Implementing 5G Network Slicing with Cloudify on AWS

 

Recent advances in 4G and 5G cellular technologies have led to the adoption of virtualization of network functions, also known as Network Function Virtualization (NFV). Moving away from monolithic and vendor-specific equipment to a separation between hardware and software, 4G and 5G network functions can be hosted on general-purpose hardware (on-premises or in the cloud).

 Additionally, cloud-native principles of microservices-based architectures where network service elements can scale out independently based on demand is becoming the new paradigm. This trend has opened up the telco partner ecosystem to new players from ISVs, System Integrators (SI), and third-party managed services providers.

Management and orchestration (MANO) is telco industry-defined terminology and a key element of the ETSI Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) architecture. It is responsible for allocating and managing network resources for the lifecycle management of virtual network functions (VNFs), Cloud Native Network Functions (CNFs), and End-to-End Network Services (NS). MANO consists of NFV Orchestrator (NFVO), VNF Manager (VNFM), and Virtual Infrastructure Manager (VIM). The need for MANO solutions has risen with the evolution of 5G due to its service-based architecture, cloud-native components, and the scalability requirements that come with it.

In order for MANO solutions to deliver on its expected business outcomes for 5G, they need to oversee the entire operator’s network: Radio Access Network (RAN), Edge, Core, Data Network, and Centralized Cloud. This makes the AWS Cloud a perfect solution for 5G MANO due to AWS having a wide range of integrated services that are targeting different parts of an operator’s network such as:

• AWS Snow Family for RAN and Edge deployment
• AWS Outposts for Edge in addition to Core deployments
• AWS Wavelength for Data Network and IT Data Centers
• AWS Managed Services in AWS Regions to provide a single pane of glass for monitoring, management, and automation

5G network slicing is becoming a critical feature supported by 5G in order to allow communication service providers to support a wide range of applications with different Service Level Requirements on the same network while keeping them isolated and secure.

Cloudify’s management and orchestration solution with its full integration to AWS services such as AWS CloudFormation, AWS CodePipeline, Amazon CloudWatch, Amazon EKS – alongside its support to provision workloads and clusters on-premises such as AWS Outposts, or on Amazon EKS anywhere – make it a great solution to support 5G network slicing use cases.

Reference Links:

AWS

Er. Nashet Ali

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