Network modernization is a necessary course for every operator. SDN/NFV has promoted the development of network modernization, while software nation and claudication have defined the path of network modernization. At the end of the network modernization process, a high-quality user experience is awaited.
In the process of transformation, operators must remember three keywords agility, efficiency, and speed. However, to achieve true efficiency, end-to-end whole network slicing is essential.
Fast, efficient, and agile are the hallmarks of the future network
People’s great demand for apps and social networks has witnessed the rapid growth of network traffic, and as new IoT services for consumers and vertical industries continue to mature, network traffic will increase in the future. It is estimated that the total number of global connections in 2025 will reach 100 billion, of which about 8 billion connections will come from smartphones.
However, although the network has formed the foundation of today’s world, network builders and operators, and telecom operators are facing the dilemma of not increasing revenue. It is estimated that the traffic of broadband networks will increase by 205% from 2015 to 2025; in sharp contrast, the consumption of global broadband services can only barely increase by 51% during these 10 years.
In order to maintain profitability and meet the ever-increasing traffic demand, the network must be more efficient to help operators provide a better service experience on the basis of reducing CAPEX and OPEX;
At the same time, the network must be sufficiently agile so that operators can quickly innovate and launch new services so that they can be met immediately when users have business needs.
Efficient, agile, and speed are the hallmark factors for the success of the operator’s network, as well as the ultimate goal of the current operator’s network transformation, and NFV and SDN are powerful tools for the operator’s transformation.
In order to better apply NFV and SDN, the 5G network must be divided into multiple slices. Each slice is logically independent to achieve the best experience of a certain type of service, and resource sharing can be realized between different services and slice networks.
Step by step, 4 steps of SDN/NFV operator transformation
The transformation of operators must take into account the benefits of the original network, as well as the maturity of related technologies and ecological chains; in addition, employees must master relevant necessary skills, and organizations must focus on new software and customers. The transformation of the mode of operation. These all require a long process. Generally speaking, the transformation of operators has to go through four major stages: virtualization and cloudification, business migration, end-to-end business orchestration (EEO), and network slicing.
It is also possible to adopt a more radical network construction strategy, which is to compress these stages, directly lay a separate NFV/SDN network, superimpose it on the operator’s existing network, and migrate the original business to the new one at a time. The internet. Although this method has a wide impact, it is still necessary to learn more about the various stages of transformation.
Step1, SDN/NFV virtualization, and cloudification
Virtualization can realize the separation of network element software/hardware functions, just like the principle of routers. This reflects the development of software-defined functions to computing hardware, which can realize the flexible sharing of computing and storage capabilities because the operating efficiency of software applications on commercial hardware (COTS) is the same as on specialized hardware.
In addition to virtualization, computing, and storage capabilities are gradually shifting from PCs to centralized clouds. Cloud facilities can realize the decoupling of functions and locations, and the benefits they bring include network scalability, resource sharing, network flexibility, low power consumption, and improved efficiency. Collecting a large amount of data and providing it to different users for different purposes can also support big data analysis and corresponding countless applications.
NFV introduces virtualization technology into network facilities, decouples software functions and dedicated hardware, and supports virtual network function (VNF) software to run on commercial servers, thereby mimicking network element functions and performance. Currently, commercial products that can achieve this function include vIMS and vEPC.
Step2, SDN/NFV business migration
Operators can adopt a variety of strategies to deploy NFV and SDN and migrate the existing network to a new platform. Each strategy must take into account the importance of the business and the independence of each business. The main strategies include:
Deploy new services
Deploy new services that support NFV/SDN functions, such as VoLTE services including IMS and BoD (bandwidth allocation on demand).
Replacing the platform
This is the best method when the original hardware and software system’s life cycle ends and a substantial capacity increase is required.
Deploy a central SDN and NFV platform
This strategy can realize big data analysis and provide new integrated services.
Business centralization
This strategy can promote the deployment of new and efficient technologies.
Step3, SDN/NFV end-to-end business orchestration (EEO)
NFV and SDN are independent but complementary technologies, both of which can realize the software transformation of the operator’s network. However, various applications supporting end-to-end service orchestration (EEO) need to be deployed across the entire network, so as to maximize the effectiveness of these two technologies.
Service orchestration can enhance the agility of operators, help operators allocate network resources more efficiently, and shorten TTM. Among the many initiatives committed to the realization of NFV and SDN network EEO, the Open-O (Open-Orchestrator) project operated and managed by the Unix Foundation is a key milestone.
It was first announced during the Global Mobile Communications Exhibition in Barcelona in 2016. The result of the joint efforts of many parties, and is committed to creating the first open-source software framework and orchestrator for agile SDN and NFV operations. At present, early applications of EEO are already in place, such as China Telecom’s cloud VPN plan, which was first released in September 2016.
Step4, SDN/NFV 5G network slicing
The traditional mobile communication network operation mode is very single, that is, one network runs all services and relies on IP protocols such as DiffServ to determine the priority of different services, but these protocols are fragmented and cannot achieve end-to-end service orchestration.
Network slicing has been entered into NGMN’s 5G vision. This technology can optimize network resource allocation, achieve maximum cost efficiency, and meet the needs of diversified new 5G services. NGMN defines network slicing as an end-to-end technology, covering core networks and access networks.
The new 5G air interface technology supports network slicing. On the core network, network slicing can be implemented separately or before the deployment of a new 5G air interface. Each network slice is logically a self-sufficient network, and each business has an independent network slice. For example, dedicated video network slicing, IoT network slicing, key communication network slicing, etc. Of course, multiple similar services can also be placed on a network slice.
Each slice is optimized for specific service types, and each supports end-to-end, including RAN and core networks. Unlike LTE, the 5G air interface supports dynamic and semi-dynamic slicing. Multiple parallel network slices can be deployed on a physical facility, and each slice can achieve ultra-reliable and ultra-real-time connections.
Superposition and linkage of various technologies
Network slicing is based on NFV and SDN technologies, both of which need to be superimposed with service orchestration, and service orchestration requires EEO to achieve coordination between the two. Leading operators including China Mobile, Deutsche Telekom, KDDI, Korea Telecom, NTT, and SK Telecom of Korea are all moving towards network slicing technology. NTT has developed a sliced network management system, which is the key to the entire solution.
Huawei is the industry’s leading NFV and SDN technology supplier and continues to promote the development of these two technologies. Huawei’s consulting service department provides various products, solutions, and consulting services. It is good at helping operators implement future-oriented transformation, that is, to achieve SDN, NFV, and network slicing on 5G networks, so as to achieve an efficient listing of new services and improve the operator’s profit.
SDN/NFV Related Links
SDN works
The traditional transmission network contains special routers and switches to realize data forwarding and network control. SDN realizes the centralization of network control functions through a single software-based SDN controller, while routers and switches are only responsible for forwarding, thus reducing the cost of forwarding network elements.
The SDN controller monitors most of the network and easily identifies the optimal packet routing, which is especially useful when the network is congested or partially paralyzed. The routing decision-making capability of the SDN controller is also much higher than that of the routers and switches in the traditional network because the latter’s routing decision-making is only based on a very limited part of the network situation.
But the report shows that only 2% of customers have deployed SDN. The main reason for delaying SDN deployment is the lack of standardized equipment. For operations, large-scale SDN deployment is still in its infancy.
Regional Cloud Factory
The national network architecture generally includes 2 to 3 layers, namely the access layer, the convergence layer, and the core layer. Cloud infrastructure is also hierarchical, generally divided into local, regional, or national data centers. Layering can improve network performance, resilience, flexibility, and network resilience, and it also facilitates network maintenance and network integration.
For example, the subnets of each multinational operator generally includes local national networks and platforms. Because optical fiber networks can reduce transmission costs, multinational operators have reasons to integrate multinational network facilities into an international network. This unified and integrated platform is called a regional cloud factory. For multinational operations, the advantage is that there is no need to establish a platform for each country’s subnet, and only need to operate a VAS platform globally.
Although synergy will bring huge potential benefits to pan-European and pan-African cloud factories, obstacles still exist, including government regulatory restrictions, data security, and privacy, whether a content acquisition is customized locally or regionally, and whether local or regional The region provides support and so on. For example, some businesses can be migrated to regional cloud centers, while some businesses are better localized.
Network slicing will play a key role in the implementation of 5G, which allows operators to run multiple virtual networks on a single physical infrastructure. With the commercialization of 5G in 2020, many people are wondering how far network function virtualization (NFV) and software-defined networking (SDN) can extend.
Virtualized infrastructure
NFV and SDN are two similar but completely different technologies, leading the digital transformation of network infrastructure in the telecom industry. NFV actively provides network services. This network service usually runs on proprietary hardware with virtual machines, where virtual machines are understood as operating systems that imitate dedicated hardware.
With NFV, virtual machines can provide network functions such as routing, load balancing, and firewalls. Resources are no longer confined to the data center, but all over the network, speeding up the productivity of internal operations.
On the other hand, SDN manages network traffic through the application programming interface (API) of the central control plane. For example, when a data packet arrives at a specific switch in the network, the policy in the network determines where to forward the data packet. With SDN, network administrators can provide services across the entire network, regardless of hardware components.
The role of SDN/NFV in network slicing
Both SDN and NFV can provide the functions required for network slicing. The main idea of 5G network slicing is to create and divide different services on the network so that operators can provide the best support for these services. SDN and NFV, as the basis of network slicing, allow the use of force and virtual resources to provide certain services.
Another way in which SDN and NFV are expected to play an important role in network slicing involves the radio access network (RAN). In the network core, SDN and NFV virtualize the network components of each slice to meet specific needs. Network slicing can be enabled by mapping from physical radio resources to RAN. It is expected that NFV and SDN will be used to support different RANs and different types of services running on these RANs.
In addition, the commercial introduction of SDN and NFV is expected to have significant growth in the next few years, enabling network slicing to provide flexible network installation to meet the needs of various applications and services. In addition, SDN can be used to provide an overall architecture to help 5G run on a control plane and determine the best path for traffic in the network.
Conclusion
SDN and NFV will develop together with network slicing, using open protocols to separate software and hardware, and managing network behavior from the control plane will enable 5G networks to provide different types of services for different users. For these reasons, technologies such as SDN and NFV not only make up for the development of 5G network slicing but also promote its development.
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