ANTONY SAVVAS OPERATIONS SUPPORT SYSTEMS
most critical operational network events.
from network port counters and statistical packet sampling and hop-by-hop INT data. This type of telemetry data lacks any context or actionable details on abnormal network behaviour, says Mellanox, forcing the network admin or monitoring tool to perform time consuming analysis to find the root cause of network issues. “WJH event-based telemetry delivers direct and actionable information and thus eliminates the guesswork from network troubleshooting,” says Mellanox, which last year was acquired by NVIDIA. The WJH solution leverages the hardware capabilities built into the Mellanox Spectrum and Spectrum-2 Ethernet switch ASICs to inspect packets at multi-terabit speeds – faster than rival software or firmware-based solutions. WJH then identifies anomalous behaviour and consolidates this into concise, specific and actionable data that “enables rapid remediation and recovery of cloud applications and critical business operations”. Amit Katz, vice president of Ethernet switches at Mellanox Technologies, said, “Customers need a smarter network, a network that can be invisible when it comes to automated installation and provisioning, It’s clear that the OSS technology landscape is changing rapidly for the better, which is just as well considering the pace of new applications and product introductions from service providers, and the resulting jump in network nodes and gadgets that have to be monitored and controlled. Communication service providers need a modern approach to network operations that is automated, more efficient and scalable AMIT KATZ VP ETHERNET SWITCHES, MELLANOX but extra-visible when it comes to troubleshooting. We make WJH advanced telemetry available to all our customers without playing the license-per- feature game that our competitors do.”
aim of achieving lower operational expenses through cloud scalability. According to Data Bridge Market Research, the global cloud OSS BSS market is expected to rise from its initial estimated value of US$13.23 billion in 2018 to a value of about US$36.33 billion by 2026, registering a CAGR of 13.45% in the forecast period of 2019-2026. Again, the increasing usage of convergent billing systems, along with a requirement for faster cloud deployments and greater awareness of cloud solutions are the major factors for the growth of the market, said Data Bridge. Markets and Markets says key players in the cloud OSS BSS ecosystem include Accenture, Amdocs, Cisco Systems, Comarch, Ericsson, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Huawei, IBM, Mahindra Comviva, Mycom OSI, Nokia, Oracle, Sigma Systems, Subex and TEOCO, among others. 5G AUTOMATION The advent of new 5G networks to support Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, virtual reality/augmented reality and on- demand gaming service deployments at the network edge is also causing a service shakeup in the OSS space. Nokia recently announced the launch of the Nokia Network Operations Master platform to provide CSPs with “highly-automated and scalable software” for managing their 5G networks, it said. As 5G adds new layers of technical complexity, CSPs will require an intelligent management system to deal with the fast-increasing number of physical and virtual network events that will place heavy workloads on network operations centres (NOCs), Nokia said. Network Operations Master, an addition to Nokia’s network management portfolio, is designed to deliver tools for troubleshooting, administration, software management and configuration management. Until now, existing network management systems used for 2G/3G/4G networks have been largely manually driven. And they will also struggle to scale up to the needs of the cloud and 5G, as well as managing the volume of network “slices” involved - parts of the network capacity tailored to different subscriber and application needs. With a software-driven approach, machine learning techniques and customisable operations, the Nokia offering allows slicing and other processes to be automated and simplified, while ensuring that existing operations functionalities are retained. The new technology promises to reduce workloads around repetitive actions and allow CSP NOCs to concentrate on the
Dana Cooperson, research director at Analysys Mason, said, “5G networks will require significantly
more operations automation than
DANA COOPERSON RESEARCH DIRECTOR, ANALYSYS MASON
past networks in order to achieve promised levels of efficiency
and new service support. Nokia’s Network Operations Master is a cloud-native network management system that is underpinned by machine learning and automated actions and provides the types of tools mobile network operations teams need now for 5G.” “Communication service providers need a modern approach to performing network operations that is automated, more efficient and scalable. Network Operations Master delivers these capabilities and allows our customers to perform lifecycle operations with ease, efficiency and confidence.” RON HABERMAN CTO, NOKIA SOFTWARE Ron Haberman, chief technology officer at Nokia Software, chipped in, Operators are already moving towards this type of next generation OSS using other technologies to help manage their 5G deployments. Deutsche Telekom is using Netcracker’s Network Domain Orchestration technology, and Telstra has adopted a container-based Evolved Packet Core (EPC) platform from Ericsson. BUNDLED SOLUTIONS Next generation OSS also has to make it easier to troubleshoot the fibre networks being created from the new applications coming onto the market. Mellanox Technologies is doing its bit with an advanced network telemetry technology that provides speedy visibility into anomalies for public cloud, private cloud and enterprise computing. The new technology - bundled without charge with existing Mellanox products - is the What Just Happened (WJH) offering. It is a new intelligent monitoring technology that goes well beyond conventional streaming telemetry and Inband Network Telemetry (INT) offerings.
Conventional telemetry generates enormous amounts of data that is mined
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| ISSUE 20 | Q1 2020
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