D7.5MarketFeasibilityStudy
ProjectAcronym SONATAProjectTitle ServiceProgrammingandOrchestrationforVirtualizedSoftwareNetworksProjectNumber 671517(co-fundedbytheEuropeanCommissionthroughHorizon2020)Instrument CollaborativeInnovationActionStartDate 01/07/2015Duration 30monthsThematicPriority ICT-14-2014Advanced5GNetworkInfrastructurefortheFutureInternet
Deliverable D7.5MarketFeasibilityStudyWorkPackage WP7Exploitation,Dissemination,Standardsand5GCollaborationSubmissionDate 23May2016Version Version1.0Status FinalEditors JimAhtes(Atos)Contributors InputfromSONATAcommercialpartnersviadistributedsurveyReviewer SoniaCastro(Atos)
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DeliverableTypeR Document XDEM Demonstrator,pilot,prototype DEC Websites,patentfilings,videos,etc. OTHER
DisseminationLevelPU Public XCO Confidential,onlyformembersoftheconsortium(includingtheCommissionServices)
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ExecutiveSummary
ThefollowingdeliverableprovidesanextendedmarketanalysisfortheSONATAproject,whichservesasitsmainaudience.ItisaconsolidatedmilestonebasedonactivitythatbegunonDay1oftheproject,influencingthefirstyearofdevelopmentandfurtherprioritizingthedirectionofitsupcomingsecondyear.Therelatedexerciseshavealsoinfluencedtheproject’spositioningandopensourceadoptionstrategytowardsstakeholders.
Itdefinesthetargetmarket,technologycontext,idealadopterprofilesandtheirchallenges,supportingstakeholders,comparablealternativesthatarecurrentlydevelopinginthemarket,andareaswheretheproject’sinnovationanddifferentiationcanmakeanimpact.
SONATAisfocusedonNetworkFunctionVirtualization(NFV),acornerstoneoffuturesoftwarenetworksthatinfluencesheavilyhowtheyarebuilt,deployedandmanaged.CoupledwithSDN,NFVisabuildingblockforfuture5Gnetworksandservices.
Thisisanattractiveupgradefornetworkoperatorsofvarioussizesandscope,whethertheyarealargecommunicationserviceprovider(CSP)oranenterpriserunningtheirownnetwork.ThesupportingbusinesscaseincludeslowerCapExonhardwareprocurementandupgrades;flexibilityandalleviatedvendorlock-in;reducedOpExwhileincreasingefficiencyandabilitytoscalenetworkoperations;andpotentialforagileservicedevelopmentandimprovedtime-to-market.
SONATAisdevelopingaNFVserviceplatformfortheoperator,asupportingSDKforservicedevelopersandaDevOpsworkflowthatconnectsthesestakeholderstogether.TheprojectidentifieswiththeMANOlayeroftheETSIarchitecture.ItsprimaryvaluepropositionistohelprealizetheaforementionedNFVcorebusinesscaseasachiefcomponentintheoverallarchitecture(i.e.NFVorchestrator);alleviateNFVadopters’initialpainpointsrevolvingaroundmulti-vendorcomplexity;andempowerCSPsandsupportingthird-partydeveloperswiththeworkflowandtoolsneededfortheagileservicedevelopmentanddeploymentenvisionedfor5Gnetworks.
TheNFVMANOfieldiscrowdingquickly,andover20comparablesolutionshavebeenanalyzedinthedeliverable.Asthesesolutionsarenotyetbenchmarkedorvalidatedinproduction,thecollectionofsourcedvendorwhitepapersandmarketingwascontrastedwithbroader,vendor-agnosticanalystreports,surveysandCSPtestimonials,referencedthroughoutthedocument.
Asurveywasalsolaunchedbytheproject,aimedatbetterunderstandingstakeholderprioritiesforNFVMANOfeaturesandcharacteristics.
Conclusionsareextensive,andcanbefoundconsolidatedinthefinalsectionofthedeliverable,organizedpertopicarea.
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TableofContents
ExecutiveSummary................................................................................................................................31 Introduction...................................................................................................................................8
1.1 DeliverablePurpose..............................................................................................................81.2 ContinuousMarketWatchandDeliverableTiming..............................................................81.3 DocumentOrganization........................................................................................................91.4 SONATAProjectinBrief......................................................................................................101.5 TerminologyandListofAcronyms......................................................................................10
2 SoftwareNetworksandEnablingTechnology:NFV,SDNand5GNetworks................................122.1 NetworkFunctionVirtualization(NFV)inBrief...................................................................122.2 NFVReferenceArchitectureandtheManagement&Orchestration(MANO)Layer.........132.3 Software-DefinedNetworking............................................................................................142.4 5GNetworksandServices..................................................................................................15
3 BusinessCaseforNFVandMANO................................................................................................173.1 BusinessCaseforNFVAdoption.........................................................................................17
3.1.1 LowerCapExonhardwareprocurementandupgrades.................................................173.1.2 Flexibilityandalleviatedvendorlock-in.........................................................................173.1.3 ReducingOpExwhileincreasingefficiencyandagilityinnetworkoperations...............183.1.4 Facilitatedservicelifecycleandtime-to-market.............................................................18
3.2 BusinessCaseforNFVMANOLayerandServiceDevelopmentTools................................184 NFVDeploymentTimelinesandMarketForecast........................................................................19
4.1 EstimatingNFVAdoptionandDeploymentTimelines........................................................194.2 EstimatingNFVMarketSize................................................................................................20
5 StakeholderandValueChainAnalysis:TelecomSectorTransformationviaSoftwareNetworks226 ChallengesandPainPointsforCSPstowardsNFV/SDNAdoptionand5GNetworks..................24
6.1 ComplicationswithMulti-VendorNFVIntegrationandLegacyCompatibility...................256.2 AgileServiceDevelopmentNeededRevenue.....................................................................26
7 SolutionPresentation:SONATANFVSystemandValueProposition...........................................297.1 SONATAArchitectureOverview..........................................................................................29
7.1.1 SONATANetworkServiceSDK........................................................................................297.1.2 SONATAServicePlatformwithNFVOrchestrator..........................................................307.1.3 SONATANFVDevOpsWorkflow.....................................................................................30
7.2 SONATAFeaturesandValueProposition...........................................................................308 ComparativeStudy:AlternativeNFVMANOSolutionsinDevelopment......................................33
8.1 CommercialNFVMANOSolutions......................................................................................338.1.1 NokiaCloudBand............................................................................................................338.1.2 NEC/NetcrackerOrchestration.....................................................................................35
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8.1.3 ADVAOpticalEnsembleOrchestrator............................................................................368.1.4 AffirmedNetworksMobileContentCloud.....................................................................378.1.5 AnutaNetworksNCXEnterprisePlatform......................................................................378.1.6 ATTOResearchATHENENFVPlatform...........................................................................388.1.7 BrocadeVNFManager....................................................................................................388.1.8 CienaBluePlanet............................................................................................................398.1.9 CiscoNetworkServicesOrchestratorandElasticServicesController............................408.1.10 EricssonNetworkManagerandCloudManager........................................................418.1.11 FujitsuVirtuoraServiceOrchestrator.........................................................................418.1.12 HPEnterpriseNFVDirector........................................................................................428.1.13 HuaweiFusionSphereCloudOS.................................................................................438.1.14 JuniperContrailNetworkingServiceOrchestration...................................................448.1.15 OracleCommunicationsNetworkServiceOrchestrationSolution............................448.1.16 AmdocsNetworkCloudServiceOrchestrator............................................................458.1.17 RIFT.ioRIFT.ware........................................................................................................468.1.18 LuxoftSuperCloudNFVOrchestrationPlatform........................................................47
8.2 OpenSourceNFVMANOCollaborativeProjects................................................................488.2.1 OpenStackTacker...........................................................................................................488.2.2 OpenBaton......................................................................................................................498.2.3 OPNFV.............................................................................................................................498.2.4 OpenSourceMANO(OSM)............................................................................................518.2.5 OPEN-O...........................................................................................................................51
9 StakeholderSurveyonNFVMANOFeatures...............................................................................529.1 FlexibilityofMANOOrchestrationSystem.........................................................................529.2 SoftwareNetworkTransitionandSupportingLegacy........................................................549.3 NetworkServiceDevelopment,ToolsandDevOps............................................................559.4 StandardsandOpenSourceCommunities.........................................................................569.5 AdditionalTechnicalCharacteristics...................................................................................57
9.5.1 AdvancedResourceManagement..................................................................................579.5.2 PerformanceIsolation....................................................................................................579.5.3 VerificationofNetworkServiceSLAs..............................................................................57
10 ConclusionsandRecommendationsforSONATA...................................................................5810.1 UntestedSolutionsandMarketingvs.Reality....................................................................5810.2 Multi-VendorSupport.........................................................................................................5910.3 OpennessandCustomizability............................................................................................6010.4 MonitoringandEvent-basedPolicies.................................................................................6110.5 ServiceCompositionandDevOps.......................................................................................6210.6 LegacySupportforanIterativeNFVAdoptionRoadmap...................................................63
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10.7 5GNetworkReadiness........................................................................................................6310.8 CommunitiesandStandards...............................................................................................64
References............................................................................................................................................66Annex:“NFVMANOAdoptionPrioritiesforSoftwareNetworks”SurveyTemplate...........................71
ListofFigures
Figure1:ETSINFVReferenceArchitecture(source:ETSI[6]),withMANOdomainhighlighted.........13
Figure2:Examplesof5Gservicesperbandwidthandlatencyrequirements(source:GSMAandHeavyReading[11]).............................................................................................................................16
Figure3:NFVandSDNearlyadoptionin2016(source:Atos[13])......................................................19
Figure4:Telecomvaluechain,adaptedforsoftwarenetworks(simplified).......................................22
Figure5:NFVadoptiontechnicalinhibitors,numberofrespondentsbasedonsurveyof84serviceproviders(x-axis)(source:AshtonMetzler&Associates[20]).............................................................24
Figure6:CSPpriorityfactorswhendevelopingaPoCorprototype,withmulti-vendorinteroperabilityratedhighest–1low,6high(source:TelecomTV[24])......................................................................25
Figure7:Telcocloudservicesestimatetoincreasemonthlyrevenuesby10.5%byDec2021(source:STLPartners[21]).................................................................................................................................27
Figure8:Surveyoftop3prioritiesforoperatorsfortheirnetworks(source:HeavyReading[29])...27
Figure9:SONATAarchitecture[33].....................................................................................................29
Figure10:NokiaCloudBandproductportfolio(source:Nokia[34])....................................................34
Figure11:NEC/NetcrackerNFVServiceandNetworkOrchestrationservices(source:NEC/Netcracker[39])...................................................................................................................................35
Figure12:AnutaNCXPlatformarchitectureandmappingtoETSINFVMANO(source:Anuta[44])..37
Figure13:ATTO'sATHENENFVPlatformnetworkservicechaining(source:ATTO[46])....................38
Figure14:BrocadeVNFManagermonitoringhealthofdeployedVNFs(source:Brocade[48]).........39
Figure15:BluePlanetNFVOrchestrator,Multi-DomainServiceOrchestration,andvisualizedservicechaining(source:Ciena/BluePlanet[49][50])....................................................................................39
Figure16:CiscoElasticServicesController(ESC)andNetworkServiceOrchestrator(NSO)identifiedinETSINFVarchitecture(source:Cisco[53]).......................................................................................40
Figure17:EricssoncomplimentaryNFVsolutions(source:Ericsson[57])...........................................41
Figure18:FujitsuVirtuoraServiceOrchestratorproductsuiteandecosystem(source:Fujitsu[59])42
Figure19:HPEDirectorv3.0featuremap(source:HPE[60])..............................................................43
Figure20:HPENFVEcosystem(source:HPE[61])...............................................................................43
Figure21:JuniperContrailnetworkservicedesignapplication(source:Juniper[66])........................44
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Figure22:OracleCommunicationsNetworkServiceOrchestrationSolution(top)andcontextinlargerMANOarchitecture(bottom)(source:Oracle[68])...................................................................45
Figure23:AmdocsNetworkCloudServiceOrchestratorwithinNFVenvironmentcontext(source:Amdocs[71])........................................................................................................................................46
Figure24:Amdocspartnerecosystemshowingdiversityofvendorfocus(source:Amdocs[72])......46
Figure25:RIFT.wareNFVStack(source:RIFT.io[74]).........................................................................47
Figure26:LuxoftSuperCloudNFVOrchestrationPlatformbuildingblockdiagram(sourceLuxoft[76])..............................................................................................................................................................48
Figure27:OpenStackTackerdemoscreenshotofonboardingVNF(source:OpenStackTacker[79])48
Figure28:OpenBatonNFVOusinggeneric(left)orthird-partyVNFMs(right)(source:OpenBaton[80])......................................................................................................................................................49
Figure29:OPNFVBrahmaputrareleasecomponents(source:OPNFV[84]).......................................50
Figure30:OSMArchitecture,simplifiedversion(source:OSM[86])..................................................51
Figure31:SONATAsurvey&interviewresults:importanceofflexibility-relatedfeaturesinMANOsolutions(1-5,centerringleastimportance,outerringhighest)........................................................53
Figure32:SONATAsurvey&interviewresults:importanceofsupportinglegacyandopensourcesystems,1(low)to5(high)..................................................................................................................54
Figure33:SONATAsurvey&interviewresults:servicedevelopmentsupportprioritiesbetweenvendorsandCSPs,1(low)to5(high)...................................................................................................55
ListofTables
Table1:ListofAcronyms.....................................................................................................................11
Table2:CarrierNFVmarketfor2019(source:IHSandInfonetics[14])..............................................20
Table3:NFVAdoptionDriversandBarriers(adapted/extendedfromSDxCentral[18]).....................21
Table4:NFVimpactandtransformationonthetelecomvaluechain.................................................23
Table5:SONATAfeaturesandvalueproposition................................................................................30
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1 Introduction
1.1 DeliverablePurpose
ThefollowingdeliverableprovidesanextendedmarketanalysisfortheSONATAproject.
ItaconsolidatedmilestonebasedonactivitythatbegunonDay1oftheproject,influencingthefirstyearofdevelopmentandfurtherprioritizingthedirectionofitsupcomingsecondyear.Therelatedexerciseshavealsoinfluencedtheproject’spositioningandopensourceadoptionstrategytowardsstakeholders.
Itdefinesthetargetmarket,technologycontext,idealadopterprofilesandtheirchallenges,supportingstakeholders,comparablealternativesthatarecurrentlydevelopinginthemarket,andareaswheretheproject’sinnovationanddifferentiationcanmakeanimpact.
Atitsmostspecificsegmentofanalysis,itfocusesexclusivelyonNFV’sManagementandOrchestration(MANO)area,whereSONATA’sserviceplatformandsupportingSDKcanprovidevaluetonetworkoperators.
Thedeliverablecanbeunderstoodasastandalonedocument,andprovidesaminimaltechnicalcontextofNFV,MANO,SDNandfuture5GNetworks.Furthertechnicaldesignanddetailscanbefoundinthefirstyeararchitecture,D2.2ArchitectureDesign,andlower-levelimplementationdeliverablesD3.1andD4.1representinginitialdevelopment.TheupcomingD5.2(summer2016)willbeafirstprototypeoftheSONATAserviceplatformandSDKinanintegratedform,anditsopensourcecodewillbeavailablepubliclyonGitHub.Theidealreferencepointforallaforementionedtechnicaldocumentsistheprojectwebsite:www.sonata-nfv.eu.
Additionalforthcomingdeliverablesforthefirstyear,D7.2andD7.6,arepresentingtheimpactplansoftheproject,includingstakeholderengagement,disseminationplans,opensourcestrategy,communityprojectcontributions,standardizationinfluence,partnerexploitationplans,etc.Theexercisestakentocompletethisdocumenthaveinfluencedthoseactivities.
1.2 ContinuousMarketWatchandDeliverableTiming
2016hasprovedtobeakeyyearforNFVdevelopments,andthedeliverableworkplanhasbeenextendedtocompensate.
February’sMobileWorldCongress2016[1],forexample,presentedtwonewopensourceinitiativesinthesamedomainasSONATA,coveredinthisdocument.IndustryperspectivetakenatotherQ1andQ22016stakeholderevents,suchasMPLS+SDN+NFV[2]andLayer123NFVWorldCongress[3]havealsoprovidedfreshstakeholderperspectives,includinganew“realitycheck”onhowNFVadoptionandintegrationisevolving.
InMarch,asurveywasthenlaunchedbySONATAinthe5G-PPP[4]SoftwareNetworksWorkingGroupandtowardsadditionalindustryresearcherstofurtherevaluaterelatedfeaturesandrequirementsthatshouldbeprioritizedbytheproject.Theresultsandanalysisofthatsurveyareincludedinthisdocument.
ThereisalsoanongoingmarketwatchsinceDay1ofSONATAthatisupdatedcontinuouslyintheprojectpartners’collaborativewiki,trackingtrendsandsolutionsdevelopinginthemarket.This
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documentservesasamilestoneinthatactivity,whichbuildsontopofitsworktodeliverananalysisofmorethan20comparablesolutionsintheMANOarea.Asremindedlater,however,theanalysisisdoneat“facevalue”(i.e.basedonadvertisedfeaturesandarchitecturecharacteristics),asNFVMANOsolutionshavenotyetbeenbenchmarkedorvalidatedinthemarket,exceptfortrialscurrentlyrunningbehindcloseddoorsbetweenvendorsandtheirCSPcustomers.
Tocompensateforpotentialmarketingbias,theworkofvariousanalysts,publicreportsandparallelsurveyswereconsultedandarereferencedthroughoutthedocument.Astonotrepeatworkthatisalreadyinthepublicdomain,theprojecthasfocuseditsresourcesonmeta-analysisacrossrecentmarketstudiesandperspectives,comparativeanalysisofSONATA-likesolutions,extendedstakeholderconsultation,andmarketfeasibilityanalysisofforthcomingprojectresults.
Theend-gameobjectiveoftheseactivitiesistofurtherinfluencetheprojectdirectionanditsiterativedevelopmentcyclesinordertoensuremaximumstakeholderimpactofSONATA.
1.3 DocumentOrganization
Thedeliverableisorganizedinthefollowingmanner:
• Section1(thissection)isanintroductiontothedeliverable,aswellastotheSONATAproject.
• Section2isanabridgedtechnologycontextforthereader,focusingonNFVarchitectureanditsMANOlayer,alongwithbriefcontextonSDNandfuture5Gnetworks.
• Section3isapresentationofNFV’sbusinesscasetowardsnetworkoperators.ThelinktosolutionsrelatedtoMANOandnetworkservicedevelopment,includingSONATA,istoenableandfulfilthisbusinesscaseasachiefcomponentofthelargerNFVarchitecture,aswellascreatenewrevenueopportunitiesinservicedevelopmentandagility.
• Section4includesforecastsforNFVadoptionandgrowth,lookingatbothmarketsizeanduptakepatterns.
• Section5isavaluechainandstakeholderanalysis,examiningthechangesbeingmadeintelecommunicationsmarketanditsactorsinthetransitiontoSoftwareNetworks.
• Section6isaconsolidationofNFVadoptionchallengesandothernetworkoperator“painpoints”thatSONATAlookstoaddress.
• Section7isthenapresentationofSONATA’sfeaturesandvalueproposition,includingitsNFVserviceplatform,orchestrator,SDKandDevOpsworkflow.
• Section8isanextensivecomparativestudycoveringover20relatedcommercialandopensourcesolutionsinSONATA’sdomain.
• Section9isasupportinganalysisderivedfromtheproject’sstakeholderinterviewsonNFVMANOfeaturesandpriorities.ThesurveytemplateisincludedastheAnnextothedeliverable.
• Section10providesconclusionsandrecommendationstoSONATAbasedontheaboveinput,organizedbysubjectmatter.
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1.4 SONATAProjectinBrief
ThefollowingprovidesabriefintroductionoftheSONATAprojectanditscontext.
SoftwareDefinedNetworking(SDN)andNetworkFunctionVirtualization(NFV)areemergingasmajortransformationaltechnologiestowards“softwarenetworks”,anewparadigmthatisevolvingthetelecomsectorwithnewnetworkcapabilitiesandbusinessopportunities.SONATAaddressesthesignificantchallengesassociatedwithboththedevelopmentanddeploymentofthecomplexservicesenvisionedfor5Gnetworksandempoweredbythesetechnologies.Coreobjectivesinclude:
• Reducetime-to-marketofnetworkedservices:SONATAstreamlinesdevelopmentwithabstractprogramingmodels,SDKandaDevOpsmodelthatintegratesoperators,manufacturersandthird-partydevelopers.
• Optimizeresourcesandlowercostsofservicedeploymentandoperation:SONATAorchestratescomplexservicestoconnectivity,computingandstorageresources,andautomaticallyreconfiguresrunningservices.
• Accelerateindustryadoptionofsoftwarenetworks:SONATAsupportsthefullservicelifecycle:development,testing,orchestration,deployment,managementandoperations,andisdefiningaroadmapforuptakeofitsresultstowardsstakeholders'largertransitiontoSDN/NFV.
SONATAisdevelopingaNFVframeworkthatprovidesaprogramingmodelanddevelopmenttoolchainforvirtualizedservices,fullyintegratedwithaDevOps-enabledNFVservicemanagementandorchestrationplatform(NFVMANO).
Thecurrentlydevelopingresultsinclude:
1. Programmingmodelandsoftwaredevelopmentkit(SDK)tofacilitatenetworkservicedevelopmentforthird-partydevelopers.
2. ServiceplatformwithmodularNFVorchestrationframework(NFVO)fornetworkoperators.
3. DevOpsmodelforsoftwarenetworksthatintegratesthesestakeholderstogetherforanagileservicelifecycle.
1.5 TerminologyandListofAcronyms
Tobeconsistentwithstakeholderreferences,thefollowingterminologywasused,highlightedheresincethereareseveralcompetingtermsfortheseactorswhendiscussingthemarket:
• CommunicationServiceProvider(CSP):aka“NetworkOperator”,“Operator”,“Carrier”and“Telco”,referringtoanyoperatorofacarrier-gradenetwork,whetherfixed,mobile,etc.,andthatalsoprovidesorsupportscompetitiveservicesthroughit(the“serviceprovider”halfoftheirprofile).Notethatasmallerscaleprofileofanetworkoperatorreferredtointhedeliverableisattheenterpriselevel.
• NetworkEquipmentVendor:aka“Vendor”or“Manufacturer”,referringtotheactorthatprovidestheequipmentorvirtualizedsolutionstotheirnetworkoperatorcustomers(CSPorenterprise).Aslaterexplainedinthedeliverable,theirroleasasystemintegratorisincreasing.
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Thefollowingtableprovidesamorecomprehensivelistofcommonacronymsfoundthroughoutthedocument.
Table1:ListofAcronyms
5G “5thGeneration”Networks5G-PPP 5GPublicPrivatePartnership(industryassociationandECpartnership)B2B Business-to-BusinessB2C Business-to-ConsumerBSS BusinessSupportSystemCapEx CapitalExpenditureCD ContinuousDelivery(oftenaddedwithContinuousIntegration,CI/CD)CI ContinuousIntegration(oftenaddedwithContinuousDeployment,CI/CD)CLI CommandLineInterfaceCOTS CommercialOff-the-Shelf(referringtotelecommunicationshardware)CPE CustomerPremiseEquipmentCSP CommunicationServiceProvider(e.g.telecommunicationsoperator)DevOps DevelopmentandOperations(workflowandorganizationalconcept)Dx Deliverable#EMS ElementManagementSystemEPC EvolvedPacketCoreETSI EuropeanTelecommunicationsStandardsInstitute(SDO)FSM Functional-specificManager(SONATAcomponent)GUI GraphicalUserInterfaceISG IndustrySpecificationGroupMANO ManagementandOrchestration(layeroftheETSINFVarchitecture)MNO MobileNetworkOperator(atypeofCSP)MVNO MobileVirtualNetworkOperator)Mx Month#oftheprojectworkplan(e.g.M2)NFV NetworkFunctionVirtualizationNFVI NetworkFunctionVirtualizationInfrastructureNFVO NFVOrchestrator(componentofMANO)NS NetworkServiceOpEx OperationalExpenditureOSS OperationsSupportSystemOTT Over-the-Top[providers]PNF PhysicalNetworkFunctionPoC ProofofConceptPoP PointofPresenceQoE QualityofExperienceQoS QualityofServiceROI ReturnonInvestmentSDO StandardsDevelopmentOrganizationSME Small-to-MediumEnterpriseSSM Service-specificManager(SONATAcomponent)TOSCA TopologyandOrchestrationSpecificationforCloudApplications(specification)VIM VirtualInfrastructureManager(componentofMANO)VM VirtualMachineVNF VirtualNetworkFunctionVNFM VNFManager(componentofMANO)VoIP VoiceoverIPWAN WideAreaNetworkWPx WorkPackage#(e.g.WP5)YANG “YetAnotherNextGeneration”datamodelinglanguage
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2 SoftwareNetworksandEnablingTechnology:NFV,SDNand5GNetworks
Thefollowingsectionprovidestheminimaltechnologycontexttounderstandthecorecontentofthedeliverable,relatedtomarket-relatedperspectivesandanalysis.NFVisfirstintroduced;thentheMANOlayer(particularlyimportanttoSONATA)andwhereitfitsinacommonreferencearchitecturefromETSI;theneighboringSDNtechnologyisthenbrieflyexplained;andfinally,avisionof5Gnetworksisprovided,amilestonewherethesetechnologieswillconvergeandactasenablers.
2.1 NetworkFunctionVirtualization(NFV)inBrief
NetworkFunctionVirtualization(NFV)isacornerstoneofsoftwarenetworks,andrepresentsalargeshiftinhownetworksarebuilt,deployedandmanaged.NFVdoesthisbyintroducingavirtualizationlayeranddecouplingthesoftwarefromthehardware.Thesoftware-basedassetsthenbecometheinnovationanddifferentiatingvalue,whilethehardwarebecomescommodity.
Thisisanattractiveupgradefornetworkoperatorsofvarioussizesandscope,whethertheyarealargecommunicationserviceprovider(CSP)oranenterpriserunningtheirownnetwork.
Commercialoff-the-shelf(COTS)hardwareforsoftwarenetworkswillbegenericbydesign,replacingwhatisnowaproprietarylandscapewithharddependenciesbetweenphysicalnetworkfunctions(PNFs)andlegacytelecommunicationhardware.Virtualnetworkfunctions(VNFs)ontopofvirtualizedinfrastructureandgenerichardwarehaveasignificantimpactonnetworkoperations,theircosttomaintain(OpEx)andupgrade,andthehopeofbusinessagilityforoperatorstomixandmatchfromavarietyofvendorsandVNFdevelopers.NetworkservicedevelopmentandlifecyclemanagementisalsoalargefocusofNFV,largelyfacilitatingservicerolloutandmaintenance.[5]
ETSIhighlightsthesekeydifferencesbetweencurrentandfutureNFV-enablednetworks[6],paraphrasedinthepointsbelow:
• Decouplingsoftwarefromhardware:creatingtwoevolutionarytracksthatareindependentfromeachother,andcreatingmulti-vendorscenarios.
• Flexiblenetworkfunctiondeployment:allowingamoredynamicrelationshiptooccurbetweeninfrastructureresources,andspeedingupthenetworkfunctioninstantiationandautomationviavirtualizationandcloudtechnologies.
• Dynamicoperation:providinggreaterflexibilitytoscalenetworkfunctionperformanceandwithfinercontrol,e.g.reactingtoactualtraffic.
Althoughthepointisoftenlostinmarketingmaterialandvendorwhitepapers,itshouldbestressedthatNFVisatechnologythatisnotinwideusetoday.Theparadigmshiftissignificantandhighlydisruptive,andnetworkoperatorsareseekingagradualtransitionfromtheircurrentlegacynetworks,OSS,physicalelements,etc.Thisroadmapwilltakeyearstocomplete,butinitialdeploymentsarealreadyunderwayinalimitedcapacity.(SeeSections4and6forroadmapforecastsandcurrentchallenges.)
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2.2 NFVReferenceArchitectureandtheManagement&Orchestration(MANO)Layer
ETSIevolvedtheNFVconceptthroughtheNFVIndustrySpecificationGroup(ISG)[7].Astheyprogressed,areferencearchitecturewasreleased,showedbelowinFigure1.
Figure1:ETSINFVReferenceArchitecture(source:ETSI[6]),withMANOdomainhighlighted
TheETSINFVReferenceArchitecturepublicdocument[6]providesadetaileddescriptionofeachbuildingblock.Foramoresimplifiedtechnicalcontextofthismarket-orienteddeliverable,onlythedefined3workingdomainsoftheNFVarchitecturearebrieflyreviewedbelow:
• VirtualizedNetworkFunction(VNF):SoftwareimplementationofanetworkfunctionwhichiscapableofrunningovertheNFVI.Theyreplicatethefunctionalityofspecializedtelecommunicationselementsandhardware,fromasimplefirewalltoalargesuiteofserviceslikeEvolvedPacketCore(EPC).VNFscanbechainedtogetherforanetworkservice(NS).
• NFVInfrastructure(NFVI):Includesthesetofphysicalresources(compute,storage,network)andthevirtualizedenvironment.
• NFVManagementandOrchestration(MANO):TheorchestrationandlifecyclemanagementofphysicalandsoftwareresourcesthatsupportthevirtualizedinfrastructureandVNFs.
Thelastdomainlisted,NFVMANO,isthefocusofSONATAandthemarketcontextforitsserviceplatform.MANOessentiallycoversallthevirtualization-relatedmanagementacrossaNFV-empowerednetwork,andismadeupofseveralcomponentstocarryouttheresponsibility,highlightedaboveinFigure1:
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• VirtualizedInfrastructureManager(VIM):ManagestheNFVIresourcesinasingledomain,includingthecreation,maintenanceandtear-downofvirtualmachines(VMs).
• VNFManager(VNFM):ManageslifecycleofaVNF,intermsof:
o Creation,maintenanceandterminationofVNFinstances.
o Fault,configuration,accounting,performanceandsecuritymanagementoftheVNF.
o ScalesupanddowntheVNF.Therecanbea1-on-1approachbetweenVNFMandVNF,orseveralVNFsmanagedbyasingleVNFM.(Thisdiversityinapproachisbecomingabigchallengeinintegratingmulti-vendorVNFs,anddiscussedlaterinthedeliverable.)
• NFVOrchestrator(NFVO)coversbothresourceandserviceorchestration:
o ResourceOrchestration:Coordinates,authorizes,releasesandengagesNFVIresourceswithinasinglepointofpresence(PoP)oracrossmultiplePoPs.TheNFVOcandirectlyinteractwiththeVIMs.
o ServiceOrchestration:Createsend-to-endnetworkservices(NS)betweenseveralVNFs,bycoordinatingwiththeinvolvedVNFMs.Thisimplies,forexample,VNFsofdifferentvendors(easiersaidthandone,asdiscussedlater).TheNFVOcanalsoinstantiateVNFs,andcreateVNFforwardinggraphs,atopologymanagementofthenetworkservicesinstance.
SONATAfocusesontheupperlevelsoftheMANOlayerinitsplatform,includingtheVNFMandNFVOfunctionality.TheVIM,ontheotherhand,iscoveredextensivelybyexistingopensourcesolutions,suchasOpenStack[8]andOpenMANO[9],andSONATA’sefforthereistowardscompatibilitywithseveralVIMalternatives(multi-vendorintheVIMcontext),insteadofdevelopingyetanother.DiscussedfurtherinSection6,therearechallengesandneedsforinnovative-yetpragmatic-solutionsforNFVadoptersthatareindeedontheorchestrationlayer,whereSONATAisbeingpositioned.
Itshouldbenoted,however,thatSONATAisnotjustfocusedonthemanagementandoperationssideofNFV,butalsoextendsdeeplyintotheservicecreationarea.TheprojectisdevelopingaSDKandDevOpsworkflowtoempowerCSPsandthird-partydeveloperstowardsNFV’sbusinesscaseofserviceagility.(UpcomingSection7containsafullSONATApresentation.)
2.3 Software-DefinedNetworking
Software-definedNetworking(SDN)isanotherkeytechnologythatenablessoftwarenetworks,andisoftenpairedwithNFVwhenstakeholdersconsiderthefulltransformationneededtowards,forexample,5Gnetworks.
SDNmakesthenetworkprogrammablebyseparatingthecontrolplanefromthedataplane,relyingonswitchesthatcanbeprogrammedthroughaSDNcontroller.OpenFlowhasbecomeacommonde-factostandardprotocolforthisrole.[10]
AbasicunderstandingofSDNisneededforatleasttwotopicsintroducedlaterinthedocument.
Thefirstreferstothecloserend-to-endorchestrationandmanagementthatnetworkoperatorsareseekingtosupporttheirNFV/SDNroadmap.Thisrequires,forexample,aMANO-relatedsolutionto
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becompatibleoreasilyextensibleforatighterintegrationwithitsSDNcontrollercounterpart(apriorityforSONATA).AlsoseeninthedevelopingmarketareSDNcontrollersolutionsgoing“north”andcoveringsimilarfunctionalitythatETSI-compliantarchitecturesassociatewithMANO(e.g.seeJuniper’ssolutioninthecomparativeanalysisofSection0).
Asecondtopic,coveredinthesubsectionbelow,isrelatedtothe5Gconceptofnetworkslicing,wherespecific“slices”ofthenetworkcanbeconfiguredforanindustryverticalinparticular.Forexample,5Gnetworkandservicerequirementsformanufacturing(i.e.“Industry4.0”)wouldbequitedifferentthannextgenerationstreamingmedia,andalargenetworkoperator,leveragingSDNmanagement,couldcatertowardsboththroughbespokeslices.[11]
Althoughseparatetechnologies,manyexperts,includingETSI,seeafuturewhereNFVandSDNbecomelessdistinguishableasindependenttopics,andintegratedintoaunifiedsoftwarenetworkparadigm.[12]
2.4 5GNetworksandServices
5Grepresentsavisionforthenextgenerationofnetworksandservices.Whilethetermmightmistakenlyimplyaniterativeupgrade,itisinfactafreshandquitedisruptiveapproachtofulfillrequirementsoffutureservicesandscenarios.
The5G-PPPprovideskeychallengestofulfillinthisvisiontowards2020[4],andthosethatSONATAcanmostimpactarehighlightedinbold:
• Providing1000timeshigherwirelessareacapacityandmorevariedservicecapabilitiescomparedto2010.
• Savingupto90%ofenergyperserviceprovided.Themainfocuswillbeinmobilecommunicationnetworkswherethedominatingenergyconsumptioncomesfromtheradioaccessnetwork.
• Reducingtheaverageservicecreationtimecyclefrom90hoursto90minutes.
• Creatingasecure,reliableanddependableInternetwitha“zeroperceived”downtimeforservicesprovision.
• Facilitatingverydensedeploymentsofwirelesscommunicationlinkstoconnectover7trillionwirelessdevicesservingover7billionpeople
• Ensuringforeveryoneandeverywheretheaccesstoawiderpanelofservicesandapplicationsatlowercost.
KeytoSONATA’sfocusistheagiledevelopmentandlifecyclemanagementofthenetworkservicesthatwillfurtherenhanceapplicationsthatexploit5G(e.g.higherqualityvideostreaming),andthoseservicesthatempowerapplicationsexclusiveto5Gduetotheirextremerequirements(e.g.virtualreality,connectedcars).AnalystsatHeavyReadingprovideanoverviewofsuchexamples[11],copiedinFigure2below.
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Figure2:Examplesof5Gservicesperbandwidthandlatencyrequirements(source:GSMAandHeavyReading[11])
Toenablethehighdegreeofchallengingrequirements,flexibility,programmabilityanddynamicnetworkoperationsfor5G,bothSDNandNFVarerequiredtechnologies.
5Gnetworksareestimatedtobefirstdeployedin2020,althoughvariouschallengesmustbemetontheway,summarizedbyanalystsatAtos[13]:
• Variousregionsandgroupsaroundtheworldarecurrentlycompetingtolead5Gstandardizationactivities,andeffortsmustbemadetocoordinateand/orconsolidateeffortstoavoidfragmentation.
• 5Gmustaccommodateawiderangeofusecasesfromdiverseverticals,eachwithadvancedrequirementsaroundlatency,reliance,coverageandbandwidth.ThisimpliesmuchclosercollaborationbetweenCSPsandtheirverticalstakeholders,andbuildingthetoolsfordevelopmentandnetwork“slices”toaccommodatethem.
• 5Gincludesacombinationofdiversetechnologies,suchasNFV,SDNandothers.Thematurityofthesetechnologieswillvary,andareinfactseparateevolutionarypaths,thusaffectinginitial5Gdeployments.
Relatedtothelatter,althoughactingasenablers,SDNandNFVarenotexclusiveto5G.Theyareindependenttechnologies,andthereforecanbeappliedto,forexample,evolving4GLTEnetworks,aswell.
HEAVY READING | DECEMBER 2015 | WHITE PAPER | 5G: A NETWORK TRANSFORMATION IMPERATIVE 6
5G Services With key parameters of virtually no latency combined with broadband speeds > 1 Gbit/s, the types of applications and services that can be offered from 5G networks are almost limitless. Over time, services are expected to move beyond simply audio and data toward visual, tactile and cognitive, creating an anything-as-a-service (XaaS) environment for service providers. Figure 4 illustrates bandwidth and latency requirements for both existing services and some potential 5G use cases.
Although there are some challenges to supporting services that require both >1 Gbit/s downlink speeds and sub-1ms latency, 5G networks will not only leverage new network design principles based on SDN, but a range of emerging technolo-gies, such as millimeter wave, massive multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO), mobile edge computing, Anchor-Booster Cell and device-to-device communica-tions (D2D). Additionally, a unified air interface that is scalable and adaptable for all spectrum, whether licensed or unlicensed, for both higher and lower spectrum bands using multiple domain types (time, frequency, orthogonal and non-orthogo-nal) is expected to enable these requirements.
Figure 4: Bandwidth & Latency Requirements of Potential 5G Services
Source: GSMA, Heavy Reading
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3 BusinessCaseforNFVandMANO
TounderstandthemotivationbehindSONATAimpact,thebusinesscaseforNFVissummarizedbelowontwolevels:NFVingeneral,andNFVMANO.
ThegeneralbusinesscaseforNFVispresentedtoprovidecontextofthepotentialdemandforSONATA,asNFVMANOisinfactorientedtowardsthosenetworkoperators(i.e.CSPorenterprise)thathavealreadyboughtintoaNFVadoptionroadmap.ItisthoseNFVadoptersthatarethetargetmarketoftheproject,togetherwiththethird-partyservicedevelopersthatCSPscansupport.
3.1 BusinessCaseforNFVAdoption
ThebusinesscaseforNFVisextensive,anditmustbeunderstoodtolaterdiveintothemorespecificvaluepropositionofwhataMANO-relatedsolution,suchasSONATA,candeliver.
Networkoperators,mostnotablyCSPs,looktoadoptNFV(andcoupledwithSDNinthelargersoftwarenetworkcontext),andonlytakeonthecomplexandcostlytransitionbecauseofclearbusinessbenefits.ThefollowcategorieshavebeenconsolidatedthroughananalysisofCSPmotivationsandastudyofvariousvendors’NFVportfoliosadvertised(seeSection0),wherethemarketingfornetworkoperator/CSP“buyin”forNFVisquiteconsistent.Shortcomingshavealsobeenidentified,andlaterexpandedintheformofcurrentchallengesinSection6.
3.1.1 LowerCapExonhardwareprocurementandupgrades
TheswitchtomoregenerichardwarereducesCapEx.Asvarioushardwarevendorscansupportthesamevarietyofvirtualizedassets(intheory),increasedcompetitionintheCOTShardwarespacewilldrivecostsdown,andeliminatetheneedformanyspecializedhardwaresystemsthatcannowbereplacedwithsoftware-basedsolutions.
Hardwarelifetimevaluecanalsobeextendedbysoftwarefunctionupgrades.Or,thereverse,wheregenerichardwarecanbereplacedmorecheaply,andfurtherscaledbysoftwarefunctions.
Operatorscansetupredundancytoprepareforcontingenciesinamuchlessexpensivemanner,whereworkloadsaretransferredtoothermachinesinadynamicfashion,maintainingcapacityandQoS.CapExisfurtherdecreasedasadditionalexpensive,proprietarysystemsarenotneededtoprovidebackup.
3.1.2 Flexibilityandalleviatedvendorlock-in
Relatedtotheabove,thedecouplingofsoftwarewithhardwaredisruptswhatwashistoricallybasedonproprietarysolutionsandvendorlock-in.Operatorswillnowhavebetterchoicewhenselectingarangeofhardwareandsoftwarebasedsolutionsbetweenmultiple,competingvendors.TheriseofsupportedopensourceNFV/SDNsolutionsisalsoashiftthatoperatorsrecognizeasawelcomerelief,withthepotentialtointegrateseveralsolutionsintoaholisticsuite.
However,asseeninthechallengesofSection6,thisisnotworkingasseamlesslyashoped(perhapsunrealisticallyso),withsignificantinteroperabilityissuesbetweenvendorsarisingduringinitialtrials.AhighlycustomizableMANOsolutionwillbeneededbytheCSPtocoordinateamulti-vendorNFVenvironmentinabrown-fieldscenario.
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3.1.3 ReducingOpExwhileincreasingefficiencyandagilityinnetworkoperations
ThecombinationofNFVandSDNforsoftwarenetworksbringsamuchmoreefficientandagileoperation.Performancemanagement,abilitytoscaledynamically,increasedautomationandothernetworkmanagementconsiderationsdroptheassociatedOpExofdeployingandmaintainingthenetwork.
However,clearchallengeswithhybridnetworks(newvirtualizedassetsworkingwithphysicallegacy)andcoordinationofadditionallayersofmanagement(introducedbythevirtualizedenvironment)bringnewlevelsofcomplexityanddemandforhighlyflexibleMANO-likesolutionssuchasSONATA.
3.1.4 Facilitatedservicelifecycleandtime-to-market
Virtualizedfunctions(VNFs)canbeleveragedforanewgenerationofnetworkservices.Amoreagiledevelopment,deployment,management,configuration,maintenance,etc.ofsuchassetsareawelcomeimprovementfromwhatwasacostlyandslowprocesstorolloutnewservicesandfunctionality,inadditiontothetrialinginvolved.
CSPsneedthisacceleratedchanneltobecompetitivewithnewOver-the-Top(OTT)providerservices.Thegainsinservicedeliveryandagilitymeannewrevenuestreamsfortheseoperators,andoffernewplatformstocatalyzethird-partysupportandecosystems.
NFVadoptionbyitselfisnotsufficient,norabasicMANOsolutionontop,andtheCSPrequiresadditionalinnovativetoolsandagiledevelopmentworkflows(e.g.DevOps)thatSONATAcansupport.
3.2 BusinessCaseforNFVMANOLayerandServiceDevelopmentTools
TheabovecoverstheprimarybusinesscaseforNFVadoption,referringtothemotivationofthenetworkoperator,primarilytheCSP,tobuyintothetransitionandbeginlong-terminvestmenttowardssoftwarenetworks.
Withinthatcontext,the“businesscase”forMANOisoneofnecessity:toenableandensuredeliveryonthepromiseofNFVbenefitsandROI.Ashintedatineachoftheabovecasesforadoption,therearenewchallengesintroducedthatrequireaMANOsolutiontotacklethecomplexityoftheNFVtransition,aswellasenablersofserviceagilityonthedevelopmentside.
Thisisofparticularrelevancetothisreport,asitistheareathatSONATA’sserviceplatformandsupportingSDKaredirectlyaddressing.
ANFVorchestrator(NFVO),forexample,addressespainpointsthatarenotalwaysonthetopoftoday’smoreimmediateneedsforanoperator’siterativeNFVadoptionroadmap,butuniversallyagreedtobecriticalandnecessarytosupporttheminthelongrun.Onthedevelopmentside,tofullyrealizethebusinesscase,thereisaneedtoenableandsupportthosedevelopingandchainingVNFsintonetworkservicesinaCSP’secosystem.
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4 NFVDeploymentTimelinesandMarketForecast
WiththeoverviewofNFV,relatedtechnologyandbusinesscasepresentedabove,thefollowingsectionscoverthehigh-levelquestionsthatareaddressedwhenestimatingmarketsizeandtiming:the“when”,and“howbig”.
Thetimelinesaredebatable,especiallygiventhetechnicalchallengesintransition,deployment,integrationwithlegacy,etc.(forthcomingSection6).Themarketsizeisalsoparticularlydifficulttotrack,asitislargelysubstitutiveofcurrentnetworkspending,butinitialforecastshelpprojectSONATAmarketfeasibility,asexplainedbelow.
4.1 EstimatingNFVAdoptionandDeploymentTimelines
TheeventualadoptionofNFV(andSDN),theenablersoffuturesoftwarenetworks,isaforegoneconclusion.Variousindustrysurveyshaveconfirmedthatsuchroadmapsarealreadyunderway.IHSandInfonetics,forexample,surveyedalargeshareofCSPsthatcoversalmost50%oftheglobaltelecomCapEx.Anoverwhelming97%ofCSPscommittodeployingSDN,and93%NFV.[14]
Thequestionremains:when?Variousanalystsforeseethat2016couldbeanimportantmilestoneyearfortransitionbetweentrialsandlimitedproductiondeployment.Although2020remainstheprojectedyearforinitial5Gdeployments,thedependencyonNFVandSDNrequiresmuchearliertrialsanditerative,step-by-stepproductiondeploymentswithprioritizedusecases.
Figure3:NFVandSDNearlyadoptionin2016(source:Atos[13])
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TheglobalroadmapsdepictedbyIHS,Infonetics,HeavyReadingandAtosanalystsaresimilar,andcover3stagesoftheiterativetransformation:[13][14][15]
• ProofofConcepttesting(PoC)andFieldTrials:Beginningsince2013,withvendorsandnetworkoperatorsworkingtogetherinlabenvironmentsaroundSDNandNFV.Additionalprototypefieldtrialsstartedinthenextfewyearsbyfirst-movers.
• InitialCommercialDeployments:2015sawayearwhensomeearlyadopters,suchasAT&T,performedlimitedcommercialdeployments.
• WidespreadCommercialDeployments:Newphasefrom2016onward,towards2020,inaniterativedeploymentpatternthatseeshybridnetworks(physical/legacyvs.virtualized)thattakeonearlySDNandNFVusecases,suchasvCPE.
HeavyReadinganalystsforeseeatwo-stagerolloutforNFVadoption.Afirststageofincrementalupgradewillfocusonmid-termgainsinserviceagility(2016–2019).[16]Asecondstage,thefull“cloudification”expectedat5G’s2020milestone,willhaveCSPsexploitbuilt-for-the-cloudVNFs(asopposedtofirstgenerationVNFsmigratedfromlegacy)andarchitecturesbasedonmicroservices.Serviceagilitywillfurtherevolvewithmoreambitiousorganizationaltransformationsindevelopmentworkflows,suchasDevOps.Inparallel,betterinteroperableandintegratedNFVdeploymentswillprovidethelonger-termOpExsavingsinitiallyenvisioned.
4.2 EstimatingNFVMarketSize
SomeanalystsarguethatthequantitativemarketforecastforNFV(andSDN)areirrelevantandtoocomplextocalculate,sincethemajoritycanberecognizedaslargelysubstitutiveofcurrentspendingonnetworkequipmentandtechnology.Forexample,accordingtoGartner,netspendingintheareacouldevendeclineonthepathto2019.[17]
However,thequantificationisstillquiteimportantinSONATA’scontext,sincepartofthatsubstitutivespendingwillbegoingtowardsrequiredsolutionsforNFVadoption,includingtheMANOlayer.
IHSestimatestotalNFVspendingfor2019at$11.6B,butthefineprintshowsthatnewNFV-enablingsoftware(includingMANOsolutions),asafractionofthat,at$1.2B.[14]
Table2:CarrierNFVmarketfor2019(source:IHSandInfonetics[14])
© 2016 IHS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Only $6B of SDN/NFV Spending Is New in 2019
Carrier NFV Market
Source $B % of 2019
Market Categories
New $1.2 10% NFV: NFV MANO, NFVI software, Outsourced Services
Displaced $1.8 16% NFV: NFVI Hardware
Existing $8.6 74% NFV: VNFs
TOTAL $11.6 100% Total Carrier NFV
Carrier, DC and Enterprise LAN SDN Market
Source $B % of 2019
Market Categories
New $4.7 25% SDN: Orchestration and Controller, SDN Network Apps, Outsourced Services
Displaced $1.5 8% SDN: Orchestration and Controller
Existing $12.6 67% SDN: SDN Hardware
TOTAL $18.8 100% Total Carrier, DC and Enterprise LANSDN
Source: IHS Infonetics Carrier SDN Market Size and Forecast; NFV Market Size and Forecast; DC and Enterprise LAN Market Size and Forecast , 2015
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However,alargepartofSONATA’svaluegenerationisfocusedonthecompositionside,wherethecreationofnetworkservicesbasedonchainedVNFs(orevennewVNFs,themselves)providesrevenueinanecosystem-likemarket.
AnotherstudybyHeavyReadinganalystscoversthisdynamic,estimatingupwardsof$450BofNFV-enabledservicesby2020,makingup20%ofCSPrevenueworldwide.[15]
Thesefigurescanofcoursevarysignificantly,andindeeddosoacrossanalystreports.However,giventheoverwhelmingpercentageofeventualNFVtechnologyadoption,thesubstitutespendingthatwillgotowardssoftware-basedsolutions,andtheend-goalofnotjustoptimizingnetworkoperationsbutenablingbetterservices,itisassumedthatthemarketisindeedthere.
Certaindriversandbarriersmustbetrackedthatcanraiseandlowersuccessandspeedtowardsthesegoals,summarizedinTable3below.Furtherinthedeliverable,inSection6,thebarriersarelookedatinmoredetailintheperspectiveofcustomer(CSP)challengesandpainpointsthatSONATAcanhelpalleviateintheirSDN/NFVtransition.
Table3:NFVAdoptionDriversandBarriers(adapted/extendedfromSDxCentral[18])
InfluencingAdoptionDrivers InfluencingAdoptionBarriers
• computevirtualizationadoptionserviceasacatalystforNFV(andSDN)adoption
• continuedgrowthofcloudcomputinginvestmentandconvergencebetweenITandtelecom
• aggressiveCSPeffortsfornewsourcesofrevenueandmonetizationofnetworks(e.g.competitionwithOTT),andreductionofOpExandCapEx
• complexityofinitialNFVsolutions,andinteroperabilitybetweenthem
• shortageofadequateskillsetsforsoftwarenetworks(SDN,NFV,etc.)
• difficultyinintegratingwithlegacy,brown-fieldscenarios
• initialperformanceissuesoffirstgenerationvirtualizedtelecominfrastructure,notyetvalidated
• agiledevelopmentatCSPsisaradicalorganizationalchange
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5 StakeholderandValueChainAnalysis:TelecomSectorTransformationviaSoftwareNetworks
NFVandSDNtechnologies,andtheroadto5G,havecauseddisruptiveshiftsforallactorsintheclassictelecommunicationsvaluechain,mostnotablynetworkoperatorsandequipmentvendors,alongwiththeirrespectivebusinessmodels.
Figure4belowrepresentsasimplifiedvaluechaintoreferencetheinvolvedstakeholders,andthesectionbelowhighlightshowtheserelationshipshavechangedtoadapttothetechnologytransition.
Figure4:Telecomvaluechain,adaptedforsoftwarenetworks(simplified)
Atthefarleftwehavethetelecomequipmentvendor,nowpotentiallyfragmentedashardwarebecomesmorecommoditized,andtheircustomers(e.g.CSPs)haveapotentialpiecemealstrategyforNFV/SDNassetadoptionacrossvariouscompetitors.
Systemintegration,amuchmorechallengingroleinsoftwarenetworksaswithanymulti-vendordynamic,isnowafocusofvendorstoextendtheirservicesandprepareforthechangingbusinessmodel.However,thiscanbeaseparate,specializedrole,withthearrivaloflargesystemintegratorinsurgentsfromtheconvergingITworld.
Thenetworkoperatorexploitstheirnewmulti-vendoroptionswiththeNFVoperationalbusinesscasetodropCapExandOpEx.ForCSPsinparticular,theyalsolookformoreagileandquickerservicedevelopment,regainingsignificantmarketlossfromOTTproviders.TheCSPisrecognizedasthemainadopteroftheSONATAserviceplatformandprovidingaservicedevelopmentecosystem,andisanalyzedindetailinthefollowingSection6.
However,thereisalsoanothernetworkoperatorprofilethatwillbeadoptingNFV:theenterprise.InasurveyconductedbyAshtonMetzler&Associates,82%ofparticipatingtelecomindustryrepsrecognizethatNFVprovidesvaluetoanenterpriseenvironment.[19]CSPsstillhavethemosttogain,duetothescaledcomplexityoftheirnetworksandstrongerfocusontheservicedevelopmentside,butsmallerscaledeploymentsofNFV(andSONATA)shouldnotbediscountedfortheenterprise.
Serviceplatforms,suchasSONATA’s,cancatalyzeanecosystem-drivenmonetizationofCSP’snetworkandsupportthird-partydevelopers(inadditiontotheirown)tocreateadded-valuenetworkservicesfortheend-user.
ThechangingdynamicsandprioritiesofthesestakeholdersaresummarizedinTable4below.
NetworkOperator/ServiceProvider(CSP)
ServiceDeveloper(third-party,OTT)
SystemIntegrator
Vendor:VNF
EnterpriseNetwork
End-User
NFV/SDNSolutionsVendor:NFV/SDNSolutions
GenericHWVendor:GenericHW
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Table4:NFVimpactandtransformationonthetelecomvaluechain
TelecomSegmentStakeholder NFVImpactandTransformation
NetworkOperators(CSPs,Enterprises,etc.)
• NFVhasdecouplednetworkfunctionswiththeproprietaryhardwarethathistoricallylockedinnetworkoperatorstotheirvendors.
• NFVlowersCapExandOpExwithlessexpensivehardwareandgainsinnetworkoptimizationandoperationalefficiency.
• NFVallowsnewserviceagility,rapidinnovation,continuousupdatesandreducedtimetomarketacrosstheirnetwork,helpingtocompetewithOTTproviders.
NetworkEquipmentVendorsandSolutionProviders
• Largeincumbentvendorsseesoftwarenetworksasbothaliabilityandopportunity,andmustredefinethemselves,significantlyshiftingresourcesfromcostlyproprietaryhardware(replacedwithgenericCOTS)towardsSDN/NFVsolutions,ecosystemsandsystemintegration.
• Thosevendorswithsubstantialcapitalandportfoliosleantowardsend-to-endofferingsthatencompassallofthecustomer’s(e.g.CSP)needs,andareattemptingtoreplacevendorlock-inwithconvenienceandalleviationofmulti-vendorinteroperabilityissues(acounter-argumenttoNFV’sCSPmulti-vendorvalueproposition).ThosewithlargerportfoliosareprioritizingamigrationofPNFstoVNFs,creatinganinitialcriticalmassofearlyassetsforthemarketchanges.
• Newentrieshavebeenempowered,aswell.Withtheconvergenceoftelecommunicationswithamoresoftware-basedIT,smallersolutionprovidersfindopportunitywithNFVMANOsolutionsorspecializedbest-in-classVNFs,attemptingtochallengelarger,incumbentequipmentvendors.
SystemIntegratorsandTechnologyPartners
• Systemintegrationhastakenamuchmoresignificantrolewhenforeseeingamixofinteroperablesolutionsdeployedattheoperator.Thisisoftenpartofthevendor’stransition,butcanalsobeaseparateactorwiththisspecializedrole,suchassystemintegratorsfromtheconvergingITsector.
• VirtualizinganetworkinfrastructurehasbecomeabusinessopportunityforlargeITtechnologyvendorswithabackgroundincloudcomputingandvirtualization,rollingoutNFV-enablingplatforms.
Third-partyDevelopers,OTTProviders
• Focusingonsoftware,NFV/SDNlowersthefinancialbarriertoenterthetelecommarket,aswellastime-to-marketforVNFsandnetworkservices.ThisisanopportunitynotonlyforincumbentCSPs,butalsoforthird-partyserviceproviders,includingSMEs.
• High5GrequirementssuggestthatOTTprovidersneedclosercollaborationwiththeCSPstoensuresufficientQoS/QoEfortheend-user.
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6 ChallengesandPainPointsforCSPstowardsNFV/SDNAdoptionand5GNetworks
ThepromisedbusinesscaseforNFVisextensiveforCSPs(Section3),revolvingaroundsavings(lowerOpEx,CapEx)andrevenue(e.g.newservices,agility,businessmodels,etc.).Itisacasethathasyettobefulfilled,however,duetothecomplexityofsuchatransitionandtheseveraltechnicalandorganizationalbarriersthecomewithit.
Thoseofatechnicalnatureincludeseveralbarriersthatarefamiliarwithimmature,unintegratedtechnologyinbrown-fieldscenarios,wheretherealreadyexistsheavyinvestmentinlegacy.Severalsurveyshavebeendoneonthetopic,includingonebyAshtonMetzler&Associates[20]inFigure5below.Topconcernsincludeend-to-endserviceprovisioningofhybridphysical/virtualnetworkresourcesinpotentiallymultipledomains,needofanewgenerationofagileOSS/BSS(andopeninterfacesfromMANOsolutions),immaturityofcurrentNFV/SDNproductsandchallengesinorchestrationandend-to-endservicemanagement.
Figure5:NFVadoptiontechnicalinhibitors,numberofrespondentsbasedonsurveyof84serviceproviders(x-axis)(source:AshtonMetzler&Associates[20])
Thoseofanorganizationalnatureareproportionatetothemassivescopeofthetransformationtosoftwarenetworks.CSPshavetomakeradicalchangestowardsamoreagiledevelopment,deploymentandoperationalculturetoexploitthenewlygainedserviceagility.Thisextendstohumanresources,wherearefocusedworkforceandtrainingforsoftwarenetworksisneeded.[21]
2015and2016sawseveraldeploymentcomplicationsintrials,causingfrictionbetweenfirst-moverCSPsandtheirvendors,withtestimonialsstillcominginduringthemonthofthisdeliverablepublication.[22][23]
Fortheseearlyadopters,evenwithlimitedsuccessfulimplementation,thefulfillmentoftechnicalgoalsandbusinessobjectivesisstilllacking.Forinstance,VNFsareoftenintheirinfancy,beingpartofalargemigrationofvendorlegacyportfoliosfromphysicaltovirtualizedfunctions.Butastheyarenotbuiltdirectlyforthecloud,theyoftendonotadequatelyexploittheirvirtualized
Figure 7: Technological inhibitors to the adoption of NFV
Armengol agreed with the concern that was expressed by the survey respondents over the immaturity of the current products and said that “There are a lot of gaps in the current technology, mainly automation, management and orchestration.” He said that another concern he has relative to the technology is that the established vendors have developed VNFs by merely porting code from their existing products. The result of this approach is that these VNFs typically don’t perform well and improving their performance requires a major architectural change. In contrast, products from the newer players are typically architected for a virtual environment, but don’t have all of the necessary functionality.
Relative to the concerns that the survey respondents had with OSS/BSSs, Mark Bieberich, Senior Director, SDN and NFV Strategy, NetCracker stated that a traditional OSS/BSS doesn’t lend itself to the provisioning of virtual resources and that “We need an orchestration platform that is designed to support that.” He added that NetCracker is advocating for the unification of service and network orchestration in part to avoid having the “zoo of orchestrators” that was recently referred to9 by Axel Clauberg, vice president of IP architecture and design at Deutsche Telekom.
Steve Vogelsang, VP and Chief Technology Officer, IP Routing and Transport, Alcatel-Lucent said that one of the biggest technology inhibitors is the pace of technological change. He pointed out that the initial discussion of NFV focused on the use of CloudStack and now OpenStack has replaced CloudStack. Another example he gave was that most of the discussion of NFVs has them running in virtual machines
9 https://www.sdxcentral.com/articles/news/nfv-network-functions-virtualization-fuel-deutsche-telekom-transformation/2014/06/
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environmentandassociatedbenefits.Thisisalogicalmovebyvendorsastheymustcapitalizeoncurrentassets,butoperatorsareanxioustoreachthetrueNFVvaluepropositionandROI.
Atthesametime,the“leftbehind”riskhasbecomeaseriousthreattolong-termroadmaps,whereeventhemostconservativeCSPrecognizesthatNFV/SDNadoptionisanecessityintheroadmapto5G.ThecustomersofthoseCSPslooktothemtobeinnovativeandprovidelong-termassurancesoncompetitiveservice,and2016hasbecometheyearthatmanyoftheslowadoptersarenowrampingupaniterativeadoptionroadmap.
ThefollowingtwosubsectionsreviewparticularchallengesandpainpointsfortheCSPthatSONATAcanhelpalleviate,inadditiontobeingacomponentforthebasebenefitsofNFVcoveredinSection3.Justasthebusinesscasecanbesplitintosavingsandnewrevenue,thesechallengescoverbothnetworktransformation(overcomingcomplexityvs.long-termsavings)andservicedevelopment(increasedagilityandrevenuevs.risinglossesfromOTTcompetition).
6.1 ComplicationswithMulti-VendorNFVIntegrationandLegacyCompatibility
Thealleviationofvendorlock-inisacorevaluepropositionoftheNFVbusinesscase.Thisincludesthevisionofamulti-vendor,integratedNFV/SDNsystemattheCSP,mixingandmatchingbestofbreedcomponentsandVNFs.AsurveybyTelecomTVofCSPsshowsthatinteroperabilitywithsolutionsfromothervendorsistheirtopprioritywhenconsideringaNFVPoCorprototype.[24]
Figure6:CSPpriorityfactorswhendevelopingaPoCorprototype,withmulti-vendorinteroperabilityratedhighest–1low,6high(source:TelecomTV[24])
However,thecomplicationsarrivingwithafirstattemptofintegratedNFVsolutionsisthreateningthisvision.AnalystHeavyReadingcitesconcernssohighthatCSPsarerethinkingthefeasibilityofsomecoreaspectsofNFV’sbusinesscase,includingthegoalofamulti-vendorintegratedecosystem.[15]
Thecostandcomplexityofintegrationisveryhigh,andoftenbeyondthecapacityoftheCSPitself.Pre-integratedsolutionscomingfromvendorsandindependentsystemintegratorsarebecomingrecognizedasthe“easyoption”,andcreatingarebirthoflock-indynamicsbetweenecosystemscenteredaroundlarge,incumbentvendors.EvenarchitectureandVNFintegrationwithinasinglevendorpartnerecosystemhasprovidedinteroperabilityissues,delaysandrestartsinapproachesduring2015and2016.
7
When creating a Proof of Concept or prototype...? (Please rank in terms of importance for the following elements, where 1 is the least important, 6 is the most important)
Interoperability and carrier-grade reliability were firmly favoured in the aggregate result.
(CSPs only) When creating a Proof of Concept or prototype...? (Please rank in terms of importance for the following elements, where 1 is the least important, 6 is the most important)
The interesting difference here is that CSPs were, in aggregate, slightly less inclined to rank carrier grade
performance. Perhaps this difference might indicate that vendors are adhering to ‘carrier grade’ as a selling point
more than CSPs are, but it’s also true that CSPs might be less inclined to rank carrier grade as important at the Proof
of Concept stage.
All brands and products are the trademarks of their respective holder/s. Copyright Decisive Media Limited. All rights reserved.
Q5.
Q5.
Carrier Grade availability and Reliability
3.24
3.37
4.82
2.93
3.78
Technical Support from suppliers/ component vendors
Interoperability with solutions from other vendors (Lock-in avoidance)
Contributions to Open Source communities
Open Source code
Adherence to industry and defacto Standards 3.36
Carrier Grade availability and Reliability
4.00
3.33
5.00
2.71
2.89
Technical Support from suppliers/ component vendors
Interoperability with solutions from other vendors (Lock-in avoidance)
Contributions to Open Source communities
Open Source code
Adherence to industry and defacto Standards 3.71
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Aninitialmulti-vendorinteroperabilityexercisewasmanagedbytheNewIPAgency,performingtestsbetween12vendors,4NFVIsand18VNFs.Thefullexercisesaw64%success;24ofthe39combinationstested.[25]
ThestudywasmostlylimitedtoNFVIandVNFassets,anddidnotcoverthecomplexorchestrationlayer.However,theexercisestillappliestotheMANOlayer,suchastestsinvolvingdifferentdeploymentapproachesforVNFMsamongvendors(1-on-1VNFM-VNFpairingvs.genericVNFMformultipleVNFs),alongwithinteroperabilitybetweendifferentvendors’OpenStackimplementations.
Non-proprietaryopensourcesolutionsaresometimesbecomingaformof“lock-in”,aswell.[24]Thesesolutionsareseldomadoptedandintegrateddirectlybytheoperator,andoftenarepackaged(andheavilycustomized)viaavendor.Insomecases,theresultbecometoodifferentiatedandbringsinteroperabilityissueswithitsopensourcebaseandexpectedcommunityecosystem.
Asurveyofmorethan2000telcoindustryprofessionalsatTelecoms.comIntelligenceshowedthatmorethanhalfofrespondentsalreadyrecognizedthatmanagingandorchestratingVNFsisatopchallengeforthem[26],andthisprioritywillcontinuetogrowastheycontinuetheirmigration,inproportiontothecomplexityofwhatneedstobeorchestrated.
ThisisfurthercomplicatedwheninterfacingwithnewSDNcontrollersandOSS/BSSlegacy,wherephysicalelementsmustalsobemanagedandorchestratedend-to-endinahybridphysical&virtualizednetwork(therealisticscenarioforthenext5years).InterfacesmustbebridgedbetweenMANOandOSS/BSS,inadditiontointegrationwithothersoftwarenetworkarchitectureassetsthatincludeNFVI,SDNcontrollers,etc.
However,toreachsuccessfuldeploymentofNFVandachieveitsfullbusinesscase,OSSwillhavetomeetNFV/SDNhalfway,andcannotsimplyrelyonnewinterfacesontheMANOside.ETSIseesthisOSSevolution,includingamoreholisticviewofoperations(ratherthanpiece-mealapproach),withflexiblearchitecturesandend-to-endorchestrationandservicemanagement.[12]
6.2 AgileServiceDevelopmentNeededRevenue
CompetitionwithOTTprovidershasbeenfierce,andwirelesscommunicationforCSPsisatriskofbecomingcommodity.
OvumestimatesthatOTTsocialmessagingapplicationsalonecostCSPsover$30BannuallyinlostSMSrevenuessince2012,whichispredictedtoreach$54Bby2017.OTTprovidersfocusingonVoIPwillhavecosttheglobaltelecomsindustry$63Binlostrevenues.[27](via[20])
CSPsmustexploittheNFVbusinesscasetowardsservicedevelopmentandagilitytowinbacklossrevenue.STLpartnersperformedamarketexercisethatpredictsnew“telcocloud”services(i.e.NFV,virtualized)toincreasemonthlyCSPrevenuesby10.5%by2021,showninFigure7below.
Thesenewservicesmustbeagileinnature,andtheCSPmustgainfasterproductcreation,continuallyup-to-dateproducts,quickerorderturnaround,masscustomization,increasedinnovation,fasterfailure(lessinvestmentsunk),moreflexiblecommercialmodels,moreelasticservices,greateraccessiblyandincreasedstickinessofservices.[21]
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Figure7:Telcocloudservicesestimatetoincreasemonthlyrevenuesby10.5%byDec2021(source:STL
Partners[21])
Buttorealizethisvision,CSPsmusttakeonaradicalchangeintheirservicedevelopmentanddeploymentculture,andbeempoweredbynew,agiletoolsandworkflowstowardsthesebusinesscriticalgoals.TimetomarketforCSPinnovationishistoricallyhamperedbyanover-relianceontheirvendorsandslowinternalcycles,takingupto12to18monthstoimplementanddeployanewservice.[28]
CSPsrecognizethisshortcoming.InasurveybyHeavyReadingofvariousoperators(CSPs),thisneedofstreamliningthedesignanddeliveryofnewserviceswasatopprioritybyasignificantmargin[29],showninFigure8below.Anothersurveybythesameanalysthad57%ofCSPsseetimetomarketfornewserviceandapplicationsastheirlargestrelatedchallenge.[30]
Figure8:Surveyoftop3prioritiesforoperatorsfortheirnetworks(source:HeavyReading[29])
DevOpsisakeyenablerofthisNFVvaluepropositionofserviceagility.Itinvolvesasoftware(orservice)developmentmethodthatstressescommunication,collaborationandintegrationbetweendevelopersandoperationsprofessionals.
New Revenue Growth from Telco Cloud | APRIL 2016
© STL Partners EXECUTIVE BRIEFING 39
Figure 14: Telco X – Telco Cloud services increase monthly revenues by 10.5% on the base case by Dec 2021
Source: STL Partners
Each service generates monthly direct service revenue shown in the purple segment of Figure 14. In the final month, December 2021, total monthly gross revenue from Telco Cloud services amounts to $161 million. However, other factors affect the total net revenue from the services:
� Positive impact on core revenues In Figure 14, the paler segments, above voice and data revenues respectively, capture the core service revenue generated as a result of the introduction of the Telco Cloud services. As mentioned previously, some services are closely linked to the telco’s core products (i.e. voice and data fixed and/or mobile services); the introduction of the new service can therefore reduce customer churn and increase ARPU for those who have taken up the service. In addition, the telco could also receive an uplift in core revenues from an increased number of gross-adds attracted by the new services.
� Service cannibalisation Customers who take up certain services may be migrating from existing services. One example of this would be Enterprise vCPE, where a proportion of the new service customers will drop their current managed service (provided by Telco X) and take up the vCPE offering instead. Another example is in the case of new digital consumer fixed services, where a TV offering based on virtual set top box will replace the telco’s current IPTV offering. The declining digital revenues (in blue) in Figure 14 reflect this effect.
The net revenue for Telco X from Telco Cloud services of $145 million in December 2021 represents approximately 9.5% of Telco X’s monthly revenues. We estimate 16.1% of this new revenue would be due to the increase in core revenues (i.e. decreased churn, increased gross adds and higher ARPUs for certain services).
$-
$200
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
$1,800
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Voice Voice core effect Data Data core effect Existing Digital / Managed Services Telco Cloud revenues
HEAVY READING | DECEMBER 2015 | WHITE PAPER | SERVICE ORCHESTRATION & NETWORK VIRTUALIZATION: A LIFECYCLE VIEW 3
Service Orchestration in the Virtualized Network
Streamlining Network Service Delivery Is a Top Priority
When Heavy Reading surveyed operators about their top three priorities for improv-ing network operations, streamlining the design and delivery of new services was first by a significant margin.
The ability to provide network services on demand enables operators to provide a new level of customer experience. As AT&T pointed out in August 2015, it has cut provisioning times for Ethernet services by 95 percent and is receiving excellent feedback from customers as a result of programming the network using a service orchestration approach. Service orchestration is key to rapid service delivery, as we have explained in Service Orchestration Requirements for a New Era of Networking, And fast time to market is conferring significant competitive advantage on early adopters of service orchestration.
The Expanding Role of Service Orchestration
Service orchestration is an evolving term. Previously, we have defined it as a new way of automating the activation of a service in the network, through the program-matic configuration of all elements participating in a service, in a single, end-to-end transaction. Service orchestration has primarily been associated with the deployment of cus-tomer-facing services in the network and the fulfilment of subsequent customer-driven change requests, including service retirement. But new operational requirements introduced by NFV are driving an expansion in the definition of service orchestration. First, if services are to be spun up, programmatically, on demand, their monitoring and assurance can't be an afterthought. There should be no delay while the assur-ance aspects of a service are ingested and mapped to a new management model by a separate system. The service orchestration system needs to be responsible for ensuring that a service can be assured as soon as it is instantiated. Assurance becomes part of the service fulfilment process, driven by the same service models.
Figure 1: Top Three Priorities for Improving Network Operations
Source: Heavy Reading (Score is a weighted calculation. Items ranked first are valued higher than the following ranks; the score is the sum of all weighted rank counts.)
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WhileDevOpsisalreadyavalidatedimprovementintheITfieldforagilesoftwaredevelopment,ithasyettoseeasignificantadoptioninthetelecomindustry.WhileCSPshavetestedautomation,theymustnowmaketheleapintocontinuousintegrationanddeployment(CI/CD).[31]TorealizetheNFVvision,theymustadoptacombinationofanetwork-orientedDevOpsworkflow,withaccompanychangesintools,skillsandin-houseorganizationalculture.
Thisagiledevelopmentmustalsoextendfromtheirowndeployedservicestoenablingnewbusinessmodelsthatfosterecosystemswiththird-partydevelopers.TheywillhavetorecognizetheOTTprovidernotjustasacompetitor,butalsoapartnerandcustomer.Extreme5GservicerequirementssuggestthatOTTproviderswillneedtocollaboratecloserwithCSPstoensuresufficientQoS/QoEfortheirend-user.[28][13]
Similarly,CSPswillneedtocollaborateheavilywithindustryverticalsinthe5Gvision,withwin-winbusinessmodelsthatcreatenewrevenuestreamsandempowerverticalswithservicedevelopmenttoolstocatertowardstheirownserviceprovision.[32]
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7 SolutionPresentation:SONATANFVSystemandValueProposition
ThefollowingsectionspresenttheSONATAarchitectureanditsvaluepropositionasaflexible,integratedsolution:aNFVserviceplatformwithorchestrationcapabilities,supportingSDKfornetworkservicedevelopment,andaccompanyingDevOpsworkflow.
Itactsasanecessarycomponent(MANO)toenabletheNFVbusinesscase(Section3)andaddresseskeyCSPchallengesassociatedtoacomplexNFVadoptionandurgentneedforaquicker,moreagileservicedevelopment(Section6).
7.1 SONATAArchitectureOverview
ThefollowingdiagramreflectstheSONATAarchitecture[33]thatiscurrentlybeingimplementedforafirstprototypeinthesummerof2016.InthefollowingdescriptionsthetwomainSONATAassetsarepresented:thenetworkserviceSDK,andtheserviceplatformwithNFVorchestrator.
AsimplescenarioistakenintocontextwhereaCSPisoperatingtheplatformtooptimizetheirnetworkandcatertowardsthird-partydevelopers(inadditiontoitsown),empoweringthemwiththetoolsandDevOpsworkflowtocreatedynamicnetworkservicesbasedoncatalogsofVNFs.However,theplatformcanalsobeusedforothernetworkoperatorprofiles,suchasanenterprisemigratingtoaNFV/SDNarchitecture.
Figure9:SONATAarchitecture[33]
7.1.1 SONATANetworkServiceSDK
ThefirstmajorcomponentoftheSONATAarchitectureisasoftwaredevelopmentkit(SDK)thatsupportsservicedeveloperswithbothaprogrammingmodelandasetofsoftwaretools.TheSDKallowsdeveloperstodefinecomplexservicesconsistingofmultipleVNFs.ACSP(whichcanalsobetheservicedeveloper)canthendeployandmanagethecreatedservicesontheSONATAserviceplatformthroughthecorrespondinggatekeepercomponent,averificationtool.Servicesandtheircomponentscanalsobepublishedincatalogstobereusedbyotherservicedevelopersandproviders.
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7.1.2 SONATAServicePlatformwithNFVOrchestrator
SONATA'sflexibleserviceplatformisthesecondmajorcomponentofthesystem.DuetothemodulardesignofitsMANOframework,theplatformofferscustomizationopportunitiesontwolevels.
First,theCSPcanmodifytheplatform,e.g.,tosupportadesiredbusinessmodel,byreplacingcomponentsofthelooselycoupledMANOframework,viapluginsthroughamicroservicesapproach.
Second,servicedeveloperscaninfluencetheorchestrationandmanagementfunctionalitiesoftheplatformpertainingtotheirownservices,bybundlingsmallmanagementprograms,so-calledfunction-andservice-specificmanagers(FSMs/SSMs),withtheirservices.Thisenablesanewlevelofservicecontrolcapabilitiesforservicedevelopers,suchasinfluencingplacementdecisionsofservicesdeployedacrossmultiplepointsofpresence(PoP).
7.1.3 SONATANFVDevOpsWorkflow
TheSONATAsystemisdesignedforagiledevelopmentandoperationofnetworkservices.ItenablesaDevOpsworkflowthroughthefullcompatibilityandintegrationbetweentheSDKtoolsandtheserviceplatform.Thisallowsdevelopersandoperatorstocloselycollaborateondesign,development,deployment,andlifecyclemanagementofnetworkservices,aswellasoptimizeandadaptthedesignandimplementationoftheservicesbasedoncollectedmonitoringinformationregardingthecurrentstateoftheserviceandnetworkresources.Thisisacomplexprocessthatisstreamlined,particularlychallenginginthecaseofthird-partydevelopersandthehostingCSPplatformoperator.
7.2 SONATAFeaturesandValueProposition
ThefollowingTable5highlightskeyfeaturesofSONATA’sserviceplatform,SDKandDevOps,aswellasthevaluepropositiondeliveredtonetworkoperators(e.g.CSPs)andtheirecosystemofservicedevelopers.
Table5:SONATAfeaturesandvalueproposition
Feature ValueProposition
NFV
MAN
OBusinessC
ase • basicETSIMANOfeatureset:
resource/serviceorchestrationandVNFmanagement,e.g.deploy,provision,manage,scaleandresourceplacement(seeSection2.2)
• increasedefficiencyonnetworkinfrastructure
• higherservicelevels
• dynamicnetworkscalability
• simplifiednetworkmanagement
• NFVbusinesscase:lowerOpEx,CapEx(seeSection3)
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Feature ValuePropositionFlexibilityan
dCo
mpa
tibilityfo
rCSP
• customizablebydesign,includingswappablemodularplugins,suchaslifecyclemanagement,servicemonitoring,conflictresolution,etc.
• bespokeimplementationleadstobest-fitsolutionfornetworkoperatorandtheirexistingassets
• easilyextensibleforfuturerequirementsviaamicroservicesinspireddesign
• openinterfacesformulti-vendorsupport,independentofstack
• businessagilityandalleviatesvendorlock-in:flexibilitybetweenvendorsofVNFM,VIM,NFVI,etc.
• adaptabletomultipleVNFMapproaches(includedgenericVNFMorinterfacedvendor-specificVNFM)
• ETSIcompliant • lowerinvestmentrisk,furthercompatibilitywithotherNFVcomponentsfrompropietaryoropensourcesolutionsfollowingsimilarETSIcompliance
• compatibilitywithleadingcommunitysolutions(e.g.OpenStack,OpenFlow)
• ecosystemflexibility(e.g.cloudstack,managementsoftware,etc.),andsyncwithindustryde-factodirection“outofthebox”
• openinterfacewithlegacyOSS/BSSandadaptablefornewsystemsfor5G
• extendedROIforlegacysystems,lowerintegrationcosts,recognitionofiterativeNFVadoptionandbrown-fieldscenarios
• extensiblefornewOSS/BSSsystemstobeintroducedfor5G
• supportforbothvirtualized(VNF)andphysicalnetworkfunctions(PNF)
• compatibilitywithrealistic,iterativeNFVadoptionroadmapthatincludeshybridnetworks
• enablesextendedvaluechainofstakeholderstobeinvolvedindevelopmentof5Gservices
• importorcreatenewVNF,compatibilitywiththird-partycatalogs
• newB2Bopportunities,e.g.third-partydevelopers,solutionproviders,SMEs,potentialrevenuesharingwithOTT
• adaptanddifferentiateinchangingmarket
• opensource,commercial-friendlylicensing:Apachev2
• opensourcecommunitysupport,lowerprocurementcosts,vendor/operatorcustomization/extensionwithoutlicensingconflicts
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Feature ValueProposition5G
inDesign
• built-in5Gslicingsupport • bettercompetitiveofferingcateringtodiversenetworkservicerequirementsforverticalindustries
• recursiveness(platformworkingontopofotherimplementationofplatform)
• operatormodelswithseparatednetwork/infrastructurefocusedproviders,orMNO/MVNOmodels
• improvedNFV/SDNintegration • enablesbetterend-to-endoperationsbetweenMANOandSDNController
• readyandextensiblefor5GSDN-empowerednetworks
AgileServiceDevelop
men
tand
NFV
DevOps
• agilemanagementoffullservicelifecycle
• methodologyandtoolstoimplementamodernDevOpsworkflowforNFVanddevelopedservices
• multi-organizationalbydesign
• compliancecomponent(“Gatekeeper”)forvettingnetworkfunctionsandservicedevelopedbySDK
• increasedproductivity,quickeriterations,time-to-market
• createecosystemwithinternalandexternaldevelopers,leadingtodifferentiationandincreasedrevenue(CSP)
• lowerbarriertoentrytodevelopservices(third-party)
• newbusinessmodels,closerB2Bcollaboration
• event-basedpoliciesforfeature/servicerelationfunctionality
• newcustomizationforthird-partydevelopers,optimizingQoS/QoEtoend-users
• morecompetitiveofferingbyCSPplatformoperatorforsupportingdeveloperecosystem
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8 ComparativeStudy:AlternativeNFVMANOSolutionsinDevelopment
Thefollowingsectioncoversananalysisofover20solutionsthatarecomparabletoSONATA.ThesepredominatelyfallundertheMANOareaoftheETSINFVarchitecture,focusingontheNFVOrchestrator(NFVO)andVNFManager(VNFM).
ThemajorityofthesesolutionsareprovidedbyincumbentequipmentvendorsthathaveadaptedtothechangingdynamicsofSDN/NFV’simpactonthetelecomvaluechain(seeSection5).TheyarealsometwithnewinsurgentsthatarrivedfromtheITworld,e.g.cloudcomputingorchestration.Finally,opensourceprojectsareincreasing,aswell,includingOpenSourceMANO(OSM)andOPEN-O,bothannouncedattheMobileWorldCongressinFebruary2016,representingacollaborationbetweenvendorsandoperatorscompetingforacommonbaseandpotentiallyde-factoapproach.
Animportantdisclaimermustbeprovidedwiththefollowinganalysis:Aspresentedinthebeginningofthedocument,NFVMANOsolutionsarenotinproductionbynetworkoperatorstoday,apartfromlimitedPoCsandfieldtesting.Therefore,thesesolutionscanonlybeexaminedat“facevalue”,onebasedonfeaturesandarchitecturecharacteristics,butmissingindependentcriticalperformancebenchmarking,interoperabilitytesting,etc.thatisneededforatruecompetitiveanalysis.Insummary,thisanalysisisadmittedlyover-dependentonthebiasofvendormarketing.Networkoperatorsfindthemselvesinasimilarsituationasthecustomer,whereearlyadoptertestimonials,forexample,showthattheadvertisedmulti-vendorcompatibilitycanfallshortofreality(seeSection6).
However,thisisunavoidableatthisinitialstateofmarketmaturity.Knowingthekeydesignchoicesandfeaturesetofcurrentcomparablesolutionsisagoodindicatortobetterunderstanddifferentiationanduniquesellingpointsmarketedbetweensolutions,andseewhichpriorityand/oradditionalinnovationsthatSONATAcanfocusontoadvancethearea.
8.1 CommercialNFVMANOSolutions
8.1.1 NokiaCloudBand
Asalargetelecomvendor,Nokia,andAlcatel-Lucentbeforethem,focusesonthefullportfolioofNFVsolutiontoprovideaholisticsolutionsetfortheircustomers,facilitatinghosting,orchestration,automation,andmanagementofvirtualizednetworkfunctions.
NokiaCloudBand,acquiredin2016fromAlcatel-Lucent,isaNFVMANOportfolio[34],including:
• CloudBandNetworkDirector(NVFO):coveringbothresourceandserviceorchestration,asperETSINFVOspecfunctionality,andusingtheTOSCAstandardfordescriptionandonboardingservices.
• CloudBandApplicationManager(VNFM):performingVNFlifecyclemanagement,asperfullETSIVNFMspecfunctionality,andusingOpenStackHEATtemplatesandOpenStackMistralworkflows.[36]
• CloudBandInfrastructureSoftware(VIM):virtualizescompute,storageandnetworkservices,aspercommonVIMspecfunctionality.Thesolutionalsoprovidesanalytics,monitoringandevent/alarmnotifications,aswellasrootcauseanalysiscapabilitiesfromOpenStackVintage.[37]
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CommontrendsarefollowedbyNokia,includingmulti-vendorVNFandVIMcompatibility,aswellasco-orchestrationofVNFsandlegacyPNFs.
Figure10:NokiaCloudBandproductportfolio(source:Nokia[34])
SeveralcharacteristicsstandoutonCloudBandsolutionwhenanalyzingtheNFVlandscape:
• OpenStackcollaboration:Nokia’sCloudBandunitareactiveintheOpenStackcommunity,andthisisevidentintheircontributionstovariousprojectssuchasVitrageandMistral.ThoseprojectsinparticulararethenusedbyCloudBandtoimprovetheirportfolioandensureasynchronizedroadmapwithindustrypreferences,inadditiontovisibilityasaninfluentialvendorinopensourcecommunities.Itrepresentsaclassiclargevendoropensourcestrategy,andabestpracticethatisrecommendedforSONATA.
• MigratingNFcatalogue:Nokia’sCloudBandhasthecommonadvantagesharedbyotherlargevendors:alargeexistingportfoliooflegacynetworkfunctions.ThisprovidesafirstprioritytomigrateexistingPNFstoVNFs,strengtheningtheirsustainabilitywithexistingcustomersoftheirlegacyfunctionsbyprovidingfamiliarsolutionsfortheirNFVadoption.
• Partnerecosystem:ThecombinedNFVpartnerecosystemsofNokiaandformerAlcatel-Lucentincludesarangeoftechnologypartnersandcomplimentaryvendors.[38]ThisincludesvendorsofVNFs(multi-vendorVNFvalueproposition),complimentaryNFVandSDNsolutions(NFVI,SDNcontrollers,etc.),andtechnologypartners(virtualizationvendors,etc.).
• End-to-endsupportingservices:ThecombinedbusinessportfoliosofNokiaandformerAlcatel-Lucentsharethelargevendorcompetitiveadvantageofofferingconsulting,systemintegrationandothersupportservicestotheircustomers.
• SONATApartner:ItshouldbenotedthatNokia’sCloudBandteamisaSONATApartner,andsupportstheserviceplatformandSDKdevelopment,actsasa“realitycheck”asanactivevendor,andprovideslinkstotheOpenStackcommunity.
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8.1.2 NEC/NetcrackerOrchestration
AsuiteofNFVMANOsolutionsisofferedviaNetcracker,asubsidiaryofNEC.Throughasimilarlarge-vendorNFVbusinessstrategy,theportfolioisquiteholisticandaimstomeettheend-to-endneedsoftheircustomers.WhileitfollowsalltheETSI-specifiedfeaturesofMANO,itpositionsitsofferingonwhatitterms“networkorchestration”,focusingontheforeseenoperatorpainpointofmanagingVNFsofmultiplevendors(abusinessbenefit,butatechnicalchallenge).TheresultisasuiteofsolutionsthatcoverNFVOservice&resourceorchestration,aswellasVNFmanagement.
TheirNFVO/VNFMportfolioincludes:[39]
• ServiceOrchestration:MANOfunctionalityenablingend-to-endlifecyclemanagementacrossnetworks,includinglegacynetworks,SDN-enablednetworks,andcloudandNFVIenvironments.SpecialattentionisalsogiventoaDevOps-drivenservicedesign,automaticservicechaining,servicefault&performancemonitoring,andinventory/topologyvisualization.
• NetworkOrchestration:MANOfunctionalityresponsibleforonboardingmulti-vendorVNFs,unifyingpolicy-basedservicefulfilmentandassurancemanagementforvirtualnetworksandcontrollingVNFlifecycles.ThisofferingalsooptimizesVNFperformancebyplacementaccordingtosecurity,performanceandlatencyrequirements.
Figure11:NEC/NetcrackerNFVServiceandNetworkOrchestrationservices(source:NEC/Netcracker[39])
Bydescription,thelatter,“NetworkOrchestration”,isamixofNFVresourceorchestration,NFVserviceorchestrationandVNFmanagement(NFVOandVNFMfunctionality,accordingtoETSI).
Third-partyVNFsupportisoffered,inadditiontoNECandNetcracker’sowncataloguesandmarketplace-likefeatures.Themulti-vendortrendalsocarriestowardssupportforvariousSDNcontrollersandVIMs.
NECandNetcrackeralsosupplyawealthofsupportservicesaroundtheirportfolio,rangingfromconsultationtosystemsintegration,strengtheningtheirpositionasanend-to-endvendor.
Particularareasoffocusinclude:
• HybridDomains/LegacySupport:Althoughacommonstrategyforlargevendors,NECandNetcrackerfocusheavilyonthevaluepropositionofsupportingphysicalnetworkfunctionsandsupportforlegacyOSSintegration.ThisiscapturingthecommonunderstandingthatNFVuptakebyoperatorswillbeagradualtransformationthatmustworkinbrown-field
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scenarios,withNFVMANOsolutionsworkingbetweenbothsoftware-basedandlegacynetworks.ThishybridapproachalsorepresentsNEC’shistoricrelationwithoperatorsasahardwarevendor,ensuringamigrationpathfortheircustomersthatrespectscurrentlydeployedassetsandpreviousCapEx.
• ServiceDesignandDevOps:WithintheirservicedesignandorchestrationisaparticularfocusonDevOps,recognizingtheITtrendthatneedstobeadoptedbythetelecomindustrytofulfilthevaluepropositionofsoftwarenetworkswithanagileservicelifecycle.TheapproachusesaservicedesignenvironmentwithautomatedimportofYANGmodelsandTOSCAdeploymenttemplates.
• OpenStackcollaboration:NECisasupporteroftheOpenStackcommunity,andusesthedynamictosupporttheirNFVportfolio.Itisastrategicinvestmentforthevendorforbothtechnologyroadmapsandvisibility.
• End-to-endsupportservices:ApartfromtheNECsupplyingthehardwaretoaccompanyitssubsidiaryNetcracker’ssoftwareassets,theparentcompanyalsoprovidesthefullsetofcomplimentaryend-to-endservicesthatoneexpectsfromalargevendor(e.g.seeNokia/CloudBand),includingconsultancy,systemintegration,migrationsupport,etc.Althoughtheyprovidethesoftwaretosupportmulti-vendor(e.g.third-partyVNFs),theecosystemisholisticandaimedatfulfillingalloftheoperator’sneeds.
• SONATApartner:NECresearchlabinHeidelberg,Germany,ispartoftheSONATAteam,andsupportstheserviceplatformandSDKdevelopment,actsasa“realitycheck”asanactivevendor,andprovideslinkstotheOpenStackandETSINFVISGcommunity.
8.1.3 ADVAOpticalEnsembleOrchestrator
ADVAOpticalNetworking,atelecommunicationsvendor,offerstheEnsembleOrchestrator,anETSIMANOcompliantNFVorchestrator(NFVO).
StandardfunctionalityincludesVNFonboarding,networkservicedesign,servicedeploymentandserviceoperations,andsupportforbothphysicalandvirtualizednetworkfunctions.Thesolutionvisionalsoincludesrecognitionofthenetwork“edge”ofdistributedNFVinfrastructures,inthesensethattheEnsembleOrchestratorsupportsVNFplacementincentraldatacenters,multiplePoPsorcustomerlocation.[40]
FullVNFlifecyclemanagementisfeatured,incompliancewithETSINFVMANOspecs,aswellassupportforpre-definedpolicies.RESTAPIsaredesignedforeasierintegrationintooperatorOSS/BSS.Astrengthcouldbeitsfocusonanalytics,includingeasyintegrationwithanotherADVAsolution,EnsembleAnalytics.
CompatibilitywithleadingVIMslikeOpenStack,aswellasgenericVNFManagers(VNFM),allowtheEnsembleOrchestratortobepartofalargerpartnerNFVecosystem.
Somedistinguishingcharacteristicsinclude:
• OpenAPIs:ADVAusesopenAPIsforeasierintegrationwithotherproprietaryandthird-partyNFVsolutions,aswellasoperatorOSS/BSS.TheformerisaconsistentstrategywiththosevendorsprovidingaspecificMANOsolutionandnotafullNFVsuite;inthiscase,itisanNFVOfocusedonserviceorchestration.
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• Focusonuserinterfaces:AwebGUIisincluded,andalsosupportstheEnsembleDashboard,anotherADVAsolutionconsistingofamoreextensivemanagementandvisualizationsystem.
• MonitoringandAnalytics:Acomplimentarysolution,EnsembleAnalytics,offersananalyticsmodelforNFVservicemanagement,alsoforhybriddomainsmixingphysicalwithvirtualizednetworkfunctions.[41]
8.1.4 AffirmedNetworksMobileContentCloud
AffirmedNetworksofferstheMobileContentCloud,ascalableMANOsolutionthatisdeliveredonitsproprietaryplatform,butalsosupportscompatibilitywithmanythird-partyvendors’COTShardware(thecommonNFVvision).[42]
TheMANO-likesolutionextendsfromAffirmedAcuitasEMSoffering,anditsownAffirmedVNFManager,andincludesservicechaining.ItsvEPCincludesdynamiccapacityscaling,andtheportfolioincludesseveralmorevirtualizedsolutions,suchasthevirtualizedWi-FiGatewayandActiveIntelligentvProbe.
ThevendormarketsthesolutionasfullyETSINFVcompliant,andanexampleofacompanyfocusingexclusivelyontheNFVfrontwithafirst-moverstrategy.AsApril2016,thecompanyhas30customerdeploymentsand40trialsunderwayusingtheirvirtualizedsolutionportfolio.[43]
8.1.5 AnutaNetworksNCXEnterprisePlatform
AnutaNetwork’sNCXPlatformisaNFVOrchestrator(NFVO)andVNFManager(VNFM),compliantwiththeESTIMANOarchitecture.
Figure12:AnutaNCXPlatformarchitectureandmappingtoETSINFVMANO(source:Anuta[44])
TheNCXplatformiscompatiblewithmultiplevendorproducts,suchasCiscoCSR1000V,CiscoNexus1000V,CiscoXRV,VMwareDVS,CitrixNetScalerVPX,F5BIG-IP,JunipervSRX,JuniperFirefly,VyattavRouter&FirewallandRiverbedSteelheadWANOptimization.[44]
NCXoffersfullNFVMANOfunctionality,includinglifecyclemanagementincludingVNFinstantiation,placement,imagemanagement,servicedefinitions,provisioning,commissioninganddecommissioning.
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Anuta’splatformalsohascharacteristicscommontoitscompletion,includingmulti-vendorVNFsupport,andhybridsupportforbothphysicalandvirtualassets.[45]
8.1.6 ATTOResearchATHENENFVPlatform
ATTOResearch’sATHENENFVPlatformisextendedontopofaserver-switchSDNbasedservicecontroller.TheplatformisfocusedprimarilyonnetworkservicedesignandchainingofavailableVNFs.AGUItoolisusedwithdrag&dropfeatures.[46]
Figure13:ATTO'sATHENENFVPlatformnetworkservicechaining(source:ATTO[46])
VNFManager(VNFM)functionalityisalsopartoftheplatform,aswellasalimited(unclearinliterature)NFVorchestration(NFVO).
Thearchitectureiscluster-basedandscalable,meaningthatseveralATHENEplatformscanbeoperatedtogetherthroughdirect(moreflexibleservicechaining)orparallelextension(compensationofbandwidthspikes).
8.1.7 BrocadeVNFManager
Brocade,atelecommunicationvendor,offersaVNFManager(VNFM)solutionbasedontheOpenStackTackerproject(seeOpenStackTackerentryinSection8.2.1).Thisfollowstheidealopensourcestrategy,creatingacommercialMANOsolutionontopofanopensourceprojectwithinarichandindustry-supportedcommunity.AsaVNFMinanETSI-compliantarchitecture,itsupportsbasiclife-cyclemanagementofVNFsandbasichealthmonitoring.[47]
ItfeaturesanenhancedversionoftheBrocadeGUIframework,andusesstandardmodelling(TOSCA)forVNFcataloguesupport.[48]
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Figure14:BrocadeVNFManagermonitoringhealthofdeployedVNFs(source:Brocade[48])
Futureorchestration(NFVO)functionalityisexpected,asitisintheroadmapfortheunderlyingTackerproject.ItalsoexploitsBrocade’slargerportfolio,withanemphasisoncompatibilitywiththeBrocadeSDNcontroller,animportantaspectforend-to-endNFV/SDNintegration.
8.1.8 CienaBluePlanet
BluePlanet,adivisionofCiena,providesaNFVOrchestratoraswellaswhattheytermaMulti-DomainServiceOrchestrator.
Theformer,anNFVO,provideswhatisexpectedfromthecomponentofETSI-compliantarchitecture.Forexample:[49]
• VNFinstantiation,servicechainingandconnectivityforvirtualizedservices
• Open,vendor-agnosticarchitecture
• RESTAPIsandTOSCA-basedtemplatesforprogrammabilityandself-serviceon-boardingofvirtualresourcesandVNFs
Figure15:BluePlanetNFVOrchestrator,Multi-DomainServiceOrchestration,andvisualizedservicechaining
(source:Ciena/BluePlanet[49][50])
TheirMulti-DomainServiceOrchestratorprovidesend-to-endserviceautomationandorchestrationacrossmultipletechnology(physicalorvirtual)andvendordomains.[50]Thissolutionisinrecognitionofthechallengesthatnetworkoperatorswillfacewhenintegratingwithvariouslegacyassets,third-partySDNcontrollersandevenotherNFVMANOorchestrators.Itsmodularand
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programmablestructuresupportscontrolofmultipletechnologicallydiversedomains:cloud,multi-layerWAN,NFV,IP/MPLS,etc.
Alargepartnership,“BlueOrbit”,providesanecosystemofhardwarevendors,VNFandNFVIvendors.[51]BluePlanetwasafirst-moverinthisarea,andhasvariousongoingPoCsandtrialsunderway.
8.1.9 CiscoNetworkServicesOrchestratorandElasticServicesController
Ciscofollowstheindustrydirectionasalarge,incumbenttelecomvendorinvestingheavilyintheirNFVportfolio.TwoassetscovertheirNFVMANOstrategy:
• CiscoNetworkServiceOrchestrator(“NSO”),enabledbypartnerTali-f,andcoveringtheETSINFVOrchestrator(NFVO)functionalityofbothresourceandserviceorchestration.Inamodel-drivenformat,serviceanddeviceconfigurationanddoneinYANGformat.[52]
• CiscoElasticServicesController(“ESC”)isthevendor’sVNFManager(VNFM),andshipsoptionallywiththeaboveNFVO,withcommunicationdonethroughtheNETCONFprotocol.TheVNFMiscompatibleoutoftheboxwithOpenStackandVMwareVIMs,andsupportsthird-partyVNFs.[53]
Figure16:CiscoElasticServicesController(ESC)andNetworkServiceOrchestrator(NSO)identifiedinETSINFV
architecture(source:Cisco[53])
TheNFVO/VNFMMANOcombinationmanifestscommoncharacteristicsastheircompetition:multi-vendorVNF,physical/virtualhybridsupport,ETSIspeccompliance,etc.
AfewdistinguishingapproachestakesplacethroughCisco’sNFVOsolution:
• NetworkElementDrivers:“NEDs”areusedtoensurequickcompatibilitywithnewdevices,usingaCLIinterfacethroughtheNFVO,anddonesointheYANGdatamodelformat.
• SupportingNFVI:AlargedifferentiationforCiscoisitssignificantNFVIpresence,withsupportingtechnologypartnerships(e.g.RedHat,Intel),allowingthevendortoapproachcustomerswithamoreholisticNFVdeploymentofferingwithcompute,storage,network,VIMandinfrastructuremanagement.[54]
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8.1.10 EricssonNetworkManagerandCloudManager
Ericsson,alargetelecommunicationhardwarevendor,hasalreadyinvestedinitscloudassets,extendingthemforNFVscenariosinsoftwarenetworks.Theseinclude:
• EricssonNetworkManager:TheNetworkManagertakesontheroleofVNFManager(VNFM),aswellasspecial5G-facingrequirementssuchasnetworksliceorchestration.[55]
• EricssonCloudManager:IntheNFVenvironment,thiscomponentcarriesoutthestandardETSIMANOroleofNetworkFunctionOrchestrator(NFVO),aswellastheunderlyingcloudinfrastructure.[56]
Figure17:EricssoncomplimentaryNFVsolutions(source:Ericsson[57])
Itisexpectedthatothervendorsgotowardsthe5Gslicingsupport,butEricssonisoneofthefewthatexplicitlyaddsitasarequirementtotheirMANOsolution.[57]
TheecosystemisfurthersupportedwithNFVIsupport,throughtheEricssonCloudExecutionEnvironment.ThesupportingvirtualizationmanagementincludesOpenStack,VMWare(vCenter)andMicrosoftAzure,withmulti-VIMsupportdonewithadaptersoragents.ThisactsaspartofEricsson’s“heterogeneousclouds”vision,whereastheNFVapproachsupportsmultipleunderlyingtechnologyanddistributedresources.
OpensourcecommunitysupportfromthevendorincludestheOpenStackandOPNFV.
8.1.11 FujitsuVirtuoraServiceOrchestrator
FujitsucoverstheNFVMANOarchitecturewiththeirVirtuoraServiceOrchestrator.TheproductsuiteincludesstandardNFVOandVNFMfunctionality,aswellasaserviceplatformwithmulti-tenantservicedesign,configurationandmanagement,aswellasacustomerportal.[58]
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Figure18:FujitsuVirtuoraServiceOrchestratorproductsuiteandecosystem(source:Fujitsu[59])
Value-addedapplicationsextendthesuitetoincludeincreasedfunctionalityin,forexample,policy-basedorchestration,enhancedanalyticsandtesting.AccompanyingsolutionsinthesoftwarenetworkdomainalsoincludeFujitsu’sownSDNmanagementsolutionofthesamelabel.Asalargevendor,FujitsunaturallydeliversitsownVNFswithinitsNFVecosystem,inadditiontosupportingthird-parties.
ApartnerecosystemandtechnologysupportseescompatibilitywithNFVIassetsandVIMssuchasOpenStack.
8.1.12 HPEnterpriseNFVDirector
HPE’s(HPEnterprise)NFVportfolioisextensive.HPENFVDirectorisitsflagshipMANOsolution.Currentlyonv3.0,thesolutioncoverseverythingexpectedfromanETSI-compliantNFVOrchestrator(NFVO),serviceandresourceorchestration.Thereisalsoanemphasisonmonitoringandpolicy-basedmanagement.[60]MonitoringinparticularincludesVNF-basedmonitoring,correlationofphysicalinfrastructureviewsintoVNF-specificvirtualinfrastructureviews,andfinallyofthenetworkservice,chainedfrombothVNFsandtheirphysicalcounterparts,PNFs.
HPENFVDirectorhasabuilt-inembeddedVNFManager(VNFM)functionality,butcitessupportforexternalVNFMs.ThisisconsistentwiththemarketpatternofNFVOsbeingdeliveredwithgeneric“default”VNFMstoprovideholisticsolutionsfortheoperator,yetadvertisingcompatibilitywithothervendors’MANOassets.
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Figure19:HPEDirectorv3.0featuremap(source:HPE[60])
AclearportfoliopresentationofHPE’sOpenNFVarchitecture[61](nottobeconfusedwithOPNFV)providesalookatitscomplimentaryNFVportfoliosolutions.ThisincludestheaforementionedHPENFVDirectorfortheMANOlayer(NFVO/VNFM),aswellasitsowncarrier-gradeversionofOpenStack,HPEHelionOpenStackattheVIMandNFVIlayers.
Figure20:HPENFVEcosystem(source:HPE[61])
Asalargevendor,HPE’sstrategyisafullend-to-endNFVportfolio,includingtheunderlyinghardwaresystems.althoughmulti-vendorsupportispartofitscommonNFVvalueproposition.Consultingandintegrationservicesroundoutitssupportingbusiness.HPEcurrentlycitesmorethan60NFVPoCinplaywithpartners,standardsbodiesandcustomers.[62]Itisalsoquiteactiveinopensourceandstandardscommunities,includingOpenStack,OPNFV,ETSINFV,etc.
8.1.13 HuaweiFusionSphereCloudOS
Huawei’sfirstanswertotheNFVMANOlayeristhroughextensionofitstelecomcloudsolution,FusionSphereCloudOS.[63]
However,withcurrentlyavailablematerialtheexactroadmapisnotclear;forexample,anarchitecturemapontheirwebsiteshowsacloudinfrastructureframework,butwithoutlinkstoan
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NFVimplementationorcommonETSIreferencepoints.AlthoughitisexpectedthatcommoncompetitiveMANOfeatureswillbeincludedacrossNFVOandVNFMfunctionality.
MoreinterestingistherecentannouncementofOPEN-OrchestratorProject(OPEN-O),ajointeffortbyseveralvendorsandtechnologypartners,withalargepushfromHuawei(seeOPEN-OentryinSection8.2.5).Duetotheinvestment,itisexpectedthatthiswillheavilyinfluenceitscommercialportfoliotowardstheNFVMANOlayer.
Alsoexpectedfromthelargevendoristhetypeoffullspectrumofsoftwarenetworkrelatedproductsandservices,aspartofitstransformationstrategytomeetoperator’sneedsforNFV/SDN.
8.1.14 JuniperContrailNetworkingServiceOrchestration
JuniperhasextendeditsContrailNetworkingportfoliofromitsSDNrootstoaContrailServiceOrchestrator.[64]Afocusonnetworkservicedesignapplicationisavailable,aswellasanadministratorandcustomerportalasadditionalGUIs.
Figure21:JuniperContrailnetworkservicedesignapplication(source:Juniper[66])
Inthiscase,serviceorchestrationisextendedfromthelowerSDNlayer,providingfunctionalitysimilartothatofNFVETSIarchitecture,howeverrelyingalsoonanextensivepartnerprogram,suchassuchasAmdocs,IBM,NEC/Netcracker,andothers.[65]AJuniper“CloudCPE”solutionisanexampleusecaseandoffering.
Althoughcomingfromdifferentroots,theorchestratorofferssimilarvaluepropositionandbenefits,includingVNFlifecyclemanagement,proprietaryandthird-partyVNFcatalogs,facilitatedintegrationtoexistingOSS/BSSviaAPIs,etc.
JuniperisalsomeetingservicecreationwithDevOps,withtheJunosOSfeaturedintheirsuppliedhardware,extendedtowardsnetworkserviceusecases.[67]
8.1.15 OracleCommunicationsNetworkServiceOrchestrationSolution
Oracle’slargetelecomvendorportfolioincludestheOracleNetworkServicesOrchestrationSolution,aNFVOrchestrator(NFVO)inETSIterms.
Afullbreakdownoffunctionalityscopecanbefoundinthediagrambelow,includingonboarding,instantiation,configuration,scaling,healingandterminationofVNFandcomposednetwork
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services.[68]CommoncharacteristicsaresharedbyOracle’sNFVO,suchasthird-partyVNF,VNFMandVIMsupportwhereneeded.
Oraclehasanextendedvisionof“intelligent”orchestration,featuresintheirwhitepaperonthetopic[69],includingboth“decision”intelligence(thatofbusinessortechnologyrules),andthatof“analytic”intelligence(databasedonnetworkperformanceanduse).Italsocallsforpredictiveanalysisandhybridorchestrationsupport,featuressimilartoSONATAinfunctionality.
Figure22:OracleCommunicationsNetworkServiceOrchestrationSolution(top)andcontextinlargerMANOarchitecture(bottom)(source:Oracle[68])
AnecosystemsurroundstheirNFVO,withgenericorthird-partyVNFMsupportandunderlyingOracleorthird-partycloudinfrastructuremanagementsystem.Theextentthattheymarketthethird-partysupportacrosscomponentsandfeaturesreinforcesthatthemulti-vendorvisionhasbeenacceptedbyindustryleadersasarequirementforcompetitivenessinnextgenerationsoftwarenetworks.
OutsideoftheMANOlayer,Oracle,asalargevendor,offersavarietyofNFVIandhardwareofferings,providingamoreholisticNFVroadmapfortheircustomerswheretheycan.
8.1.16 AmdocsNetworkCloudServiceOrchestrator
Amdocswasafirst-moverintheNFVOrchestrator(NFVO)spacewithitsNetworkCloudServiceOrchestrator.ItfeaturesalltheETSINFVOcharacteristics,aswellasgenericVNFManager(VNFM)tocompletetheMANOframework.
Thesolutionisanopen,catalog-drivensolutiondesignedtohelpCSPstransitionfromphysicalnetworkstocloudserviceenvironments,supportingthehybridroadmap,aswell.[70]Usinganalytics,itcreatesandmanagesnetworkservicesbasedonreal-timenetworkcircumstancesand
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customerinformation.Thesolutionismulti-vendorVNFsupport,themarketingnormforNFVOofferings.
Figure23:AmdocsNetworkCloudServiceOrchestratorwithinNFVenvironmentcontext(source:Amdocs[71])
AninnovationthatAmdocsbringstotheMANOlandscapeisitsSenseitechnology,forintelligentreal-timeservicedesignandexecution,deliveringanoperationmodelthatcoversfulfillmentandassuranceinacyclicalprocess,includingpre-definedservicepolicies,datacenterstatus,networkstatus,customerordersandSLAconsiderations.[71]
AsanITsoftwareprovider,asopposedtoalargerincumbenthardwarevendor,Amdocsreliesonapartnerecosystemstrategyforprovidingtheircustomerswithpre-integratedVNFsandNFVIelements.[72]
Figure24:Amdocspartnerecosystemshowingdiversityofvendorfocus(source:Amdocs[72])
8.1.17 RIFT.ioRIFT.ware
RIFT.wareisamodel-driven,opensource,ETSI-compliantNFVOrchestrator(NFVO)fromRIFT.io.AswiththeNFVOobjective,itfocusesonthecompositionandmanagementofnetworkservices.[73]ItalsoactsasthecontributingNFVserviceorchestrationfortheOpenSourceMANOproject(seeOSMentryinSection8.2.4).
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Figure25:RIFT.wareNFVStack(source:RIFT.io[74])
Thesolutionprovidesamodulararchitecture,soopensourceadoptingvendorsandoperatorscancustomizeandsubstituteMANOmodulesandothersoftwarenetworkassets,e.g.SDNcontrollers,existingOSS/BSS,etc.(anapproachsimilartoSONATA).
Amodel-drivenGUIisalsoincluded,whichisacontributingcomponenttotheOSMintegratedopensourceproject,aswell.
RIFT.wareUI&AutomationisanintuitivedevelopmentandmanagementinterfacethateliminatestheneedformultipleCLIs.Developersandadministratorscancreateorganizations,defineandlaunchenvironments,managepoolsandenvironments,andmanageandmonitornetworkservicesandinfrastructureenvironmentdetails.
PartnervendorIntelprovidesIntelEnhancedPlatformAwareness,foroptimalnetworkandcloudinfrastructureoperation.
Alicensedversionisalsoavailablefromthecompany,providingsupportandmaintenanceasanaccompanyingservice,viaaclassicopensourcebusinessmodel.
8.1.18 LuxoftSuperCloudNFVOrchestrationPlatform
Luxoft’sSuperCloudNFVOrchestrationPlatformfitsETSINFVOrchestration(NFVO)andVNFManagement(VNFM)specs.
SuperCloudsfocusesoncommonvaluepropositionforitssolutionclass:multi-vendorsupport,third-partyVNFecosystemsupport,ETSINFVarchitecturecompliant,intelligentserviceplacementandautomation,andSLAawareness.[75]
Thearchitecturecoversaserviceplanningandserviceexecutionlayer,seenintheblockdiagrambelow.[76]
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Figure26:LuxoftSuperCloudNFVOrchestrationPlatformbuildingblockdiagram(sourceLuxoft[76])
Specialattentionisalsogiventoenabling“DevOpsagility”forCSPs,butitisnotclearfromliteraturewhatapproachisprovided.
Luxoftoffersseveralsupportingservices,suchasconsultancy,bespokecustomization,testing,deploymentandmaintenanceoftheirSuperCloudsorchestrator.
8.2 OpenSourceNFVMANOCollaborativeProjects
8.2.1 OpenStackTacker
OpenStackTackerisanESTI-compliantMANOopensourceprojectoftheOpenStackcommunity.[77]
RecentlyithasbecomepartoftheOpenStack“bigtent”,partofthecorereleasesandrecognizedasthego-toVNFManager(VNFM)andNFVOrchestrator(NFVO)solutioninthecommunity.[78]
CurrentlyitisafunctioningVNFM,andamongunderlyingstandardsisOASISTOSCAforVNFdescriptors.Ithaslargevendorsupport,andledbyBrocade,whousesthebaseopensourceVNFMmanagerforitsowncommercialsolution(seeBrocadeVNFManagerinSection8.1.7).
Figure27:OpenStackTackerdemoscreenshotofonboardingVNF(source:OpenStackTacker[79])
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Infact,for2016theTackerroadmapincludesextendingtoNFVOfunctionality.ThisisanopportunityforSONATAtocollaborate,inparticularanapproachcomparisononthenetworkservicedescriptors(NSD)andpossiblydirectimplementationofitsnetworkservicecatalogs.
GivenitstiestoOpenStack,itisofnosurprisethatitusesthisselectionasitsunderlyingVIM,butisalsokeenonbecomingtechnology-agnosticinthisregard.
OpenStackTackerhasbecomeapriorityopensourcetargetforSONATAcontribution.A“greenfield”hasbeenidentifiedfortheNScatalogue,forexample,andtimelinesbetweenprojectssyncedsothatSONATA’sownopensourcereleasecansupportthis.
8.2.2 OpenBaton
OpenBatonisanopensource,ETSI-compliantNFVOrchestrator(NFVO).
OpenBatonwaspartoftheOpenSDNCore[81]projectstartedalmostthreeyearsagobyFraunhoferFOKUSwiththeobjectiveofprovidingacompliantimplementationoftheETSINFVspecification.[80]
OpenBatonisanextensibleNFVOthatworkswithOpenStack,andprovidesapluginmechanismforsupportingadditionalVIMtypes.ItuseseitheragenericVNFMorinterfaceswiththird-partyVNFMs.
Figure28:OpenBatonNFVOusinggeneric(left)orthird-partyVNFMs(right)(source:OpenBaton[80])
Thebasicreleasefitsthemainfunctionalitiesofprovisioningandmanagingnetworkservices.Futuredevelopmentandreleaseswillfocusonincreasedautomationinnetworkservicemanagement,includingauto-scaling,faultmanagement,TOSCAtemplates,etc.AdashboardisalsoincludedformanagementoftheNFVenvironment.
8.2.3 OPNFV
OPNFV(“OpenPlatformNFV”)isacarrier-grade,integrated,opensourceplatformtoacceleratetheintroductionofnewNFVproductsandservices.ItisanopensourceprojectundertheLinuxfoundation.
AimingtocreateadefactostandardopensourceNFVplatformfortheindustry,OPNFV’sgoals,asquoteddirectlyfromtheirwebsite[82],are:
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• DevelopanintegratedandtestedopensourceplatformthatcanbeusedtobuildNFVfunctionality,acceleratingtheintroductionofnewproductsandservices.
• IncludeparticipationofleadingenduserstovalidateOPNFVmeetstheneedsofusercommunity.
• ContributetoandparticipateinrelevantopensourceprojectsthatwillbeleveragedintheOPNFVplatform;ensureconsistency,performanceandinteroperabilityamongopensourcecomponents.
• EstablishanecosystemforNFVsolutionsbasedonopenstandardsandsoftwaretomeettheneedsofendusers.
• PromoteOPNFVasthepreferredplatformandcommunityforopensourceNFV.
Unlikeindividualopensourceprojects,OPNFViscollectionofintegratedupstreamprojects,buildingNFVInfrastructure(NFVI)andVirtualizedInfrastructureManagement(VIM)byintegratingcomponentslikeOpenDaylight,OpenStack,CephStorage,KVM,OpenvSwitch,andLinux.Thesecomponents,togetherwithAPIs,createthefoundationinfrastructurefortheMANOlayer’sVNFMandNFVOtofunction.
Whenlaunchedin2014,OPNFVinitiallyaddressedtheNFVInfrastructure(NFVI)andVirtualizedInfrastructureManager(VIM)areasoftheETSIarchitecture.In2016,OPNFVhasexpandedthescopetoaddressManagementandOrchestration(MANO),aswell.[83]
ThediagrambelowrepresentsOPNFV’ssecondrelease,“Brahmaputra”,anditsincludedupstreamprojects.
Figure29:OPNFVBrahmaputrareleasecomponents(source:OPNFV[84])
Participationishighamongleadingtelecomoperators(e.g.Vodafone,TelecomItalia,NTTDocomo,AT&T,ChinaMobile,etc.),vendors(e.g.Huawei,Juniper,Cisco,Nokia,Ericsson,NEC,Brocade,HPE,Dell,etc.)andtechnologyproviders(e.g.RedHat,EMC,etc.).
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8.2.4 OpenSourceMANO(OSM)
Anoperator-driveninitiativefromETSIlaunchedtheOpenSourceMANO(OSM)initiativeattheMobileWorldCongressinFebruary,2016.Itwillbearegularlyupdated,directimplementationoftheETSIMANOarchitectureandcommoninformationmodel,aswellasprovideafeedbackmechanismtowardstheETSINFVISG.[85]
ThearchitectureincludesRIFT.ioforaGUIandtheserviceorchestrationfunctionalityofaNFVO(seeRIFT.wareentryinSection8.1.17).Telefonica’sOpenMANOactsastheresourceorchestrationofaNFVOandunderlyingVIM,andtheVNFConfigurationandAbstractionfromCanonicalandJuJu.OtherpartnersincludeIntelforprovidingtheNFVIfordevelopment.[86]
Figure30:OSMArchitecture,simplifiedversion(source:OSM[86])
InApril2016aconcreteroadmapwaslaidoutatthegroup’skickoff.[87]Inthesummerof2016theywilllaunch“Release0”,integratinganddocumentingtheopensourcecodefromTelefonica,RIFT.io,Canonicalandotherpartners.
CommonpartnerswithSONATAincludeTelefonicaandBT,andapotentialcollaborationisbeinginvestigatedduringMay2016.
8.2.5 OPEN-O
AtMobileWorldCongressinFebruary2016,theOPEN-OrchestratorProject(OPEN-O)wasannounced.UndertheLinuxFoundation(alsohostingOPNFV),OPEN-OisacollaborativeefforttowardsanopensourceframeworkandorchestratorforagileSDNandNFVoperations.[88]
TheinitiativeisledbyChinaMobileandHuawei,withsupportfromBrocade,ChinaTelecom,IBM,DynaTrace,Ericsson,F5Networks,GigaSpaces,Infoblox,Intel,KT,RedHat,Raisecom,RiverbedandZTE.
Thearchitectureandreleasemilestonesareyettobeannounced(asofMay2016),butthegoalofcreatinganintegratedorchestratorthatcoversbothNFVandSDNlayersinamulti-vendordomainisambitious.Thelargevendorsupportsuggestsacompetitiverelease.
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9 StakeholderSurveyonNFVMANOFeatures
Asanadditionalexercisetotheongoingmarketwatch,SONATAlaunchedafocusedsurveyinFebruaryandMarch2016,asaconsultationofstakeholderprioritiesforNFVMANOfeatures.
TheriseofNFV/SDNandthesoftwarenetworkparadigmhasseenafloodofadoption-relatedsurveysinrecentmonths,severalofwhichhavebeenconsultedforthisreport.Therewasnoneedtoconductyetanotherofthatscope,whichwouldhaveprovidedlittlenewinsightandmostlikelyasmallersamplethanmanyofthelargemediaoranalystbackedactions.
Instead,SONATApreparedthesurveywiththesolepurposeofhelpingtoprioritizeYear2development.
Thesurveyaskedrespondentstoratefeaturesandcharacteristics(1low,5high)ofaNFVMANOplatform,aswellassomeopenanswersforbetterinsight.Thesequestionswereputintoseveralsections:flexibilityofMANOorchestrationsystems;softwarenetworkstransitionandlegacysupport;networkservicedevelopment,toolsandDevOpsaspects;relationshipwithstandardsgroupsandopenssourcecommunities;andother,miscellaneoustechnicalcharacteristics.
ThesurveywascirculatedthroughSONATAcommercialpartners,the5G-PPPSoftwareNetworksWorkingGroup,andextendedtoadditionalNFV/SDNR&Dcontactsintheindustry.Follow-upinterviewswereconductedinsomecasestoprovideadditionalinsighttocomments.
22participantscompletedthesurveyandinterviews,including6networkoperators/CSPs,7vendorslabs1,4telecomsolutionproviders,2largeITsystemintegrators,and3researchinstitutescollaboratingdirectlywithindustry.Participationwasdoneontheconditionofanonymity.
Thefollowingsectionsconsolidateandanalyzetheseresultspercategory,andcontributetotheconclusionsinSection10.TheoriginalsurveycirculatedcanbefoundintheAnnexofthisdocumentforreference.
9.1 FlexibilityofMANOOrchestrationSystem
“Flexibility”isageneraltermthatreferstohowwellanddiverseaNFVMANOsystemcanadapttovariousscenarios,formats,othersolutions,vendors,etc.AscoveredinSection6,theopenness,flexibilityandcustomizabilityofNFV-relatedcomponentsisoneofthehighestprioritiesofadoptingCSPs.
Characteristicsrelatedtovendorindependencewereofcourseincludedinthecategory,includingsupportformultipleVIMs,VNFs,VNFMsandevennetworkcontrollers(SDN)ofdifferentvendorsandcommunities.
AlsoincludedwerefeaturesthatSONATArelatesto“flexibility”inthesenseof5Gscenarios.Forexample,multi-serviceprovisionsupport(e.g.builtfor5Gnetwork“slicing”);andrecursionsupport(e.g.serviceplatformworkingontopofanotherimplementationoftheplatform)thatcanhandlemorecomplexserviceproviderbusinessmodels(e.g.MVNOontopofMNO).
17vendorlabs/groupsacross4vendorecosystems
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Together,thesecharacteristicsrepresentthewiderreachofadaptabilityinecosystemsofmultiplevendors,andmultiple5Gdeploymentscenarios.TheradarchartbelowinFigure31summarizestheresults,whereparticipantswereaskedtoratethesecharacteristicsfrom1(least-centercircle)to5(highest-outercircle).
Figure31:SONATAsurvey&interviewresults:importanceofflexibility-relatedfeaturesinMANOsolutions(1-5,centerringleastimportance,outerringhighest)
• Despitethelackofvariation,thebigpictureseenisthattheaveragescorewas3.5orhigheronallvendor-andscenario-relatedflexibilitysupport(apartfromrecursivedeployment;seelastpoint).Thiswassupportedbyparticipantcommentsthathighlightedcustomizableintegrationandalleviationofvendorlock-in(i.e.mix-and-matchcomponentsandVNFsfromdifferentvendors)asacorevaluepropositionofNFV,andatoppriorityforanyMANOsolution.
• Multi-vendorVNFsupporthadaleadingedgeamongthemajorityofparticipants(furthermoreatleasthalfapointhigherforCSPparticipants),consistentwithmarketcommentaryonthepriorityofCSPsofintegratingthebest-in-classofeachfunctionbycompetingvendors.
• SupportformultipleVIMshadaslightlylowerratingofimportance.OpenStackwaspopularamongparticipants,whetherviacoreorvendor-customizedimplementations.
• Vendorshadaparticularlyhighratingforsupportingdifferentdescriptorformats,likeTOSCA.Theyunderstandtheneedfordiverseservicesupportastheypreparecompetitiveplatformsforcomplexecosystems.
• OfvirtualizationsupportbeyondstandardVMs,containersupportwascitedconsistentlyhigherthanotheroptions,suchasunikernelsupport,byallrespondents,independentof
multi-VIMsupport
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profile.ThisisconsistentwiththeITtrendandpopularityofcontainertechnologysuchasDocker.
• Whilesomeadvanced5Gfeatures,suchasslicingsupport,weregradedashighpriorities,otherSONATAdesignchoicestocatertowards5G-envisionedbusinessscenarios,suchasrecursionandstackeddeploymentmodels,werenotrecognizedassuch.Thiscouldbeduetotheindustry’spriorityoffirstsupportingthe“statusquo”models,beforetacklingorchestrationbetweenMVNO-to-MNOscenarios;orasplittingbetweentwoserviceprovidersfocusingondifferentareasofthesoftwarenetwork,suchasaservicelayervs.underlyinginfrastructure.Alessonlearnedhereisthatamorefar-reachingfeaturelikerecursionmustbepresentedwithclear,pragmaticexamplescenariosinthe5G2020+narrative.
9.2 SoftwareNetworkTransitionandSupportingLegacy
NFVispartofalarger,complextransitionalroadmaptosoftwarenetworks,impactingheavilythenetworkoperatorandsupportingactorsinthetelecomvaluechain.Itisbuildingontopofalonghistoryofadoptednetworkassets.
Participantswereaskedtoratetheimportanceofsupportinglegacysystems,bothproprietaryandopensource,andidentifywhichsystemsinparticularweretheirpriority.AverageresultscanbefoundbelowinFigure32.
Figure32:SONATAsurvey&interviewresults:importanceofsupportinglegacyandopensourcesystems,1(low)to5(high)
• Legacysupportforproprietarysystemswasanoverwhelminglyhighpriority,withanaverageofalmost4.5,withnosignificantdifferencebetweenprofiles.
• BothCSPsandvendorscitedlegacyOSS/BSScompatibilitytobeakeyrequirement.OneCSPstronglydismissedthenotionofa“fork-lift”NFVupgrade,referringtoamoresilooriterativeapproachofNFVadoption.SomeremindedinthecommentsthatupgradingOSStomeettheNFV/SDNexpectationsisadauntingbutnecessarystep,aswell.
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• AfewparticipantscitedPNFcompatibility,aswell,againreferringtothehybridphysical/softwareassetsthatwillneedtobeorchestratedinthefirstphaseofNFVadoption.
• Therewasageneralconcernfromafewvendorsonthebrown-fieldscenariooftoomanymanagementsystemsrunningtogether,asignificantsystemsintegrationchallenge.
• AdditionallegacysupportexamplesincludedWANconnectivityservicemodelsandintegrationwith3GPPcomponents.
• Legacysupportforopensourcesystemswasratedlessofaprioritythanitsproprietarycounterparts,atanaverageof3.6(comparedto4.5).Oneoperatorexpressedthatopensourcesolutionsbytheirnatureshouldbescalableandextendable.Thosethatprovidedexamplesmostlyreferredtopopularopensourcesystemsthatprovideenablementtosoftwarenetworks,suchasOpenStack,OpenDayLight,etc.,ratherthanaginglegacyprojects.
• AfewSMEsolutionsproviderspredictedthattheirnetworkoperatorclientswouldonlypullbacktheirrequirementsforheavylegacysupportwhensoftwarenetworkdeploymentsreachthesameperformanceandreliability.
9.3 NetworkServiceDevelopment,ToolsandDevOps
NFVempowersserviceproviderstoadoptmoreagileandDevOps-enabledworkflowsfortheirplatformsandsupporteddevelopers,answeringacurrentpainpointofCSPs(seeSection6)quicklylosingrevenuetocompetitors,suchasOTTproviders.MANOplatformsoftensupportnetworkservicedevelopmentthroughVNF-chaining,andprovidethetoolsandinterfacestohelpCSPsinthisdirection,asseeninthecomparablesolutionsofSection8.
Participantswereaskedtorateinimportancethefeaturesandsupportmechanismsneededtofulfilthevaluepropositionofserviceagilityandquickertime-to-market.
Figure33:SONATAsurvey&interviewresults:servicedevelopmentsupportprioritiesbetweenvendorsandCSPs,1(low)to5(high)
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• Intheareaofservicedevelopmentandsupportingpriorities,therewasabitmoredifferentiationbetweenparticipantprofiles.CI/CDsupport,andDevOpstoalesserdegree,showahigherrecognitionbyvendorsthanoperators.Thiscouldbeduetovendors’quickertransitiontoadeveloperandsystemintegratorrole.
• Relatedtotheabove,vendorsandoperatorsalikeciteCSPssloweradaptiontotheagiledevelopmentmindsetthatisneededtoembracethevaluepropositionofserviceagilityinsoftwarenetworks.Severalparticipantsremindedthatthisisasmuchaculturalandorganizationalchallengeasitisatechnicalone.
• CommontoolsandservicepreferencesincludedDocker,AnsibleandGIT.Proactiveservicemonitoringwashighlightedbyavendor,aswell,includingSLAs,inventory,softwarelicensingandrollbackrequirements.
• Avendorandanoperatorbothcitedthesamemulti-organizationalchallenge,inthesensethatsuchaworkflowwouldhavetosupportthethird-partyservicedeveloperecosystemsthatSONATAisaimingfor.
9.4 StandardsandOpenSourceCommunities
Theadvancementofsoftwarenetworks(SDN,NFV,etc.)hasspurredastrongerpresenceofopensourcesolutionsinthenetworkstackandadditionalstandardsinitiatives.ExamplesofactivecommunitiesincludeOpenStack,OpenDaylight,OpenFlow,OpenMANOandevenfirstintegrationssuchasOPNFV.Onthestandardsfront,ETSINFVISGhasreleasedNFVarchitecturespecifications.Theconvergenceofnetworktechnologywithsoftwarestackshasalsoledtothere-useandextensionofvariousexistingstandards.
Participantswereaskedtohighlightwhichgroupstheydeemmostimportantforsupport.
• ThemostcommontargetsforsupportincludedtheETSINFVISG,OpenStackandOpenDayLight,recognizedbyallprofiles.Othermentionswenttospecificationsorcommunitiesofothertypes,suchasTOSCAandYANG,andafewevenreferencedOPNFV,thelargeintegrationofupstreamprojects.
• Ahigheraveragepriorityscoreforopensourcecommunitysupportwasprovidedbyoperatorsthanvendors,4.3vs.3.5,respectively.Conventionalwisdomwouldpointtovendorsbeingmorekeenonproprietarysolutions,butgiventhesmallsamplesizeandknownsupport(outofself-interest)forstrategicopensourcecommunitiesbetweenbothsetsofstakeholders,itwasconcludedascoincidentalcorrelation.
• Althoughvendorsscoredslightlylowerinopensourcesupport,theyweremoreconsistentlyengagingsuchcommunities,ratherthanpurelyadopting.Thisisexpected,astheyofteninfluencesuchcommunitiestoensuretheirsupportedtechnologyiswidespread,similartostandardsengagement.AlthoughrecentinitiatedopensourceinitiativessuchasOSM(seeSection8.2.4)arehighlysupportedontheoperatorside,undertheumbrellaofETSI.
• Whenaskedaboutcontributingfactorsindecidingwhichcommunitiestosupport,theanswerswereconsistentandfollowedthebestpracticesofopensourceengagement:projectmaturity,criticalmassofsupport,contributionsystem/policy,compatiblelicensing,alignedroadmaps,andsupportingdocumentation.Twooperatorswerealsokeenoncommunitiesthatrecognizedirectoperatorconcerns,andnotonlythroughvendorsasproxies.
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• Backwardscompatibilitywithexistingstandards,aquestionthatwasaddedtothesection,wasgradedconsiderablylow,particularlybynetworkoperators/CSPs,at2.4.Systemintegratorsandsolutionproviderswerealsorelativelyuninterestedinsuchrequirements.Vendorsprioritizedsuchcompatibilityabitmore,atanaverageof3.5.Whilenoadditionalexplanationwasgivenofthedifferentiation,itcouldbeinterpretedthatvendorsaremoreprotectiveoftheirinvestedstandards-supportedportfoliosandarenaturallyinterestedinextendingsuchassetsforthevirtualizedenvironment.
9.5 AdditionalTechnicalCharacteristics
Avarietyofadditionaltechnicalcharacteristicswereaskedtobeprioritizedbyparticipantsonasimilarscaleof1(low)to5(high).
9.5.1 AdvancedResourceManagement
Advancedresourcemanagementfeatures,beyondcurrentexpectationsfrommarketedMANOsolutions,weregraded.Automatedefficientplacementanddynamicresponsetoresourceloadweredefaultchoices,andeachratedhigh,above4,byoperators,vendorsandotherprofilesalike.Additionalfeatureswereaddedbysomeparticipantsaspriorities,mostnotablysupportforpredictableservices.
9.5.2 PerformanceIsolation
“Cloud-like”characteristics(e.g.illusionofunlimitedresources),hostpinning(e.g.dedicatedphysicalhostpertenant),andgranularhardwarepinning(e.g.CPUpinning,enhancedplatformawareness)weresurveyedtoparticipants.Aslightlyhighernotewasgivenbyvendorsoveroperatorsacrossallfeatures,butaroundthe3to4rangebyall.
9.5.3 VerificationofNetworkServiceSLAs
VerificationofnetworkserviceSLAswerepresentedtotheparticipantsinthreestagesofthelifecycle:design,deploymentandruntime.Whiletherewasnotadifferentiationbetweenprofiles,prioritywasgrantedtolaterstagesinthelifecycle.Thedesignstage,thelowestat3.6,wasproceededbydeploymentat4.2andaveryhighruntimepriorityat4.8.
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10 ConclusionsandRecommendationsforSONATA
Theconclusionsfrominputandanalysisperformedduringtheproject’sfirstyear,consolidatedinthismarketfeasibilitystudy,helpeddriveSONATA’smandate(scope,requirements),design(approach,architecture)andpositioning(compatibility,opensourcestrategy)forboththerecentfirstyearandupcomingsecondyeardevelopmentcycles.Sourcesincluded:
• OngoingmarketandtechnologywatchstartedbySONATApartnersonDay1oftheproject.
• Extensivelookatthemarketviatheindependentanalystreportsandsurveysreferencedthroughoutthedocument.
• Stakeholder,valuechainandcustomerchallengesanalysisbasedontheaforementionedresourcesandfromtheSONATApartners’experienceinthetelecommunicationsector.
• Comparativeanalysisofover20comparableMANOsolutionsbasedonwhitepapers,literatureandmarketingmaterial.
• StakeholderprioritiessurveyandinterviewsonMANOfeatureandcharacteristics,distributedbytheproject.
ThebusinesscaseofNFVremainsstrongdespitedelaysinearlyadopterROI.WhilevaryinginroadmapurgencyamongCSPs,NFVadoptionisuniversallyrecognizedasanecessaryinvestmentandtransitiontobetechnicallyreadyandcompetitivelypositionedforfuture5Gnetworks.Apartfromenablinglong-termOpExandCapExsavings,thetechnologycansupportafast-trackforinnovativeservicedevelopmentandagility,neededbyCSPstoregainlossmarginsfromOTTprovidersandrecoverfromthecommoditizationoftheirgeneralnetworkservices.ThisisanareawhereSONATAcanprovidevaluewithitsNFVMANOserviceplatform,developer-supportingSDKandDevOpsworkflowinaNFVdeploymentenvironment.
OutofthecomparableMANOsolutionsandprojectsstudied,severalpatternsandmarketcharacteristicswereconcluded,reflectedbelowinthissection.However,thisexercisehasbeenfeature-based,withabiastowardsvendormarketing,andcannotspeakfortheireaseofimplementation,multi-vendorsupportinaction,successfulintegrationwithOSS/BSS,performancebenchmarking,etc.foroverallvalidation.Thesolutionsarenotyetwidelydeployedintoday’scarrierandenterprisenetworks.Thatsaid,thisstudyhashelpedSONATAfocusitsdevelopmentinareaswheregapscanbefilledandinnovationdelivered,ortomeetnew,de-factoexpectationsthathaveevolvedbeyondtheinitialreleaseoftheETSINFVreferencearchitectureandMANOscope.
Foreaseofnavigation,conclusionshavebeensortedbysubjectmatterinthesubsectionsbelow,followedbySONATApositioningandapproachtaken.
10.1 UntestedSolutionsandMarketingvs.Reality
Markettrends:
• Scarcedifferentiationininitialmarketing:Atfirstlook,thefeature-baseddifferentiationisscarce,wherethemajorityofMANOsolutionssharesimilarvaluepropositionandfollowETSIspecificationtoensurerelevance.Somemarketingfocusesoncertainareasmorethanothers(e.g.intelligentplacement,servicecompositioninterfaces,openAPIs,multi-vendorsupport,etc.),buttheyareoftenrecognizedaspartofthatETSI-compliantvisionandcommonbenefits.Differentiationbeginstopickuphowever,onthedevelopment/
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compositionsidefornetworkservices(seesubsectionbelow),wherevendorsdifferinstrength,oftenbasedonadaptedlegacysolutionsinthearea.
• Pendingvalidation,2016/2017momentoftruth:Itisexpectedthatoncesuchsolutionsreachmaturityandfaceproductiontrials,greaterdifferentiationwillpresentitself:impactofarchitecturalchoices,technicalapproach,easeofintegration,performancebenchmarking,etc.areonlyabletobevalidatedinthenextstageoftheoveralltransitionalroadmapofNFV/SDN.AstimelinesprovidedthroughanalystsandCSPsurveysestimate,2016and2017couldbeakeyperiodtoseethatdifferentiationstarttotakeplace,asprovendeploymentstartsreplacingmarketing,andambitiousfeaturesetsandliberalclaimsofmulti-vendorcompatibilitymeetreality.
SONATAapproach:
• SONATA’siterativeworkplanandmultipledevelopmentcyclesfallwithinthiscriticalperiod(2016/2017)ofNFVmaturity.Throughtheaboveanalysis,gapswereidentifiedamongafirstgenerationofNFVimplementation/integrationapproachesandCSPservicedevelopmentcapability(organizedinthesubsectionsbelow),andafollow-upstakeholdersurveyhashelpedvalidate,course-correctandprioritizerequirementsforSONATA’sseconddevelopmentcycle.
10.2 Multi-VendorSupport
Markettrends:
• Multi-vendorVNFSupport:Thealleviationofvendorlock-inasaprimaryvaluepropositionofNFVistoostrongtoignore.CustomerslookforNFVplatformsandMANOsolutionsthatcansupportdiverseVNFcataloguesfromseveralvendors,and“multi-vendor”inthisaspectisamustforanyrelevantoffering.DespitetheVNFMconflictscitedbelow,thisflexibilityandmulti-vendorcompatibilityshouldremainakeymandateforanycompetitiveMANOsolution,andfurthervalidatedinthestakeholdersurveyasapriority.
• ConflictingVNFMApproaches:ItisbecomingastandardpracticethataNFVOisbuiltwithagenericVNFMincluded,toreachthefullMANOfunctionalitydefinedbyETSI.Supportforthird-partyVNFMsisacommonmarketedfeature,butregardlessthey“ship”withagenericVNFMincaseofagreen-fieldscenario.InteroperabilitytestingbytheNewIPAgency(seeSection6.1)hasshownthatthisdiversityinVNFMapproacheshascausedconsiderablebarrierstothemulti-vendorvision,particularlyinsupportingexclusiveVNF/VNFMpairing.ProprietaryVNFMshaveprovendifficultinintegrationwithitspeers,andagenericcomponentwithacommonspecificationisneededtofulfillthemulti-vendorVNFvision.
• Multi-vendorVIMSupport:WhileOpenStackisadominantVIMchoicewithoverwhelmingsupportfromMANOsolutions,themajorityofentriesaremarketedassupportingalternatives(althoughoftennotdetailed).Regardless,beingtiedtooneunderlyingtechnology,nomatterhowpopular,isrisky.
• LargeTelecomVendors’End-to-EndPortfolio:MANOsolutionsareoftenaccompaniedbyalargerportfolioofNFVand/orSDNrelatedofferings.LargeincumbentequipmentvendorsarenaturallymorelikelytosupporttheirMANOsolutionwiththeirownVNFs,andinsomecasessupportingNFVIandaccompaniedequipment.
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• PartnershipEcosystems:WhenafullMANOsolutionisnotprovidedwithin-houseassets,vendorsengagepartnerswiththemissingtechnology.ThebottomlineisthatinwhichevercontingencythevendorisapproachingthecustomerwithafullMANO(orevenNFVstack)portfolioavailabletointegrate.Insurgentsolutionsshouldatleastenvisionapartnerecosystemthroughcommercialagreements,orprovideout-of-the-boxcompatibilitywithopensourcealternatives.EvenmoresothanMANO,NFVIvendorsoftenrelyonthespecializationofpartnersinajointecosystemapproach.RedHatandVMWare,forexample,enterthetelecommunicationarenafromtheirvirtualizationroots,andactasenablingtechnologypartnersformanyincumbentequipmentvendors.Otherlargevendors,suchasOracleandHPEnterprise,withsignificantequipmentassetsintheirportfolios,usethisincombinationwiththeirMANOsolutionstoprovideanend-to-endNFVecosystemfortheircustomers.TheblowbackfromCSPssuggeststhatthisisoftencreatinganewageofvendorlock-in,sacrificingflexibilitywithconvenienceinthewakeofmulti-vendorintegrationheadaches.
SONATAapproach:
• SONATA’schiefmandateistobeaflexible,agnosticserviceplatformthatisadaptabletoaCSP’sspecificnetworkandVNFecosystem,makingmulti-vendorrequirementsatoppriority.ThisincludingsupporttoorchestrateVNFsofdifferentvendorsanddevelopers,differentVNFMapproaches(includingagenericVNFMfunctionalityifnoneisprovided),andmultipleunderlyingVIMs.
• Interfacesareakeydevelopmentobjective,andtrackingofCSPs,vendorsandsystemintegrators’firstfalseattemptstowardsthemulti-vendorvisionhasshowntheprojectthatitmustmaketheplatformanditsNFVOasopenandextensibleaspossibletobeadaptedtofuturespecifications.Itsmodulararchitectureandmicroservicesapproachalsohelpsupportthisobjective.
• FortheVIMlayer,OpenStacksupportwaschosenbytheprojectforitsfirstyearprototype,reflectingthewideadoptionandsupportbythecommunityandcomparativesolutions.AdditionalVIMswillbesupportedinitssecondcycle,suchasOpenMANO.
10.3 OpennessandCustomizability
Markettrends:
• Monolithicvs.ModularArchitectures:AnoverwhelmingamountofNFVsolutionspointtomoremonolithicarchitecturesthatprovidecomplimentarycomponents/productsinavendor-drivenecosystem.RIFT.ioandCienaBluePlanetmarkettheirsolutionasmoremodular,however.Analystroadmaps(seeSection4.1)haveforeseenamoreadvancedstageofNFVarrivingcloserto2020,whichwillneedamicroservicesapproachtosupport5Gnetworksandtheirserviceagility.
• IntegrationHeadaches:Initialtestimonials,forexamplethosecitedinSection6,haveshownthatmulti-vendorinteroperabilityinpracticeis“easiersaidthandone”,incontrasttowhathasbeensuggestedbyinitialofferingsandtheirmarketing.AlthoughholisticallythemajorityofalternativessharetheETSIMANOfeatureset,theirdifferentcomponentizationbetweenarchitecturebuildingblocks,delegatingfunctionalitybetweenthem,anddifferentVNFMapproacheshavecreatedgreatdifficultytofulfilltheoriginalvisionofanintegratedmulti-vendorNFV/SDNstackanddiverse,orchestratedVNFportfolio.
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• Proprietaryvs.OpenSource:Anevenlargerjumpintoflexibilityiswhenthesolutionitselfisopensource,allowingbespokecustomizability,extensibilityandintegrationbyanoperator,vendororsystemsintegrator.WhilemanydevelopingMANOsolutionsare“basedonopensourcesoftware”,theyarethemselvescommercialsolutions,oftendifferentiatingtoomuchfromtheoriginalsourcecodeandincludingtoomanyproprietaryhooks.Thiscausesinteroperabilityissueswithotherimplementationsofthesameopensourcebase,asseenininitialtestsofdifferentversionsofOpenStack(seeSection6.1)inNFVenvironments.AnexceptionseemstobefromRIFT.io,whofollowsaclassicopensourcebusinessmodel,offeringalicensedversionwithaccompaniedsupportservices,butalsoafullyopensourceversion.
• Licensing:Amongcollaborativeprojects,suchasOpenStackorOSM,acommonopensourcelicenseisApachev2.0.Theisacommercial-friendlylicensethatisoftenpreferredamongindustry-backedcommunitiesandstandardsdevelopmentorganizations.
SONATAapproach:
• ThemodulararchitectureofSONATAisoneofitsmajorinnovations.ItprovidesNFVMANOflexibilitytonetworkoperatorswithcustomizableplatformfunctionalityandabilityto“hotswap”newfeaturesviaplug-ins.ThisisinrecognitionofthebespokerequirementsthatCSPsareaskingfor,andtherealistvisionthatSONATAwillnotnecessarilybeprovidingthebest-in-breedcomponents“outofthebox”.Thisisafuture-proofingdesignchoicethatallowsforenhancedextensibility.
• SONATAseeksamicroservicesapproachforthemostbespokeconfigurability,durabilityandeaseofmaintenancepossible.Althoughnotanimmediaterequirementfortoday’sinitialNFVimplementations,itisforeseentobeaninvaluabledesignchoiceforthefull“cloudification”ofnetworkstowards5G,andalreadytakingflightintheconvergingITsectorforsoftwaredevelopment.
• SONATAisfullyopensourceandlicensedwithApachev2.0,providingacommercial-friendlysolutionwithoutcopyleftrisksinintegrationwithothercomponents.Thisisquiteimportantforitsbespokecustomizabilityandmulti-vendorvision.Startingwithitsfirstprototyperelease,SONATAwillbehostedonGitHub.
10.4 MonitoringandEvent-basedPolicies
Markettrends:
• Monitoringofvaryingdegrees:Unliketheapplicationperformancemonitoringareaincloudcomputing,NFVmonitoringisseeingamoreintegratedapproachinitsrespectivelayer,insteadofstandalonesolutions.Theextentoftheirmonitoringisnotapparentinallmarketing.Insomecases,suchasOracleorHPE,analyticsisafocus,butintheformofanextendedcomplimentarysolution.
• Event-basedPolicies:Severalsolutionslinktheirmonitoringtopolicydefinitionfordistinctactions,butmuchofthisisontheoperatorsideanddetailsarescarce.
SONATAapproach:
• InSONATA,monitoringisprovidedfortheVNF/NSasaplatformfeature,whichiscommoninthedomain.Theinnovationbytheprojectfocusesonhowitispushedbacktotheservice
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developerandtheirSDK,aspartofaDevOpsworkflow.Basicsupportforplatformhealthmonitoringisalsoafeature,sotheadoptingCSPcantrackdeploymentperformance.Theprojecthasalsochosenanextendiblemonitoringframeworkthatcanbeextendedwithfurthermetrics,perCSPrequirements.
• SONATAletsCSPsandthird-partyservicedeveloperscontrolspecificorchestrationandmanagementfunctionalitiespertainingtotheirnetworkservice,throughfunction-andservice-specificmanagers.Whileevent-basedpoliciesarefeaturedinsomealternativesolutions,SONATA’sinnovationisonhowitempowersthethird-partydeveloper,notjustthehostingCSP.ThisaccessibilityfortheservicedeveloperisprovidedthroughtheSDK.
10.5 ServiceCompositionandDevOps
Markettrends:
• VNF-chainingandinterfacesforNSdevelopment:WhileVNFchainingfornetworkservicecreationisacommonfeatureacrossmanyMANO-relatedsolutions,thereexistsadifferentiationbetweenworkflowsandinterfaces.Ofthelater,solutionsoftencomewithaGUI,butofvaryingabstractionandscope.Insomecases,theseareextendedfromexistingservicecompositionsolutions,dashboards(fortheiradministratorcounterpart),etc.andadaptedfortheVNFandNScontext.
• DevOpsworkflow:Interfacesforservicelifecyclemanagementareseeninmanyoflargevendorsuitessurveyed.Althoughcustomer-facinginterfacesareprovidedinseveralcases,theyoftenlackatrueDevOpsworkflowvision,orlackthevalue-addedperformancedataandintelligencepushedbacktotheservicedeveloper.
• LowerBarrierofEntryforVNFandNSdeveloper:Itwillbeamoredynamicmarket,andaninsurgentcouldfocusonsupplyingspecificVNFswithinanecosystem.Itismorelikelythoughthatthebusinesscaseandinnovationwouldbebettertargetedonthenetworkservicelayerforanewcomer,exploitingpubliccatalogsofblueprintVNFsfromtheCSPorvendor.
SONATAapproach:
• Thisisanareaofhighdifferentiation,andalargefocusofSONATA’seffortisdedicatedtowardstheSDK,toolsandinterfacespairedwiththeplatform’sGatekeeperverificationsystem.GUIandCLIsupportisdesignedwiththedeveloperinmind,compatiblewithaplatformecosystemvisionprovidedtheadoptingCSP.
• SONATA’sDevOpsworkflowemphasizesdynamicinterfacesbetweenserviceplatformandSDK,andpushesdataandmonitoringpushedbacktothethird-partydeveloper.ThisisatrendthathastakenflightintheITsector’ssoftwaredevelopment,butasthemarketanalysisreports(seeSection6.2),theculturechangeisstillquitelackingintheneighboringtelecommunicationssector.SONATA’sinnovativeNFVDevOpssystemfornetworkservicesisdirectlyaddressingtheneedforexponentialgainsinserviceagilityandtime-to-marketthatCSPsurgentlyrequiretostaycompetitive,andsupportsanecosystem-drivenbusinessmodelthatisenvisionedforsupportingdevelopersandverticalindustriesfor5Gnetworks.
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10.6 LegacySupportforanIterativeNFVAdoptionRoadmap
Markettrends:
• HybridVNF/PNFSupport:NFVadoptionbyoperatorswillnotbeimmediate,andsupportingbothvirtualandphysicallegacydomainsisarequirementtostaycompetitiveasafirst-movervendorbefore2020.Basedonmarketing,thisisrecognizedandsupportedbyallsurveyedsolutions.
• IntegrationandInterfaceswithOSS/BSS:ThetransitionfromtheoperatorsidemustbemetwithopeninterfacestotheirOSS/BSSbyMANOsolutions.Thisrequiresworkonboththesolutionsideandthelegacyside,whereoperatorswillalsoneedtoupdatetheirOSStoberelevantinthefulltransitiontosoftwarenetworksandNFV.IncumbentvendorsandsolutionproviderswithalargeOSS-relatedportfoliocanusethisasacompetitiveadvantage.Thesameiterativetimelineto2020isimportanthere,aswell,andflexibleinterfacestoexistinglegacyOSSwillhavetheupperhandinadoption.
• MigrationofPNFstoVNFs:LargevendorsarealsoatanadvantageofhavinglegacyPNFsasafirstgenerationofVNFsthroughamigrationprocess,tryingtoarriveearlytoacriticalmassintheirVNFcatalog.Thiscanbeanadvantageforincumbentvendorswhenexistinglegacycustomersaremakingtheirtransitiontosoftwarenetworks.However,varioustestimonialsbyCSPsin2016showapointofdisillusionmentastheseVNFswerenotoriginally“builtforthecloud”,anddonotfullyexploitthecharacteristicsenvisionedforavirtualizedenvironment.
SONATAapproach:
• WhileSONATAisaimedat5G,theplatformisalsodesignedforthemoreimmediateroadmapofNFVadoption.ItsupportslegacyPNFs,asCSPsproceedwithapiecemealtransitiontowardssoftwarenetworks.
• Initssecondyearofdevelopment,SONATAisalsofocusingontheinterfacesbetweenitsplatformandanoperator’sOSS.Thesemustbeasopenandextensibleaspossible,giventheintegrationcomplexity,differentiationandparallelOSSupgraderoadmapstowards5G.
10.7 5GNetworkReadiness
Markettrends:
• Servicevs.ResourceOrchestration:WhilethedebatesometimestakesplaceonwhetherserviceorchestrationispartoftheNFVOcomponentorseparate,itisuniversallyincludedincommercialMANOofferingsinsomeformoranother.Theydifferinimplementation,andwhetherornottheyaretreatedasseparatedarchitecturalcomponentsorempoweredbypartnerecosystems.
• NFVManagementvs.SDNControllerIntegration:LargevendorswithaccompanyingSDNcontrollersintheirportfoliocanofcourseexploittheir(proprietary)interoperability.ButapartfromthegeneralrecognitionofleadingprojectslikeOpenDayLight,end-to-endlifecyclemanagementbetweenMANOandSDNdomainsremainsanobstacle.
• 5GNetworkSlicingSupport:Littleisreferencedtoadvanced5Gvisionssuchasnetworkslicingsupport.AnotableexceptionisEricsson’sportfolio,whichseesitasakey
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requirementfortheMANOlayer.Althoughnotexplicitlymentioned,itisexpectedthatHuaweiandothervendorswithastrongemphasisonslicingintheir5Gvisionwillfollowsuit.
SONATAapproach:
• SONATAisafullMANOplatform,andcoversbothserviceandresourceorchestrationwithitsmodularNFVO.Thereis,however,stillaninteroperabilitygapandbetterintegrationneededwhenseekingend-to-endlifecyclemanagementbetweentheMANOlayerandSDNcontroller.ThisisaparticularareaofSONATAresearchandtesting,andafocusofitssecondyear.
• SONATAisbuildingslicingsupportdirectlyintoitsplatformdesign,aimingat5Gscenarios.Thiscanpromotespecializednetworkservicesfordistinctverticalindustries,withbespokenetworkconfigurationthroughitsSDNinterfaces.
10.8 CommunitiesandStandards
Markettrends:
• OpenSourceandStrategicCommunities:Vendorsandoperatorsalikerecognizethatacompetitivetransitiontosoftwarenetworksrequiresstrategicalliancesinthepushforde-factotechnologyandapproachesinadditiontothemoreclassicalstandardsdevelopment.ApartfromtheOpenStackexpansionfromcloudcomputingtonetworkoperations,OPNFVenteredexclusivelyintheNFVareainlate2014,andinQ1of2016twonewcollaborationsbeganwithOSMandOPEN-O.Itshouldbenotedthatmanyvendorsandoperatorsarecollaboratinginmorethanone,inanapparentdiversificationstrategywhenstandardsandsharedtechnologyisstilldevelopinginthearea.
• ETSIcompliant:ThevastmajorityofMANOsolutionscoveredinthedeliverablewerequicktopointoutintheirmarketingmaterialthattheywereindeedETSIcompliant.However,theslightarchitecturaldiscrepanciesincomponentizationandimplementationmightoverstatetheimpactofsuchcompliance,asitstillintroducesinteroperabilityissueswithothervendors’MANOalternatives.TheETSIreferencearchitectureisalsoadmittedlyvagueinsomeareas.“ETSIcompliance”,therefore,shouldbetreatedasaminimalrequirementinthesecases,andnotraiseexpectationsforeasymulti-vendorintegration.
• Existingstandardsformats:CommonstandardssuchasTOSCAandYAMLarewidelyused,carriedoverfromeffortsincloudcomputingserviceorchestration.
SONATAapproach:
• SONATAisnotlimitingitsopensourcestrategytoitsownGitHubhosting,whichcouldresultinasilo-likedevelopment.Theimpactoftheprojectistakingadiversificationstrategy,andcollaboratingwithothercommunityprojects.OpenStackTacker(Section8.2.1)isanexample,andcurrentlyplannedcollaborationwillbeusingSONATA’snetworkservicecatalogsforimplementation,aswellascomparingapproachesonnetworkservicedescriptors.
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• SONATAisfullyETSIcompliant,benefitingfromkeyETSINFVISGoperatorpartnerssuchasTelefonicaandBT,whicharealsoinvestigatingpotentialOSMcollaboration(Section8.2.4).SONATA’sparticipatingvendorsalsohavestrongOpenStackties,suchasNECandNokia’sCloudBandunit.Theprojectisalsousingcommonindustrystandards,withsolutionsbasedonTOSCA.
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References
Note:thefollowingURLswerecaptured/updatedinMay2016,thepublicationdateofthisdeliverable,andmaybeoutdatedattimeofreading.
[1] MobileWorldCongress,February2016:https://www.mobileworldcongress.com/2016-event-highlights/
[2] MPLS+SDN+NFV,March2016:http://www.uppersideconferences.com/mpls-sdn-nfv/
[3] Layer123NFVWorldCongress,April2016:http://www.layer123.com/nfv
[4] 5G-PPP,website:https://5g-ppp.eu/
[5] ETSI,“NetworkFunctionsVirtualization-IntroductoryWhitePaper”,October2012:https://portal.etsi.org/nfv/nfv_white_paper.pdf
[6] ETSI,GSNFV002,NetworkFunctionVirtualizationArchitecturalFramework,October2013:http://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_gs/nfv/001_099/002/01.01.01_60/gs_nfv002v010101p.pdf
[7] ETSI,NFVISGportal:https://portal.etsi.org/tb.aspx?tbid=789&SubTB
[8] OpenStack,website:http://www.openstack.org/
[9] OpenMANO,website:http://www.tid.es/long-term-innovation/network-innovation/telefonica-nfv-reference-lab/openmano
[10] OpenNetworkingFoundation(ONF),“Software-DefinedNetworking:TheNewNormforNetworks”,April2012:https://www.opennetworking.org/images/stories/downloads/sdn-resources/white-papers/wp-sdn-newnorm.pdf
[11] HeavyReading,“5G:NetworkTransformationImperative”,December2015:http://www.intel.es/content/dam/www/public/us/en/documents/white-papers/5g-a-network-transformation-imperative.pdf
[12] ETSI,“NetworkFunctionsVirtualization(NFV)-WhitePaper#3”,October2014:https://portal.etsi.org/Portals/0/TBpages/NFV/Docs/NFV_White_Paper3.pdf
[13] Atos,“LookoutTrends2016+”,April2016:http://ascent.atos.net/look-out-2016/
[14] IHSInfoneticsCarrierSDNStrategies,CarrierNFVStrategies,andNFVMarketSizeandForecast,viaMichaelHoward,IHS,MWC2016presentation,“Carriers:SDN+NFV=Revenue,Agility,Automation”,February2016:http://www.layer123.com/downloadnow&doc=IHS-2016-MWC-SDN-NFV-Michael-Howard
[15] HeavyReading,“NFV:Coming,ReadyorNot”,April2016:http://img.lightreading.com/downloads/NFV-Report-3.pdf
[16] LightReading,“RealNFVRevolutionIs5YearsAway,”March2016:http://www.lightreading.com/ethernet-ip/new-ip/the-real-nfv-revolution-is-5-years-away/d/d-id/721820
[17] Gartner,“IsSDNaMarket?”,July2015:http://blogs.gartner.com/andrew-lerner/2015/07/20/is-sdn-a-market/
[18] SDxCentral,“SDNandNFVMarketSizeReport”,2015:https://www.sdxcentral.com/reports/sdn-nfv-market-size-forecast-report-2015/
[19] AshtonMetzler&Associates,“The2015GuidetoSDNandNFV,Part2:NetworkFunctionsVirtualization(NFV)”,2015:http://www.emc.com/collateral/analyst-reports/2015ebook_sdn_nfv_ch2.pdf
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[20] AshtonMetzler&Associates,“WhenwillNFVCrosstheChasm?”,2015:http://ashtonmetzler.com/When%20will%20NFV%20Cross%20the%20Chasm.pdf
[21] STLPartners,“TelcoCloud:TranslatingNewCapabilitiesintoNewRevenue”,April2016:http://www8.hp.com/h20195/v2/GetPDF.aspx/4AA6-5309ENW.pdf
[22] LightReading,“VerizonDemandsBetterNFV'Answers'FromVendors”,May2016:http://www.lightreading.com/nfv/nfv-elements/verizon-demands-better-nfv-answers-from-vendors/d/d-id/723228
[23] TelcoTransformation,“VodafoneFrustratedbyNFVImmaturity”,May2016:http://www.telcotransformation.com/author.asp?section_id=389&doc_id=723300
[24] TelecomTV,“Whatdoes‘Openness’reallymean?”,2016:http://www.windriver.com/announces/open-nfv-business-titanium-server/resources/TTV-OPEN_Survey_2016.pdf
[25] TheNewIPAgency,“NFVInteroperabilityEvaluationResults-Phase1:MultivendorNFVinfrastructure-to-virtualnetworkfunction(VNF)interoperability”,December2015:http://img.lightreading.com/downloads/NIA-Test-Report-Final.pdf
[26] Telecoms.comIntelligence,“AnnualIndustrySurvey2015”:http://telecoms.com/intelligence/telecoms-com-annual-industry-survey-2015
[27] Ovum,“CounteractingtheSocialMessagingThreat”,July2012:http://www.ovum.com/research/counteracting-the-social-messaging-threat/
[28] LewisInsight,Quocirca,“CanServiceProvidersTurnDigitalCompetitorsintoCustomers?”,March2016:http://solutions.amdocs.com/Think-Better-Not-Just-Bigger-asset-6.html
[29] HeavyReading,“ServiceOrchestration&NetworkVirtualization:ALifecycleView”,December2015:http://www.lightreading.com/lg_redirect.asp?piddl_lgid_docid=722969
[30] HeavyReading,“TheFutureofMobileServiceDelivery”,February2016:https://f5.com/about-us/news/the-future-of-mobile-service-delivery-report
[31] QualiSystems,“TheCarrierDevOpsTrend”,2014:http://www.qualisystems.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/The-Carrier-DevOps-Trend-Okinawa-Open-Days-2014.pdf
[32] 5G-PPP,“5GEmpoweringVerticalIndustries”,January2016:https://5g-ppp.eu/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/BROCHURE_5PPP_BAT2_PL.pdf
[33] SONATA:“D2.2-ArchitectureandDesign”,December2015:http://sonata-nfv.eu/sites/default/files/sonata/public/content-files/pages/SONATA_D2.2_Architecture_and_Design.pdf
[34] Nokia,CloudBandwebsite:http://networks.nokia.com/es/portfolio/solutions/cloudband
[35] OASIS,TOSCASpecificationv1.0:http://docs.oasis-open.org/tosca/TOSCA/v1.0/os/TOSCA-v1.0-os.html
[36] OpenStackMistral,projectwiki:https://wiki.openstack.org/wiki/Mistral
[37] OpenStackVitrage,projectwiki:https://wiki.openstack.org/wiki/Vitrage
[38] Nokia,CloudBandpartnerecosystemwebsite:http://ecosystem.cloud-band.com/
[39] NetCracker,NFVorchestrationportfoliowebsite:http://www.netcracker.com/products/products/orchestration/
[40] ADVA,EnsembleOrchestratorproductwebsite:http://www.advaoptical.com/en/products/network-virtualization/ensemble-orchestrator.aspx
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[41] ADVA,EnsembleOrchestratorproductbrochure:http://www.advaoptical.com/~/media/Resources/Data%20Sheets/Ensemble_Orchestrator.ashx
[42] AffirmedNetworks,MobileContentCloudproductwebsite:http://www.affirmednetworks.com/products-solutions/virtualization/
[43] AffirmedNetworksblog,“LightReadingRecognizesAffirmedNetworksforInnovationandExecution”,April2016:http://www.affirmednetworks.com/light-reading-recognizes-affirmed-networks-for-innovation-execution/
[44] AnutaNetworks,NFVwebsite:http://www.anutanetworks.com/technologies/network-functions-virtualization/
[45] AnutaNetworks,NCXproductbrochure:http://www.anutanetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Anuta-NFV-Support.pdf
[46] ATTOResearch,Atheneproductwebsite:http://www.atto-research.com/index.php/solutions/athene/
[47] Brocade,VNFManagerproductwebsite:http://www.brocade.com/en/products-services/software-networking/sdn-controllers-applications/vnf.html
[48] Brocade,VNFManagerproductbrochure:http://www.brocade.com/content/dam/common/documents/content-types/datasheet/brocade-vnf-manager-ds.pdf
[49] BluePlanet,NVFOrchestratorproductwebsite:http://www.blueplanet.com/products/nfv-orchestration.html
[50] BluePlanet,NVFMulti-domainServiceOrchestratorproductwebsite:http://www.blueplanet.com/products/multi-domain-service-orchestration.html
[51] BluePlanet,ecosystemwebsite:http://www.blueplanet.com/ecosystem
[52] Cisco,NetworkServicesOrchestratorproductwebsite:http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/cloud-systems-management/network-services-orchestrator/datasheet-c78-734576.html
[53] Cisco,ElasticServicesControllerproductfactsheet:http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/cloud-systems-management/network-services-orchestrator/datasheet-c78-734670.html
[54] Cisco,“NFVInfrastructure:DeliveringBusinessValue”,2016:http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/collateral/service-provider/network-functions-virtualization-nfv-infrastructure/white-paper-c11-736645.pdf
[55] Ericsson,NetManagerproductwebsite:http://www.ericsson.com/ourportfolio/products/network-manager?nav=productcategory005%7Cfgb_101_0382
[56] Ericsson,CloudManagerproductwebsite:http://www.ericsson.com/ourportfolio/products/cloud-manager?nav=productcategory005%7Cfgb_101_0382
[57] Ericsson,OpenStackSummit,“TelcoNFVManagementinaDistributed,HeterogeneousCloudInfrastructure”,Vancouver,May2015:https://www.openstack.org/summit/vancouver-2015/summit-videos/presentation/telco-nfv-management-in-a-distributed-heterogeneous-cloud-infrastructure
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[58] Fujitsu,Virtuoraproductwebsite:http://www.fujitsu.com/us/products/network/products/virtuora/
[59] Fujitsu,Virtuoraproductfactsheet:http://www.fujitsu.com/us/Images/Virtuora-Service-Orchestrator.pdf
[60] HPE,NFVDirectorproductfactsheet:http://www8.hp.com/h20195/v2/GetDocument.aspx?docname=4AA5-1082ENW
[61] HPE,OpenNFVReferenceArchitecturewebsite:http://www8.hp.com/us/en/cloud/nfv-architecture.html
[62] HPE,NFVportfoliowebsite:https://www.hpe.com/us/en/networking/nfv.html
[63] Huawei,FusionSphereCloudOSproductwebsite:http://e.huawei.com/en/products/cloud-computing-dc/cloud-computing/fusionsphere/fusionsphere
[64] Juniper,ContrailServiceOrchestrationproductwebsite:http://www.juniper.net/us/en/products-services/sdn/contrail/contrail-service-orchestration/
[65] Juniper,partnerecosystemwebsite:http://www.juniper.net/us/en/partners/technology-alliances/data-center/#cloud-nfv-orchestrators
[66] Juniper,ContrailServiceOrchestrationproductbrochure:http://www.juniper.net/assets/us/en/local/pdf/datasheets/1000559-en.pdf
[67] Juniper,“TransformingtoDevOpswithJunosOS”,October2015:http://www.juniper.net/us/en/local/pdf/whitepapers/2000586-en.pdf
[68] Oracle,CommunicationsNetworkServiceOrchestrationSolutionproductfactsheet:http://www.oracle.com/us/industries/communications/network-service-orchestration-ds-2412291.pdf
[69] Oracle,“TheRoadtoNFVSuccessIsPavedwithIntelligentOrchestration”,February2015:http://www.oracle.com/us/industries/communications/comm-nfv-success-wp-2431068.pdf
[70] Amdocs,NFVportfoliowebsite:http://www.amdocs.com/solutions/network/nfv/pages/nfv.aspx
[71] Amdocs,NetworkCloudServiceOrchestratorproductfactsheet:http://www.amdocs.com/solutions/network/nfv/documents/amdocs-ncso-data-sheet.pdf
[72] Amdocs,partnerecosystemwebsite:http://www.amdocs.com/about/partners/nfv/pages/partner-program.aspx
[73] RIFT.io,RIFT.wareproductwebsite:https://www.riftio.com/product/#orchestration
[74] RIFT.io,RIFT.wareproductbrochure:https://www.riftio.com/download/5262/
[75] Luxoft,SuperCloudproductwebsite:http://supercloud.luxoft.com/product/
[76] Luxoft,SuperCloudproductbrochure:http://supercloud.luxoft.com/resources/brochure/
[77] OpenStackTacker,projectwiki:https://wiki.openstack.org/wiki/Tacker
[78] OpenStack,“AcceleratingNFVDeliverywithOpenStack”,2016:https://www.openstack.org/assets/telecoms-and-nfv/OpenStack-Foundation-NFV-Report.pdf
[79] OpenStackTacker,OpenStackSummit,“NFVOrchestrationDemowithOpenStackTacker”,Tokyo,October2015:https://www.openstack.org/summit/tokyo-2015/videos/presentation/brocade-nfv-orchestration-demo-with-openstack-tacker
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[80] OpenBaton,projectwebsite:http://openbaton.github.io/
[81] OpenSDNCore,projectwebsite:www.opensdncore.org
[82] OPNFVprojectwebsite:https://www.opnfv.org/about
[83] OPNFV,“PavingtheWaytoOpenSource”,2016,http://go.linuxfoundation.org/opnfv-whitepaper-030116.pdf
[84] OPNFV,Brahmaputrafactsheet:https://www.opnfv.org/sites/opnfv/files/collateral/files/opnfv_datasheet_031716_0.pdf
[85] OSM,projectwebsite:https://osm.etsi.org/
[86] OSM,“End-to-EndServiceInstantiationUsingOpen-SourceManagementandOrchestrationComponents”,February2016:https://networkbuilders.intel.com/docs/E2E-Service-Instantiation-with-Open-Source-MANO.pdf
[87] OSM,“ETSIOpenSourceMANOsetsambitiousdeliveryplans”,April2016:http://www.etsi.org/news-events/news/1076-2016-04-news-etsi-open-source-mano-sets-ambitious-delivery-plans
[88] OPEN-O,projectwebsite:https://www.open-o.org/
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Annex:“NFVMANOAdoptionPrioritiesforSoftwareNetworks”SurveyTemplate
Thissurveyisfor5G-PPPcommercialorganisationsinthetelecomvaluechain,anddesignedtofurtheranalyseadoptionconsiderationsandprioritiesforMANO(ManagementandOrchestration)solutionsinNFV(NetworkFunctionVirtualisation).
Thesurveycanbecompletedin15minutes.
IthasbeenpreparedbytheSONATAproject(www.sonata-nfv.eu),whichisbuildinganopensourceNFVserviceplatformwithorchestrator(NFVO)andsupportingdeveloperSDKforthefulllifecycleofnetworkservices.
Yourcontactinformationandorganisationnamewillnotbeshared,onlytheanonymousbackgroundprofilewillbeusedtoputtheanswersintocontext(e.g.operator,vendor,systemintegrator,SME-sizedsolutionprovider,etc.)
Asthisisaone-size-fits-allsurvey,itisunderstandablethatnotallquestionswillapplytoeveryone.Forexample,somearegearedmuchmoretowardsoperatorsthanotherstakeholderssuchasvendors,systemintegrators,servicedevelopers,etc.Butpleaseanswerthebestyoucan,aswe’relookingforaholisticperspectivefromthevaluechain.
Contactinfo(confidentialandoptional,forfollow-upquestions)
• Name:
• Organisation:
• Email:
Background:
Howwouldyoubestdescribeyourroleinthetelecomvaluechain?e.g.manufacturer/vendor,networkserviceproviders/operators,cloudproviders,systemsintegrator,technologypartner,servicedeveloper,etc.Toclarify,whatisanexampleofarelevantofferingfromyourcompany,andwhatprofileisthetypicalcustomer?
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FlexibilityofMANOOrchestrationSystem
“Flexibility”isageneraltermthatreferstohowwellanddiverseaNFVMANOsystemcouldadapttovariousscenarios,formats,othersolutions,vendors,etc.Pleaseratethefollowcharacteristicsinimportancetoyouandyourorganisation:
Characteristic/Feature importance(lowtohigh)
§ supportfordifferentVIMs(e.g.morethanOpenStack) (low)12345(high)
§ supportfordifferentnetworkconfigurationsystems(e.g.morethanOpenDaylight) 12345
§ supportformulti-vendorVNFs 12345
§ supportfordifferentVNFM/EMapproaches,e.g.vendorspecificpluginarchitecturefordifferentVNFM/EMapproaches
12345
§ supportfordifferentservicedescriptorformats/languages(e.g.TOSCA) 12345
§ changesinlayersofvirtualization(e.g.morethanVMs)
§ containers
§ unikernels
§ other?(pleasespecify)
12345
12345
12345
§ stackablelayersofnetworkservicecomposition(e.g.networkservicescontainingnetworkservices) 12345
§ stackablelayersofnetworkservicecompositionwithindependentorchestration(e.g.forheterogeneousoperationalscenariosandevolutionaryinterworking)
12345
§ supportformulti-serviceprovision
§ NFVInfrastructureasaService(NVFIaaS)
§ resource“slicing”(e.g.configuredforverticalindustrysectors)
12345
12345
§ supportforrecursive/stackeddeploymentsoftheMANOplatform(e.g.runningaMANOplatforminstancewithinasliceoftheunderlyingMANOplatform)
12345
§ Commentsrelatedtoabovecategoriesand“flexibility”:
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SoftwareNetworksTransitionandSupportingLegacy:
NFVispartofalarger,complextransitionroadmaptosoftwarenetworks,impactingheavilythenetworkoperatorandsupportingactorsinthetelecomvaluechain.It’sbuildingontopofalonghistoryofadoptednetworkassets.Pleaserateinimportancethefollowingcharacteristics,andpleasespecifywithexamples.
Characteristic/Feature Importance(lowtohigh)
§ compatibilitywithexistingproprietarysystems
§ (pleasespecify)
§ (pleasespecify)
12345
§ compatibilitywithexistingopensourcesystems
§ (pleasespecify)
§ (pleasespecify)
12345
§ Whatsoftwarenetworktransitionchallengesandpriorityareasoflegacyinteroperabilitydoyouforeseeasmostchallenginginadoptionforbrown-fieldscenarios(integratingwithexistingnetworkassets)?
NetworkServiceDevelopment,Toolkit(SDK)andDevOps:
ThefocusonnetworkprogrammabilityallowsNFVsupportednetworkstoadoptmoreagileandDevOps-enabledworkflowsfortheirplatformsandservicedevelopers.PleaserateinimportancethefollowingcharacteristicsofsuchaplatformandSDKtowardsnetworkservicedevelopment,fromyourperspectiveinthevaluechain.
Characteristic/Feature Importance(lowtohigh)
§ networkservicedefinition,validation,andcataloguingtools
12345
§ “sandbox”executionverificationenvironment 12345
§ featuringagiledevelopment,toolsandworkflows:
§ continuousintegrationanddeployment
§ DevOpsmodel
12345
12345
§ Foranetworkserviceproviderdeployingsuchaplatform,whatnewservicedevelopmentworkflowprioritiesandchallengesdoyouforeseewhenconfrontingamulti-actorDevOpsecosystem?(e.g.networkoperatorandservicedevelopers)
§ WhichDevOpstoolsormethodsdoyouthinkwouldbebeneficialforthedevelopmentofcarrierservices?
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StandardsandOpenSourceCommunities:
Theadvancementofsoftwarenetworks(SDN,NFV,etc.)hasspurredastrongentryofopensourcesolutionsinthenetworkstackandadditionalstandardsinitiatives.ExamplesofactivecommunitiesincludeOpenStack,OpenDaylight,OpenFlow,OpenMANOandevenfirstintegrationssuchasOPNFV.Onthestandardsfront,ETSINFVISGhasreleasedNFVarchitecturespecifications.Theconvergenceofnetworktechnologywithsoftwarestackshasalsoledtothere-useandextensionofvariousexistingstandards.PleaserateinimportancethesupportofsuchinitiativesandstandardsforaNFVMANOsolution.
Characteristic/Feature Importance(lowtohigh)
§ Supportfor:
§ ETSINFVISGSpecifications
§ OpenStackAPIs
§ (pleasespecify)
§ (pleasespecify)
§ (pleasespecify)
12345
12345
12345
12345
12345
§ Backwardscompatibilitywithpreviousversionsofstandards(pleasespecify):
12345
§ Whatareasinthesoftwarenetworkstackdoyouseemostadvantageoustoprovide/adoptopensourcesolutions?(asopposedtocommercialproprietarysolutions)
§ (pleasespecify,andwhy?)
§ (pleasespecify,andwhy?)
§ (pleasespecify,andwhy?)
§ Whatopensourceprojectsareyouengaging(contributing)and/oradopting(uptakeanduse)
§ project:(pleasespecify)engagement?adoption?
§ project:(pleasespecify)engagement?adoption?
§ project:(pleasespecify)engagement?adoption?
§ Whatarethe3mostinfluencingfactorsindeterminingyourengagementofanopensourcecommunity?
1.
2.
3.
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MiscellaneousTechnicalCharacteristics
AvarietyofcharacteristicsthathavebeentakenintoaccountinthedesignofaNFVMANOsolution,notpreviouslycoveredabove:
Characteristic/Feature Importance(lowtohigh)
§ Resourcemanagement(beyondcoreMANOvalueofefficientusageofnetwork,computeandstorageresources):
§ automatedefficientplacement
§ dynamicresponsestoactualresourceload
§ (other,pleasespecify)
(low)12345(high)
12345
12345
§ Performanceisolation
§ "cloud-like"(e.g.illusionofunlimitedresources)
§ hostpinning(e.g.dedicatedphysicalhostpertenant)
§ granularhardwarepinning(e.g.CPUpinning,EnhancedPlatformAwareness)
12345
12345
12345
§ VerificationtonetworkserviceSLAs
§ atnetworkservicedesignstage
§ atnetworkservicedeploymentstage
§ atruntime
12345
12345
12345
§ Relatedcomments: