“With the advent of the 5G era, telecom networks will gradually evolve from traditional networks to virtualization, operators’ network architecture will be more open, resource sharing will be more flexible, and service innovation will be faster and more agile. At the same time, because the standard architecture of the 5G core network includes multiple physical network elements, the network is complex, and the decoupling of hardware and software is becoming more and more difficult in the process of virtualization evolution. Facing the huge challenge of multi-vendor and cross-domain integration.
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With the advent of the 5G era, telecom networks will gradually evolve from traditional networks to virtualization, operators’ network architecture will be more open, resource sharing will be more flexible, and service innovation will be faster and more agile. At the same time, because the standard architecture of the 5G core network includes multiple physical network elements, the network is complex, and the decoupling of hardware and software is becoming more and more difficult in the process of virtualization evolution. Facing the huge challenge of multi-vendor and cross-domain integration.
ZTE’s 5G core network automation integration solution provides operators with a series of end-to-end, one-stop, one-stop, 5G core network integration planning and design, solution verification, test design, integration deployment, and integration testing through the AIC (Auto Integration Center) automation integration center. style service. Open Virtualization Lab (OpenLab) and pre-integration workflow, covering various 5G core network NFV integration business scenarios such as NFVI integration, MANO integration, and VNF integration, greatly reducing the difficulty of 5G core network integration and accelerating operators’ 5G Network construction to help network transformation.
Verified by ZTE’s multiple projects, the 5G core network automation integration solution can improve the overall integration and deployment efficiency of the project by more than 65%, achieving a minimalist start.
5G core network integrated design automatic output, improve integrated design efficiency, integrated LLD automatic generation, shorten integrated design time, and reduce the workload of traditional deployment from weeks to one day;
One-click implementation of 5G core network integration and deployment, which reduces the difficulty of on-site deployment and improves deployment efficiency by dozens of times (single-DC deployment can be achieved within one day);
5G core network integration test automation realizes more than 5,000 test cases, automatically generates test plans according to customer requirements, automatically executes tests, and automatically outputs test results.
5G Core Network Simplified Deployment Technical Architecture
ZTE’s 5G core network minimalist deployment solution – automation integration solution, solidifies and integrates the integration process through the AIC automation integration center, customizes the integration design in real time and verifies the feasibility according to customer needs. After the design verification is completed, the detailed design documents required for 5G core network integration are automatically generated, and the integration deployment tool is imported on site for end-to-end fully silent integration deployment, and automatic verification of the whole process is carried out. This solution can realize “zero intervention” for users’ 5G core network on-site integration deployment test, greatly shorten the 5G core network deployment and verification time, and achieve end-to-end integration from integration planning and design, network deployment to integration testing in the entire integration process life cycle. The “zero distance” between design and customer needs effectively solves the pain points of network integration for operators in 5G construction. At the same time, ZTE’s 5G core network automation integration solution also considers the support for offline design and remote deployment, and introduces a cloud experience model. Users can directly perform 5G core network integration planning and pre-integration verification in real time on demand in the cloud. The selection and deployment process from scenarios to network elements is more convenient and flexible.
Figure 1: Technical architecture diagram of 5G core network simplified deployment
The following ideas can be adopted for the simplified 5G core network deployment solution:
Simplified 5G core network integration design: intuitive configuration preview, flexible configuration combinations, and visual automated planning and design process simplify design input, reduce technical difficulty, and shorten design time;
Simplified 5G core network integration deployment: end-to-end network element automation deployment, basic deployment input, deployment process automation, zero intervention, testable and acceptable virtualized environment output, simplified deployment process, and improved deployment efficiency and quality;
5G core network integration test simplification: realize the function, reliability and performance automation test of hardware/cloud platform/MANO/VNF, network elements and components communicate independently, rich in test scenarios, adapt to the diverse needs of customers, shorten the test cycle, improve Test quality to promote rapid business iteration;
Simplified 5G core network asset management: The introduction of simplified asset management enables unified access and unified management, and unified management and release through project library, template library, use case library, version library, and experience library to simplify asset management and improve project management efficiency.
5G Core Network Automation Integration Simplified Deployment Application
ZTE’s 5G core network automation integration is a simplified start-up solution. By using ZTE’s self-developed AIC integration tool, it can realize the automatic design and deployment of 5G core network, realize the instantiation and automatic deployment of 5G core network network elements, and get through the first call of business. The automation integration tool is divided into three parts:
Design tool (iDevise): Through the GUI interface, input the configuration parameters and resource requirements required for hardware, cloud platform, MANO, and VNF deployment, and automatically generate instantiation parameter files for all components of the 5G core network scenario, ready for installation and deployment tools Prepare;
Deployment tool (iDeploy): According to the instantiation parameter file generated by the design tool, complete the deployment of hardware, cloud platform, MANO, and VNF, and complete the local configuration of VNF;
Test tool (iTest): After the cloud platform, MANO, VNF, and test tool are deployed, the test tool is used to complete the special function test of the cloud platform and VNF to verify whether each functional component achieves the expected goal.
Figure 2: Panorama of the minimalist start-up work in the 5G core network scenario
In 2018, a Chinese operator launched a 5G core network experimental bureau construction project. The network construction time is short, the network structure is complex, and there are many network elements deployed. Through the implementation of ZTE’s 5G core network automation integration minimalist deployment plan and the application of AIC automation integration tools, the project realized the automatic output of integrated LLD design, the automatic deployment of virtual layer + MANO + 8 5GC network elements, and only 7.5 The entire work from the installation and deployment of VIM+MANO to the instantiation of 5G core network elements was completed within hours. After testing, the network is running normally, which greatly saves the time for network deployment and implementation, demonstrates the rapid automatic integration capability of ZTE’s 5G core network, and achieves a qualitative improvement in the efficiency of NFV 5G core network deployment.
Industry promotion and market practice of 5G core network minimalist start
Up to now, ZTE’s 5G core network minimalist deployment solution has been applied in international operators in India, Japan, Austria and other countries, as well as in the 5G test offices and commercial networks of the three major domestic operators. At the same time, the solution was also demonstrated at the European 5G Forum and Global User Conference held in November 2018 and the China Mobile Global Partner Conference held in December, and was recognized by many telecom operators at home and abroad. In the selection of the annual ICT dragon and tiger list launched by the communication world all media, the solution won the “2018 Best Practice Award in the SDN/NFV Field” in one fell swoop.
In addition, AIC integration tools have also entered the China Mobile OPEN-AUTO cooperation plan. ZTE will continue to cooperate with China Mobile to promote the development and verification of virtualized integration solutions and automation integration tool platforms, and jointly build a partner-type industrial ecology to meet the new 5G technology. era.
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