Today, we are announcing another milestone in our support for communications service providers (CSPs) as they transition to a software-defined telco cloud. We are enhancing our award-winning VMware Ready for NFV program by including interoperability and readiness for VMware Telco Cloud Automation.
The addition of VMware Telco Cloud Automation into the program further accelerates the ability of CSPs to deploy software-based workloads on the VMware Telco Cloud platform. In order to reflect this expanded scope, we are renaming the program to VMware Ready for Telco Cloud. The original Ready for NFV certification will become Ready for Telco Cloud Infrastructure while the new certification level for VMware Telco Cloud Automation is called Ready for Telco Cloud.
As the telecommunication industry continues its migration to 5G, there are two critical shifts occurring that will shape the industry for years to come: a need for improved automation and the migration of network functions to a cloud native architecture. The expanded scope of the VMware Ready for Telco Cloud program reflects VMware’s commitment to supporting our carrier service provider customers as they engage with these shifts. The new certification level, VMware Ready for Telco Cloud, introduces our telco partner ecosystem to VMware’s multi-cloud and standards-based automation and orchestration product, aptly called VMware Telco Cloud Automation. A partner Network Function successfully completing this level of certification has demonstrated its support for a more automated deployment and operations.
The updated program offers two paths for partners by introducing two levels of certifications:
The Ready for Telco Cloud Infrastructure certification identifies virtual network functions that have been proven to interoperate with the core infrastructure layers of the VMware Telco Cloud, as referenced by the ETSI-compliant VMware vCloud NFV Reference Architecture. The focus of this certification level is on compatibility with the virtualized infrastructure manager (VIM) as well as compatibility with the other core components: VMware vSphere for virtualized compute, NSX for virtualized networking, and vSAN for virtualized storage. The fully automated program is available at no-cost to VMware partners, both in the VMware on-premise certification lab as well as in the VMware cloud as self-certification.
The second and new level of certification is called Ready for Telco Cloud. The certification additionally ensures that network functions are ready for deployment and lifecycle operations through VMware Telco Cloud Automation. In this level, the VMware team collaborates with partners to create an ETSI-compliant descriptor as well as a workflow, resource and commissioning artifact for a validated and tested Cloud Service Archive (CSAR). The built-in generic VNF Manager (gVNFM) function within VMware Telco Cloud Automation and the network function designer are central elements in this tier. This higher-level certification is available at the Ready for Telco Cloud lab on the VMware premises and includes the VMware Ready for Telco Cloud Infrastructure certification as a prerequisite.
The following diagram illustrates the path from the Ready for Telco Cloud Infrastructure certification to the Ready for Telco Cloud certification level:
The telecommunication industry has been on a journey toward software-based network functions that will leverage cloud-native architecture and design. Eventually, software development and delivery models will evolve to become more collaborative, significantly faster, and more automated.
We are committed to supporting our customers in their journey and are more than happy to share the extensive experience we have in the area with our partners. We see a logical progression in the way we engage with our telco partners:
- Ensure that the network function is interoperable with the fundamental cloud platform
- Automate the deployment and lifecycle operations
As containerized network functions become available, we will continue supporting our ecosystem. We see full alignment between suppliers and customers: we all want to accelerate the adaptation of software-based network functions, increase components integration, and elevate innovation. This is why the VMware Ready for Telco Cloud has embraced automation, cloud labs, and a continued evolution.
Connect with us: To certify a network function through the VMware Ready for Telco Cloud program, reach out to us at [email protected].
