OpenStack, Implementing 5G and beyond

As we move towards 5G in telecommunication technologies and services offered by it, a lot of network infrastructure needs to be upgraded, migrated and installed. This is required to support new and advanced use cases as standardized by the 5G communication technology. Apart from Infrastructure, a lot of operational issues like orchestration, service management, interoperability and FCAPS management need to be taken care of.

This article will provide you an insight on implementing a cost effective and agile way to deal with current requirements of the industry. We will also, understand the basics of OpenStack (Sometimes referred to as NFV (Network Functions Virtualization) OpenStack), a free open-source software platform for IaaS (Infrastructure as service) cloud computing and its implementation. We will also have an overview of OpenStack Landscape and OpenStack Architecture

Cloud Computing and Cloud Service models

Let’s quickly understand Cloud computing and Cloud service models. Cloud computing consists of application and services moved from local computing deployments to somewhere into the Internet “Cloud”.

Cloud deployments offer a virtualized environment where resources are scalable on-demand. Outsourced services are accessed through the Internet using common protocols and networking standards.

Cloud computing (e.g. Amazon, Rackspace, Google) companies build large data-centers to sell low-cost and scalable storage and computing. Service Providers and other companies move their application and services to the cloud. Cloud computing offers two major advantages for Cloud providers and end-users (service providers).

a) More efficient usage of resources: Virtualization enables sharing of physical services, storage and networking capabilities across different users. Such shared infrastructure enables multi-tenancy, making the most from the available infrastructure. This results in lower costs for computing and storage.

b) High scalability: provision of services can be based on current demand requirements. Such dynamic provisioning can be done automatically using software automation for dynamic scaling. It results in the possibility to dynamically expand/contract the required service.

What is OpenStack?

OpenStack is a cloud operating system that controls large pools of compute, storage, and networking resources throughout a datacenter, all managed and provisioned through APIs with common authentication mechanisms.

A dashboard is also available, giving administrators control while empowering their users (Service Providers) to provision network resources and services through a web interface.

Beyond standard infrastructure-as-a-service functionality, additional components provide orchestration, fault management and service management amongst other services to ensure high availability of user applications.

Started as a joint project of Rackspace Hosting and of NASA in 2010, OpenStack today is supported and managed by the OpenStack Foundation, which is composed of more than 500 companies (e.g. VMware, CISCO, Citrix, Oracle, Ericsson, IBM, etc)

OpenStack Landscape

OpenStack is broken up into services to allow service providers to plug and play components depending on their needs. Below OpenStack map gives you overview of the OpenStack landscape to see where those services fit and how they can work together.

OpenStack Architecture

OpenStack runs on top of commodity computers (no particular hardware is required). The software platform is installed and runs on top of the host operating system (e.g. Linux OS, Windows OS) in order to create a distributed “cloud operating system”. Such cloud operating system supports the creation of different Virtual Machines (or Containers) which can be connected through Virtual Networks.

Nodes running the OpenStack software are configured to form a single instance combining together computing and storage. Nodes are usually connected through a high speed local area network. In an instance at least a node is configured as controller which is in charge of coordinating OpenStack functions and managing the resources available to the instance. Other nodes are configured as compute nodes that offer computation and storage resource to virtual machines (or Containers).

The controller node exposes a web dashboard to allow users and administrators to manage Virtual Machines (or Containers) and allocate Compute, Storage and Networking to them. Each service composing OpenStack exposes a set of REST APIs (Representational State Transfer Application Programming Interfaces) to allow automatic management directly from external applications.

Using open technologies as the foundation for certain software-defined networking (SDN) and NFV frameworks means those technologies are more driven by community standards. The use of standard, open source technology is enabling large operators and enterprises to tap into a wide range of open development models and tools to speed up development and lower costs.?This allows companies to deploy more cloud technology with scale and agility.

The main drivers of OpenStack adoption, according to a research user survey by the OpenStack Foundation, are the ability to increase operational efficiency, to remain competitive by innovating faster, and to save money.

In our next article we will have an overview of the OpenStack services. Till then stay safe and happy learning with Learnizo Global. (www.LearnizoGlobal.com)