Red Hat has introduced its latest update to the OpenStack Platform, known as Red Hat OpenStack Services on OpenShift. This release is targeted at communications service providers (CSPs) and aims to unify traditional and cloud-native networks into a singular, modernized network fabric. OpenStack, a hybrid cloud infrastructure management solution, is paired with OpenShift, a Kubernetes-based container orchestration platform, providing notable scalability and flexibility across hybrid cloud environments.
The new capabilities of this release include Ansible integration, an enhanced control plane for managing Kubernetes-native pods, easier lifecycle management, and increased support for third-party plug-ins. It also introduces improved observability and hardware acceleration technologies to better utilize specialized hardware for AI tasks. Such advancements support ongoing virtualization and the distribution of infrastructure to the network edge, which are key trends in today’s telecommunications landscape.
Spark New Zealand’s Technology Automation and Services Lead, Nilay Rathod, commented that this latest release “will help to further enhance our telecommunications infrastructure, providing even greater flexibility, scalability and resilience.” This sentiment underscores the importance of automating and orchestrating hybrid cloud workloads efficiently.
As CSPs invest in virtualization and shift towards cloud-native networking, they are increasingly utilizing AI to optimize networks and enhance customer experiences. With the rise of AI, operators face the challenge of managing more AI workloads in distributed hybrid cloud environments. Last year, Nokia announced it would fully integrate its core network applications with OpenStack and OpenShift, exemplifying a broader industry trend.
KDDI’s Takeshi Maehara, deputy general manager for network and cloud platforms, shared his excitement about the evolution of both Red Hat OpenStack Platform and Red Hat OpenShift. “These solutions have enabled us to quickly and flexibly develop and deploy new services and applications.”
In a discussion with Red Hat’s Senior Director of Technology and Architecture, Azhar Sayeed, he highlighted the grand vision of fully automating network infrastructure. This long-term goal of hyper-automation is essential as networks and services grow more complex. He emphasized the need for zero-touch deployment, self-configuring, self-healing, self-optimizing, and self-evolving networks to handle the dynamic service landscape effectively.
