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Telco Bits & Bytes – 11 February 2021

Our regular roundup of the technology news that matters

Welcome to the next edition of our ‘Telco Bits & Bytes’ news blog. Here we share news and insights from across VMware and the technology industry that caught our attention, so you don’t miss a beat. Enjoy!

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VMware, Dell Technologies & SK Telecom to Collaborate on an Integrated MEC Solution

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OneBox MEC To Bring Together Edge Computing and Private 5G

Today we announced VMware is partnering with Dell Technologies and SK Telecom to develop a multi-access edge computing (MEC) solution, OneBox MEC, that brings together private 5G and edge computing capabilities.

MEC moves compute workloads from a centralized cloud to the edge of a network. By analyzing, processing, and storing data closer to the customer, we can achieve low latency and real-time communications.

Let me share a use case where it would be advantageous to move compute from the cloud to the edge.

Tech-forward retailers use smart surveillance cameras to analyze how customers move around their stores. The insights gleamed from this data help them provide a better shopping experience. If the retailer connected hundreds of cameras set up across multiple store locations to the cloud, high connectivity costs may become prohibitive.

Instead, with an edge computing solution, analysis of the video is streamed via a reliable and high-performance 5G connection to a server on the retail premises, which can aggregate the video feeds and perform the analysis. The only data that would need to be sent to the cloud would be that used for longer-term trend analysis and storage. From a security standpoint, all identifiable footage of customers would remain on the retail store premises.

This is just one of many use cases that exist today. The healthcare industry could use this model to improve in-patient monitoring. As robotics continue to proliferate on the assembly line, manufacturers could utilize a MEC solution to improve predictive maintenance on these connected machines.

Leading operators, like SK Telecom, see an opportunity to deliver MEC as a service to enterprise customers across a variety of industries that face similar use cases.

The MEC solution that SK Telcom is developing with Dell Technologies and VMware pairs edge computing functionality with private 5G network functions – using the same hardware. A solution that combines edge computing and private connectivity will be able to deliver both operational simplicity and infrastructure benefits in terms of the cost and space of the solution.

Let’s take a closer look at the OneBox MEC solution.

The OneBox MEC can use the Dell EMC PowerEdge XE2420 server for data-intensive, low-latency edge services to deliver the performance, availability and security required for CSPs to build their portfolio of private 5G and edge solutions.

Workloads can run on top of VMware’s Telco Cloud Platform, which enables the solution to include both virtualized network functions and cloud native applications. In addition, VMware Telco Cloud Automation will provide onboarding, life cycle management, and zero touch provisioning of both the MEC infrastructure and applications/services.

We are excited to play a critical role in delivering a solution that will help enterprises innovate at the edge with greater velocity. Our Telco Cloud Platform provides a foundation on top of which enterprises can deliver edge services on any cloud with agility and a consistent experience. Be sure to check back here for updates from the team as we continue to work with Dell Technologies and SK Telecom to bring this solution to market in the future.

Forward-Looking Statements

Except for historical and factual information, the matters set forth in this post identified by words such as “will,” “expects,” “believes,” and similar expressions are forward-looking statements as defined by the federal securities laws, and are subject to the “safe harbor” protections thereunder. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results and are based on current expectations only, and are subject to various uncertainties. Actual events and results may differ materially from those anticipated by us in those statements for several reasons. We may change our intentions or plans discussed in our forward-looking statements without notice at any time and for any reason.

Telco Bits & Bytes – 28 January 2021

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Our regular roundup of the technology news that matters

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Light Reading webinar: How to Enable 5G and Private Networks to Drive Industry 4.0, February 3, 2021, APJ suitable timings

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Telco Bits & Bytes – 14 January 2021

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Our regular roundup of the technology news that matters

Happy New Year and welcome to the first edition of our ‘Telco Bits & Bytes’ news blog for 2021. Here we share news and insights from across VMware and the technology industry that caught our attention, so you don’t miss a beat.

VMware Bits

Technology Bytes

For daily VMware and technology news, follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and our website

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Running CNFs on Bare Metal — Merit or Mirage? The Abstraction of Virtualization Yields Concrete Benefits

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As CSPs turn to containers to help roll out 5G services and pursue new use cases, engineers and architects at CSPs are trying to gauge the benefits of running containers on virtual machines or bare metal.

A container wraps a network function in a consistent, portable package that can be independently distributed and modified with little effort and few dependencies. Containers then run on a host operating system and share its kernel. The host operating system resides on either a virtual machine or a physical server.

If you’re part of 5G effort at a CSP, you’re probably considering the merits of running containers on virtual machines or bare metal. Containerized network functions (CNFs) help CSPs streamline the development and deployment of 5G services and functions so you can gain flexibility, speed, and agility to address 5G use cases while maintaining or exceeding your existing levels of security, performance, and reliability.

Embodied in the term cloud-native technologies, this containerization trend is advanced by using a microservices architecture and a container orchestration system—typically Kubernetes. Containers, in general, can ease the path to being able to independently deploy, modify, and maintain network functions. Kubernetes comes into the picture to automate the deployment and management of containerized functions and services at scale.

When it comes to containers, some people tend to cast the choice between virtual machines and bare metal as a binary one, but that’s not the case. Containers are a form of operating system virtualization; virtual machines are, of course, hardware virtualization, which was originally developed to eliminate the many pain points of working with physical hardware and to reduce costs.

As such, VMs solve infrastructure-related problems by better utilizing servers, improving infrastructure management, streamlining IT operations, and isolating resources for security. These are some of the reasons why the major public cloud providers use hypervisors and VMs to run containers. Containers solve application-related problems by, among other things, streamlining DevOps, fostering a microservices architecture, improving portability, and further improving resource utilization.

Containers complement the many benefits of hardware virtualization, and security is a case in point. Because containers alone are inadequate security boundaries, the strong isolation provided by VMs improves security for containerized functions and services, and the mature, proven ecosystem of virtualization technology enables you to build security into the infrastructure with such measures as micro-segmentation.

This passage from the NIST Application Container Security Guide (NIST Special Publication 800-190) sums up this synergy nicely:

“Although containers are sometimes thought of as the next phase of virtualization, surpassing hardware virtualization, the reality for most organizations is less about revolution than evolution. Containers and hardware virtualization not only can, but very frequently do, coexist well and actually enhance each other’s capabilities. VMs provide many benefits, such as strong isolation, OS automation, and a wide and deep ecosystem of solutions. Organizations do not need to make a choice between containers and VMs. Instead, organizations can continue to use VMs to deploy, partition, and manage their hardware, while using containers to package their apps and utilize each VM more efficiently.”

Because of this synergistic problem-solving relationship, running containers on virtual machines helps CSPs speed up the transition from 4G to 5G and ease the management of CNFs and 5G services. At the center of this combination is VMware Telco Cloud Platform, which uses a telco-grade Kubernetes distribution to orchestrate containers on virtual machines in a telco cloud.

A new white paper and an executive level solution brief from VMware explains how running containers on VMs establishes the perfect catalyst for efficiently and securely operating CNFs at scale.

Visit telco.vmware.com for more information on VMware’s Telco Cloud.

Streamlining Operations and Automating Lifecycle Management with Telco Cloud Platform: Insights from Analysys Mason

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Communications service providers are working at a rapid clip to establish the digital foundation to roll out 5G networks. If you’re part of a 5G effort, you’re likely harboring a multi-cloud vision of modern infrastructure that will empower your organization to quickly turn your 5G efforts into innovative services and viable business models.

At the same time, however, you’re probably faced with a conundrum: How can you deploy 5G services and network functions on infrastructure that has the consistency to enable you to simplify network operations, not make the task more complex. Since large 5G investments will increase the pressure to extract profit from 5G capabilities like low latency and high density, it is imperative that you can streamline operations and automate lifecycle management to keep OpEx low.

A digital operations model that abstracts the complexity of operating 5G networks and automates the management of network functions across multiple clouds helps elevate the promise of 5G to a sustainable reality. When you combine consistent infrastructure with an operations model that emphasizes this kind of cloud-first automation, you’ve obtained a critical mass for not only deploying but operating and optimizing 5G networks with ease.

To help you innovate quickly while managing functions and services efficiently, a modern telco cloud platform should contain these elements:

* Cloud-native technology such as containers and Kubernetes that lets you run and manage containerized network functions (CNFs).

* Hybrid infrastructure supporting both virtualized network functions (VNFs) and CNFs that spans multiple clouds and sites, from the core to the edge.

* Multi-layer, cloud-first automation that unites your infrastructure and multi-cloud resources in a centralized orchestration system.

VMware Telco Cloud Platform combines these elements into a consistent, horizontal platform that simplifies operations and automates lifecycle management so you can deploy and manage 5G networks and services while keeping OpEx low. Cloud-first automation cost-effectively lights up the path to digital transformation.

Analysys Mason has just published a paper that corroborates the efficient operational model embodied in VMware Telco Cloud Platform.

To find out more, read the full paper.
Network and service automation is key to operationalise 5G multi-cloud networks and digital services at scale, by Analysys Mason, October 2020.

Introducing Telco Cloud Automation 1.7 – What’s New?

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VMware is proud to announce the general availability of VMware Telco Cloud Automation 1.7. This new version powers the multiple layers of orchestration and automation delivered by VMware Telco Cloud Platform, which is a new cloud-native platform for 5G that has been announced on September 1^st 2020. VMware Telco Cloud Automation is offered both as a standalone product or as a component of VMware Telco Cloud Platform.

As part of that new platform, VMware Telco Cloud Automation becomes a centralized management layer that orchestrates and automates a telco cloud across every layer, from infrastructure to network functions and services. By using multi-layer automation as the cornerstone of the transition to 5G networks, VMware Telco Cloud Platform changes how carrier networks will be deployed and operated.

Let’s take a look at this new release’s innovations and improvements.

Multi-Layer Automation for Modern Networks

VMware Telco Cloud Automation 1.7 provisions and automates core aspects of the infrastructure in addition to Kubernetes clusters, network functions, and services. These new capabilities accelerate the migration to 5G and the network expansion to the edges while maximizing resource utilization and radically simplifying operations. The platform’s automation goes beyond the traditional MANO, as it infuses cloud-based and DevOps practices into every layer of the telco cloud architecture.

Figure 1: Telco Cloud Automation 1.7

Automating CaaS Management for better Consistency and Resources Utilization

VMware Telco Cloud Automation extends its cloud-native architecture to centralize CaaS management. It automates the discovery, registration, and creation of Kubernetes clusters while enabling continuous synchronization between the CaaS layer (Tanzu Kubernetes) and VMware Telco Cloud Automation. This synchronization creates constant Kubernetes cluster resource awareness, centralizes fault and performance monitoring, and optimizes workload placements. Furthermore, during the workload instantiation process, if none of the available Kubernetes cluster profiles is suitable, the system will on-demand or automatically optimize an existing cluster to match the network function’s requirements through late binding configurations on OS, PaaS, and networking.

Figures 2 and 3: Kubernetes Cluster Inventory and Kubernetes Cluster Template Creation

As figures 2 and 3 show, CSPs have rapid visibility of each deployed Kubernetes clusters and the ability to bootstrap new ones over the infrastructure using predefined templates. The templates include base cluster configurations such as the Kubernetes version, extensions required (CNI/CSI), and the specifics of the manager and worker nodes, like CPU, memory, and replica. VMware Telco Cloud Automation will further optimize the cluster based on the network function requirements at instantiation (late-binding). Figure 4 provides an overview of the CaaS automation process.

Figure 4: CaaS Automation Workflow

The effective late binding of the cluster configurations allows for optimal alignment between the cluster and the CNF requirements, maximizing the cluster and infrastructure resources.

Figures 5 and 6: CNF Cluster Selection and Cluster Re-Configuration

The figure 5 and 6 highlights the product ability to specify a cluster for deployment and the cluster configuration during the CNF instantiation (in that case, it is installing a specific version of the Photon OS). To view this process in action, please take a look at the Kubernetes Cluster creation and the CNF instantiation demonstration videos. Once a Kubernetes Cluster has been deployed, it joins the available Telco Cloud resource pool and is monitored with other clusters and Virtual Infrastructure Manager (VIM).

Demonstration Video 1: Kubernetes Cluster Creation & Deployment

Demonstration Video 2: CNF Deployment & CaaS Optimization

Fast-Forward Network Capacity Expansion and Edge

The telco cloud is growing fast. Being able to fire up capacity or add new sites is critical to enable new capabilities or improve the customer experience. VMware Telco Cloud Automation accelerates the deployment of new telco cloud sites, without cumbersome and error-prone manual software installations and configurations. As per Figures 7 and 8, VMware Telco Cloud Automation combines zero-touch provisioning (ZTP) with CSPs’ predefined templates for core, edge, and other sites to rapidly set up site provisioning.

Figure 7 and 8: Infrastructure Automation

By coupling this new capability with CaaS, xNF, and network service automation, VMware Telco Cloud Automation can automatically roll out a complete telco cloud from infrastructure to network functions and services. Automating cloud deployment is essential to expanding capacity in the core data center and for rapidly introducing edge sites at scale. Figure 9 presents a high-level view of this new automated site provisioning process. In this scenario, VMware Telco Cloud Automation is pre-deployed on the core management cluster and operates the deployment of a new site remotely.

Figure 9: Infrastructure Automation Workflow

This new set of capabilities will transform how telco 5G networks are being rolled out, taking full advantage of the virtual domain and cloud-native technologies.

Automating Telco Cloud Software Upgrades

Considering the required level of availability, managing updates, and upgrades in a telco network is always critical. VMware Telco Cloud Automation integrates with a CSP’s existing continuous integration and delivery pipeline (CI/CD) to update the telco cloud software, once new versions are made available by the vendors. As the updated software is pushed by the vendor and certified through required testing procedures by the CSP and VMware (Ready for Telco Cloud), the new version is made available in the platform repository and a new option for software upgrade becomes available. An upgrade can include changes to code, package, or artifacts. Figure 10 explains the post certified release availability and the upgrade process enabled by Telco Cloud Automation for deploying and monitoring registered upgrades.

Figure 10: CI/CD Pipeline Example

The notion of CI/CD delivery pipeline is fundamental for the evolution of CSPs toward cloud-native and DevOps practices. Even if we expect the rate of changes to be less frequent than enterprise and consumer software, the distributed nature and the various tools used by CNF will be helped by a CI/CD pipeline implementation.

Expanding Interoperability through the Partner Ecosystem

The VMware Ready for Telco Cloud program is expanding to support cloud-native network functions on VMware Telco Cloud Platform, including VMware Telco Cloud Automation. The CNF certification accelerates 5G rollouts and removes compliance risks. The CNF architecture, through distributed micro-services, requires a certification process that validates interoperability and provision the appropriate cluster configurations and toolchain, which can differ for each CNF or vendor. The pre-certification activities performed during the last two quarters with CNF vendors have allowed bi-directional validation and optimization of both capabilities and performance. VMware will publish the new Ready for Telco Cloud guidelines for CNF certification within the upcoming quarter, and we invite equipment providers to contact our team to register today.

Streamlined Integration to Telco Architecture

In addition, to facilitate network function interoperability, VMware Telco Cloud Automation now supports TMF 633, 638, and 641 interfaces to OSS and service orchestration. These new interfaces turn complex integrations and maintenance work into simple configuration and validation activities.

Figure 11: ETSI/TMF Interfaces

Driving the Cloud-Native Evolution Toward 5G Networks

VMware Telco Cloud Automation 1.7 embodies the tools and automation to propel your cloud-native evolution toward 5G. The release unites VNF + CNF management and delivers automation across the telco cloud operations, streamlining workload placement, optimizing resource allocation, and driving zero-touch provisioning of new sites. In short, it gives you the tools and automation to manage containers, network functions, and services as you expand your core, push out to the edge, embrace cloud-native technology, and evolve toward 5G.

Learn more about VMware Telco Cloud Automation for CSPs:

Online
- Telco Cloud Automation – Webpage
- Telco Cloud Automation – Datasheet
- Telco Cloud Automation – Overview Video
- Telco Cloud Automation – VMworld 2020 On-Demand Sessions
  - Extreme Automation for Modern Telco Cloud Networks (TLCG2760)
  - Dive Into 5G Automated Multi-Cloud Service Delivery (TLCG2761)
  - Transforming 5G Economics with an Automated Telco Cloud (TLCG2637)
- Telco Cloud Automation – Prior Release Overview Post

Telco Bits & Bytes – 17 September 2020

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Announcing VMware Telco Cloud Platform — A Cloud-Native Architecture to Propel CSPs Toward 5G

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The rollout of 5G networks is driving a monumental shift among communications service providers. As a CSP, you’re likely envisioning a multi-cloud strategy that lets you deploy both virtual network functions and cloud-native network functions from various vendors side by side on hybrid infrastructure so you can rapidly launch new services, explore new opportunities, and improve your competitive position.

How can you modernize your network and your infrastructure in a way that gives you the agility and efficiency to be able to pursue your 5G objectives while maintaining carrier-grade performance, quality, and reliability?

The following elements are critical to establishing a modern cloud with the power to innovate quickly, scale with elasticity, and manage functions and services efficiently:

Cloud-native technology such as containers and Kubernetes that lets you build, manage, and run cloud-native network functions (CNFs) across distributed sites.
Hybrid infrastructure that spans across multiple clouds and sites, from the core to the edge and from private to public clouds.
Multi-layer, cloud-first automation that unites your infrastructure and multi-cloud resources in a centralized orchestration system, which uses intent-based placement with late binding for optimization.

The trick, of course, is combining all of these elements into a consistent, horizontal platform that eliminates silos, simplifies operations, and manages your networks and infrastructure efficiently so you can keep costs low while maintaining carrier-grade quality.

VMware Telco Cloud Platform does just that, and we are excited to announce the platform. Powered by field-proven telco infrastructure and cloud-first automation, VMware Telco Cloud Platform is a multi-cloud platform that enables you to rapidly deploy and efficiently operate multi-vendor CNFs and VNFs with agility and scalability across distributed 5G networks, from the core and the edge to the radio access network (RAN).

By solving the problems that undermine the architecture of existing telecommunications networks — vertical monolithic stacks marred by complexity, silos, and vendor lock-in — VMware Telco Cloud Platform empowers you to launch innovative services on consistent horizontal infrastructure that reduces operational complexity and radically improves agility. The two fundamental elements of this architecture are VMware Telco Cloud Infrastructure and VMware Telco Cloud Automation. As such, the platform’s architecture includes not only compute, storage, and networking but also containers as a service (CaaS) and multi-layer automation.

VMware Telco Cloud Platform establishes an open, disaggregated, and vendor-agnostic ecosystem to streamline 5G service delivery from design to lifecycle management automation while creating a unified, developer-friendly architecture with key capabilities for resource optimization, operational consistency, and multi-layer automation.

Here’s a summary of the platform’s critical capabilities and some of the associated business benefits.

Consistent Horizontal Platform

Consistent and horizontal platform: The platform’s hybrid IaaS and CaaS modernizes existing clouds to run both VNFs and CNFs across unified, consistent infrastructure. This architecture fosters low-latency performance in the data plane and improves scalability through virtualized networking with VMware NSX.
Multiple clouds with centralized management: The platform enables you to manage and automate functions, services, and resources across multiple clouds and sites. From a centralized location, you can facilitate and seamlessly accelerate service delivery across your network.

Carrier-Grade Cloud-Native Capabilities

Cloud-native architecture: You can deploy, orchestrate, and optimize cloud resources and processes with intent-based placement. This cloud-native architecture establishes network resiliency, seamless cross-cloud application continuity, and multi-tenant service isolation to address business requirements and compliance regulations, such as high availability and service-level agreements.
Containers as a service (CaaS): The platform provides containers as a service (CaaS), which includes telco-specific enhancements that operationalize Kubernetes and containers specifically for telco networks.
Carrier-grade Kubernetes: The platform lets you capitalize on the advantages of a microservices architecture. You can use microservices with a resource-optimized Kubernetes runtime for device attachment, NUMA alignment, resource reservation, and placement. This cloud-native architecture delivers the capability to roll out 5G networks with Multus, DPDK modules, an SR-IOV plugin, CPU/Topology Manager, and Kubernetes cluster automation tailored for telco use cases.
Kubernetes cluster management: The platform deploys and operates new Kubernetes versions and worker nodes, and it validates on-boarded network functions on the updated version of Kubernetes. Cluster management eases the shift to Kubernetes so the business can focus on deploying new services.

Multi-Layer Automation

Zero-touch provisioning: The platform enables you to automate the onboarding and upgrading of network functions and infrastructure components with zero-touch provisioning. Zero-touch provisioning simplifies operations by automatically provisioning new sites, services, and functions. Predefined templates for core, edge, and other sites let you rapidly set up and deploy infrastructure and services. By coupling this new capability with automated CaaS management, VNF management, and NFV operations, you can automatically roll out a complete telco cloud from infrastructure and CaaS to network functions and services.
Intelligent placement of functions through service-aware infrastructure: This capability optimizes resource utilization through analyzing infrastructure usage and service requirements. Based on holistic information gleaned from continuously synchronizing with registered clouds, VMware Telco Cloud Platform recommends where and when network functions should be deployed. This capability improves resource utilization and operational efficiency by dynamically adjusting the deployment schema. As a result, you can architect your 5G systems for optimal application response, scale, and service availability. Say goodbye to all those retries.
Dynamic resource allocation and late binding for optimization: A CNF is placed using late biding in Kubernetes clusters that were fine tuned during instantiation to meet the CNF’s requirements. The container network interface (CNI) and the operating system for the container host are configured to fulfill the needs of the CNF. This automation improves the resource utilization of clusters. More specifically, during the workload instantiation process, if none of the available Kubernetes clusters is suitable, the system will optimize an existing cluster or create new ones that match its network function requirements, such as location, DPDK, and SR-IOV.
Multi-layer lifecycle management: The platform improves operational efficiency by automating the provisioning and management of all the layers of the telco cloud, from network services to infrastructure, reducing provisioning and maintenance costs.
CI/CD pipeline integration: The platform makes possible lean and agile DevOps practices across operational functions by integrating with your CI/CD pipeline to deploy, redeploy, and upgrade network functions quickly and reliably, which helps achieve telco-grade resiliency and always-on service availability. These capabilities help you connect your business objectives and organizational structures with technical solutions that address 5G use cases.

Business Benefits for the 5G Era

These capabilities come together to drive a unique combination of benefits for a multi-cloud 5G era. The platform empowers you to:

Innovate faster by modernizing your telco cloud with web-scale speed and agility while maintaining carrier-grade performance, resiliency, and quality.
Deploy network functions and services throughout 5G networks, from the core to edge sites.
Run and manage CNFs and VNFs side by side on consistent horizontal infrastructure.

The combination of these capabilities and their benefits gives you the foundation for digital transformation. In the face of fierce competition and a rapidly changing marketplace, you can stand out by bringing innovative services to the market faster and by establishing a cutting-edge position in the new landscape of 5G.

Learn more about VMware’s Telco Cloud.

Telco Bits & Bytes – 3 September 2020

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