WHITE PAPER Communications Service Providers Cloud-Native Network Functions Why Use Containers and Cloud- Native Functions Anyway? Learn how to correctly implement cloud-native network functions for 5G Executive Overview The telecommunications industry is at an inflection point. Communications service providers (CoSPs) need to adopt new strategies to successfully monetize their networks as 5G deployments transition from nebulous plans to real-world projects. The traditional CoSP approach, with monolithic virtualized network functions (VNFs) that take years to deploy or upgrade cannot keep pace with the new 5G landscape. The nature of the 5G core network—dynamic, configurable and agile— requires a cloud-native approach that uses web-scale, containerized network functions (CNFs) that are resilient, decomposed into microservices and, as much as Authors possible, open source. Muthurajan Jayakumar (M Jay) As 5G use cases multiply, experts predict the number of services will quadruple Cloud-Native Solution Architect & those delivered during the last 40 years1. Without making a smooth and successful Platform Software Engineer, Network transition to a cloud-native 5G core network, CoSPs risk losing customers to other Product Group, Intel players, such as cloud service providers. Table of Contents Intel is working with the telecommunications industry to deliver software-defined networking (SDN) and automation powered by Intel® hardware and software. The Executive Overview . 1 Intel® Network Builders is an ecosystem of independent software vendors (ISVs), Introduction . 1 operating system vendors (OSVs), original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), telecom equipment manufacturers (TEMs), system integrators and CoSPs coming Why CoSPs should go cloud native . 2 together to ease and accelerate the adoption of 5G. A primer on containers and microservices . 2 To be competitive in the fast-moving 5G marketplace, CoSPs need to get cloud- native right the first time; there is no room for failure or hesitation. This white paper 5G and microservices offer many provides an introduction to the synergy between 5G, microservices and containers, benefits to CoSPs . 2 followed by a discussion of cloud-native architecture design principles and best Cloud-native architecture and design practices for building cloud-native CNFs. principles . 5 Introduction Considerations for the journey to cloud native . 6 CoSPs will be able to deploy services faster and more flexibly if they can copy the cloud-native architecture behind giant cloud companies, and use it to underpin Cloud-native engineering best their virtualized networks. These web-scale benefits, generated by a cloud- practices . 7 native approach to cloud services, include independent and fast deployments, Conclusion . 9 programmability, elasticity and minimized interdependencies among services. White Paper | Why Use Containers and Cloud-Native Functions Anyway? 2 Why CoSPs should go cloud native • Autonomous–the resulting simplicity makes the distributed system much easier to decouple for web scale. For example, Cloud native is an approach to building and running you can scale the control and data planes separately. applications that fully exploits the benefits of the cloud computing model. When successfully implemented, this As an example of decomposing a function into microservices, transformation can bring unprecedented speed, agility consider the common tasks of parsing packet headers, and resilience in service development and management inspecting the payload, and classifying packets. These processes. Cloud-native characteristics include tasks are performed by multiple network functions. microservices, containers, continuous delivery and dynamic By containerizing these tasks as microservices, much cloud-based management. redundancy is eliminated and a newly defined network function can simply call the microservices as needed. In the telecommunications context, cloud native brings tangible benefits in terms of reduced capital expenditure (CapEx) and There is no one-size-fits-all answer to whether each separate operational expenditure (OpEx), faster time-to-market service microservice is placed in its own container, or several development and deployment, and scalability in both east- microservices are combined in a single container. If the goal west and north-south traffic. These benefits become critical is to reduce inter-microservice communication overhead, business requirements as the use cases for 5G expand, both for then using one container for multiple microservices may massive machine-type communications and ultra-reliable, be best. On the other hand, if the continuous integration/ low-latency communications. Examples of use cases include continuous deployment (CI/CD) benefits outweigh the inter- smart cities, homes and buildings, voice, 3D video, augmented communication overhead, then each microservice should reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), industry automation, have its own container. Another reason to possibly use autonomous cars, mission-critical applications, and many more individual containers is if the microservices are supplied by use cases we’ve not yet even imagined. different vendors. For example, who knew, when defining the 4G Long-Term 5G and microservices offer many benefits Evolution (LTE) standard, that ridesharing applications like Uber and Lyft would become a dominant usage model? In the to CoSPs same way, as CoSPs, hardware companies and ISVs develop 5G is providing new experiences, such as AR and VR to new technologies, the 5G landscape may yet expand to traditional consumers. But the mobile cellular industry is also unimaginable usage models. pushing into multiple new verticals with distinctive service categories, such as future factories, eHealth, automotive, A primer on containers and microservices mission-critical computing and immersive media, with the To be cloud native, it does not matter whether applications expectation of addressing these markets in the next three are deployed in a public, private or hybrid cloud environment. years or so. What matters is how they are deployed. VNFs that are not So, how will the telco industry, which has essentially created cloud-native are characterized by a single core network, and matured three mobile services-voice, short messaging, dedicated protocols, and are hosted on virtual machines and internet connectivity-over the past thirty years, deal with (VMs). Cloud-native network functions are inherently the staggering challenge of developing multiple markets in a different in design and take advantage of containers. few short years? Containers are a method of virtualization that bundles an Microservices offer the benefit of distributed systems and application with all its dependencies—required executables, service-based architecture. They are appealing due to their binaries, libraries and configuration files, for example—into small footprint and fast start times. The primary benefits of a single, isolated package. In a VM, virtualization abstracts microservices, for 5G and in general, include the following: the hardware and runs multiple OS instances. In contrast, • Update the network quickly with less risk . A one-line containers abstract the OS, multiple containers on a server change to a monolithic application consisting of a few share a common OS kernel. In addition to containers, million lines of code requires the entire application to CNFs use orchestration services that automate service be re-deployed to release the change. This could have a functionality. negative impact on business continuity and poses a high CNFs also enable the use of microservices, which are services risk. In contrast, microservices’ fine granularity allows that work together as a distributed system. Microservices individual services to be upgraded with minimal or no have three primary characteristics: impact to other services. With microservices, the change • Small–a microservice focuses on doing one thing well. is made to a single service and that service is deployed independently of the rest of the system. This allows CoSPs • Focused–microservice boundaries are focused on to deploy the code faster. And, if a problem occurs, it can business boundaries, making it obvious where code be isolated quickly to an individual service, making fast resides for a given piece of functionality. rollback easy to achieve. White Paper | Why Use Containers and Cloud-Native Functions Anyway? 3 • Deliver bug fixes and new functionality faster. Ease of microservice can be easily invoked by other services (with deployment translates to the ability to install bug fixes and appropriate authorization), in different network slices, deliver new functionality to customers faster using the enabling cost-effective reuse of each service. Since there Agile CI/CD methodology. CI/CD enables CoSPs to deliver will be a wide variety of 5G applications with differing new functionality quickly and with low risk. bandwidth, latency and connectivity requirements, microservices let applications mix and match capabilities • Enable cost savings with independent scaling . With without having to wait for slow and cumbersome VMs to a large, monolithic service, everything must be scaled spin up. In the case of ephemeral IoT services this would together. For example, if you want to scale the data be completely unsuccessful. plane, you also have to scale the control plane. But with microservices, it is possible to scale only the services that • Versatile orchestration . Open source tools,