Spirent Communications has announced a collaboration with Microsoft for the pre-certification of third-party network functions (NFs) on the new Microsoft Azure Operator Nexus platform. Spirent Landslide can be used to certify that NF offerings can interoperate with the Azure Operator Nexus platform using the Azure Operator Nexus Ready program.
“Microsoft Azure Operator Nexus is a next-generation hybrid cloud platform for operators built for the future of telecommunications,” says Doug Roberts, General Manager of Spirent’s Lifecycle Service Assurance business. “It will enable operators to be more competitive, deliver new services and increase revenue. We’re pleased to assist Microsoft as it works to support deployments at the edge of the cloud, network, or for the enterprise.”
This instance of the Azure Operator Nexus platform combines a North American Tier-1 operator’s Network Cloud with Azure’s security, monitoring, analytics, and AI capabilities. It also supports the new Azure Operator 5G Core, a packet-core-as-a-service application for mobile networks. NF vendors will be able to certify their offerings on Azure Operator Nexus once they have been validated by Landslide testing.
“As NF vendors prepare to deploy on the Azure Operator Nexus platform, their solutions must be validated and pre-certified to ensure they work as intended,” says Ross Ortega, VP Azure for Operators at Microsoft. “Spirent provides the testing capabilities and experience required, and we see Spirent Landslide as a critical component of our Azure Operator Nexus Ready program, ensuring the smooth deployment of 5G service offerings.”
In the cloud, network functions no longer sit in well-defined network elements with other similar functions. Landslide supports this new paradigm by validating the performance of individual cloud-native functions not just in isolation, but also as part of an end-to-end system.
