Nokia Networks announced what it claims is the first commercial carrier-grade telco cloud set to go live by the end of the year. Although the location and operator involved were not named, the announcement describes a launch that will utilize network function virtualization to enable voice over LTE in the cloud.
Nokia Networks says this is the first commercial deployment in compliance with the European Telecommunications Standards Institute NFV architecture standards. ETSI established a working group in 2012 to address this topic and continues to evolve the requirements in this area today working with more than 220 members from the operator and vendor community.
Nokia Networks announced three launches in support of the new offering. First is the Cloud Network Director, which is basically an NFV orchestrator. In order to automatically deploy, configure, optimize and repair virtualized functions, a solution of this type is necessary. The Cloud Network Director is designed to determine how each network element should behave in the cloud and also integrates with other vendors through an open northbound interface. This allows operators to integrate with their existing systems.
For example, the platform can direct specific servers to sleep while capacity is shifted to where it is needed most. In compliance with ETSI NFV Orchestrator standards, the Cloud Network Director will work with application managers from other vendors and the Nokia Networks Cloud Application Manager announced in February.
As with all new technologies, sometimes operators can benefit from some additional support. In order to meet those potential needs, a suite of “cloud wise” professional services will also be available. These services can support topics such as the migration of existing telecom services, deployment of cloud applications, definition and implementation of security solutions, software maintenance and operations support. In summary, Nokia Networks said it can work with an operator to assess its current network situation, make the appropriate recommendations to implement solutions based on its specific goals, manage that implementation and support the ongoing operations.
Of course it is highly unlikely an operator will deploy a solution solely from one vendor. This complicates matters further to ensure that all of the different components work together in the cloud. In order to reduce the challenges operators will face on this topic, Nokia Networks is also launching a cloud partner certification program. The program will enable third-party software to be certified to work with their telecom cloud solutions in order to move closer to offering an end-to-end solution.
The full release can be accessed via this link.
