European public cloud provider Cloudwatt has deployed Juniper Networks open source project OpenContrail to improve its network operation efficiency and ensure data sovereignty and security for its large-scale cloud deployment.

The OpenContrail project was initiated by Juniper Networks last September to take software-defined networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) to help drive adoption of cloud computing.

Cloudwatt said it needed a production-ready SDN solution that could seamlessly integrate with existing network infrastructure, be transparent to achieve regulatory compliance and meet security and privacy requirements to help build a secure public cloud for its enterprise customers.

Cloudwatt said it worked closely with OpenContrail engineers at Juniper Networks over a period of months to complete the integration of OpenContrail and Cloudwatt’s cloud orchestration system.

With the deployment Cloudwatt is able to expedite its cloud deployment, simplify network operations, seamlessly connect virtual and connect virtual and physical environments as well as scaling out its cloud environment.

OpenContrail’s advanced operational tools such as introspect provide rich analytics, real-time monitoring, diagnostics and troubleshooting, enabling Cloudwatt to improve efficiencies and reduce OpEx.

Cloudwatt president and CEO Didier Renard said the choice of an open source SDN solution was essential for the company from a sovereignty perspective.

"By integrating OpenContrail with our choice of cloud management platform, OpenStack, we can greatly simplify our cloud network design and operations, seamlessly connect virtual and physical environments and scale out our cloud without compromising security and privacy," Renard said.

Cloudwatt said its public cloud environment, which went into production as planned on June 30.