Telstra adds global reach to Asia's first Software-Defined Networking Platform

Following the completed acquisition of Pacnet Limited on Thursday 16 April 2015, Telstra today announced Asia's first Software-Defined Networking (SDN) Platform will now be available to customers globally, enabling high-performance, self-provisioned dynamic network services across 25 PEN Points of Presence worldwide.

Darrin Webb, Chief Operating Officer, Global Enterprise & Services, said the new global PEN Platform leverages Telstra and Pacnet’s combined high-quality infrastructure assets to provide enhanced connectivity and services offerings across Asia and throughout the world.

"Pacnet’s leadership in early adoption of SDN technology has allowed us to accelerate our plans and building on Pacnet’s existing sixteen PEN Points of Presence across Asia, we’ve added nine new Telstra PEN Points of Presence to create the world’s first globally connected on-demand networking Platform.

"While software, servers and storage have all become virtualised over the past decade, networks have largely remained unchanged. Telstra’s new PEN Platform reimagines the role of traditional telecommunications and enables organisations to complement traditional network approaches with SDN technology, which allows for bandwidth to be provisioned on demand, matched to application characteristics and deployed across the specific routes our customers need.

“The addition of Network Function Virtualisation capabilities enhances the agility of the service and means customers can order network appliances – such as routers and firewalls – on demand, making the network less rigid and allowing our customers to respond quicker than ever before to unforseen network resource requirements,” he said.

Mr Webb said the service was now available globally in 25 PEN Points of Presence across eight countries – including Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, the United States and United Kingdom – with additional connectivity options into public cloud services to bridge hybrid cloud deployments.

“With the PEN Platform, network provisioning is completely automated and services that traditionally take weeks can be provisioned in minutes. Customers can dynamically allocate and scale the bandwidth required to support demand for applications, enabling a more agile approach to network provisioning, while avoiding unnecessary costs too,” he said.

According to Mr Webb, the PEN Platform is built on Telstra’s global network – one of the world’s largest and most technologically advanced with terabytes of capacity – and has been designed to adapt to customer demands.

“The PEN Platform is ideal for customers that require a dynamic networking solution that can evolve with them in the age of bandwidth hungry applications, fuelled by distributed computing, data analytics and mobility,” he concluded.