Kubernetes as a lynchpin for network automation at scale
Zero-touch network automation needs to be employed at every level of the 5G stack in order for 5G Standalone (SA) services to work as envisioned. 5G SA will bring considerable benefits to customers, but it also increases the complexity of the network itself. Network automation is essential to managing this new complexity.
The end-goal of network automation is to deploy truly “zero touch” services which are autonomous – capable of scaling up and down to meet any need, but also capable of repair themselves when they fail, and continuously optimizing to achieve best results.
Ericsson describes the challenges facing operators today: “The majority of CSPs have complex, multi-technology networks that will need to co-exist with the future 5G networks. Many CSPs desire openness and need non-proprietary automation solutions for multivendor networks that will also support the new and exciting capabilities of 5G with assured performance.”
Kubernetes has emerged as the dominant enterprise microservices containerization and orchestration system, and it’s a lynchpin to help carriers and enterprise customers manage 5G services within a containerized framework. Kubernetes’ strength is in eliminating manual processes used to deploy and scale containerized applications, helping to easily and more efficiently manage clusters of host systems operating cloud-native microservice apps.
Kubernetes running a bare-metal environment – that is, a single-tenant server, optimized for specific performance, security, and reliability – is the best choice for deploying 5G cloud-native applications, according to Henrik Bäckström and Rakesh Bohra of Ericsson. Why bare metal? Keep it simple and fast.
“With a Kubernetes over bare-metal infrastructure, without the virtualization layer, service providers get a simplified architecture common for central, edge, and private network deployments providing substantial CAPEX and OPEX benefits,” the two wrote.
Project Nephio emerges for cloud-native network automation specifically for telcos
The Linux Foundation and Google Cloud are putting considerably weight behind Project Nephio to help manage network automation using cloud-native principles while providing carrier-grade service. The open-source effort uses Kubernetes, also developed by Google.
Nephio takes the concept further, unifying automation control planes which are entirely abstracted from infrastructure. This will help make multivendor 5G cloud deployment and management easier and more performant, through intent automation and automation templates, according to the Linux Foundation.
“Building, managing and deploying scalable 5G networks across multiple edge locations is complex. The Telco industry needs true cloud-native automation to be faster, simpler, and easier, while achieving agility and optimization in cloud-based deployments,” said the Linux Foundation in a statement at the time of the announcement.
The Nephio project attracted initial interest from a host of companies including CSPs and telco equipment and software makers after being announced in April, with dozens more joining the chorus a few months later. More than 50 companies are supporting the project, including big guns like Verizon, Vodafone, and Deutsche Telekom.
Kubernetes’ suitability for telco is also a focus of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), a subsidiary of the Linux Foundation. KubeCon and Cloud NativeCon Europe 2022 took place in Valencia, Spain, in May. There, the CNCF announced efforts to improve the usability of Kubernetes service mesh systems for telco and a new certification program to help telcos assess the suitability of Network Equipment Providers (NEPs), which purport to offer cloud-native solutions.
The new Kubernetes-related project is called Envoy Gateway. Envoy Gateway’s goal is to make Envoy, the open-source edge and service proxy, easier to use. Envoy helps wrangle load balancing and other networking complexities specific to cloud app microservice management. Envoy enables cloud developers and network operators to more easily observe and tune overall cloud app performance.
Envoy Gateway adds a simplified deployment model and API layer aimed at lighter use cases. The new effort also merges two existing CNCF API projects: Contour and Emissary, into a common core.
“Exposing a simplified set of APIs, and implementing the Kubernetes Gateway API, [Envoy Gateway] makes it easier to extend Envoy. Developers will now have a cost-free, unfettered way to provide external access to their work in progress. At the same time, Envoy Gateway will not replace API management features currently found in commercial products,” said the group.
