GigaSpaceshas announced NFV Lab, a free virtual sandbox that allows network engineers to trial applications and VNFs (virtualized network functions).
The NFV Lab – developed and operated by GigaSpaces – offers on-demand access to a learning lab configured with a private OpenStack environment, TOSCA-based orchestration (Cloudify) and the Clearwater open-source vIMS virtualized network function.
The lab is intended for cloud network architects, telecom professionals and solutions architects who are considering NFV and want to learn how to manage and maintain an NFV environment.
The goal of the NFV Lab is to provide access to a live NFV environment and provide a technical understanding of how NFV works while simplifying NFV orchestration.
Users of the NFV Lab receive training from GigaSpaces, including an onboard session and an online training session that includes the use of Clearwater, Cloudify and the OpenStack environment.
GigaSpaces engineers also monitor each user’s experience in the NFV Lab and provide feedback and suggestions. Users also learn how to build TOSCA blueprints to develop their own VNFs.
“We frequently talk to customers who want to learn about NFV, but the logistics, complexity and cost are big barriers,” said Nati Shalom, CTO of GigaSpaces. “We built the NFV Lab for this reason. A network architect can now go online, and in minutes they have a virtual environment pre-integrated with everything they need.”