How VMware is Offering CSPs Acceleration to OpenStack for NFV

At VMworld® 2017 Europe, VMware, Inc. announced VMware vCloud® NFV™-OpenStack, delivering an accelerated approach to deploying production NFV services on OpenStack.

The new vCloud NFV-OpenStack platform includes VMware Integrated OpenStack-Carrier Edition, VMware’s new OpenStack Ocata-based distribution that is fully integrated, tested, and certified with VMware’s NFV infrastructure platform.

Using VMware Integrated OpenStack as an NFV Virtualized Infrastructure Manager (VIM), network architects can easily deploy, upgrade, and operate an OpenStack cloud on top of VMware’s carrier-grade NFVI platform.

Additionally, VMware announced Vodafone Group Plc has selected VMware to support the operator’s global roll out of NFV, and Dell EMC and VMware introduced a new pre-integrated and pre-validated NFV Solution that is OpenStack Ready.

Facing unprecedented traffic growth along with rapidly evolving customer expectations, communications service providers (CSPs) are accelerating adoption of Network Functions Virtualization (NFV).

Industry momentum for OpenStack in NFV deployments has continued gaining traction, with telcos seeing the potential for benefits that include use of open architectures, improved flexibility and pace of innovation for cloud-based networks, access to a global community of OpenStack developers and standardized northbound interfaces (NFV Orchestration, VNF-Manager). With the vCloud NFV-OpenStack Edition, VMware supports an open architecture for seamless integration and interoperability.

“The release of vCloud NFV-OpenStack Edition and announcement of VMware Integrated OpenStack-Carrier Edition is a major step forward in our NFV strategy, given the feedback we received from our customers,” said Gabriele Di Piazza, vice president of solutions, Telco NFV Group, VMware. “We are able to offer the fastest path to production OpenStack by providing what nobody else has in the market: the most reliable and rich NFV infrastructure based on VMware’s industry-leading virtualization software combined with the openness of standard OpenStack to be optimized with carrier extensions.”

OpenStack That’s Purpose-Built and Tuned for Carrier Requirements

VMware Integrated OpenStack-Carrier Edition has been developed specifically to address the requirements of CSPs deploying NFV-based network services on OpenStack. VMware vCloud NFV-OpenStack brings native support for container-based Virtualized Network Functions (VNF) through integrated container management, enabling VM and container-based VNFs to run on a single VIM. The solution leverages Ocata’s specific functionality to give CSPs tools to deploy NFV networks including:

· Multi-Tenancy and VNF Resource Reservation: provides resource-level tenant isolation and guaranteed resource availability for each tenant, enabling CSPs to deliver on infrastructure SLAs while securing tenants within the network and improved capacity planning.

· Dynamic and Elastic Scaling of Network Resources: allows CSPs to create elastic service constructs that can scale network functions up or down, in and out based on usage patterns in order to respond to real-time network traffic conditions. This enables optimal resource management and lowering of capital and operational costs.

· Enhanced Networking Support and Platform Awareness (EPA): delivers carrier-grade, low latency data-plane performance, enabling CSPs to maintain network performance to deliver a high subscriber Quality of Experience while optimizing resource utilization through supported methodologies such as CPU Pinning, fine-grained NUMA placement settings, support for multiple NIC types and Single Root I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV).

VMware vCloud NFV OpenStack Accelerates and Simplifies Path to Production NFV

“Through its UNICA program, Telefόnica recognizes the potential of changing the network through an open architecture based on OpenStack, Open Source MANO, and industry-standard hardware. This will radically transform the economics, operations, and revenue-generating potential of the network,” said Javier Gavilán, Director, Planning and Technology, Telefόnica. “VMware’s collaboration with us in OSM, development of a carrier-optimized version of the VMware Integrated OpenStack distribution, and launch of the new Cloud NFV-OpenStack platform, show strong alignment with the direction we are going at Telefόnica.”

"JOIN Experience is one of the most modern, progressive and unique communication service providers in Europe, providing fixed, mobile, cloud and energy services,” said Ulf Theobald, Deputy CTO, JOIN Experience. “Rolling out VMware Integrated OpenStack as the management and operations Virtual Infrastructure Manager was automated and standardized, which helps us reduce time-to-market for new services. Best of all, combining VMware’s standard OpenStack distribution with proven Cloud Infrastructure components like vSphere, NSX and VSAN makes it possible to leverage our operational knowledge to ensure the excellence of our customer facing services from day one.”

“VMware is at the forefront of the NFV industry in driving interoperability testing and certification, including our extensive portfolio of leading cloud native VNFs for fixed and mobile operators,” said Brandon Harper, SVP of BD and Channels at Metaswitch. “We are seeing significant interest from customers in OpenStack, and by extending the VMware Ready for NFV program to include the new VMware Integrated OpenStack-Carrier Edition offering, VMware is once again taking a leadership position in helping Metaswitch customers adopt NFV with confidence.”