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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsAlcatel-Lucent unveiled CloudBand on November 17, 2011, as a platform for building carrier-cloud services: it paired service-orchestration software with computing, storage, and networking infrastructure designed for communications providers. The platform later became part of the company’s network-functions-virtualization (NFV) work, and Nokia continued the CloudBand line after combining with Alcatel-Lucent in 2016.
What was Alcatel-Lucent CloudBand?
CloudBand was an enterprise platform for telecommunications providers, not a consumer cloud app or a general-purpose public-cloud service. Alcatel-Lucent presented it as a way to bring cloud computing’s flexibility to communications networks while retaining the performance, reliability, and security expected of carrier services. The company described it as “the foundation for a new class of ‘carrier cloud’ services.”
Alcatel-Lucent announced CloudBand on November 17, 2011, and said it would be available for deployment in the first half of 2012. That was the announced availability window, not evidence that every provider deployed it then.
How was CloudBand built?
The platform combined management software with service-provider infrastructure. Its two principal elements had different roles:
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| Element | Role |
|---|---|
| CloudBand Management System | Orchestrated and optimized services across the communications network and cloud. |
| CloudBand Node | Provided computing, storage, and networking hardware, along with associated software to host cloud services. |
In practical terms, the Management System handled coordination, while the Node supplied resources on which services could run. CloudBand was therefore a combination of orchestration and purpose-built service-provider infrastructure, rather than software alone.
How did CloudBand support NFV?
Network functions virtualization (NFV) runs network capabilities as software on virtualized infrastructure rather than relying exclusively on dedicated appliances for each function. Alcatel-Lucent’s 2013 annual report identified CloudBand as an NFV platform for virtualized network applications, including virtual IP Multimedia Subsystem (vIMS) and virtual Evolved Packet Core (vEPC). These examples show its intended role: hosting telecom network functions in a cloud-style environment while applying IT-cloud flexibility and cost efficiencies to carrier networks.
What evidence is there of deployments and industry support?
Transtelco trial
In May 2012, communications provider Transtelco announced a CloudBand trial aimed at business and wholesale customers in the United States and Mexico. The stated goals included higher connection speeds and bandwidth, as well as stronger service guarantees than public-Internet offerings. The announcement establishes a trial and its intended service goals; it does not establish the trial’s measured results or a broader commercial rollout.
NFV ecosystem
In June 2014, Alcatel-Lucent announced that its CloudBand Ecosystem Program included 19 companies working on NFV technology and applications. Named examples included 6WIND, Red Hat, and VMware. The program reflected an effort to bring other technology firms and applications into the CloudBand environment; the named participants are examples, not a complete list.
Did Nokia continue CloudBand?
Yes. Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent completed their combination on January 14, 2016. On November 15, 2018, Nokia announced upgraded CloudBand Infrastructure Software, describing unified virtual-infrastructure management, OpenStack integration, and management of virtual machines and containers for 5G cloud deployments. This shows continuity of the CloudBand product line under Nokia, while the 2018 announcement describes a later version and 5G-oriented use rather than the original 2011 release.
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