NFV to Cross the Chasm, Driving Network Transformation

NFV is expected to cross the chasm this year, moving into large-scale commercial use and facilitating cloud transformation, according to Gartner's Hype Cycle for Communications Service Provider Operations.

Jason Dai, Vice President of Huawei Packet Core Network Product Line

At the Huawei Global Analyst Summit 2017, Jason Dai, Vice President of the Huawei Packet Core Network Product Line, gave a speech entitled "Crossing the Chasm: Unleashing Network Transformation Potential". He elaborated on Huawei's latest progress in NFV architecture, technologies, and operation and Huawei's commercial experience in using the NFV solution to help carriers to move toward the cloud.

Cloud Native Architecture Makes Network Elastic, Robust and Agile

The Huawei NFV solution uses Cloud Native architecture to help carriers build elastic, robust, and agile cloud networks.

Elastic: The network-level distributed architecture is at the core of ensuring elasticity. Key technologies such as stateless design, control plane and user plane separation, and cross-DC deployment help to build service-aware networks. Resources can be provided on demand and the system capacity is not limited to a single hardware type. Network functions can be provided on demand to address a variety of requirements for applications.

Robust: Redundancy and smart operation are critical to ensuring robustness. Key technologies such as stateless design, N-way redundancy, cross-DC deployment, big data–based proactive fault location, and automatic closed loop control help to build decentralized, fault-tolerant, self-healing systems. Ultimately, an intelligent network delivers carrier-grade service reliability even over unreliable infrastructure.

Agile: Network slicing, service orchestration, and A/B test are the keys to ensuring agility. Key technologies such as microservices, data model driven, and service orchestration enable the flexible combination of network functions. As a result, new network services can be quickly released, and new functions and features can be customized, swiftly meeting the requirements of different industries. 

Advanced Technologies Optimize Cloud Network Performance

One of the challenges for carriers in deploying NFV is ensuring user-plane performance. As major contributors to open source and standards organizations such as ETSI, OPNFV, and OpenStack, Huawei has been researching the standards on network performance acceleration, and has made preliminary progress with partners. Huawei's NFV solutions take multiple measures to optimize the performance at the hardware, cloud OS, and VNF layers, finally improving the user-plane performance by three times.

Integration & OM Solutions Improve the Delivery and O&M Efficiency          

Huawei's end-to-end integration and O&M solutions cover evaluation, detection, design, and integration, providing cloud-based VNFs with carrier-grade reliability and openness. Hardware and software from multiple vendors can be quickly integrated. Huawei has established four NFV OpenLabs around the world, and has formed over 200 partnerships for verifying and testing NFV hardware and software integration. Vertical integration efficiency has been improved by about 70% due to the pre-integration, ensuring fast delivery of multi-vendor integration projects.

Carriers' O&M costs increase exponentially along with network scale. Huawei's NFV solutions use smart orchestration systems to automatically orchestrate services. The solutions also incorporate operation experience to provide automatic O&M, significantly improving O&M efficiency.

Rich Commercial-Use Experience Accelerates Cloud Transformation

As of January 2017, Huawei had won over 170 NFV commercial-use contracts for the cloud core network product line, 30 of which had been put into commercial use. Huawei's NFV solution was awarded the Best Technology Enabler at Mobile World Congress 2017, owing to its NFV architecture, technology, and commercial application. Huawei and its industry partners plan to continue pushing NFV industrial development forward to help more carriers transform toward the cloud.

SOC 2.0 Building 5G Core Networks That Contribute to Business Success

SOC 2.0 Building 5G Core Networks That Contribute to Business Success

[Shenzhen, China, April 12, 2017] After Huawei released the first 5G core network solution Service Oriented Core (SOC) 2.0 that is oriented to 5G commercial scenarios at MWC2017, Jason Yin, the Principle Marketing Expert of Huawei Packet Core Product Line gave an in-depth interpretation about this solution to global MBB industry analysts at HAS 2017.

In the upcoming 5G era, telecom networks will not only provide users with communication services, but also information connectivity and services for various industries, such as autonomous driving, industrial controlling, AR/VR, and smart city. As a next-generation 5G core solution, SOC2.0 has the following features:

Enabling all access: supports multiple network access modes and provides connectivity for a multitude of terminals from various industries.

Enabling all services: provides on-demand services for vertical industries.

Huawei SOC 2.0 uses the following techniques to implement a future core network enabling all access and all services:

• Control and User Plane Separation (CUPS): The control plane and user plane are separated with distributed deployment. This is an important basis for SOC 2.0 to implement an agile architecture. Network functions are deployed at the central DCs and local DCs based on service requirements or deployed at edge DCs that are closer to subscribers through the Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) technology.
• Service Based Architecture (SBA): Network elements are decoupled according to their functions to form independent and modularized functions. Through on-demand service methods, these functions are organized in the unified architecture according to the service requirements. Multiple access modes and service requirements are agilely supported. Every function can be independently iterated and updated to quickly meet new service requirements.
• Network slicing: To enable all services, a network must provide mutually isolated pipes to serve each vertical industry. Cloud-based network slicing is the precondition for intelligent allocation of service-oriented pipe resources and capabilities. In this way, operators can provide differentiated services in various scenarios.
• Access Agnostic: It allows operators to use multiple access modes to provide excellent service experience. For example, when the network bandwidth is insufficient in hotspot areas, operators can bind mobile networks and Wi-Fi signals to enable high-speed Internet access.

5G core network evolution has three stages:

First, build a DC-centric cloud platform, deploy cloud-based VNFs, introduce inter-DC deployment and stateless design, and migrate traditional core network services to the cloud platform.

Second, introduce CUPS and use MEC to build distributed networks to ensure low latency.

Last, introduce SBA, network slicing, and access agnostic to provide on-demand 5G services.
Currently, more than 70% global operators have started cloud-based network reconstruction. Huawei cloud core network have obtained more than 170 commercial contracts in this large-scale reconstruction. Meanwhile, more operators are using CUPS and MEC to enable better user experience. In the future, Huawei will still actively invest in the technological innovation of 5G core networks, and engage in driving the technology and standardization development of 5G core networks. Huawei will work closely with the world's leading operators, vertical industry partners, and open source organizations to better develop 5G core networks and better connect the world.

Huawei Wins 'Most Highly Developed NFV/SDN Operational Architecture For PCRF' Award

[Berlin, Germany, April 5, 2017] Yesterday, the Huawei SmartPCC solution won the "Most Highly Developed NFV/SDN Operational Architecture For PCRF" award at the Policy Control Conference held in Berlin, Germany.

Operators' communication services are increasingly enabling intelligent people-to-people, thing-to-thing, and people-to-thing interconnection. As a result, services are becoming more diversified and the differences among them are greater. The Huawei SmartPCC solution can simultaneously manage multiple access networks, such as MBB, FBB, SDN and Wi-Fi. The solution provides operators with subscriber-specific, end-to-end unified policy management across networks, unified access-independent service experience, and a differentiated experience guarantee for subscribers. This implements traffic monetization based on subscriber lifecycle management, maximizes the value of data traffic per bit, and increases revenue for operators.

The Huawei SmartPCC solution's design is based on the Cloud Native concept. The solution supports a three-layer software architecture composed of a distributed load balancer, a distributed database, and a stateless service processing unit. This architecture can achieve second-level scaling without any session loss, ensuring infrastructure-independent carrier-grade capabilities. A series of intelligent tool platforms ensures automatic service deployment, on-demand resource orchestration, and quick fault handling, implementing agile and intelligent O&M after network cloudification.

To address more complex scenario-based requirements in future, operators' policy management centers are expected to evolve toward a service-based architecture. This implements flexible policy orchestration and service innovation, and meets operators' individual demands for services and fast service launching.

▲ Huawei, receiving the award from Susan Welsh, director of Strategy Analytics

"We are thankful for the industry's recognition of Huawei's policy management capabilities and cloudification practice," said Zhang Qin, manager of Huawei's Cloud Core Network Marketing Execution Dept. "Unified policy management is expected to play a more important role in network evolution and cloudification. Huawei plans to continue collaborating with operators and partners to provide an optimal service experience for subscribers."

According to the research reports released by IHS Markit and GlobalData, Huawei's SmartPCC has continuously ranked number one in global PCRF market share, and is recognized as the unique industry leader in the PCRF field. As of the first quarter of 2017, the Huawei SmartPCC solution has entered the markets of more than 240 operators from 90+ countries. The solution has also helped drive the cloud transformation of many global leading operators, including Vodafone, China Mobile, Deutsche Telekom, and UK EE.


About Huawei
Huawei is a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider. Our aim is to enrich life and improve efficiency through a better connected world, acting as a responsible corporate citizen, innovative enabler for the information society, and collaborative contributor to the industry. Driven by customer-centric innovation and open partnerships, Huawei has established an end-to-end ICT solutions portfolio that gives customers competitive advantages in telecom and enterprise networks, devices and cloud computing. Huawei's 170,000 employees worldwide are committed to creating maximum value for telecom operators, enterprises and consumers. Our innovative ICT solutions, products and services are used in more than 170 countries and regions, serving over one-third of the world’s population. Founded in 1987, Huawei is a private company fully owned by its employees.
For more information, please visit Huawei online at www.huawei.com.

Huawei Unveils Partner-oriented Enterprise Communications Cloud Service

[Changsha, China, March 10, 2017] The "ΣCO-Partner 2017" conference was held in Changsha International Convention & Exhibition Center in Hunan Province. During the conference, Huawei held a cloud enterprise communications forum themed "Cloud Reshapes Enterprise Communications Value", and officially launched the partner-oriented enterprise communications cloud service in front of over 200 partners from various fields including government, finance, public security, education, and healthcare. Ma Haixu, president of Huawei Cloud Core Network Product Line, commented: "Cloud technology is driving a comprehensive digital transformation of enterprises. The cloud-based IT infrastructure is growing in popularity and the cloud-based enterprise communications has started. A flexible and resilient cloud service pattern that features asset-light operation and on-demand subscription has emerged. By launching the one-stop partner-oriented enterprise communications cloud service, Huawei aims to work with partners to implement cloud-based transformation of enterprise communications, establish an enterprise cloud ecosystem, and expand the industry's market.

With world-leading cloud technology, Huawei was awarded the world's most influential "Best Technology Enabler" by GSMA at the Mobile World Congress 2017. Xu Zhijun, rotating and acting CEO of Huawei, said that the advantage of Huawei in the all-cloud field is "walking early, quickly, and firmly".

Huawei has built a public cloud-based enterprise communications platform for partners. This platform provides comprehensive enterprise communications cloud services including serial cloud terminals, infrastructures, bandwidth, carrier numbers, and call resources. Based on this platform, partners can resell cloud services including contact centers, videoconferencing, and unified communications, or operate self-owned enterprise communication services. Based on the eight categories of atomic APIs and the industry scenario-based API provided by Huawei, partners can also embed cloud communications capabilities into industry applications to provide more innovative services for enterprises.

Huawei will provide partners with all-round technical support, including demonstration, training and certification, secondary development, and interoperability testing in Huawei open labs in Beijing, Shenzhen, Suzhou, Hangzhou, and other cities. Their final goal is to incubate competitive solutions with partners, accelerating the cloud-based deployment and developing the market.

With the development of digital economy, isolated enterprises or organizations cannot exist in the future. Instead, everything will be connected and there will be a need to communicate and collaborate with others. The cloud enterprise communications, as the future development engine, will drive more industries to reform and innovate their business patterns.

Huawei endeavors to open and expand the enterprise communications cloud service market with partners and to create a better future by working together.

Cloud Native Enables Telcos' Digital Future

Mobile Internet and the Internet of Things are delivering a stream of new technologies, new services, and new business models. In particular, the rise of over-the-top (OTT) services has disrupted old value chains, and posed new challenges to telecom operators. But these changes also mean new opportunities. Telcos can find their way back to the top of the digital services pyramid, but they will need to build All Cloud networks, and go through their own digital revolution.

Now that ICT has united information technology and communications technology, new technologies and concepts can be a shared resource for both industries. For example, the Cloud Native concept came from IT, where it informed a new wave of distributed software design. This same concept is now being applied to the architecture of cloudified telecom networks. Network equipment is increasingly standardized and virtualized. With Cloud Native software, networks can become fully distributed and automated, meaning that they will be elastic, robust, and agile.

You want network scale out/scale in within seconds? Deployment of new services completed in minutes? An inspired user experience, anywhere, anytime? With a Cloud Native telecom network, it's a piece of cake.

Three strengths of Cloud Native networks

Cloud Native telecom networks offer three key advantages: elasticity, robustness, and agility.

Elastic: The Cloud Native network has a distributed architecture, so resources can be dynamically deployed wherever they are needed to support applications. It is a "sensing" network that recognizes the services deployed; and an elastic network that can adapt to support them. There are two types of elasticity: capacity elasticity and topology elasticity. Capacity elasticity means that all network resources are pooled. Network software can orchestrate any part of the fabric across multiple data centers, and capacity is no longer the bottleneck. Topology elasticity means the ability to deploy resources to whatever geographical location they are required, enabled by control/user plane separation and service orchestration.

Robust: An intelligent network builds in robustness at the network and service levels. The network is decentralized, with stateless elements, N-way redundancy, and inter-DC service provisioning. Active fault injection, monitoring, and self-healing processes are combined with big data analysis and management of services, enabling fault prediction and automated controls. Ultimately, an intelligent network can deliver reliable connectivity even over unreliable infrastructure.

Agile: Agility means service orchestration + programmability + A/B test. Flexible service assembly, service autonomy, and distributed deployment are achieved by decomposing network functions into micro services, and applying a service governance framework, data model, and a programmable user interface. Services and new functions can be delivered as needed, so the network can instantly respond to the needs of very different services required by different industries.

How Cloud Native networks bring value

A Cloud Native telecom network enables a telco to increase the efficiency of network asset usage. It supports more efficient O&M. It can cut the costs of trial and error, enable fast innovation in services, and support a telco through its digital transformation so that it can capture new business. There are three key areas in which a Cloud Native network delivers value:

Efficiency: A Cloud Native network uses standardized infrastructure: the same hardware, the same spare boards and equipment. This means savings in total cost of ownership. N-way redundancy in place of the old 1+1 backup model means more efficient use of resources. Centralized deployment and stateless design mean that the network can be self-healing. And offline debugging means lower costs for network operations and maintenance.

Inspired experience: A Cloud Native network can deliver carrier-class reliability even without high-reliability infrastructure. More importantly, with Cloud Native, telecom networks can remain elastic all the time and are able to adapt their resources and deployment topologies to services and scenarios. In this way, they can deliver the best user experience. For example, user plane functionality can be generated locally to support the very low latency required by virtual reality or connected driving services.

Agile innovation: Network-as-a-service architecture supports fast innovation in services, as well as fast service assembly. Network programmability and A/B test mean that the costs of trial and error can be reduced, enabling bolder, quicker, agile innovation.

Evolution of Cloud Native networks

NFV solutions alone will not enable telcos to address the challenges of the future. The entire network architecture needs to be cloudified to make telcos Cloud Native.

The Huawei Cloud Core Network has All Cloud architecture. It was designed entirely on Cloud Native principles: N-way redundancy, inter-DC provisioning, KPI-based active fault prevention and recovery. And Cloud Native VNF is already widely adopted on cloud core networks. As of January 2017, Huawei has won over 170 contracts for cloud core networks. In September 2016, Huawei's NFV solution was named Best NFV/SDN Solution at 5G Asia in Singapore, in recognition of its Cloud Native architecture, its leading capability to evolve to future networks, and commercial success.

Huawei is a strategic partner and co-innovator with Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom, and other leading world operators on their Cloud Native strategies. At MWC 2017, we will be presenting a Cloud Native demonstration developed with Vodafone. Looking to the future, Huawei will continue to help operators build more open, more innovative, more sustainable ecosystems around their Cloud Native networks. Together, we can create more new services and more value. Together we can succeed in the digital era.

-End- 

About Huawei

Huawei is a leading global ICT solutions provider. As a responsible and robust business player, innovative information society enabler, and cooperative industry contributor, Huawei is committed to building a Better Connected World. Through our dedication to customer-centric innovation and strong partnerships, we have established end-to-end capabilities and strengths across carrier, enterprise, consumer, and cloud computing domains. Huawei's 180,000 employees worldwide create maximum value for telecom operators, enterprises and consumers. Our innovative ICT solutions, products and services have been deployed in over 170 countries and regions, serving more than one-third of the world's population. Founded in 1987, Huawei is a private company that is fully owned by its employees. For more information, please visit Huawei online at www.huawei.com.

Will You Pay for the "Living Room" Economy?

In December 2016, the global blockbuster war drama Hacksaw Ridge was released to the Chinese mainland. The movie was soon available on various digital TV platforms, allowing Chinese consumers to watch this most popular movie at home. In addition to movies, digital TV platforms provide gaming, shopping, and a great variety of other services. As the "living room" economy booms, TV is transforming from a one-way medium to a hotspot for two-way communications, interactivity, and multimedia.

Large-screen TV has become the gateway to the "living room" economy, and entertainment video services are thriving

Rapid advances in Internet technology have intensified the competition for home entertainment, introducing significant changes to the video industry. Digital TV, smart TV, and IPTV, as the major large-screen home devices, are playing an indispensable role in people's lives. As the number and level of engagement of TV service subscribers continue to increase, video content, applications, and value-added services on TV represent huge potential for profits. A "living room" economy ecosystem revolving around TV is taking shape.

According to market research firm Analysys, by 2018 the Chinese "living room" economy, with large-screen TVs as the pillar, is expected to reach CNY230 billion. Telecom operators have also quickly expanded into the household market with IPTV. By virtue of the triple play service bundles (comprising telecommunications network, radio and television transmission network, and Internet services), the major three Chinese operators had attracted 867.3 million IPTV subscribers by the end of 2016, with the annual growth rate exceeding 35%.

Video services for communications will be another opportunity for the "living room" economy

Most consumers view TV as a medium to present traditional programming and entertainment videos. TV has failed to play the key role of enabling interactions between family members. With the rapid growth and availability of mobile Internet, consumers expect their needs to be satisfied without ever stepping out of their front door. They want their TV to become a family interaction center that supports a wide range of functionality, including one-on-one coaching, medical advice, and shopping. In the new Blue Ocean of the "living room" economy, people have a strong demand for all TV services, including gaming, music, entertainment, education, fitness, healthcare, and customer service, to be bundled with video communication service. This demand has created a larger market space.

Operators build "Video+ living room lifestyle"

Over the past several years, global telecom operators have made video more of a strategic focus than ever before. Video services are at the core of household services, and they are the basis for the "living room" economy. A combination of video communications with traditional industries will not only deliver high-quality lifestyles to domestic consumers, but also help to upgrade information consumption. This will ultimately make "Video+ living room lifestyle" a reality. IPTV has enabled interaction between media content providers and consumers, and TV video calling has brought family members closer together. The two services have laid an important foundation for building the "Video+ living room lifestyle" and achieving strategic transformation.

In the future, operators will expand their video capabilities in the communications field to every walk of life. The future will see large-screen TV act as the key medium, supported by home broadband and real-time audio. Operators will develop traditional one-way video webcasts and on-demand services into value-added applications through partnerships across multiple fields. As this happens, living rooms will adapt to consumer needs by becoming cinemas, distance learning classrooms, fitness centers, gaming centers, and shopping malls. Operators strive to build a new economic trend characterized by "Video+", thereby increasing user loyalty, reducing user attrition, and ultimately achieving sustained revenue growth.

For example, in 2015 China Telecom Sichuan launched their "Missing Home" application. With cameras installed on interactive TV (ITV) set-top boxes, this application allows users to have HD video calls between TVs, and between TVs and smartphones. Originally, China Telecom Sichuan offered Missing Home services to enable video calls between family members, relatives, or friends. Users could be from any walk of life, and included businesspeople, laborers, and students. Later, the company expanded the application of Missing Home services to other fields, such as the primary selection of "super girls" in the Super Girl Singing Contest Promo organized by China's Hunan TV, Chinese eGovernment initiatives, and family doctor based medical care. To date, Missing Home video call services have more than 5.3 million subscribers. This is a huge success for China Telecom Sichuan.

1. Video for communications + education

With the rapid growth of mobile Internet, online payment for small amounts has been quickly adopted and popularized amongst consumers. Consumers are gradually becoming more receptive to online education. Parents and students are the two groups who are most interested in education, and up to 24% of them are willing to pay for educational apps. It is estimated that the online education market in China will hit CNY198 billion by 2017.

For example, on an online education platform, a teacher called Wang Yu holds physics classes and charges just 9 Chinese yuan for each class. However, he had 2,617 students enroll in his class and he earned 18,842 yuan in a single hour after the 20% commission for the online education platform.

As an alternative device for online education, TV has become more popular amongst consumers. Approximately 20% of those attending online education courses do so via TV. Evolving video technologies, including real-time HD video based on large-screen TV, group calls, whiteboard video, and video filming provide strong impetus for innovation in Internet education. This innovation will maximize the utilization of high-grade educational resources and benefit both students and teachers.

2. Video for communication + healthcare

The Chinese government is developing more robust medical and healthcare systems and increasing their capacity. The aim is to offer the public easier access to more affordable medical services. Family doctor consultations and remote diagnosis services offered through large-screen TV have rapidly been accepted by the healthcare market and households.

On December 28, 2016, Sichuan University inaugurated its West China Women and Children Online Hospital. With the online hospital, patients can receive diagnosis services at home, and doctors are able to issue electronic subscriptions. Pharmaceuticals can also be directly delivered to patients.

In addition to education and medical treatment, social networking, shopping, entertainment, and other services are quickly becoming integrated into video, and they are becoming increasingly popular among households. TVs have now become an important gateway to the "living room" economy.

 

Huawei and telecom operators are working together in the field of home video. With Huawei's help, operators are opening up the video capabilities of their networks, and providing multi-screen, interactive video connections through fixed-mobile converged networks. They are positioning themselves as the gateway to the living room, and bringing in industry applications to bolster the video ecosystem. Partners' innovative services will enable operators to deliver unique experiences. As user demand increases, the "living room" economy will become the next opportunity for rapid industry growth. Operators who own the living room will win the future.

The era of the "living room" economy is here! Are you ready?