OPNFV, the Linux Foundation project for an open source, carrier-grade network functions virtualization (NFV) reference implementation, has issued its first software release.

Called Arno, the release is an initial build of the NFV infrastructure and virtual infrastructure manager components of the ETSI NFV architecture. Arno (downloadable here) had originally been targeted for release in spring of this year.

The release marks the first concrete output from the 8-month-old OPNFV, which aims to build an NFV integration and testing platform using elements from other open source projects such as OpenStack and OpenDaylight.

More than 100 developers from network operators and vendors contributed to Arno. "I thought there might be more resistance, but people are collaborating and really seem excited about learning something new," OPNFV director Heather Kirksey said in a recent interview with SDxCentral.

Key capabilities of OPNFV Arno include the ability for end users to deploy virtual network functions on the platform to test functionality and performance, and an automated toolchain that allows upstream projects to do automatic builds and verification as they develop independently.

"Our long term vision is that we want to have a more flexible platform so that more open source components can be brought in," says Kirksey. "In some ways, this is an experiment, but why not go effect change, and see what we can make happen?"