The Open Networking Foundation (ONF), a nonprofit that serves projects creating solutions using open source software and software defined standards, recently unveiled that Intel Labs’ has made its Xeon Processor based virtualized Evolved Packet Core (vEPC) reference software available to the CORD project.
CORD (Central Office Re-architected as a Datacenter) mixes network functions virtualization (NFV), software-defined networking (SDN) and the agility of clouds to provide datacenter economics to the Telco Central Office, according to the website. Service providers like AT&T, SK Telecom, Verizon, China Unicom and NTT Communications support the CORD project.
Intel’s eVPX solution is made to help mobile service providers scale network infrastructure in response to changes in subscribers, traffic and connections on Xeon processors. With these virtualized core capabilities, ONF says the contribution expands upon use cases tackled by CORD.
“We’re excited Intel Labs is actively contributing to the CORD project with the new vEPC open source reference software,” said Guru Parulkar, executive director of the ONF, in a statement. “Working closely with Intel Labs, ONF is accelerating the availability of open platforms that enable communication service providers to deliver next-generation network solutions. This is an excellent proof point for how the ONF’s Open Innovation Pipeline is leading to new innovative use cases and ultimately to new business models in the operator space.”
In order to reap the benefits of NFV, vEPC reference solution decouples software from hardware. The solution is based on Data plane Development Kit (DPDK), which provides packet processing libraries and user space drivers. It functions on bare-metal services, runs on conventional off-the-shelf services platforms, and provides wireless core and multi-access edge computing services.
The announcement was made at the MWC Americas earlier this week. What makes the new Intel Xeon Scalable processor unique, according to the company, is the vEPC reference software provides a 50% performance boost in comparison to previous processors. Intel said by making its eVPX solution available to the open source community, it can help advance the commercialization of 5G.
“By releasing this to the open source community, the ecosystem can drive greater innovation and performance utilizing optimization methodologies developed by Intel Labs to transform networks transitioning to a 5G ready world,” said Rich Uhlig, Intel fellow and director of system and software research at Intel Labs.
According to a Ericsson Mobility Report, the total number of subscriptions for 5G technologies is to reach 550 million by 2022. Major factors spearheading the shift toward 5G include demand for high data space, large network coverage, machine-to-machine (M2M) learning and broadband services across mobile networks.
