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SkyLIGHT Director Vision Flow: Streamline and Automate Network Device Turn-Up

Vision Flow is a value-added module for Accedian’s SkyLIGHT Director Performance Platform; it standardizes, streamlines, and automates device commissioning and service provisioning.

VisionFlow is designed to dramatically accelerate time to revenue in mobile backhaul and business services, by automating time-consuming processes.

Using Vision Flow, commissioning can be performed remotely, at scale, in a highly efficient manner. Vision Flow’s streamlined, workflow approach applies to:

• Device discovery trigger: Plug-and-Go automation for basic setup parameters like date/time, DNS, NTP, and SNMP trap destinations. Provision all standard commissioning attributes per subnet and per model. Eliminate manual configuration of standard, network element functionality attributes.

• Profile: Service-by-service job executors, using preconfigured, repeatable templates that expose only variables specific to the work order. Depoy service-specific configurations in minutes. Limit user entry to significantly decrease configuration errors. Ensure consistent deployment of services classes.

Example: Carrier Ethernet Service Activation E-Line or E-Access service with 3 classes of service

Typically, in this simplest type of setup, the two service endpoints each need to be configured. Instead of manually configuring each unit, a Vision Flow profile can be applied to multiple NIDs, configuring both simultaneously.

Traditional network device commissioning is so complex and has so many steps, it is difficult for even a skilled technician to get it right on the first try; it’s slow, inefficient, and costly (eighty percent of network issues are caused by misconfigured equipment).

Vision Flow changes all that, automating most or all (see below) of the steps, in a repeatable manner that ensures values match up and commissioning is completed quickly and correctly the first time.

Automate Order Process Workflows With Vision Flow and Web Services Combining Vision Flow with the power of Web Services, it is possible to build network actions from work order attributes, effectively streamlining and automating the order process workflow. Removing user intervention and manual entry eliminates human error.

MANUAL CONFIGURATION WITH NID GUI

TEMPLATE CONFIGURATION WITH VISION FLOW

33 screens to configure NID and NODE Basic NID configuration (DNS, time, SNTP), five Layer 2 filters, 10 policies, 3 PAAs

Run Time: 90 minutes

1 workflow screen with steps for choosing templates and devices, inputting essential variables, and starting setup run.

Run Time: 3 minutes

Device Turn-Up Made Simple ● Centralize

Performance Element commissioning with templates

● Reduce turn-up time with intuitive, GUI-based templates

● Automate commissioning on device installation

● Perform batch deployment of commissioning changes

● Tailor templates to specific node attributes

● Schedule tasks on daily or deferred basis depending on characteristics

● Track progress of in-progress activities; interrupt it needed

● Improve device turn-up efficiency, reduce OPEX

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Vision Flow Makes it Possible: ● Save work

order/configuration history

● Search by profile name

● Track changes to profiles over time

● Keep inventory of services

Here’s how that works:

1. A Configuration Flow Profile is mapped to a product in the catalog. Combined with work order attributes, this creates a Flow Executor.

2. A Flow Executor maps to a product order, embodying the product implementation attributes provided by network planners. Corresponding network actions are decomposed into Flow Templates.

3. A Flow Template defines actions and attributes to apply to each network element. Each flow template is built based on input attributes of the work order.

4. Flow Templates are decomposed into multiple steps that define network actions to take when applying configuration to the network. Steps define individual parameters for each object applied to the network.

5. Flow Templates are submitted to the Executor, which converts the steps to appropriate commands for the specified network element.

6. State is persisted in the Vision database. Users can query for Flow Executors based on their Flow Profiles, description, and state.

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