One of the world's largest telecommunications equipment manufacturers (TEMs) has joined the Linux Foundation (LF), with an eye toward helping improve Carrier Grade Linux (CGL). Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) said it plans to contribute financial and technical resources aimed at “further integration” of CGL with the Linux Standards Base (LSB).

NSN said it plans to work with the LF on unspecified Linux-based technologies for use in “user plane” and “control plane” network elements. CTO Stephan Scholz stated “[We] will [be] contributing both financial and technical resources to the Linux ecosystem to make sure it remains state of the art. In Linux, the most important things for us are certified carrier grade interfaces as well as the interoperability between various Linux distributions.”

Nokia Siemens Networks was created in April of this year as a joint venture between the communications equipment divisions of Nokia Networks and Siemens Communications — divisions with combined 2006 revenues of $17.1 billion. Based in Espoo, Finland, with regional headquarters in Munich, Germany, NSN employs about 60,000, according to CureentAnalysis.

The Linux Foundation, in turn, was created in January of this year by a merger of CGL spec maintainer OSDL (Open Source Development Labs) and LSB maintainer FSG (Free Standards Group). At the time, Jim Zemlin, executive director, told LinuxDevices that the organization planned to work on closer integration between the LSB and CGL. “CGL (Carrier Grade Linux) may evolve into new LSB certifications,” he said.

With regard to NSN joining the LF, Zemlin stated, “Linux has become a very natural fit for telecom network and device manufacturers who are looking for an operating system from which they can easily and cost-effectively build differentiated services and value. There is no question that the massive success of Linux in telecom is key in today's new stage of Linux growth. Nokia Siemens Networks will add another level of expertise as we transition into this stage of increasing open development.”

In other recent news, the LF last month hired Marcus Rex, former GM of SUSE Linux at Novell, as CTO. And, Nokia itself separately joined the LF in April of this year.

 
This article was originally published on LinuxDevices.com and has been donated to the open source community by QuinStreet Inc. Please visit LinuxToday.com for up-to-date news and articles about Linux and open source.