SOLUTION BRIEF

End-to-End NFV-vEPC Service Orchestration

Multi-Vendor, End-to-End, NFV-vEPC Service Orchestration

Network Function Virtualization (NFV) enables the deployment of network functions on general-purpose hardware instead of traditional purpose-built hardware. Furthermore NFV allows operators to leverage standard IT virtualization and cloud technologies to reduce total cost of operation and increase the service innovation, automation and scale. Existing mobile Evolved Packet Cores (EPC), deployed with purpose-build hardware are very expensive to deploy and are static – forcing operators to design and deploy for worst-case load scenarios and leaving network capacity idle as usage patterns shift during throughout the day. The deployment of a vEPC and associated service delivery requires sophisticated orchestration of the virtual resources inside the datacenter, as well as the physical mobile backhaul network. The solution below demonstrates end-to-end vEPC service orchestration. The solution uses packet optical transport platforms and orchestration software from Cyan, Linux and OpenStack and -Xeon processor-powered platforms from . This solution has been officially accepted to comply with the ETSI NFV ISG requirements and published on their portal as an operator sponsored proof-of-concept

Using cloud computing technologies layer as well as the southbound side for SDN and NFV applications that is within the network infrastructure as that touches all the network easy to upgrade and maintain. a flexible, cost-effective approach to elements that provide end to end Recent Intel® microarchitecture and support traditional network services communication such as Network DPDK optimized vSwitch allows carriers to reap both the Interface Devices (NIDs), mobile improvements have significantly benefits of NFV as well as instantly towers (eNodeB), switches, routers, reduced the need for specialized on, scalable and ubiquitous cloud packet optical mobile-backhaul, silicon, enabling network operators computing resources. Intel, Cyan, gateways, cloud computing and NFV to take advantage of the proven Red Hat, Dell and Connectem have resources. scalability of modern, virtualized collaborated to build an NFV data center technology. solution for a vEPC running on cloud Key Ingredients: resources that are easily provisioned Intel Cyan, Inc. and integrated into a carrier’s The extreme processing power and Cyan’s Blue Planet is the first infrastructure using standards based virtualization capabilities of Intel purpose-built SDN/NFV solution APIs. This multi-vendor solution Xeon processors and 10GbE designed for service providers to provides integration both on the technology provide operators a simplify the development, northbound side facing the OSS/BSS standard, reusable, shared platform deployment and orchestration of

SOLUTION BRIEF

End-to-End NFV-vEPC Service Orchestration

scalable services. Blue Planet is a the 6WINDGate networking stack to functions and re-define the scalable platform with open process network packets outside the functions for maximum optimization north/southbound APIs to interface Linux kernel, for a tenfold of Data Center tools, technologies with multi-vendor network improvement in data plane and economics. VCM takes the hardware, OSS systems and performance. Finally, Red Hat entire EPC as a module to provide applications. It is also responsible for Enterprise Linux OpenStack® services to the users. It dismantles the lifecycle of virtual functions Platform controls the overall the node boundary and removes the running within the NFV foundation solution and provides an need for encoding and decoding at Infrastructure (NFVI). Furthermore, interface for a wide variety of multiple interfaces. VCM provides a Blue Planet supports FCAPS for the network orchestration software robust, high performance, scalable NFVI and the virtual network tools. and fault tolerant solution that is functions (VNFs), including tracking optimized for the task of processing the relationships and dependencies DELL sessions. between the NFVI resources and the DELL PowerEdge C6220 servers VNFs. Cyan solutions include Blue harness the capabilities of Intel® ng4t Test Software Planet SDN software and Z-Series Xeon® Processor E5-2600 ng4T provides active test solutions packet-optical transport platforms. performance with excellent for verification and deployment of combination of compute, memory mobile networks. NG40® test Red Hat & 6WIND and I/O (input/output) performance platform is fully scalable and runs on Red Hat Enterprise Linux® and Red inside Dell’s established shared virtual machines as well as Hat Enterprise Virtualization provide infrastructure servers to help build standalone high performance the secure, reliable operating the scale-out cloud environment. servers. The NG40 test software can environment and flexible, high- be used as Core or RAN network performance, cost-effective Connectem element emulator. In this NFV virtualization needed to decouple Connectem Virtual Core for Mobile solution the NG40 eUTRAN test network functions from the (VCM) is a self-contained virtual software is used to test a started hardware they run on. 6WIND’s packet core that provides all the EPC instance prior going into 6WINDGate networking software functionalities of an Evolved Packet productive operation. uses the Intel DPDK library within Core. Connectem has collapsed the This NFV Proof of Concept has been developed according to the ETSI NFV ISG Proof of Concept Framework. NFV Proofs of Concept are intended to demonstrate NFV as a viable technology. Results are fed back to the NFV Industry Specification Group. Neither ETSI, its NFV Industry Specification Group, nor their members make any endorsement of any product or implementation claiming to demonstrate or conform to NFV. No verification or test has been performed by ETSI on any part of this NFV Proof of Concept. The ETSI logo is a Trade Mark of ETSI registered for the benefit of its Members.