One open source model referenced by many in the telecommunications space is that of OpenStack, which is a cloud-based platform initially begun in 2010 as a project between NASA and Rackspace Hosting aimed at creating an open source cloud platform that could be operated on standard, legacy hardware.
Since then, more than 200 organizations spanning various industries have joined the OpenStack project, helping to advance and define the underlying infrastructure. Recognizing the benefits that cloud systems could yield for carriers, including laying the groundwork for service-enhancing technologies such as software-defined networking and network functions virtualization, several telcos have since signed on or launched their own OpenStack ventures.
Jennifer Clark, VP at 451 Research, noted the OpenStack community has brought together vendors and carriers that have not traditionally had any interaction.
“In the OpenStack community we are finding vendors that have not been used to dealing with carriers, but are getting more familiar with carriers and their needs,” Clark said.
AT&T, for instance, became the first U.S.-based telecom to join the OpenStack project as well as deployed new services in support of mobile app development. IDG News Service reported at the time that the company’s Cloud Architect enables mobile operators to deploy new services on an as-needed basis without delay. Telcos such as AT&T were seen as ideal candidates for OpenStack adoption as their existing data center and network environments presented infrastructure that could be built upon and enhanced with an infusion of cloud-based solutions.
OpenStack distinguishes itself with scalability, compatibility
There are numerous enterprise-level cloud platforms on the market today. So why does OpenStack engender such interest within the telecom industry? Philippe Theriault and Nick Barcet, executive officers at cloud service provider ENovance, told TechTarget that OpenStack – as well as SDN – offers the right combination of scalability and compatibility. These factors cannot be ignored when considering the deployment of cloud- and network-based solutions within the telecom sector as many carriers fear vendor lock-in.
If telcos make all of their router, switch and other network component purchases through a single company, they are likely to spend more than if they bought this hardware piecemeal. Often, compatibility concerns force carriers to work solely with one vendor, but a solution like OpenStack can broaden the possibility of driving down costs by making purchases on a case-by-case basis.
These considerations helped convince Ericsson to choose OpenStack as the foundation for its carrier-grade cloud platform in February 2013. Timothy Prickett Morgan, editor for The Register at the time, noted that unlike other industries, telecoms expect their hardware purchases to stand the test of time. Network components could be in place for upwards of a decade, increasing the potential for compatibility concerns. With OpenStack, Ericsson was able to provide telecom-level virtual solutions running on existing infrastructure components.
According to Theriault and Barcet, telecommunication operators are particularly interested in OpenStack and SDN’s ability to scale up or down service levels. Matching high-quality, intensive services with those users who want them can be difficult with standard network infrastructure. The dynamic scalability of OpenStack allows carrier to better manage their resources and deliver services based on need and priority.
“Because there are no licensing costs [with OpenStack], you are free to define your offering and compete at whatever level you want,” Barcet said. “This is a unique feature in the industry as all other offerings are either very expensive in terms of licensing – therefore blocking you out of some types of market – or limited in terms of back-end [integration] – therefore not allowing you to give the level of offering you want.”
While OpenStack remains an ongoing work in progress, there may be some solace for operators looking at deployment models in comments that the process seems to be settling down a bit.
“The question is ‘when does OpenStack hit a plateau,’” said Bryan Hill, VP of engineering at Sonus. “It seems to be settling down a bit, so that might be indicating a bit more stability.”
Battle over deployment claims
Highlighting telecom operator interest in OpenStack was a difference of opinion that erupted last year between Verizon Communications and AT&T in terms of their deployment plans.
Verizon initially claimed it completed the industry’s largest known NFV OpenStack cloud deployment across five of its U.S. data centers, which created a “production design based on a core and pod architecture that provides the hyperscale capabilities and flexibility necessary to meet the company’s complex network requirements.”
Verizon said the project used OpenStack with Red Hat Ceph Storage and a spine-leaf fabric for each pod controlled through a Neutron plugin to Red Hat’s OpenStack Platform; leveraged Big Switch’s Big Cloud Fabric for SDN controller software man- aging Dell switches; and was orchestrated by the Red Hat OpenStack Platform. The NFV pod design was said to accommodate “unique NFV workloads with unique logical network requirements that share the same physical leaf/spine fabric and [virtual switches].”
However, AT&T took exception to the claim, coming out a few days later in stating its AT&T Integrated Cloud platform, which is where the company runs virtual network functions using OpenStack software at its core, was larger than what Verizon was working with.
Writing on the company’s Innovation Blog, Sorabh Saxena, SVP of software development and engineering for technology development at AT&T, noted the carrier had set up 74 AIC physical locations in 2015, with plans for 105 by the end of 2016 and adding “hundreds more” by 2020.
“We believe AIC is already the biggest OpenStack deployment in the world,” Saxena said. “And it’s going to get much bigger.”
While touting its progress, Saxena did look to downplay any sort of competition between the operators, adding “the more companies that use OpenStack, the more developers will support it and expand its capabilities.”
For more on the topic of open source software check out the latest RCR Wireless News feature report “Open Source: Opening up the telecom world for new opportunities and challenges.”
Also, check out the accompanying webinar on the topic, with panel members from Analysys Mason, Orange Business Services, Radisys and Sonus.
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