PARTNER FEATURE: As the core technology and the architecture of carrier-class services cloudification, Network Function Virtualization (hereinafter referred to as NFV) is the inexorable trend of future network evolution. By virtue of the NFV technology, the underlying hardware resources pool is decoupled from the upper level applications, the underlying hardware resources can be shared, saving hardware OPEX/CAPEX; while on the upper layer, services extensibility and fast responsiveness can be strengthened. However, the introduction of NFV network also brings more vendors and the decoupling of hardware and software. Under such circumstances, how to implement fast and efficient integration delivery of multiple vendors has become a problem for the operators’ network transformation.

ZTE is a leading NFV convergence product solution provider, we fully understand the industrial customers’ needs in NFV construction. By refining the experiences in NFV integration projects, ZTE has developed an end-to-end and one-stop NFV integration service solution that covers five integration scenarios, including design, deployment, test, acceptance and management of integration. This solution subdivides the integration work in those scenarios, and provides workflow and supporting tools. With the automated tool running throughout the integration design to the integration acceptance, it provides all-round end-to-end service process, and supports realtime customized integration design and feasibility verification. Upon completion of the design verification, the configuration files and specific design documents required by the network integration are output. With the configuration files imported to the integration deployment tool for end-to-end and fully silent integration deployment, and customized automation acceptance, it achieves “zero-intervention” in integration deployment and test, greatly shortening the time in integration deployment/verification. The NFV integration service solution is made up of Five Capabilities, One Integration Ecosystem and Four Centers. Among them, the Five Capabilities are connected, implemented and accumulated by the automated tools of the Four Centers, achieving an end-to-end implementation from integration planning, network deployment to integration test throughout the integration process lifecycle, closing the gap between integration design and customer’s needs, and relieving the paint point of operators in NFV network integration effectively.

Five Capabilities

• End-to-End Design Capability: ZTE supports the design of the full range of NFV network products and all CT/IT service scenarios, and has design experiences in over 1000 integration scenarios, reflecting the end-to-end design capability.
• Integration and Verification Capability: ZTE has set up around the globe 4 OpenLabs, over 10 professional labs, more than 1000 sets of and 100 types of servers & storages & switching equipments, and industry mainstream cloud platform. ZTE can provide pre-integration deployment environment and support compatibility test with industry mainstream vendors, to reduce the commercial application risk and achieve perfect delivery.
• End-to-End Delivery Capability: ZTE has 30 years’ experience in communication industry and has accumulated field delivery experience in over 320 mature commercial application/PoC projects. Professional integration experts and project management team are responsible for the field delivery. By effectively controlling the process from system integration project startup, project discussion, requirement investigation, system design, installation engineering, installation deployment, to test acceptance based on given process and specification; the entire project process can be controlled and proper operation of the system delivered can be ensured, answering customers’ demand finally.
• Remote Delivery Capability: ZTE has already been researching the remote delivery modes and methods advanced in the industry, and started the remote delivery design, including service arrangement, policy, process, quality management and network security.
• Integration Automated Capability: ZTE provisions integration service process and runs service contents fast with the support of the end-to-end AIC, achieving automated network planning, integration test and installation deployment throughout the process.

One Integrated Ecosystem

Thanks to the development and popularization of NFV network, the boundary between CT and IT is becoming more and more obscure, and the dependence between enterprises and partners is becoming more and more high, interweaving and convergent development are now the prevailing trend. ZTE establishes NFV commercial ecosystem jointly with industry mainstream technical partners on each layer domain based on NFV layered architecture, and carries out technical cooperation and innovation as well as joint planning and compatibility verification of product integration solution based on the principles of openness and open source. So far, ZTE supports hardware and software compatibility with more than 300 mainstream vendors around the world, aiming to build the industry ecosystem together.

Four Centers

The Four Centers refer to the core components of ZTE AIC.

• Design Center: It collects the configuration parameters and resource requirements of hardware, cloud platform, MANO and VNF by GUI, and generates the installation parameter files and design documents for integration scenario components automatically.
• Verification Center: It receives the installation parameter files generated by the Design Center, and completes the deployment of hardware, cloud platform, MANO and VNF, and the configuration of VNF data.
• Test Center: As the deployment of cloud platform, MANO and VNF is completed, it verifies that all the functional components meet the design requirements by testing the cloud platform and VNF with test tools.
• Assets Center: It manages the process data of integration projects, collects integration experiences and updates integration asset library, providing capability support for the three functional centers.

Up to now, ZTE one-stop NFV integration service solution has been applied in more than 400 NFV commercial sites/PoC projects around the world, facilitating fast vCN integration of operators. By simplifying integration while saving integration cost, enhancing integration quality while speeding up integration, ZTE one-stop NFV integration service solution provides a strong support for the operators’ network transformation.

• vEPC/NFVI Integration Project for VEON Group: With the pre-integration, pre-integration verification of multiple vendors was completed in OpenLab, guaranteeing large-scale commercial application deployment of branches and reducing risk by 80%. With the AIC deployment tool adopted in the field integration, hardware and software were installed fast within 4 hours. With the AIC verification tool, fast verification of all services and interconnection between VNF and PNF were completed.

• NB-IoT Network Integration for China Unicom, Xi’an: With ZTE AIC automated tool, the project team completed the installation of all hardware and cloud platform of single DC within 4 days, helping NB-IoT project of China Unicom, Xi’an make the successful First Call 3 days in advance.

To sum up, ZTE one-stop NFV integration service solution speeds up the launch of new services by integrating the integration workflow and employing the automated integration tool. In addition, ZTE has accumulated rich integration experiences in projects and established an open integration ecosystem, it supports flexible and various virtualized network integration for operators, accelerating NFV network construction and service launching, and efficiently facilitating the network transformation of operators in a simpler, faster and more reliable way.