Level 3 delivers automated Network-as-a-Service for enterprise customers

• Adopting Cisco’s Network Services Orchestrator, enabled by Tail-f
• System can scale bandwidth up to 300 per cent on demand
• Orchestration of the entire service lifecycle

Level 3 Communications is delivering an on-demand Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) solution for its enterprise and video broadcast customers using Cisco’s Network Services Orchestrator (NSO), enabled by Tail-f. Level 3’s Adaptive Network Control Solutions suite leverages the benefits of network automation and SDN to allow its customers faster, easier ways to bring applications from test environments to full-scale production.

With the support of Cisco’s NSO, Level 3 has developed a programmable wide area network, allowing it to automate the full range of data services and multivendor devices in its markets around the world. The company can also orchestrate the entire service lifecycle – including activation, testing and ongoing service-level assurance – through a single data model.

“The power of agility in today’s competitive marketplace is not overstated,” said Travis Ewert, SVP of network software development at Level 3. “Global businesses need network resources that are flexible enough to be leveraged as a service, with the reliability and security they can rely on to deliver critical business applications. With Cisco NSO, Level 3 is making the once-distant dream of full lifecycle service automation a reality for enterprises around the world.”

When Level 3’s customers order its Adaptive Network Control Solutions with Dynamic Capacity, the system can scale bandwidth up to 300 per cent on demand, scheduled in advance or automatically based on configurable network threshold triggers. The system can schedule additional capacity for regular or ad-hoc events in advance on an hourly basis to ensure that the workload happens within the required time window.

“Network resources on-demand represents a huge opportunity for service providers like Level 3 to remain innovative for their customers and competitive in the market,” said Yvette Kanouff, SVP & GM, service provider business, Cisco. “This transition to network automation using NSO, is a significant step for offering new opportunities and entering new markets.”