NFV architectures require an evolution in automated network maintenance; discover best practices on NFV assurance from Huawei
One of the dominant trends in the current service provider landscape is the shift to customer-centric service delivery where subscribers can easily select, pay for and activate applications on-demand and from any device anywhere. This move to automated delivery of bespoke services requires a major, and often challenging, technological evolution.
Network functions virtualization (NFV) techniques allow operators to provide real-time customer interactions, which can not only decrease opex, but also help create long-term revenue streams by cementing customer loyalty. However, deploying NFV capabilities comes with the challenge of adapting the way telcos approach service assurance, which also has to evolve to appropriately monitor and optimize the new network.
“NFV transformation will accelerate the evolution of maintenance services as the techniques of proactive and real-time service assurance will support the orchestration and automation needed to tackle NFV assurance challenges.” TBR Executive Analyst Michael Sullivan said. “TBR believes that Huawei’s suite of solutions for NFV assurance hold[s] promise to help address the crucial network assurance challenges service providers face with NFV transformation.”
In a recent whitepaper, Sullivan laid out typical pain points expressed by operators in regards to NFV maintenance:
- Dependency on hardware upgrades;
- Visibility into all layers of NFV;
- Network recovery delays in virtual platforms;
- Assuring reliability of open-source platforms;
- And lack of tools to use for software troubleshooting.
Zhao Yongjun, Huawei Global Technical Services’ General Manager of Customer Support Services, explained that, with more than 90 commercial NFV projects in place by the end of Q3 2016, the Chinese ICT firm is well positioned to help operators effectively address those pain points.
“Huawei has a deep understanding of the telecommunications service areas and has accumulated a lot of ICT and NFV system maintenance experience. Together with Huawei’s Open Lab’s powerful verification ability, we can help carriers to achieve efficient maintenance and build high[ly] available NFV networks.”
In Kuwait, Huawei is working with Ooredoo on a number of NFV projects to help the operator better compete in the advanced telecom market. Using a new platform developed by Huawei and VMWare, Ooredoo was able to reduce the development time of a new product from months to 3.5 hours. The pilot transferred a virtualized IMS core from a test to a production IT environment and was used to support Ooredoo’s first VoLTE call.
Huawei is also working with China Mobile Hong Kong on the deployment of an LTE-Advanced Pro (4.5G) network using NFV and leveraging the carrier’s existing TD-LTE/LTE FDD converged network.
Through these and many other deployment experiences, Huawei has developed several best practices for NFV assurance, which Sullivan summarizes:
- Approach problems with a recover-first, resolve-next solution. With NFV, virtual machines can be easily replaced to facilitate immediate recovery; the root cause and repair can be implemented after recovery.
- Predict potential faults and implement an optimization plan. Virtual machines have to be monitored constantly for consistency with KPI metrics
- Implement ongoing support services like identifying a single vendor point of contact to support the transition from physical to virtual assurance in a multi-vendor environment.
Based on his research, Sullivan concludes: “Service transparency and flexibility are key to increasing customer value and remaining competitive in the eyes of most telecom service providers. NFV transformation is seen as the path to achieving these goals. NFV also represents new challenges for maintenance, specifically network assurance. Huawei is offering a suite of solutions for NFV assurance integrated within its existing portfolio. TBR believes these solutions hold promise to help address the crucial network assurance challenges service providers face with FNV transformation.”
For more information, download the whitepaper, Network maintenance evolution and best practices for NFV assurance.
