Open Source Carrier Networking

Open SourceCarrier Networking

Dirk Kutscher

Chief Researcher

NEC Laboratories Europe

Page 2 © NEC Corporation 2015

Open Source Carrier Networking

▌Different objectives for Open Source projects

1. Disseminate and test new ideas Research collaboration

2. Validate and demonstrate technology and standards PoCs

3. Open Source industry platforms large-scale projects


NEC – Communications and IT Solutions

▌Cloud Infrastructure

▌Telecom networks and services

▌Leading OpenFlow products

▌World‘s first commercial LTE deployment

▌World‘s first commercial vEPC deployment

▌Linux- (and generally OSS)-based product range


NEC NFV Solutions History

Linux-based ATCA systems

First-generation of virtualized systems with proprietary resource

manager

OpenStack-based VIM and orchestration systems

OPNFV-based solutions


Requirements from a Telecommunications Perspective

▌General objectives for NFV-based networks1. Automation (deployment, life-cycle management, elasticity)

2. Flexbility – adding/removing new features fast

3. Cost efficiency (consolidation of functions onto fewer physical boxes)

Specific Requirements▌ Availability and Fault Management

Faults can happen Detecting root-causes reliably and react quickly Minimizing downtime

▌ Performance Balance virtualization with optimal resource usage

▌ Multi-domain operation Extending NFV domains across DC boundaries


Previous Development Cycle

Customer Requirements Development Product Release


Open Source, Open Loop

Requirements & Blueprints Artifacts Release

Testing


Experience: Development

▌Modularity in OSS projects Designed for multi-partner collaboration and extensibility Component-based architectures, well-defined APIs Large active communities dynamic system

▌Example: NEC NFV OpenStack development NEC extension modules for NFV use cases and requirements Development (including research and QA) completed in 8 months

▌Lesson: Flexibility, modular design a key enabler for fast customization and extension


Experience: Troubleshooting NFV

▌NEC telco support business Strong (legal) requirements for high availability Root cause analysis for effective fault management NFV: high degree of consolidation makes this difficult

▌Example: service outage in customer network Network service application failure Reproduced problem locally and identified bug by adding diagnostics into KVM/qemu

▌Lesson: White box (OSS) approach enables effective debugging and hardening of critical systems


Experience: Paddling Upstream

▌From adaptation to upstream integration First generation of OSS-based products were based on many specific

features, proprietary extensions Doable for single development – not maintainable in the long run

▌Upstream first instead of forking and expensive re-integration NEC develops use cases, requirements and feature designs Close collaboration with partners to integrate features in a timely manner We (and rest of the industry) can leverage those features in products

▌Lesson: Minimize development and maintenance costby upstream first approach


Current Work: Transport-SDN with ONOS

Flexible and easy-to-use multi-layer/multi-domain/multi-device view/control of transport network which consists of legacy and pure-SDN domains

Packet-transport domain

Optical network domain

Mobile backhaul domain

OpenFlow domain

OpenFlow domain

OpenFlow domain

ODENOS (Network abstraction)

ONOS

ONOS ONOS

NMS

NMS

NMS

OpenFlow domain

ONOS

Leveraging high performance and

scalability

Global/Local view & control

Customer-domain view & control

Protocol layer view & control

Optical driverMobile backhaul

driverPacket-transport

driverONOS driver

Inter-domain path restoration


Outlook: OpenFlow in Carrier Networks

▌After first wave of NFV-based softwarization, we see more demand for true Software-Defined Networking Commoditizing forwarding elements further Enhanced programmability and proper policy abstractions

▌New abstractions and programmability modelsfor OpenFlow

▌Powerful policy frameworks

▌Network redesign


Internet

Open Source Carrier Networking