative to apply virtualization and cloud principles to the telecommunications domain.
The term network functions virtualization was coined for this initiative. Service providers called for vendors to build virtualized network functions (VNFs) and NFV platforms to help them become more agile in delivering services, and to reduce equipment and operational cost.
To address identified gaps in OpenStack and other relevant open source projects, major industry players established in September 2014 "Open Platform for NFV" as a Linux™ Foundation Collaborative Project. The intention is to create a carrier-grade, open source reference platform for NFV. Industry peers will build this platform together to evolve NFV and to ensure consistency, performance, and interoperability among multiple open source components.
There are 5 main areas in which OpenStack is currently lacking as a solution for telco NFV environments:
1. Distribution
In the IT world, enterprises want to consolidate their datacenters to reduce costs. But this is not always the best choice for NFV. Many NFV applications require a real-time response with low latency. NFV applications also need to be highly available and survive disasters. Service providers need the flexibility to deploy network functions in a distributed infrastructure — at the network core, metro area, access, and possibly even a customer's premises.
Figure 1. Distributed NFV infrastructure
OpenStack supports Cells, Regions, and Availabilities Zones, but these concepts are not sufficient for the needs of NFV. Each OpenStack Region provides separate API endpoints, with no coordination between Regions. Typically, one or more Regions are located in one datacenter. The Cells component provides a single API endpoint that aggregates multiple regions.
With Cells, workload placement ("scheduling") across cells is by explicit specification or by random selection. The Cells component doesn't have a placement algorithm that is able to choose the best location based on the needs of the application.
The Horizon GUI is restricted to a single region at a time. There is no GUI able to show an aggregated view of the NFV cloud infrastructure. The OpenStack Glance virtual machine image manager is also limited to a single region. This means that the NFV operator would have to deploy images manually to the regions needed.
Bottom line: Service providers need a platform that will deal efficiently with the distributed NFV infrastructure necessary for low signal latencies and disaster resiliency. This infrastructure must also be manageable as a single distributed cloud with global views, statistics, and policies.
2. Networking
VNFs vary widely in their network demands. Because they are distributed throughout an NFV infrastructure, the baseline requirement for an NFV network is connectivity, both within datacenters and across WANs. Security dictates that different network functions should only be connected to each other if they need to exchange data, and the NFV control, data, and management traffic should be separated.
As network functions are decomposed – for example into data plane components and a centralized control plane component – network connectivity between these components needs to remain as highly reliable as traditional integrated architectures. Sufficient network resources should be available to ensure surging traffic from other applications cannot adversely affect NFV applications.
The network should be resilient against equipment failures and force majeure disasters. Latency and jitter requirements vary from hundreds of milliseconds for some control and management systems, to single digit milliseconds for mobile gateways and cloud radio access networks.
NFV networks will typically consist of a semi-static physical infrastructure, along with a much more dynamic overlay network layer to address the needs of VNFs. The overlay layer needs to respond quickly to factors such as changing service demands and new service deployments.
OpenStack Neutron is the OpenStack networking component offering abstractions, such as Layer 2 and Layer 3 networks, subnets, IP addresses, and virtual middleboxes. Neutron has a plugin-based architecture. Networking requests to Neutron are forwarded to the Neutron plugin installed to handle the specifics of the present network. Neutron is limited to a single space of network resources typically associated with an OpenStack region. It is unable to directly federate multiple network domains and manage WAN capabilities.
Bottom line: Service providers need a platform that will set up and manage local- and wide-area network (LAN and WAN) structures needed for carrier applications in a programmable manner
3. Automated lifecycle management
One of the greatest advantages of NFV as a software-based solution is its ability to automate operational processes. This includes the application lifecycle, from deployment to monitoring, scaling, healing and upgrading, all the way to phase out. Studies have shown that this automation will allow service providers to reduce operational expenses (OPEX) by more than 50 percent in some cases.
OpenStack Heat allows users to write templates to describe virtual applications ("stacks") in terms of their component resources, such as virtual machines including nested stacks. Originally, Heat templates were based on AWS™ CloudFormation™, but more recently Heat Orchestration Templates (HOT) have been introduced that offer additional expressive power. Heat focuses on defining and deploying application stacks but does not explicitly support other lifecycle phases.
OpenStack Solum is a new project designed to make cloud services easier to consume and integrate into the development process. It is being designed to provide some of the missing lifecycle automation functions. There is some initial work on auto-scaling by combining the measurement capabilities of OpenStack Ceilometer with Heat. Heat is currently limited to a single OpenStack region.
Bottom line: Service providers need a platform that will automate not only deployment and scaling but also many other lifecycle operations of complex carrier applications with many component functions.
4. NFV infrastructure operations
The distribution of NFV infrastructures across many locations in a service provider's network – as opposed to a few centralized locations – will pose specific challenges and impact the operational processes and support systems. NFV's distributed infrastructure means that cloud nodes at different locations are added, upgraded, and/or removed more frequently than in a centralized cloud. These processes should be performed remotely whenever possible to avoid truck rolls across the coverage area.
OpenStack TripleO (OpenStack on OpenStack) is an experimental addition to the OpenStack family. The project aims at automating the installation, upgrade and operation of OpenStack clouds using OpenStack's own cloud facilities. TripleO uses Heat to deploy an OpenStack instance on top of a bare-metal infrastructure.
Bottom line: Service providers need a platform specifically designed for a distributed NFV infrastructure, one that automates the complex software stack deployment and upgrade procedures.
5. High-performance data plane
Many carrier network functions (e.g., deep packet inspection, media gateways, session border controllers, and mobile core serving gateways and packet data network gateways) are currently implemented on special-purpose hardware to achieve high packet processing and input/output throughput. Running those functions on current off-the-shelf servers with current hypervisors can lead to a 10-fold performance degradation.
The industry is currently working on new technologies that have the potential to improve data plane performance on commercial off-the-shelf servers, in some cases to nearly the levels of special-purpose hardware.
Data plane performance, however, has been a fringe activity in the OpenStack community. Only recently, e.g., with the Juno release, more focus has been put on data plane acceleration. Juno offers support for requesting access for virtual machines to Intel®'s Single Root I/O Virtualization technology.
Bottom line: Service providers need a platform that will manage high-performance data plane network functions on commercial off-the-shelf servers.
Beyond OpenStack: What's needed to make NFV work today?
Most service providers around the globe are looking for an open and multi-vendor NFV platform based on OpenStack. But as discussed, the OpenStack community is not strongly focused on some key NFV requirements. What's missing is an NFV platform that goes beyond the scope of OpenStack to help customers realize reductions in CAPEX and OPEX, and improved service agility.
OpenStack is still under heavy development in many areas. As it matures, OpenStack will become more stable and richer in functionality, allowing it to better meet NFV requirements in certain areas. However, it is not expected to meet all requirements.
Service providers need a horizontal NFV platform that provides:
This approach will make it possible to break open today's multiple application silos.
This article is based on the Alcatel-Lucent/Red Hat white paper CloudBand with OpenStack as NFV Platform.
To contact the author or request additional information, please send an email to techzine.editor@alcatel-lucent.]]>
Have you ever gotten your hands dirty and really implemented an NFV or SDN application? Six teams from academia and industry in Israel and Europe can answer with a resounding yes! These teams gathered in Haifa at the 4-day 2015 Winter School and Hackathon event, organized by Bell Labs, Alcatel-Lucent's CloudBand team and Israel's leading Institute of Technology, Technion. The event offered a full program to get acquainted with the fundamental concepts behind cloud computing, software defined networking (SDN) and network functions virtualization (NFV).
Eighty participants gained a clear understanding of enabling technologies, NFV and SDN challenges and barriers, and how to overcome the obstacles of implementing virtualized network functions in the cloud.
The program started with two days of in-depth technical lectures covering the principles of the cloud, server and network virtualization, OpenStack, and high performance packet processing for NFV among other topics. Following this, participants had the opportunity to get hands-on experience with CloudBand, an advanced NFV platform, learn how NFV changes operator roles and responsibilities, and how operational processes can be automated to reduce operational expenditure. One of the use cases shown was the automated deployment of an NFV application in a distributed NFV infrastructure.
After acquiring a solid foundation in the first three days, six teams took up the challenge to develop a real NFV solution. The task was to virtualize the DHCP function of a residential gateway. Virtualizing customer premises equipment, such as residential gateways, and moving some of their complex functions into the cloud has been identified as a promising strategy to reduce cost and increase service provider ability to quickly deploy new services.
The winner of the challenge was a team headed by Mladen Tomic from the University of Rijeka, Croatia, who implemented a solution that not only delivered the cloud based DHCP service, but was also capable of scaling to adapt to changing service traffic. Mladen said, "I pretty much enjoyed the whole event, from attending lectures on hot and interesting topics, exchanging ideas with other participants and having some great fun both learning and competing in the hackathon." Congratulations to the winners and to all participants for their highly motivated participation!
The future of NFV will depend on a generation of students and engineers capable of grasping the opportunities and challenges of NFV, and we are convinced they will be the creators of advanced NFV solutions that we cannot imagine today. Anyone can join and create their own applications on a public version of the hackathon. VNF and NFV technology providers can also apply to participate in the CloudBand Ecosystem Program.
Over the past several years, I've met with many mobile network operators (MNOs) and discussed their plans for virtualizing the evolved packet core (EPC). It's clear from the more recent conversations that MNOs are now convinced that the vEPC is both financially and technically viable for their networks. But is the vEPC ready for the MNO's LTE consumer network? In this article, I'll discuss why I now think that's possible.
vEPC scaling and performance
Early in 2014, the vEPC proofs of concept and field trials of the Virtualized Mobility Management Entity (vMME) and Virtualized Serving Gateway (vSGW)/Virtualized Packed Data Gateway (vPGW) were limited in both scale and performance. But as the year progressed, advancements in the EPC Virtualized Network Function (VNF) design and architecture used Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) tools and capabilities that greatly improved their capacity and performance.
For control plane subscriber scaling, it is now possible to support up to millions of simultaneous attached users and hundreds of thousands of eNodeBs and small cells on a single vMME instance. This is comparable with today's existing MMEs built on standard telecom hardware platforms.
In the data plane, the user capacity has increased significantly with the use of packet acceleration techniques. For example, Single Root – Input/Output Virtualization (SR-IOV) bypasses the hypervisor and enables Virtual Machines (VMs) to attach to the VNF (the vSGW/vPGW ) and share a single physical Network Interface Card (NIC) that functions as multiple virtualized NICsThis greatly improves speed and increases capacity by reducing processing overhead. These improvements, together with other software enhancements, such as the Data Plane Development Kit (DPDK), have the vSGW/vPGW approaching the capacity and performance of dedicated hardware platforms.
Converged NMS/VNF Manager: the key to seamless vEPC network operations
A lot of progress has been made with enhancements to the ETSI Management and Orchestration (MANO) architecture. However, rather than having separate element management system (EMS) and VNF Manager (VNFM) functions, there's been a move to converge these functions since both are integral to managing the VNFs. (The EMS described by MANO includes both network and element management (NMS/EMS) functions). By unifying the VNF Manager and NMS functions, an MNO can seamlessly manage and orchestrate the vEPC. This makes it easy for an MNO to perform VNF lifecycle management functions from the same NMS that is used on a day-to-day basis for network operations. When EMS and VNFM are converged:
The traditional NMS Fault, Configuration, Accounting, Performance and Security (FCAPS) management function is now applicable to both the EPC VNFs and the physical network functions (PNF). This enables a common and consistent approach. This also provides the topology and logical connectivity of the individual VNFs/PNFs and more advanced performance and SLA reporting. A single manager simplifies overall coordination and adaptation for configuration and event reporting between the Virtualized Infrastructure Manager (VIM) and the NMS.
Troubleshooting is simplified because traditional NMS faults/events are correlated with VNF related events/faults. The VNFM provides lifecycle management and automates the self-healing of VNFs. It uses recipes to describe the vEPC VNF, its VNF components (underlying VM instances) and their interdependencies. Each VNF component has its own recipe, which includes a description of how to monitor, self-heal, and scale it. With coordinated fault management and automated self-healing, the MNO's Operations team will have the visibility and intelligence to understand whether alarms are caused by normal maintenance activities or are indeed an emerging issue that they need to react to quickly. In addition, new advanced NMS approaches to network assurance visualization will speed problem assessment for both VNF and PNFs. These developments will also provide the VNF and network event data to support reporting and analysis.
When the VNFM and the NMS are combined into a single management functional instance, the management and orchestration of the vEPC VNF and integration of the vEPC into the existing OSS/BSS infrastructure is greatly simplified. This is because the VNFM/ NMS has complete knowledge and visibility of VNFs within the physical and virtual EPC network.
Is the vEPC ready for commercial deployment?
Based on the progress made in both the scalability and performance of the vEPC VNFs and the advances made in management and orchestration of the vEPC, 2015 will be the year for vEPC deployments to commence at some Tier 1 mobile operators. The momentum and confidence of mobile operators in NFV will make it a reality.
Alcatel-Lucent at Mobile World Congress
Alcatel-Lucent will have a large presence at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. I will take part in a panel discussion on "Unifying Network IT and Telco IT" on Thursday, March 5th from 11.30 - 13.00.
We will also be demonstrating our vEPC at our booth. There you will be able to see the dynamic scaling of our Virtualized Mobile Gateway and the operational elegance of our NMS/VNFM system. I look forward to seeing you there and discussing how our vEPC solution can meet your NFV evolution plans.
Related Material
In doing preparations for what many have called "the circus" aka the annual Mobile World Congress (MWC)—which is arguably now the most important industry trade event as the world goes mobile and which takes place in Barcelona March 2-5—the excitement is already palpable. From all of the new cool devices of all shapes and sizes to interesting advances on things like antenna technology, Network Functions Virtualization, carrier aggregation, etc., the eye candy alone is almost overwhelming in terms of imagining the possibilities. However, MWC always is tantalizing because not only does it answer what we will see in terms of capabilities in the near-term, but also because of the questions it raises about the longer term.
In this regard I was struck by a recent blog by Michael Peeters, CTO, Alcatel-Lucent Wireless, entitled I think appropriately, The Circus is in Town. Peeters' main point is summed up nicely where he says in characterizing his view on what's the next big thing that will be the buzz of the show that, "...one thing is certain: its story will be about removing place and time constraints we took for granted."
While I agree with where we are and where we are going to a certain extent in terms of removing place and time constraints, I happen to believe that the next big thing will be around what it has been and should be, i.e., utility. After all, as we move into always on/all ways connected broadband-enabled world, if all of the things Peeters points to about the Internet of Things (IoT), drones, wearables, more immersive customer experiences and the like are not both easy-to-use, trustworthy and useful, their monetization potential will not be maximized. And, let's face it, the bottom line is the bottom line which is all about utility. This means utility as pervasively accessible and hopefully affordable and safe, as well as the perceived value we are willing to pay for personally and professionally that enables service providers to continue to accelerate the speed at which the future comes at us.
Talk of the town
If you think about MWC are more of a town meeting of all the stakeholders, along with being a good thing in the context of being a circus, which it is, Peeters' observations about what will be discussed in terms of the short-term are spot on. In fact, his list of things that will be highlighted and discussed is worth review if you are lucky enough to go to Barcelona or not. They include his forecasts concerning what the show buzz will be about:
Applicability: LTE in new markets such as Public Safety. The ongoing deployment of VoLTE and potential further improvements. What needs to be added or changed to the existing technology?
Capacity: carrier aggregation in licensed bands, be it FDD or TDD, but also the combination of, and the tension between licensed and unlicensed spectrum and technologies. Do you go for LTE-U or Wifi-LTE aggregation?
Performance: specific deployment scenarios such as small cells for indoor and especially enterprise needs. Virtualization of the RAN. How and when do they make sense?
And, because the industry loves to discuss what comes next, despite 4G now finally being rolled out around the world, although "mature" might be a stretch given how far we have to go, 5G will be top of mind and interactions. Don't get me wrong, this is a great thing. Who doesn't like talking about the future? However, with things like VoLTE, Voice-over-Wi-Fi, Hotspot 2.0, IoT and M2M, really all in their nascent stages, my hope is that the industry is not getting ahead of itself. Indeed, the use cases that will emerge as to what is valuable as the mobile world moves toward being all IP and broadband are in most instances yet to be written.
This is a great thing as well. It is a so because it will be us figuring out the utility of new high-performance wireless networks and how to extract value from them and all of the new devices, business models (mobile payments for example) and competitive options that will determine what will be successful along with the who, what, when, why and how.
So as Peeters implies, by all means enjoy the show. Be entertained and enthralled. Like the circus, MWC is dazzling and if for no other reason can and should be appreciated for that alone. Indeed, take him up on the invitation to stop by the Alcatel-Lucent booth (Hall 3 – Booth 3K10) to learn more about the realities and possibilities.
In many ways we stand on the bottom of the on-ramp of the possibilities of the combination of pervasive computing and ubiquitous communications. The coming ability of networks to deliver more immersive experiences and better insights into how we can be more productive at work and enjoy more of the things that delight us in our personal lives makes this a unique time and a great time to be part of the buzz.
However, it is important to not lose sight amidst the technology of not just what it does but what it can and should deliver. In my mind the deliverables are utility and trust. It is my hope that at a high level these are the two things that are buzzing at MWC as they are what the industry should and can deliver as to what comes next.
Peeters has it right about the inexorable march of the industry toward providing us with the broadband infrastructure and agility the future is mandating in terms of breaking down the barriers of time and place, however, what this means in terms of deliverables creates fascinating open questions and opportunities and that is why the show is so engaging on so many levels. This may not a "new story," but it certainly is an all important one.]]>
There's no question that the network functions virtualization (NFV) technology around which many telecommunications carriers and vendors are rallying takes a page from the virtualization that already has taken hold in IT data centers. But you can't judge a book by its cover. NFV and IT virtualization also have their differences.
One key difference is that while data center virtualization tends to rely on a centralized architecture, NFV calls for a distributed one, Andreas Lemke, marketing lead for the CloudBand NFV platform at Alcatel-Lucent, points out in a recent TechZine posting by Andreas Lemke, Marketing Lead, CloudBand NFV platform, Alcatel-Lucent titled, Why distribution is important in NFV.
"As the IT world virtualized, it found that a small number of warehouse-size data centers are more cost-effective than many small, widely spread ones. This is because companies that build data centers do not have to build and operate local access networks," he wrote.
"In contrast to IT clouds, such as Amazon's, distribution matters in NFV networks," Lemke continued. "Many carrier applications have needs that are ill-suited to a centralized architecture."
Those needs relate to availability, low latency (a key consideration in carriers' radio access networks, where vRANs are being deployed), network offload (for which content delivery networks are being used), regulations, and security.
Consider network offload, for example. Because video and data have pushed ahead of voice as the most plentiful traffic on the network, there's a need to optimize network operations for this more bandwidth-loving traffic. Using point-to-point video streaming in all cases is inefficient, notes Lemke, so carriers are leveraging content distribution and multicasting to make the most of their network resources, and a hierarchical, distributed architecture supports these network optimization efforts.
A distributed network also tends to equate to higher reliability and disaster survivability, he says, as when you have network resources in a broader geography the chances that all of those resources will be adversely affected by a man-made or natural disaster becomes lower.
And, while a distributed network creates more potential points of security risk, it also mitigates risk because more nodes exist, meaning there's a greater chance parts of the network will be unaffected in the event of a security problem, and with the proper processes and tools, the attacks can be identified and isolated.
One of the things that will characterize 2015 is the trend that started picking up momentum in 2014 that communications service providers (CSPs) have developed a sense of urgency about transforming their networks. It used to be that if you were a network operator you could invest with some level of assurance that the hardware and the associated software to run it would be core to your network for possible decades before becoming obsolete. However, as everyone in the industry knows, this is no longer the case.
As the world becomes more software-centric in terms of service creation, delivery, agility, security and performance— to meet the tsunami of data heading operator's way and to allow network operators to maintain their relevance as ecosystem hubs rather than "dumb pipe" providers—cost efficient and effective operational excellence and the need to be fast-to-market and fast in the market with innovative services and enhanced customer experiences have become paramount. It is why so much attention is being paid to thing like Software-Defined Networks (SDN) and Network Functions Virtualization (VFV).
The need for speed has become (pardon the turn of phrase) hyper-critical. However, with recognition of the need to transform and do so rapidly should also come the recognition that network operators cannot transform rapidly and successfully on their own. It may not "take a village" to get transformations in the fast lane and done right, but it certainly takes trusted partners. In fact, Olivier Gueret , Senior Marketing Manager Wireless Transmission at Alcatel-Lucent, in a recent TechZine article, Rely on partners for your network transformation, makes a nice case as to the vital role partners can play in helping develop and expedite successful network transformations.
In fact, Gueret explains why professional services in particular are important in network transformation projects for a variety of reasons including filling in skills gaps and having experience in all of the complexities of such projects. After all, network transformations from my own observations are like trying to change jet engines while a plane is at 30,000 feet. They are extremely complicated, especially since every customer is unique, and the plane needs to stay in the air and perform at optimal levels even as parts are replaced. There is also interesting challenges regarding the costs of change and how to quantify that the ends justify the means.
Gueret in his posting posits the case made above, i.e., network transformation is no longer a nicety it is a necessity. He goes on to highlight that this really is a case of different strokes for different folks. In fact, he points to a recent Ovum study that when it comes to the reasons to transform operators are divided in two camps:
As he notes, both approaches have the same goals of transforming their network to increase revenues and reduce OPEX, they certainly diverge as to how. This leads to falling into some traps which reliance on a trusted partner with deep network transformation expertise can help mitigate.
Gueret points out the hidden costs of "home-made" network transformations which can translate into additional costs. Cited additional costs from going it by yourself if you are an operator include: costs of unexpected delays caused by poor planning and sequencing; costs from poor quality assessments of infrastructure capabilities; and costs from over-dimensioning, .e.g., spending on things that will not be used or cannot be optimized.
The case for relying on a trusted partner
As Gueret details, the case for relying on a trusted professional services partner is a compelling one. He notes that such a partner, "Can define, plan and execute a transformation efficiently, even if most operators have in-house competencies to do it themselves."
The benefits he cites are:
The article goes on to point out how professional services are part of a broader set of capabilities for upgrading network infrastructure, and that partnering on a variety of fronts can enable operators, regardless of where they are coming from, to shift their business models. This means relying on a variety of trusted partners to not only to prepare and execute their network transformation but also to manage and maintain their networks.
This would let operators shift their business model to focus on their core activity: managing their commercial offers and their customers. This is a reality that is summed up well in the chart below from the posting.
Figure 3. Enabling operators focus on customer facing activities
The message is a powerful one. The urgency is there for operators to transform their networks for a host of well known reasons relating to operations costs and competitive necessities, and despite a cultural history to do almost everything themselves, network operators by relying on the expertise of others have the opportunity to meet their cost objectives and concentrate on what they do best. This means not just listening to the voice of the customer but hearing them and reacting quickly in ways that encourage loyalty and the willingness to trust the operator when evaluating the purchase of new products and services.]]>
Their networks, which traditionally have been based on turnkey network elements running software on purpose-built hardware, are moving to a software-centric model. In this model the true value lies in the software, while the hardware is typically of the commercial-off-the-shelf variety.
Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) is the name of this new architecture, which not only embraces the model of instituting network functionality in software and running it on industry-servers, but also allows applications and services to leverage those resources whenever and wherever they are.
The success of virtualization in the data center has demonstrated the power of running network capabilities on virtual machines. That's powerful because it allows networks to be more fluid so they can meet shifting demands. It's also powerful because it can result in cost savings, given less – and less specialized – hardware is required, and given virtualized environments (in which one server can host various network elements) tend to consume less power than environments featuring a collection of appliances.
NFV also can help facilities-based network operators effectively reinvent themselves to be more agile, so they can better compete with faster and often smaller over-the-the-top service providers.
Reducing equipment costs and power consumption, and expediting the introduction of new services and features were among the key goals laid out by ETSI's NFV group, which got the network functions virtualization movement rolling a couple years ago. Founders of the NFV group within the European standards body included AT&T, BT Group, Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telecom Italia, Telefonica, and Verizon.
Network operators that want to get started with NFV, suggests Andreas Lemke, marketing lead of the CloudBand NFV platform at Alcatel-Lucent, should take advantage of what he describes as "5 must-have attributes of an NFV platform." These include:
Finally, and as important as all of the technology, Lemke says that those wishing to get started with NFV should select partners that can provide the same five 9s reliability, quality of service, and security in the new virtualized environment as they enjoy with their existing networks.
There is a growing industry consensus that NFV will become the architecture of the future for networks that are agile, applications friendly, high-performance, interoperable and secure. In fact, not only is there consensus but there is traction in the market for NFV solutions as service providers look to transform themselves to be as accommodating as possible in a profitable manner to the dynamics of rapidly changing market requirements. However, not all NFV solutions are alike which is why the Lemke attributes list is one worth consideration as part of an NFV evaluation.
It feels like it was just a few months ago when you could read articles in the trade press lumping together SDN and NFV with NFV being a form of SDN or vice versa. Yes, both somehow are about virtualization and about converting hardware into software. Today – after numerous proofs-of-concept run by service provides around the globe – we know the role of SDN as virtually indispensable for NFV solutions that aspire to deliver the kind of agility and operational simplification we all expect from NFV. Only SDN can deliver quickly enough the (virtual) networks needed for newly deployed network functions. Alcatel-Lucent has recently demonstrated a complete virtual evolved packet core (vEPC) including a virtual IMS/VoLTE deployed in less than 30 minutes.
NFV and SDN enable on-demand service composition by steering traffic through a sequence of middle-box service functions (service function chaining), such as firewalls and traffic optimization. For example, an enterprise or consumer customer can use a self-service portal to check off the desired functions, which causes virtual network functions to be deployed or scaled and (per-subscriber) routing policies to be changed automatically (flow-through provisioning).
Likewise, NFV responds to changing traffic within minutes by spinning up additional virtual machines within the same data center but also in a data center close to where the traffic demand originates. NFV enables rapid software upgrades while containing the risk of service degradation. We are even seeing demand on the horizon for adopting Devops models in the telco domain.
A classical operational model with change requests being sent to the networking department is no longer up to the task. The network needs to be as dynamic as the server infrastructure and it is clear that only SDN can fill the bill. This will be a stepwise process and not just any SDN will be suitable for NFV. Telco networks are not only about dropping packets in on one side and the packets popping back out at their destinations. Telco networks are designed to deliver enough capacity, high enough performance, security and high availability for the critical services running over them in an end-to-end geo-distributed environment.
Clearly, SDN is right for NFV but it needs to be the right SDN. Read the white paper "The right SDN is right for NFV" to learn about critical network requirements for NFV, SDN use cases and four stages of SDN integration into NFV bringing different degrees of reward to service providers. Alcatel-Lucent CloudBand™ and Nuage Networks® VSP are discussed as an example integrated SDN/NFV solution.]]>
The advantages to mobile operators of network functions virtualization (NFV) and moving to a virtualized evolved packet core (vEPC) have become clear, and mobile networks operators are pretty much sold on the technology in theory.
As the technology side has been figured out and operators begin to plan commercial deployments of NFV and vEPC, however, discussion is starting to move toward operational requirements and challenges. Mobile network operators need to figure out how best to manage these new virtual network functions (VNFs) and the NFV infrastructure, and also how to modify the existing network operations model when these VNFs are deployed.
"These are understandable concerns since clearly there will be additional operational issues when this NFV-MANO [management and orchestration] network architecture is deployed," noted Keith Allan, Director IP Mobile Core Product Strategy, Alcatel-Lucent, in a recent TechZine posting, vEPC: How to achieve operational elegance.
There are a number of new functional blocks and data repositories that come with this new model, including the MANO functions themselves, vEPC VNFs, element and network management systems (EMS/NMS), operational and business support systems (OSS/BSS), and NFV infrastructure.
For Allan, however, these concerns are real but solutions also exist for mobile network operators to deal with them.
Existing EMS/NMS can be combined together with an integrated NFV/SDN management solution and enable mobile operators to address NFV operational challenges while also being able to manage the existing purpose-built, product-based network using their current OSS/BSS, according to Allan.
This combined system, which Alcatel-Lucent business unit Nuage Networks and the Alcatel-Lucent CloudBand team are developing can deliver, enable workflow automation with push button VNF instantiation and elasticity, automates service chaining via SDN, and brings network function orchestration to coordinate multiple virtual and physical network functions.
How this is done is through dividing into three well-established management domains: virtual machine orchestration and VNF/VNFC life cycle management, network connectivity orchestration, and network function orchestration.
"This combined element and network management solution for NFV/SDN delivers the operational elegance that mobile operators need to reduce complexity," noted Allan in his blog post, "and it opens the door for innovation to provide new services through automation."
As operators move from testing to commercial rollout, such solutions will increasingly rise in importance.]]>
OpenStack, the open source cloud management software, has come into the focus of service providers as a rapidly advancing, cost-effective technology foundation for NFV. With OpenStack, service providers are expecting to escape the tangles of individual vendors and build an open horizontal platform for their future networks.
Boon or bane, OpenStack was never designed with carrier requirements in mind. Maybe this was a good thing as the community could advance rapidly, pragmatically, without being tied down by stringent requirements. But now, service providers are getting ready to move NFV out of the labs and deploy solutions in their production networks, and this means asking hard questions about OpenStack's readiness to support commercial deployments. Clearly for any NFV vendor it would not make sense to re-implement the functions that OpenStack already provides in the area of management of virtual machines, storage, networks, images, distributed databases and more.
Red Hat, the open source leader, and Alcatel-Lucent, the leader in carrier networking and NFV, and specifically the CloudBand team got together to tackle the job of making OpenStack ready for serious service provider applications. The first step toward this goal was to understand the particular NFV requirements and the gaps in OpenStack to fill them. Then, making OpenStack ready for NFV requires a two-pronged approach. On the one hand, OpenStack needs to be evolved to support critical requirements, such as security, that can only be supported in OpenStack itself. On the other hand, complementary capabilities need to be provided that are not in the scope of the open source project.
There are at least three bodies chartered to address these challenges:
The ETSI NFV Industry Specification Group - the original host to the NFV community
The OpenStack Foundation, which recently created an NFV subgroup
Open Platform for NFV, a Linux Foundation collaborative project being formed to establish a carrier-grade integrated open source reference platform that industry peers will build together
Obviously there is a lot of momentum in NFV but to ensure the work of the three groups is most beneficial, their missions need to be clearly defined. Done the right way, open source is like an Autobahn that enables everybody to move faster toward their goals. Without open source, developers would have to re-invented the same functions over again or pay high license fees.
For more details read the whitepaper entitled "CloudBand with OpenStack as NFV platform", which discusses five critical areas for NFV – distribution, networking, automated lifecycle management, operations, and high performance data plane – and explains how Red Hat and the Alcatel-Lucent CloudBand team work together to build a solution that is optimized for telco NFV environments.
Large enterprises increasingly resemble public network service providers as they manage access, transport and network routing while controlling devices and sessions. Whether businesses build their own or buy their communications services through a public provider, the IP communications architectures are looking remarkably similar.
"I've noticed that both private service operators (CIOs of large enterprises) and public service providers are implementing very similar solutions around the globe," wrote Oliver Krahn in a recent TechZine article, 6 Steps that Improve Communications Services.
Link for graphic.
He has noticed that successful service providers are all more or less taking the following six steps when it comes to building their IP communications architecture. Firms building out their communications services would be wise to pay attention.
First, firms are moving to an IP communications architecture to enable a whole new conversation experience. With so many communications options, the value of having a unified inbox that collects all of these communications services is invaluable to users. And this means moving to all-IP.
Second, APIs are being used to expose network-based IP communications applications.
"This lets them share innovation opportunities with partners while developing carrier-grade and real-time web-communications strategies that keep them current on new modes of communications," noted Krahn. "Beyond this, more visionary CIOs are exploring next-generation IP communications architectures that may replace today's PSTN."
Third, content strategies are being adjusted to take advantage of on-net content delivery networks at the network edge and transparent caching to handle the volume of video data now being moved across the network.
Fourth, they are using small cell networks to avoid bottlenecks and access gaps.
"By deploying multi-standard, small-cell base stations, a large enterprise can achieve cost-effective 3G, 4G and Wi-Fi connectivity," noted Krahn. "It can then be handed over to a trusted mobile provider to light them up with licensed spectrum. In-building coverage for any size venue and any number of users is also part of the mix; so is reducing the cost of delivering ultra-broadband access in a multi-operator deployment with low-cost digital distributed antenna systems."
Converged virtual private networks also are being employed to deliver a seamless experience to enterprise users. Enterprise service gateways (ESGs) offer a seamless experience to enterprise users independent of the access bearer and the device. They deliver scalability, high performance and carrier-grade resiliency for VPN services.
This combination of capabilities allows the ESG to concurrently replace the mobile gateway (PGW, GGSN), PE router and border gateway, simplifying the network.
Finally, Krahn has noticed that successful solutions are leveraging cloud-based applications and network functions virtualization (NFV).
"Private and public service providers are realizing that the future of telecommunications networks will be based on virtualizing key network functions," he noted. "These cloud platform components ease service deployment, automate management and clear the path to cost-effective growth. At the same time, NFV-ready applications, an advanced NFV platform and an NFV partner ecosystem are crucial for achieving the goals of cloud-based applications."
As noted, Alcatel-Lucent has a white paper, Six Steps to Attractive Communications Services, that fully outlines these six steps used by successful communication service providers, whether enterprises or public providers.
"GM factories reduce production in aftermath of Japan earthquake 2011", "Hard disk shortage due to Thailand flooding 2012", "Drug shortages continue to vex doctors", "China factory fire sends memory chip prices to three-year high (2013)". Industrial supply chains are becoming increasingly tenuous as they are thinned out and stretched across the globe. Raw materials are available from fewer and fewer specialized suppliers and warehouses are eliminated for just-in-time production. Small, local incidents affect the supply of goods on a global scale.
In the IT industry we are seeing a similar trend. Enterprises are moving their applications and data to the cloud, but this cloud is often highly centralized and not as resilient, free flowing, or efficient as one might think. Amazon Web Services, the largest cloud provider in the world, is serving their global customers from no more than two handfuls of locations. Netflix and other companies have experienced major outages due to single failures in the cloud they used.
So what does this mean for NFV?
Traditionally, telco networks have been highly distributed with thousands of central offices spread across the country. But today's high-speed fiber connections and powerful server farms give service providers the option to re-architect and potentially centralize their network. Clearly, highly centralized deployments are cheaper to manage than many small, scattered locations. But what works for many Web and Internet services is not always the best choice for carrier grade services such as mobile voice, video and data for the enterprise.
Telefonica and Alcatel-Lucent have analyzed factors, such as latency, high availability, and security, that determine geographical placement decisions for different applications in telco networks. NFV and cloud technologies allow service providers to choose the best locations depending on the needs of the applications, and avoid the kind of dramatic effects that we are seeing in other industries. At the end of the day this is a supply chain and logistics challenge where ensuring goods are available to users whenever they want them, the supplier with a short delivery chain, i.e., a distributed network, tends to be the most successful.
To manage the cost of a distributed architecture, service providers need an NFV and SDN platform that automates infrastructure and application lifecycle and provides an aggregate view of the distributed NFV resources. Since its launch in 2012, Alcatel-Lucent's CloudBand NFV Platform, together with the Nuage Networks SDN Virtualized Services Platform (VSP), has been designed for this type of flexible, distributed NFV network architecture.
For more details, read the Telefonica/Alcatel-Lucent white paper "Why distribution matters in NFV". Related postings include:
We live in exciting times – again. I had been wondering if there was still room for fundamental innovation, for technological disruption – the worn out word. We had the Internet bubble that burst 2001/2002. We had the advent of the smartphone in the recent years. Great innovation, but somehow they reached a plateau. Faster processors, larger screens? It doesn't seem to make a real difference. Apple's engine showed the first signs of sputtering.
And yet, there is something brewing behind the scenes that makes the engineer's heart beat faster: NFV and SDN, a bold new vision about the future of networks (read these blog posts about understanding Network Functions Virtualization and Software Defined Networks). Network functions are to be reduced to pure software - doing away with all the special purpose chips, circuit boards, and cabinets into which we have poured our brains to deliver the ultimate in features, performance, and reliability.
Telefonica is one of the original masterminds of the NFV idea, and a partner who truly shares with us the excitement about this new technology. I had the pleasure to work with a multi-national team dedicated to making NFV a reality. The objective of this proof of concept was to drive the vision of NFV and develop a blueprint for the future production of NFV infrastructure. We installed the first node of our CloudBand NFV Platform in one city, and then a few months later extended the installation with a second node in another major city hundreds of kilometers away. One of the interesting questions to explore was the remote management of a distributed NFV infrastructure. How quickly can we deploy cloud nodes in additional locations? Can we really operate the infrastructure without having to send engineers and operations staff around the country? How can we set up the network between multiple sites to react dynamically to changes to network function deployment?
This latter question points to another major topic tackled in project: the relationship between NFV and SDN. Virtualizing the network, SDN should be a perfect addition to NFV as a platform to virtualize network functions. In fact, we deployed the Alcatel-Lucent CloudBand™ NFV Platform along with an SDN solution from Nuage Networks. This allowed us to push virtual network functions (vNF) policies into the Nuage Networks policy repository. The SDN solution then knew how data traffic from the VNF should be handled not only in a single data center but automatically extending across multiple data centers.
For me, the project was a milestone on the way to our NFV vision. It was the first project covering more than one site. It was the first project with SDN integration. It was an excellent opportunity to discuss with our friends and colleagues at Telefonica many of the questions that arise only as we go from the theory of the architectures developed at ETSI to the real networks, even if they are not yet serving real customers. One challenge was the deployment of the proof-of-concept alongside a live network. This meant we had to work within a very narrow maintenance window. And not only that: we had to undergo all the qualification and certification stages of a standard appliance-based solution being introduced into the network. At first, we were surprised of this requirement as NFV was invented to cut down exactly on these operational processes. But we quickly understood the situation. Once the NFV infrastructure was qualified and certified, any virtual network functions running on it no longer would have to go through the same process. There may still be a qualification and certification process for virtual network functions, but this process can be more automated and doesn't have to repeat some of the steps already done for the NFV infrastructure.
Another experience from the project relates to the culture of collaboration and debate. If we want to be successful in NFV we must be disruptive and challenge each other and challenge the overcome ways. Maybe we, Alcatel-Lucent, were a tougher partner for Telefonica than others on this front. In one case, the Telefonica operations team came to us and requested user-configurable VM sizes (flavors). We did not immediately comply with this requirement, but put up the challenge: does it make sense to have so many sizes? What is the impact on efficiency of resource usage? Together we concluded that we must adopt web-scale MOPs (Method of Procedure) to be really efficient and lean in operations. Much like for this operations team, we need to be there for the service providers. Together think differently. Collaboration is the word in NFV.
I am convinced I will be able to witness how virtualization and cloud will lead to massive changes in the telco industry. I am glad to be able to contribute to these changes. Could there be any better place to be?
I still remember with great excitement how, in October 2012, a group of network operators published a whitepaper that coined the term Network Functions Virtualization. This announcement validated a vision that we had been promoting under the name of "Virtual Telco" for more than two years. The telecommunications world had decided to start a fascinating journey towards the cloud, and we were already in the game with a product. What I could not imagine is how fast things would move.
Since then, many players have announced their plans, and many of them have shown some kind of functionality addressing different aspects of NFV. CTO teams have been leading the discussions around performance and functionality, but until now, nobody had tackled one of the major questions: Will the NFV business case fly?
We had begun internal discussions around the business case to support the NFV value proposition and had finished a framework when an opportunity arose to work on a virtual DNS business case with a customer. In the course of a DNS demo presentation on top of the Alcatel-Lucent CloudBand™ NFV Platform, one of our tier-one service provider customers pointed out that their large fixed network DNS deployment was at end-of-life and they were planning to replace it. The discussion quickly focused around the question of whether migrating to NFV with CloudBand would be more beneficial than replacing the old servers with new ones, but keeping the traditional mode of operation. To help with this decision, we offered to develop a joint business case comparing both scenarios. The customer agreed, and within two weeks I was working with our client's DNS lead at their premises.
A first challenge was to develop a suitable methodology for the analysis. We decided we had to map out the main processes in DNS operations in a way similar to Gantt charts. That was a laborious task, but was key to capturing the differences induced by NFV. We analyzed how the processes were performed today, and how they would change to fit the NFV model. To quantify capacity requirements and get credible numbers, we tested DNS loads on a real CloudBand node in the customer Lab. As a result, we had to change our initial estimations, which turned out to be too conservative. Finally, after about ten weeks of joint effort, we achieved what looked like a sound business case. It had been a great challenge but the effort had paid off.
The work delivered two results we had not necessarily expected. Even a simple application like DNS can benefit clearly from running on an NFV platform. Processes such as scaling, software upgrading and healing are greatly simplified, which increases agility and significantly lowers total cost of ownership. Secondly, the results were clearly positive with a single application running on the NFV infrastructure, that is, service providers can start small on the road to NFV. It is not necessary to deploy many virtual network functions all at once. Of course, sharing the infrastructure will provide the full benefits.
Looking at the demand for presentations both from partners and customers, I can now see how important this exercise was to better understand the economic value of NFV, and how it contributes to the bottom line. Great days are ahead of us. I cannot wait to see the first wave of NFV deployments that will change the telecoms world as we know it today.
For additional information, read the 'NFV Insights Series: Business case for moving DNS to the cloud'.]]>


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Welcome to LMTmag.com, the social and information hub of the dental lab industry. Connect with industry peers and vendors, ask questions, sign up for events, review products, read LMT articles and industry news and more!
Naoki Aiba, CDT posted to DENTSCAPE Continuum Special Guest Instructor: Mr. Naoto Yuasa, RDT Course "Theory & Practice in Single Central Match"
It is my honor to host and translate the hands-on course by Mr. Naoto Yuasa on June 10-11 in my teaching...See more facility, Oral Design Center Monterey in California. If you are attending to the ISC in Hollywood, why not taking a short trip to Monterey to join us for the hands-on course by Mr. Yuasa in Monterey the following week? I hope you will get this extremely rare opportunity to learn from a rising star ceramist!


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Below are top resources on SparkPeople for Normal Cholesterol.
So you just found out that you have high cholesterol, or perhaps you have a strong family history of heart disease and want to do your best to prevent it. So you head to the pharmacy or health food store for help, only to be bombarded by countless su... Read more
Cholesterol is a soft, fat-like substance. It is a building block of body cells and hormones, makes up 50 percent of your nervous system, and is necessary for metabolism. In moderate amounts, it is essential to good health. But the dangers of high ch... Read more
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Nerdette, as normal, has great suggestions! For me, I'm limited by low-impact machines so I do a lot of elliptical, arc trainer, treadmill (walking) & stationary bike. Hopefully your gym will have some staff that can give you a tour/help.... Read more
Been feeling kind of off for the past few days. Began my new regimen of weight loss and exercise back on March 9th and so far so good with keeping on track. Had a slight overeating day yesterday, but added 30 more minutes in exercise to compensate.
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Been feeling kind of off for the past few days. Began my new regimen of weight loss and exercise back on March 9th and so far so good with keeping on track. Had a slight overeating day yesterday, but added 30 more minutes in exercise to compensate.... Read more
I just realized that my BMI is normal. I'm not overweight anymore. It's great and everything, but I feel like this may motivate me to stop trying. I already feel like exercise is a chore. I took my first break in weeks yesterday and ate at KFC. Help!... Read more
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The most common cause of heart disease in a person with diabetes is hardening of the coronary arteries which is a buildup of cholesterol in the blood vessels that supply oxygen and nutrition to the heart. Keep your blood sugar as normal as possible.C... Read more
Consuming grapeseed oil is one way to lower so-called "bad cholesterol" (LDL cholesterol), while simultaneously increasing "good cholesterol" (HDL cholesterol), thereby getting your overall ratio of LDL cholesterol to HDL cholesterol into a healthier... Read more
A support group for those who wish to lower their cholesterol levels and maintain healthy numbers.
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Diabetes is a serious condition that can affect the heart, nerves, vision and other vital organs. But did you know that diabetes might also increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease, and even increase the speed of progression once the disease strikes... Read more
I cant tell you how many times after I started my own healthy living journey I would step on the scale and the minute the number was not what I expected my motivation began to falter. For me, the scale became the be-all-end-all to my success. Howev... Read more
It is not very often - extremely rare in fact, that I look forward to a Dr. visit! lol But I had one last week to go over my recent blood work to see how my numbers are doing.
When my Dr. walked in the room he just stopped and looked at me an... Read more


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Pages: << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 ... 39 >>
Link: https://desertpeace.wordpress.com/2014/07/31/first-they-bombed-an-open-market-in-gaza-then-they-killed-a-reporter-covering-the-story-graphic-video/
A graphic video showing the killing of journalist Ramy Ryan in Gaza and an attack on an ambulance and rescue workers by Israeli air strikes has surfaced online. Warning: This six-minute video is very graphic. Viewer discretion is advised.
Link: http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=716832
United Nations said on Tuesday that 215,000 Gazans had fled their homes amid the Israeli assault All borders in and out of Gaza, however, are completely shut, forcing the majority to take shelter in UN-designated shelters. Last week, Israel shelled four UN shelters, killing 20 and injuring dozens.
Link: http://m.aljazeera.com/story/201472915346949642
A complete disregard of international humanitarian law and the direct targeting of civilian homes, schools, hospitals, and civilians have characterised Israel's military offensive on Gaza. Israeli officials claim "self defence,"contend civilian deaths justified because Hamas allegedly uses Palestinians in as human shields
Link: http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014858798
At least 15 people have been killed and 160 wounded in an Israeli strike that hit a market near Gaza City, during a four-hour truce called by the Israeli military. The explosion hit a busy fruit and vegetable market in Shejaiya, east of Gaza City, where hundreds of Palestinians were shopping.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/2014/07/30/373395/un-censures-israeli-attack-on-its-school/
Senior United Nations officials have strongly denounced Israel for a deadly attack on a UN-run school housing thousands of refugees in the northern part of the besieged Gaza Strip. Israeli forces shelled the UN-run school in Jabalia refugee camp on Wednesday. Initial reports 19 Palestinians killed 90 injured.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/07/30/373341/20-killed-in-israel-raid-on-gaza-school/
Israel has shelled another UN-run school north of the besieged Gaza Strip, killing at least 20 Palestinians, scores of people injuried. This is the second time in less than a week that the Israeli army is targeting a UN-run school. Was used as a shelter by Palestinian families.
Link: http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/07/29/gaza-j29.html
Brushing aside calls from the United Nations and Washington for an immediate and unconditional humanitarian cease-fire, the Israeli government vowed late Monday to escalate and prolong the three-week-old slaughter in the Gaza Strip.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/2014/07/29/373265/israel-kills-gaza-mother-but-baby-is-born/
Premature baby girl survived Israeli onslaught, born in emergency Caesarean operation after her mother was killed in Israeli airstrike. The 23-year old mother, Shayma al-Sheikh Qanan, was eight months pregnant; Israeli tank shell hit her home in central Gaza Strip town of Deir al-Balah, reducing it to rubble.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/2014/07/29/373270/israel-steps-up-gaza-hospital-attacks/
Israel intensified its attacks on hospitals in the Gaza Strip amid shortage of medical supplies in the besieged enclave.'Doctors without Borders' (MSF) strongly condemned Israel's attacks on Gaza's Shifa hospital."Targeting hospitals unacceptable, violation of International Humanitarian Law.
Link: http://rt.com/news/176216-children-gaza-israel-strike/
Hopes for an imminent end to the Gaza conflict are fading, with renewed violence bringing new casualties. Israel and Hamas blame each other after eight children were killed and 46 others injured by a missile that landed in a Gaza refugee camp playground.
Link: http://rt.com/news/176364-powerplant-israel-gaza-strike/
Over a million people in Gaza could be without electricity after Israeli tank shells hit the fuel depot of the enclave's only power station, causing it to shut down. Its director, Mohammed al-Sharif, said, "The power plant is finished."
Link: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article39251.htm
CBS Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer: Palestinians in the grip of a terrorist group that has embarked on a strategy to get its own children killed to build sympathy for its cause; quote by Golda Meir, "We can forgive the Arabs for killing our children," "but we can never forgive them for forcing us to kill their children."
Link: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article39255.htm
The Israeli military, is driving people out of the three-kilometer (1.8 mile) buffer zone it says it needs to protect against Hamas rockets and tunnels. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the buffer zone eats up about 44 percent of Gaza's territory.
Link: http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/07/28/gzld-j28.html
A ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, which lasted barely 24 hours from Saturday morning to Sunday morning, enabled the Palestinian population and international observers and journalists to take stock of the devastation that has been inflicted by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) since it invaded the tiny territory on July 8.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/2014/07/28/373136/1050-gazans-killed-in-israel-raids/
Around 1,050 Palestinians have so far been killed in Israel's 21-day military offensive against the besieged Gaza Strip, Press TV reports, more than 6,200 have been wounded. 215,000 Palestinians have been internally displaced by the ongoing Israeli offensive.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/07/28/373157/us-largely-responsible-for-gaza-tragedy/
An American anti-war activist says the United States is largely blamed for the atrocities Israel is committing against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.
Link: http://rt.com/news/175992-israel-confirms-hitting-school/
Israel has confirmed that it unintentionally hit a UN school in Gaza last week, but denies reports that anyone was killed in the incident, claiming the courtyard area was empty when the strike took place. Palestinian officials say 16 people were killed.
Link: http://news.yahoo.com/egypt-army-destroys-13-more-gaza-tunnels-093712884.html
Egypt's army said Sunday it has destroyed 13 more tunnels connecting the Sinai Peninsula to the Gaza Strip, taking to 1,639 the overall number it has laid waste to.
Link: http://www.ipsnews.net/2014/07/thousands-of-new-yorkers-protest-gaza-killings/
Thousands of New Yorkers took to the streets in multiple protests this past week against the Israeli offensive in Gaza, which has left at least 1,049 Palestinians dead and over 6,000 injured since Jul. 8.
Link: http://www.iol.co.za/sundayindependent/israeli-war-tactics-ignore-children-s-innocence-1.1726218#.U9XvoKP1tiI
To insist, as Israel does, that the people of Gaza have the power themselves to end their suffering, when one in five of those dead is a child, is callously disingenuous, writes Nicole Fritz.
Link: http://www.redressonline.com/2014/07/why-do-israelis-continue-to-kill-palestinians/
The question "Why do you continue to kill people?" was asked by an exasperated and quietly angry Ban Ki-moon, the secretary-general of the UN, during his diplomatic effort in the Middle East. Because Israel is doing virtually all of the killing,
Link: http://www.richardsilverstein.com/2014/07/26/israel-murders-idf-soldier-to-prevent-his-kidnapping/
the militant fled into the tunnel with his prisoner that the IDF destroyed the tunnel and entombed those within it, including the soldier.
Link: http://kouroshziabari.com/2014/07/israel-practices-terrorism-in-the-full-meaning-of-the-word/ehab-lotayef/
Fars News Agency: As the Israeli regime continues its campaign of mass killing and terror in the besieged Gaza Strip, more conscious people across the world feel the necessity to condemn it in strong terms.
Link: http://www.earth-heal.com/news/news/45-take-action/1671-israel-icc.html
The Twitter hashtag #ICC4Israel is trending worldwide right now, evidence that the world's people want the psychopathic and demonic state of "Israel" to face justice this time for its crimes against humanity, which have been ongoing for more than 70 years.
Link: http://bellaciao.org/en/spip.php?article23192
As of 26 July 2014, about 900 Palestinians have been killed, 6,000 injured, 150,000 rendered homeless and most of the 0.9 million children in the Gaza Concentration Camp have been traumatized [1]. Yet the World, and the US lackey West in particular, fails to act.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/2014/07/25/372781/deadly-clashes-break-out-in-west-bank/
Israeli police forces have clashed with Palestinian demonstrators protesting against Israel's massacres in the besieged Gaza Strip. three Palestinians were shot dead as they were protesting against Israeli aggression earlier in the day.
Link: http://rt.com/news/175708-israel-gaza-pause-operation/
Israel and Hamas have agreed to a 12-hour pause in Gaza hostilities starting at 7 a.m. Israeli time (0400 GMT) on Saturday. The US, as part of talks in Egypt, is pushing for a seven-day truce starting Monday.
Link: http://chris-floyd.com/component/content/article/1-latest-news/2413-blockading-the-truth-obamas-big-lie-about-gaza.html
It is simply a lie that Israel's slaughter in Gaza is a response to an "unprovoked attack" by Hamas. Not only is it a lie, it is a transparent, brazen lie, whose falsehood is glaringly apparent to anyone who had given even a cursory look at coverage of the Israeli government's response to the murder of three teenagers in June.
Link: http://www.chris-floyd.com/component/content/article/1-latest-news/2413-blockading-the-truth-obamas-big-lie-about-gaza.html
It is simply a lie that Israel's slaughter in Gaza is a response to an "unprovoked attack" by Hamas. Not only is it a lie, it is a transparent, brazen lie, whose falsehood is glaringly apparent to anyone who had given even a cursory look at coverage of the Israeli government's response to the murder of three Israeli teenagers in June.
Link: http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2014/07/23/absurdities_of_israeli_spin_on_gaza_siddiqui.html
Israel says: its fight is with Hamas, not Gazans. Yet is killing Gazans; is only out to punish Hamas; But bombs hospitals, mosques, schools, apartment buildings; accuses Hamas use of civilians as human shields, Israel bombs them anyway; makes great efforts to avoid/minimize civilian casualties, is failing.
Link: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/07/24/baby-among-nine-dead-as-israeli-shell-hits-un-school-in-gaza/
Nine killed, including a baby, when an Israeli shell slammed into a UN-run school in northern Gaza Strip Thursday, dozens injured. multiple dead and injured" at the school in Beit Hanun, which was being used as a shelter by hundreds of Palestinians fleeing a major Israeli operation in the area.
Link: http://www.blacklistednews.com/Israeli_Cabinet_Mulls_Further_Escalation%3A_At_Least_718_Gazans_Killed/36816/0/38/38/Y/M.html
Israel's cabinet met today, and while international efforts to broker a ceasefire were discussed, the primary focussaid to be possibility of further escalation of the invasion. Finance Minister Yair Lapid: war must continue until Gaza is "cleansed" of all tunnels and rockets.
Link: http://en.itar-tass.com/world/742210
. Israel's Air Force delivered a missile strike on the Salakh-ad-Din Mosque in the Jabaliya refugee camp following an attack on a UN-funded school in Beit Hanoun in Gaza's north. Al-Mayadeen TV channel: hundreds of residents were entrapped in the cellars.
Link: http://en.ria.ru/world/20140724/191213961/Ban-Ki-Moon-Condemns-Israeli-Attack-on-UN-School-in-Gaza.html
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned Israeli attack on UN-run school in Beit Hanoun, serving as a shelter to Palestinian refugees. "I am appalled by news of attack on an UNRWA school in Gaza where hundreds had taken refuge "many killed including UN staff. I strongly condemn this act."
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/2014/07/24/372622/israel-attacks-gaza-school-kills-16/
Israeli tank shells has slammed into a UN-run school in the northern Gaza Strip, killing at least 16 Palestinians, Thursday, with reports saying that at least 200 others wounded. latest attack in a series of assaults carried out by the Israel on schools and hospitals in Gaza.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/2014/07/24/372533/oxfam-warns-of-situation-in-gaza/
; UK-based charity organization Oxfam:.Water, food supplies in Gaza dangerously low, More than 120,000 Gazans forced out of their homes and have nowhere to go due to Israeli-imposed blockade. Toll on civilians is shocking. People are fleeing terrified, no way to escape the violence. One million without water.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/2014/07/23/372521/nine-more-israeli-soldiers-dead-hamas/
Palestinian resistance forces say they have killed nine more Israeli soldiers in retaliatory attacks against Israel's invasion of the besieged Gaza Strip, at least 60 Israeli soldiers killed so far. Palestinian resistance forces continue to inflict heavy losses on the Israeli army in retaliation for its deadly onslaught on Gaza.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/2014/07/24/372556/gaza-death-toll-rises-to-718/
The death toll from the Israeli war on the besieged Gaza Strip has reached 718, as the Israeli offensive continues on to a 17th day. 4,250 Palestinians have also been wounded. destroying 500 homes, partially damaging 2,644. Hamas, has been launching retaliatory attacks against Israel. 32 Israeli soldiers dead.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/2014/07/23/372494/israel-threatens-to-bomb-gaza-hospital/
Israel's military issued an evacuation warning to the main hospital in Gaza as aerial and ground forces step up their attacks on civilian sites. Israeli warplanes and tanks bombed several hospitals across the region over the past few days
Link: http://rt.com/news/174948-un-israel-palestine-talks/
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights citied cases of Israeli air strikes and shelling hitting houses, hospitals in Gaza:"These are just a few examples where there seems to be a strong possibility that international humanitarian law has been violated, in a manner that could amount to war crimes."
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NASA Mulling Joint Lunar Missions With Commercial Enterprises 59
from the fly-me-to-the-moon dept.
We've improved Slashdot's video section; now you can view our video interviews, product close-ups and site visits with all the usual Slashdot options to comment, share, etc. No more walled garden! It's a work in progress -- we hope you'll check it out (Learn more about the recent updates).
Hey NASA, you heard of this place called JPL out by Cal Tech. They've been landing rovers on Mars for a while now which is WAY harder than landing one on the moon. Why don't you give them a call and stop being clueless and pathetic.
Elon, please launch Falcon Heavy so we can shut NASA down and put the money in to your actual space program instead of the empty shell that is NASA these days
....so we can shut NASA down
Congress would have to revoke their charter, I believe. Senators keep NASA around due to inertia, weather forecasts, the odd bit of national prestige, and contracts to companies from, or doing business in, their states.
NASA needs to stay around so that when the Chinese land on the moon the US government can go into a panic and pump money into it.
I'm pretty sure NASA have heard of this JPL since the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at Caltech is a NASA laboratory [nasa.gov].
From TFA:
"A commercial lunar lander jointly developed with NASA would capitalize on NASA's previous investments and expertise in lander technologies. It also would stimulate a commercial capability to deliver payloads to the lunar surface reliably and cost-effectively."
So how is reaching out to commercial entities to improve their existing know-how instead of relying ONLY on their own labs "being clueless and pathetic"?
You are false data.


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The body of Wisconsin college student Eric Duffey was found in the Wisconsin River after an exhaustive search by 150 volunteers.
Irish American student had been missing since early Saturday. On Monday, police began searching the Wisconsin River believing that "alcohol had something to do with his actions"
Last seen, Duffey was celebrating his 21st birthday at a local bar, Joe's Bar, at Stevens Point. He was believed to be heading home at 1.15 am on Saturday. He never arrived home.
His father Darren said, "I know that they were drinking, but it doesn't sound like they were drinking heavily…It wasn't like they were doing 21 shots or anything like that."
Sergeant Dan Wheeler discovered Duffey's body at about 1.10pm on Monday. The coroners office made a positive identification. There is no foul play suspected in his death.
On Monday, Stevens Point assistant police chief Brian Kudronowicz had said emergency personnel were scouring a part of the river where ice becomes open water.
Kudronowicz told AP, "We had some late information that's kind of adding up to him walking into the Wisconsin River…I think alcohol had something to do with his actions."
He continued "We're looking at three cold nights...The longer he's missing, the less likely that we're going to have a good outcome."
Read more:
The CEO who insults the Irish and laughs all the way to the bank
St. Patrick's Day celebrations across the globe - Munich, Japan and the West Indies – PHOTOS
Sergeant Greg Bean said the police had received several reports of possible sightings.
He said "[Eric] told his friends he was going to leave the bars and walk home…He wanted to get a decent night's sleep before he met with his family.
Police searched the two-mile radius between the town and Duffey's home. As well as using bloodhounds, a helicopter, and other authorities, they asked locals to search their own properties.
They also attempted to use his cell phone to locate the 21-year-old but this shows the phone in the Stevens Point area.
Here's the local report from the day before he was found:
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New math curriculum in Park Rapids will give students more options
Park Rapids students entering school next fall will experience a new math curriculum, kindergarten through high school.
School board members were introduced to the textbooks and reviewed changes proposed as a means to prepare students for the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments.
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I had been an iphone user for two and a half year until earlier this year when i switched to android. I love my galaxy nexus and the customization and google integration android offers but i miss some things About ios, mainly stability, optimized and polished apps, but mostly...gaming. games come out much faster on ios and certain developers (epic games) don't even consider making games for android.
Right now i am in the search for a tablet. I was considering the Nexus 7 (i dont like 10 inch tablets ), but then the ipad mini was announced...i know the nexus 7 has better hardware.for a lower.price, better screen etc...but then again, ios has much more tablet apps. Since i am no fanboy, i said to myself, why not have a device with each os and get the best of both worlds...
So my question is: would you rather have An android phone and an ipad, or N iphone and an android tablet?
getting the best of both worlds
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Chicks with dicks?
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Microsoft Surface and Winphone. The best of no worlds.
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RabidChild wrote:Put mine to shame.
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Give me $10 I'm worth it.
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WelcomHeritage Bal Samand Lake Palace
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Day 15 Jodhpur
... the market walk-about a miss and headed back to basecamp for coffee. Might venture out for dinner tonight...... Back for a lovely swim and relax by the pool before venturing out to the market and then supper in the Tandoori Bar-Be-que Restaurant. Turns out that our guide today, Kundan, in fact owns this place thus the recommendation. He was actually sitting in the corner and said nothing till the end - have to admire his business acumen ...
... t have thought the fort was the main attraction! Finally managing to break free of the paparazzi, we head to a tea and spice shop where we sniffed and sampled all they had to offer. After a quick look around the clock tower market at all the textiles, we went back to our guesthouse for some tasty Indian food. The following day we had booked to go on a desert safari. We were told to get on a local bus to Osian town and wait for ...
1st day in Jodhpur
... When we got out of the train we saw the American lady and asked how her journey was - I think she survived the night sharing a cabin with Indians! I couldn't help wondering how much money she would've offered if we had shown any interest in swapping?
the station was the usual bedlam you expect at an Indian train station. Rajasthani men in turbans asking if you needed a porter (Gem decided it would be a good idea to get someone to carry her ...
... have stayed in and likely to stay in for the rest of the trip. Equipped with its own massive private terrace overlooking the blue city and Meherangarh Fort, our room had everything: Two big four-poster beds and antique furniture including carved lion armed chairs, huge windows on every wall and a bathroom about two times the size of our last bedroom! The entire heritage hotel was stunning with courtyard on various levels, swimming pool, and ...
Big Moustaches, Street Food & Big Forts
... hours around the around the entrance, climbing the palace, walking the walls and looking at the temples. But a saw just a fraction of the place. As the heat intensified, we drove back to Ranakpur through the mountain villages, viewing work in the fields, children going to school and daily village life. In one village there were a gathering of men visiting a temple, dressed in those traditional jewelries I had seen from the bus, so I stopped to take photos.