What is VMware Telco Cloud Automation?
What VMware Telco Cloud Automation Does
Telco Cloud Automation offers consistent multi-cloud operations, from infrastructure to services. It applies a cloud-smart approach to abstract the cloud evolution complexity and delivers optimized network resources on-demand, lowering operating expenses and bolstering revenue-generating services.
Accelerate Time to Market
Accelerate network service time-to-market with a simplified vendor-neutral and standard-compliant approach for designing and onboarding network functions or services.
Reduce Complexity
Enable leaner operational processes, remove the complex and error-prone human activities, and optimize overall resource utilization through effective and dynamic xNF management.
Enable Cloud-Native
Transition to cloud-native architecture seamlessly with CaaS automation. Simplify registering and creating new Kubernetes clusters directly from Telco Cloud Automation.
Promote Network Resiliency
Automate the distribution of network functions and service workloads across data centers and availability zones for optimal resiliency.
Ready for the Telco Cloud
The VMware® Ready for Telco Cloud program enhances interoperability by providing xNF certifications for Telco Cloud Automation, ensuring consistent end-to-end solution operations and management.
Seamlessly Onboard Network Functions
Leverage templates, acquire new ones from certified partners or build your own with a simple visual composer. Onboard and instantiate xNFs seamlessly across tenants and clouds.
Unify Orchestration
Onboard and orchestrate VM and container-based workloads for adaptive service delivery. Distribute workloads across public and private clouds and domains for true network modernization.
Optimize Kubernetes (K8s)
Optimize K8s clusters during configuration and instantiation to fit network function resources and operational requirements with VMware Telco Cloud Automation’s “late-binding” capability. Manage clusters in a centralized system across registered clouds.
Streamline Orchestration
Faster time-to-orchestrate with integration to VMware technologies. Provide unique multi-VIM/K8s and multi-cloud capabilities. Turn an integration-intensive project into an efficient product deployment.
Network Slicing Management
Create on-demand, isolated, end-to-end logical networks running on a common infrastructure. Program networks for specific business purposes to meet SLAs with QoS indicators and security requirements.
Automate Days 0, 1 and 2 Operations
Embed multi-cloud and cloud-native agility in operational processes with lifecycle management from infrastructure to network services.
Automate Telco Cloud Expansion
Build new network sites with multi-layer automation. Reduce complexity and time to expand capacity for existing sites or build new sites through deployment templates and CaaS automation.
Enhanced Experiences
Deliver better customer experience with adaptable and resilient services. Combine real-time decisioning with holistic cloud awareness for optimal closed-loop actions, improving quality of service.
Simplified Interoperability
Built as a modular and model-driven solution, G-VNFM and NFVO components integrate with SOL-compliant ETSI MANO, 3GPP and O-RAN architectures.
Benefits of Telco Cloud Automation
VMware Telco Cloud Automation delivers a cloud-smart, vendor-neutral approach to telco network orchestration and automation. It eases interoperability and simplifies the translation of telco requirements in a rapidly evolving multi-cloud ecosystem.
Research conducted by ACG highlights several key benefits of VMware Telco Cloud Automation with horizonal infrastructure:
- 344% ROI and 23% reduction in TCO over five years
- Faster service creation and faster time to market
- OPEX savings of 38%
- Unified orchestration and automation
An Automation and Orchestration Platform for Any Network
VMware Telco Cloud Automation serves as a multi-layer, multi-domain automation and orchestration platform for Service Providers at any stage of network maturity.
Vanilla+ Highlights Telco Cloud Automation
VMware Telco Cloud Automation addresses tomorrow’s requirements and also provides end-to-end automation for many of today’s 4G-based requirements.
Spotlight
Overview Video
Realize network modernization through the effective orchestration and automation of network functions and services across networks and clouds.
Appledore Solution Profile
VMware Telco Cloud Automation: An End-to-End Platform for Telecoms’ Cloud Automation.
Datasheet
Read the VMware Telco Cloud Automation datasheet, which details current product version capabilities.
Blog: What’s New?
Read our latest blog describing what’s new in Telco Cloud Automation 2.1.
Blog: Network Slicing for VMware Telco Cloud Automation
Check out our blog on Network Slicing for VMware Telco Cloud Automation.
Features
Multi-Cloud & 5G Turnkey Architecture
Packaged NFVO, Generic VNF Manager (G-VNFM) CaaS, and Multi-Cloud Management capabilities with pre-built integrations to VMware Telco Cloud Infrastructure.
Multi/Hybrid-Cloud Placements
Support complex xNF/NS instance deployments and management use cases spanning multiple domains and clouds, including AWS’s EKS.
Simplified Onboarding
Accelerate lengthy network function and service onboarding cycles by integrating descriptor templates leveraging open standards.
Infrastructure Automation
Accelerate network expansion by automating the provisioning software at new sites or adding compute capacity to existing ones.
Standard-Based Interoperability
ETSI-MANO and CNCF compliant architecture leveraging open SOL and Kubernetes standard interfaces for vendor-neutral interoperability.
Intent-Based Placement
Optimize workload placement with automated recommendations to align network function requirements and cloud capabilities.
Programmable Automation
Tailor auto-operations behavior by establishing simple to complex rules for closed-loop policies across network function and service lifecycles.
Network Slicing Management
Utilize CSMF, NSMF and NSSMF components to plan, design and instantiate end-to-end network slices across the RAN, edge, core and transport network domains.
CI/CD Integration
Utilize APIs to act as a single point of integration to CSPs’ existing DevOps practices and continuous integration, continuous deployment (CI/CD) tools.
Unified Network Function Management
Seamlessly manage physical, virtual and cloud-native network functions.
Powerful Visual Composer
Create unique multi-vendor network service or xNF descriptors through an intuitive visual composer interface.
Multi-VIM and K8s Cluster Management
Ease registration with multi-VIM and Kubernetes cluster auto-discovery plus continuous synchronization from infrastructure to orchestration.
Container-as-a-Service Automation (CaaS)
Register existing or create new Kubernetes clusters plus automatically align cluster configurations based on network function requirements.
End-to-End Visibility
Centralize xNF/EMS and VIM/CaaS/NFVi fault and performance management (FM/PM) for enriched policies, workflows and assurance.
Partners
Ready for Telco Cloud Partner Program
VMware cooperates with xNF vendors including all key NEPs, having them certify in the VMware Ready for Telco Cloud program. This program ensures interoperability and operational readiness between third-party developed xNFs. VMware Telco Cloud Automation leverages this program to certify interoperability with network function vendors, offering a neutral and pre-tested end-to-end MANO solution. Learn more here.
Network Products to Enable Future-Ready Networks
FAQs
VMware Telco Cloud Automation is an automation platform that accelerates the deployment of services while igniting operational agility through unified, multi-cloud, multi-domain automation across the telco cloud: from network slices, network services and network functions to CaaS and infrastructure.
Why Should Communication Service Providers (CSPs) Care About Telco Cloud Automation?
The number of network functions and network services is growing exponentially. The complexity of these applications is also multiplying through a new diversity of vendors, with multiple formats (virtualized/cloud-native network function) and instantiated/managed in several clouds running different infrastructure. This increased complexity must be managed with orchestration and automation capabilities that go beyond standard infrastructure management. 4G-based network functions and 5G network features such as network slicing and edge computing all require telco cloud orchestration and automation to be truly effective. CSPs benefit today by implementing these capabilities and those benefits will only increase as the virtualization footprint grows. CSPs that wait, on the other hand, to orchestrate and automate their networks will miss revenue-generating opportunities and will see costs and complexities increase. It comes as no surprise, then, that by 2024 according to Appledore Research, the global service orchestration market will reach $1.9B, at a 93.2% CAGR.
How does VMware Telco Cloud Automation modernize networks?
When developing an effective automation and orchestration solution, it is essential to keep in mind that CSPs globally find themselves at different stages of network maturity. As such, Telco Cloud Automation manages 4G, VNF-based networks, helps our customers graduate to 5G, CNF-based networks and, for those customers that already operate with 5G, cloud-native networks, support cutting-edge automation, such as network slicing to unlock new revenue sources.
What’s the difference between VMware Telco Cloud Automation and a Virtual Infrastructure Manager (VIM)?
VMware Telco Cloud Automation focuses on the design, onboarding, and management of the application or service while the VIM manages the underlying infrastructure layer. Telco Could Automation decouples the application from the infrastructure while providing the ability to design, onboard and manage complex network services over multiple VIMs, K8s, sites and tenants.
What type of network services can be orchestrated and automated?
There is no limit to the type of network services supported by VMware Telco Cloud Automation, but the most common services include Mobile Core (LTE/5G), Multimedia Advanced Services, MPN, VoLTE, VoWIFI, SD-WAN/uCPE, Private LTE, vRAN, etc.
What type of automation can the product perform?
VMware Telco Cloud Automation supports both human and system-triggered automated workflows and policies for network functions and services, including Days 0 – 2 LCM for xNFs. VMware Telco Cloud Automation also supports infrastructure, CaaS automation and network slicing management.
Is VMware Telco Cloud Automation an on-premises or SaaS product?
VMware Telco Cloud Automation is deployed on-premises.
What’s Container-as-a-Service (CaaS) Automation?
CaaS Automation allows users to centrally create and manage Kubernetes clusters (worker/management nodes) based on templates across the telco cloud—including multi-cloud environments. CaaS automation also enables Telco Cloud Automation to optimize the Kubernetes clusters configurations to match cloud-native network functions properties during the instantiation. Since the specialization is really applied only when the cluster is used, these “late binding” (see the “late-binding” blog here for more information) configurations allow better cluster consistency and optimized infrastructure resource utilization.
What are the MANO capabilities delivered by VMware Telco Cloud Automation?
VMware Telco Cloud Automation offers Generic VNF Manager (G-VNFM) and NFV/Cloud domain orchestration capabilities. See the datasheet in the Resources section for supported interfaces.
What type of network function can be orchestrated and automated?
VMware Telco Cloud Automation supports orchestration and automation of network functions in any format (physical, virtual and cloud-native) and from any vendor (compliant to SOL001/004).
Is VMware Telco Cloud Automation a multi-domain orchestrator?
Yes, VMware Telco Cloud Automation provides orchestration and automation across the virtual domains, including the core, edge and RAN.
What is Network Slicing for VMware Telco Cloud Automation?
Network Slicing for VMware Telco Cloud Automation supports Communication Service Management Function (CSMF), a domain-level Network Slicing Subnet Management Function (NSSMF) and a cross-domain Network Slicing Management Function (NSMF). Supporting network slicing orchestration on the domain and cross-domain levels places Telco Cloud Automation as a centralized management component that controls the lifecycle of the infrastructure and up to the application and service levels, allowing our customers to extend the level of automation of their networks without the need to invest in costly integrations.
Why can’t we use standard K8s instead of Telco Cloud Automation?
Kubernetes has been created for enterprise and consumer applications container management and does not comply, by default, to many carrier-grade telco industry requirements and standards (e.g., ETSI-MANO or integration with 3rd party components like OSS, assurance system, EMS and applications). Telco Cloud Automation provides a singular approach to extend and adapt the standard Kubernetes to a Service Providers’ cloud-native requirements, in addition to providing an abstraction layer to simplify Kubernetes utilization for the Service Provider.
