Sponsored By: VMware
The Pros and Cons of OpenStack
OpenStack is gaining traction as many Tier 1 operators are using the open source virtualization project for their public clouds and to support their own network functions virtualization (NFV) projects.
In the U.S. market, AT&T and Verizon are running public clouds on OpenStack using distributions from Mirantis. In addition, European telecom operators like Deutsche Telekom, OVH, and Telefonica are also using it.
But it does have some weaknesses, primarily because of its complexity. Analysts say that OpenStack requires a lot of testing to make sure it works with the other networking protocols in the telco infrastructure. And it also requires specialized skills and knowledge, which makes it unappealing to small and mid-size operators.
But the project is making progress. OpenStack has launched an initiative that is intended to help improve the software development kits within the OpenStack open source code.
And it is also working on different scenarios that will pull together experiences from existing customers to help show potential new customers how OpenStack can be deployed.
One of the latest open source projects managed by the OpenStack Foundation is the Kata Containers project. This project is intended to merge together the security advantages of virtual machines with the speed and manageability of containers. The implementation is somewhere between a container and a VM.
The project is expecting a 1.0 release close to the end of the first quarter and some experts predict that operators will be one of the first segments to adopt Kata.