Huawei Debuts SDN/NFV Testing Platform

In an attempt to reduce the complexities around testing SDN and NFV implementations by service providers, Huawei took the wraps off a testing-as-a-serving platform earlier this week at its Operations Transformation Forum in Hong Kong.

Huawei's TestCraft platform was designed to help service providers cut through the clutter of working with multiple vendors across multiple domains and interfaces when they are working on various NFV and SDN projects. (See Huawei Unveils TestCraft.)

The testing can take place in the cloud, at one of Huawei's OpenLab facilities, or even at a carrier's own location, according to a story by Robert Clark on Heavy Reading. (See Huawei Intros SDN/NFV Testing-as-a-Service.)

Richard Wong, marketing director for SDN/NFV integration services at Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd , told Clark that legacy equipment didn't require the same amount of testing that is now needed with virtualization and disaggregated network infrastructures. By offering TestCraft, Huawei is aiming to reduce the testing complexities, speed up the testing process and reduce manpower requirements.

"Virtualization has shifted the testing responsibilities to operators," Wong says in Clark's story. "In the NFV environment you have many different vendors. You can imagine the difficulties in doing testing."

Late last year, Cisco, Ericsson, Huawei and Nokia announced that they had teamed up on an NFV interoperability testing initiative. (See Brothers in Arms: Competitors Team Up on NFV Testing.)

— Mike Robuck, Editor, Telco Transformation