TECHNOLOGY BRIEF ENSEMBLE OSA Bringing the Benefits of the Cloud to the Metro Edge Business and individual consumers are enjoying the benefits of cloud technology every day, sometimes without even knowing it. These benefits include such diverse incarnations as: Smartphone Apps: The explosion of vendor and third-party smartphone apps demonstrates the power of an open system to leverage the market and to provide useful functions unforeseen by the device manufacturer. They also show the importance of being able to buy, download and maintain apps based on cloud applications running in a data center. Video on Demand: YouTube, Netflix and Amazon have shown the appeal of free or reasonably-priced video enabled by efficient connect and store facilities. Content Distribution Networks (CDNs) are a key cloud-based part of these services. Managed Hosting: Setting up a website used to be a real production. Now, a basic website can be created in minutes, employ virtual machines (VMs) and tap powerful supporting software for applications such as e-commerce. Software as a Service: Offerings like Google Docs, Salesforce.com and hosted SAP allow businesses to access software on a subscription basis, without the complexities of required servers and storage, or the nuisance of upgrades and administration. Scalable on-demand services driven by customer portals are a key hallmark of cloud services. What these applications have in common is their reliance on cloud-based principles and technology: Scalable, on-demand pooled resources accessed remotely Built using modern software tools running on low cost hardware Managed using VMs These applications are part of an explosion resulting from a simple development model and the low deployment costs intrinsic to cloud applications. Right now, however, they are limited to the data center. What has been missing is the migration of these principles to the part of the network that serves as the on-ramp to the cloud: the metro edge. Ensemble Open Service Architecture (Ensemble OSA) bridges that gap, allowing service providers to apply cloud technologies and principles to build and deliver services across the metro edge by uniting connect, compute and store. Service providers will want to evaluate Ensemble OSA, since it demonstrates Overture is listening to the challenges that their Carrier Ethernet customers face. - Michael Howard Infonetics Research
WHAT IS ENSEMBLE OSA? Overture s Ensemble OSA is the industry s first open architecture for softwaredefined services at the metro edge. Ensemble OSA optimizes service creation, activation, and assurance by bringing the benefits of the cloud to the metro edge. With this new open architecture that incorporates principles of software defined networking (SDN) and network function virtualization (NFV), service providers are able to maximize operational efficiencies and introduce new revenue-generating services faster and easier than ever before. Before we dig into the details of Ensemble OSA, let s take a look at how it originated. Overture is advancing network virtualization with the introduction of Ensemble OSA - in effect, pushing the cloud closer to the network edge and creating new opportunities for service providers to meet growing demand from their customers. - Rosemary Cochran Vertical Systems Group ENSEMBLE OSA - BORN FROM REAL WORLD NEEDS At Overture, we are fortunate to be a trusted partner for many of the world s top service providers and network operators. These service providers, through numerous opportunities, have asked Overture to help solve some of their challenges in optimizing service creation, activation and assurance. Examples of these requests include: Providing Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to Overture s Carrier Ethernet equipment that facilitates the automation of provisioning and management Implementing Zero Touch Commissioning across the Overture product line using standard tools and protocols Facilitating flow through provisioning in a heterogeneous environment Enabling dynamic bandwidth and simplifying service assurance in a multi-vendor network Building virtual applications such as managed virtual routing and security Bringing the automation features of the public cloud to private cloud services As we evaluated each of these customer requests, it became clear that the most effective way for Overture to deliver on these was to incorporate the concepts of openness, virtualization and orchestration from the cloud data center into an architecture positioned at the metro edge. The result: Ensemble OSA. OPTIMIZING SERVICE CREATION, ACTIVATION, AND ASSURANCE Facing intense competition for connect, compute and store services, service providers are under increasing pressure to rapidly define and turn up services in response to changing market demands. They are slowed by today s complicated service creation model one where developing a new offering can take 18 months and tens of millions of dollars. Ensemble OSA addresses this problem by applying cloud technologies to speed up service creation, resulting in increased flexibility, virtualization, programmability and intelligence at the metro edge. Ensemble OSA accelerates the innovation cycle and reduces the time and cost of activating customers. Assuring the performance in today s multi-vendor environment is also costly, complex, and usually requires significant manual intervention. Ensemble OSA radically decreases the cost and complexity of performance assurance by leveraging intuitive, intelligent, and automated tools. 2
ENSEMBLE OSA - BUILT ON REAL WORLD SOLUTIONS A fundamental principle of Ensemble OSA is that it incorporates the latest in open cloud-based technologies. Open Standards One reason for the explosion of cloud-based applications and services is the large ecosystem of tools and open standards. You don t have to start from scratch when building a new service. Instead, you can leverage a large base of proven software and services. This drastically simplifies and accelerates the job. Network Function Virtualization (NFV) NFV expands the principles of virtualization beyond the data center and into the metro edge. Using NFV, applications such as routing, firewalls and virtual private networks (VPN) can be moved from custom hardware to software applications running in VM on commercial servers. Software Defined Networking (SDN) SDN allows for the separation of control and data simplifying how networks are built. This dramatically reduces cost by moving functions from high-cost custom hardware to centralized servers. SDN also provides for APIs and programmability, supporting the development of new applications without the need to change underlying hardware. Metro Edge This is the on-ramp of the network. For today s networks, it s where much of the cost, complexity and congestion is concentrated. At Overture, we are leveraging our experience in the metro edge and applying Ensemble OSA to address these key issues. ENSEMBLE OSA TECHNICAL OVERVIEW Ensemble OSA s structure is comprised of three levels: Resources, Orchestration and Control and Network Applications. Each of these communicates through a set of standards-based and open APIs. RESOURCES Resources provide connect, compute and storage functionality. They may consist of physical devices such as switches, servers and storage arrays, and/or software functions running in a VM. Examples include: Overture devices for high performance networking When performance is important, there is no substitute for purpose-built hardware. Overture s solutions include open APIs for virtualizing management, configuration and data plane control functions. High-performance commercial appliances This includes the compute servers and storage appliances found in modern data centers. Third party network element integration The Ensemble OSA framework will be extended to include network devices from other vendors. Resources communicate northbound with the Orchestration and Control layer using modern standard APIs such as OpenFlow, SOAP/SML and Netconf, but also through traditional interfaces and protocols such as SNMP and SSH/CLI. ORCHESTRATION AND CONTROL Ensemble OSA s orchestration and control layer consists of building block functions that provide the glue connecting the applications to the resources: Data Plane Control Ensemble OSA leverages existing solutions such as OpenFlow controllers to manage the data plane. Resource Abstractions Overture s open architecture provides a simplified model for configuring and monitoring multi-vendor network, computing and storage resources. This includes building blocks for CoS/QoS, device inventory and network topology as well as tools for managing virtual resources through cloud management suits, such as OpenStack or CloudStack. 3 Open Standards Metro Edge Software Defined Networking Network Function Virtualization Ensemble OSA is a bold step forward in advancing these concepts at the metro edge and it should really help service providers reduce expenses while opening the door to a new opportunities. - Nav Chander IDC
Management Ensemble OSA includes functions such as: Fault and performance management to assure SLA performance Commissioning to support new installations Alarming to handle faults Test head functions to facilitate diagnosis and repair activities NETWORK APPLICATIONS The simplified development and integration of network applications is where the open and scalable nature of Ensemble OSA really pays off. Network Applications are software packages that leverage one or more of the Orchestration and Control building blocks and tie into back office systems of the service provider and their business partners to create a service or network function. These applications fall into two main categories: New Revenue Generating These network applications provide the service provider with a new path to net revenue, either through expanding the market for an existing service or by facilitating the development of a new service. Operational Efficiency For modern service providers, operational expenses outweigh capital expenses by a ratio of five to one or higher. Applications that reduce these operational expenses provide an immediate benefit to the bottom line. Ensemble OSA s open nature means that these network applications can be supplied by Overture, the service provider or a third party. ENSEMBLE OSA USE CASES HIGHLIGHTING THE BENEFITS The nearby figure provides a summary of use cases that support service creation, activation and assurance. Two of these cases are detailed in the following sections. USE CASE ZERO TOUCH COMMISSIONING Service providers are actively seeking ways to accelerate service activation while lowering their operational costs. One effective way to do so is to simplify installation and configuration of their customer located network interface device (NID). In the personal computer world, the model is plug and play, where the user doesn t have to do any additional configuration to use a peripheral. In Ensemble OSA, this notion is called Zero Touch Commissioning (ZTC). The process of ZTC includes a number of phases: Installation Depending on the service type and access link, NID installation can be done by either a service provider s technician or by the customer. Discovery Once the NID is connected and powered up, it announces itself to the network over its uplink. The NID is recognized based on an identifier such as its serial number, Media Access Control (MAC) address or aggregator port. A ZTC app records the fact that the NID is now installed. Reachability An upstream server sends the NID its reachability information, such as IP address, default gateway, subnet mask and/or management VLAN. At this point, the NID is reachable by standard IP protocols. 4
Software updates The next step is to ensure that the NID has the correct software version installed. The ZTC app determines the appropriate software based on the device and application. Configuration Once the NID is reachable and is loaded with the correct software, it can receive its initial or commissioning configuration file. Typically, this includes invariant items such as device name, location, uplink parameters, etc. Now, the NID is ready for services to be activated all without an operator having participated in any steps beyond connecting and powering the NID. By automating the steps above and tying the actions into standard servers, the whole process of connecting a customer is accelerated and optimized. This process goes from being driven by calendars and checklists to being driven by events and interaction with standard servers. By compressing the innovation cycle to better address the evolving needs of enterprise business, wholesale, mobile, and residential end users, Overture s Ensemble OSA will enable carriers to be more agile and give them greater flexibility in responding to rapidly changing market dynamics. - Ray Mota ACG Research Based on analysis done with a major North American service provider, Zero Touch Commissioning can result in a 75% reduction in installation cost and up to a 60% reduction in installation time. USE CASE VIRTUAL ROUTING/VIRTUAL PRIVATE NETWORK (VPN) Today, service providers use routers deployed at the customer site to provide managed router and VPN services. In particular, Layer 3 VPNs are built using this approach. A router at the customer premises (CPE) adds cost and complexity to the deployment and operation of these managed services. Ensemble OSA provides the means to simplify this service by moving the routing function from the CPE into the network using the principles of NFV. With Ensemble OSA and NFV, the service provider can deploy a simple low cost CPE for all applications. Value added services, such as managed routers and Layer 3 VPNs, can be added on demand without changing the CPE. Other benefits of this approach include reducing CPE obsolescence and minimizing the of impact of service changes. This last point is particularly important. Today, the cost of doing software upgrades to CPE routers is tremendous. First, a service window has to be negotiated with the customer. Often, there are contractual limitations on how often this can occur, as well as on much notice must be given. Next, the software must be downloaded. The size of the software image and the low speed of some access links forces the download to be scheduled for off-peak periods and/or downloaded at a shaped rate. Finally, activating the new software includes a reboot of the CPE. The operation of the service then must be verified after the new software is up and running. The steps above can be reduced or eliminated when the routing function is virtualized and moved to software running in a VM. The service provider can realize a 50% reduction in capital expense costs and a 50% savings in operational expenses. 5
USING THE CLOUD TO CREATE, ACTIVATE AND ASSURE Ensemble OSA brings the power of the cloud to the metro edge enabling the rapid innovation of new services along with radical cost reductions. PRESENT MODE Static, rigid, decoupled services 18 months, $21M to create a new service (tier-1 service provider) Barrier to innovation and change Manual adds/moves/ changes Complex back-office integration expense consumes 65%-85% of budget Dumb pipes, best effort services Manual complex fault management Reactionary, decoupled from service WITH ENSEMBLE OSA Dynamic, flexible, appaware New services in weeks Reduced cost to innovatequickly respond to market opportunities Reduce or eliminate truck rolls Changes in minutes, not days Open architecture and automation reduce time and operational expenses Intelligent, per-flow fault and performance management Automated and intuitive Continuous, real-time, integrated ACRONYMS API Application Programming Interface CDN Content Distribution Networks MORE INFORMATION Overture Networks is proudly introducing Ensemble OSA to the market. To learn more about industry s first open architecture for software-defined services at the metro edge and how it can help you, please contact us at info@overturenetworks.com. ABOUT OVERTURE Overture is the preferred provider of Carrier Ethernet solutions for the metro edge. Known for innovative solutions that enable high-capacity Ethernet services over any media including fiber, copper and TDM, Overture has extended its commitment to innovation with Ensemble OSA. Ensemble OSA is the industry s first open architecture that brings the benefits of the cloud, Software Defined Networking (SDN), Network Function Virtualization (NFV) and open innovation to the metro edge. By leveraging Overture s Carrier Ethernet expertise and this new open architecture for software-defined services, network operators and service providers worldwide can maximize operational efficiencies and introduce new revenue-generating services on a scale never before possible. Overture is headquartered in Research Triangle Park, NC, with sales offices around the globe. For more information, visit www.overturenetworks.com. CLI CoS CPE IP MAC NFV NID OSA QoS RFC SDN SML SNMP SOAP VM VPN ZTC Command Line Interface Class of Service Customer Premises Equipment Internet Protocol Media Access Control Network Function Virtualization Network Interface Device Open Services Architecture Quality of Service Request for Comment Software Defined Networks Service Management Language Simple Network Management Protocol Simple Object Access Protocol Virtual Machine Virtual Private Network Zero Touch Commissioning OVERTURE Overture Networks, Inc. Research Triangle Park, NC tel: +1.919.387.4100 www.overturenetworks.com 2013 Overture Networks, Inc. All rights reserved. WP-ENS-030813