CENGN, Juniper Networks, and Inocybe Technologies showcase the first live demo of its Open Smart City Infrastructure and Services, proof-of-concept project in Germany

Source: Kanata BIA

At the 2016 OPNFV Summit in Berlin, Germany, CENGN, Canada’s Centre of Excellence in Next Generation Networks (NGN), Juniper Networks, and Inocybe Technologies conducted the first live demonstration of its Open Smart City Infrastructure and Services proof-of-concept (PoC) project.

Smart cities put information and communications technologies (ICT) to work in novel and secure ways to manage municipal assets and services, increasing the efficiency of city operations, improving the quality of life for its citizens, and growing the local economy. Leveraging critical financial and technical support from CENGN, Inocybe and, Juniper Networks demonstrated new Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) shared, end-to-end smart infrastructure with on-demand service provider and end-user self-provisioning portals.

Combining technology from Juniper Networks and Inocybe Technologies, this new solution is highly differentiated from the traditional approach to network management.

“Juniper has built an architecture for ‘smart cities’ and the Internet of Things that allows application developers to harness the raw power of the underlying network through programmable APIs,” said Mike Marcellin, CMO of Juniper Networks. “The solution utilizes the Juniper Networks Contrail SDN Controller and Contrail Service Orchestrator for automated and operationally simplified orchestration of virtualized network functions. We’re looking forward to further collaborating with CENGN and Inocybe to enable cities to build smart infrastructure and improve the quality of life of their citizens.”

Employing infrastructure as a service (IaaS) cloud computing services, SDN, and NFV technologies, the platform creates ‘network slices’ that guarantee isolation from the underlying hardware, and puts new capabilities directly in the hands of network managers and their customers.

“This comprehensive solution emerged from years of Inocybe R&D on open access networks enabling the delivery of smarter, more efficient, and cost-effective city services to citizens,” said Mathieu Lemay, President and CEO of Inocybe Technologies. “Inocybe’s OpenDaylight-powered Data Utility Controller creates ‘virtual network elements’ that allow multiple service providers to independently operate and manage their individual slice of the network through a service provider provisioning portal. The end-user self-provisioning portal allows users to request and obtain on-demand Smart City services. It creates a winning value proposition for network managers, their customers, and municipalities.”

“This project directly supports CENGN’s mandate by leveraging novel SDN and NFV technologies from two Canadian NGN leaders to address key societal challenges,” said Ritch Dusome, President and CEO of CENGN. “Together with CENGN, Inocybe Technologies, and Juniper Networks have created a commercial solution that will help make smart cities a reality. It promises to improve the management of community services from schools to transportation systems, hospitals, power, water and waste management, and law enforcement. It will deliver long-term economic and social benefits to regions that employ this technology.”

To learn more, read the project overview.