Seizing the initiative to define the future of Open RAN management

The transformative journey of communication service provider (CSP) networks has reached a new, exciting stage. As operators increasingly adopt cloud technologies and embrace disaggregated architecture, the O-RAN Alliance is leading an expansion into the radio access network (RAN) realm. By disrupting the traditional RAN landscape, O-RAN is driving the industry towards a software-driven approach that leverages diverse software and hardware from multiple vendors to achieve the best possible outcomes. The goal is to create integrated, tested and certified solutions that deliver lower total cost of ownership (TCO) and amplified innovation.

With over 40 years’ industry expertise, Amdocs is a leading provider of software and services to communications and media companies. The company offers market-leading capabilities for service providers’ operations support systems (OSS) and radio access networks (RANs), and has delivered proven solutions in network management, planning, and optimization. To meet emerging challenges, Amdocs also strongly collaborates with leading industry organizations like the Telecom Infra Project and the O-RAN Alliance.

Dell Technologies is a global leader in digital transformation and infrastructure. Its products are widely utilized by global telecom operators in network and IT infrastructure, ranging from purpose-built telecom servers to cloud-native orchestration and infrastructure automation solutions. The company also offers bundled solutions developed in close collaboration with a diverse ecosystem of partners in O-Cloud and workload layers, and has extensive representation in key industry forums, including the O-RAN Alliance, Telecom Infra Project, and 3GPP.

To advance a shared vision for O-RAN management, our two companies have partnered to enable cloud transformations throughout the industry. For example, consider Amdocs Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) for O-RAN, whose capabilities include orchestration, inventory and assurance for any managed element, including x/rAPPs.

While Amdocs offering supports any O-Cloud, across bare metal and CaaS, when integrated with Dell Telecom Infrastructure Automation Suite, it supports deployments on Dell Technology’s industry-leading telecom servers, as well as O-Cloud layer software, provided by partner organizations. This integration enables CSPs to rapidly provision, manage, and monitor their O-Cloud infrastructure, and simplify the lifecycle management of infrastructure nodes in a dynamic, disaggregated network. A proof of concept (PoC) showcasing this solution's capabilities is currently underway at Vodafone Group, encompassing both immediate use cases and a roadmap of forward-looking scenarios. 

Bringing efficiencies to O-RAN with Service Management and Orchestration (SMO)

Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) is a key pillar in service and network orchestration, addressing specific CSP needs. By operating across multiple hierarchies, SMO efficiently manages multi-vendor, multi-technology entities with varying lifecycles. Furthermore, by focusing on cloud infrastructure, virtualized and containerized cloud-native functions (CNFs), it’s fully aligned with the industry’s developing architecture, seamlessly integrating with, and actively contributing to O-RAN standards and interfaces.

Amdocs SMO provides all the capabilities required to manage O-RAN. It supports the end-to-end lifecycle of the network, including design and onboarding, orchestration and management, inventory, and assurance processes. This approach also extends to embracing the openness and disaggregated approach of O-RAN, with support for heterogeneous multi-technology, multi-vendor networks – bringing CSPs cost efficiencies and empowering innovation.

Figure 1 Amdocs Service Management and Orchestration Solution Overview

Amdocs’ SMO supports a diverse set of use cases, from O-RAN network rollout, network slicing and O-RAN energy efficiency savings, to assurance and closed-loop operations. Furthermore, it’s instrumental in simplifying the rollout process, addressing challenges presented by the disaggregated, multi-vendor nature of O-RAN.

Post-rollout too, SMO plays a pivotal role managing each individual network slice, ensuring RAN performance, maintaining service-level objectives and undertaking corrective actions. This is achieved by leveraging standard FM, PM, SQM capabilities, as well as O-RAN apps, which are deployed within both the Non-RT RIC (rApps) and

Near-RT RIC (xApps) to support different optimization use cases. Throughout, the solution fully adheres to O-RAN specifications and standards.

Streamlining with Infrastructure and O-Cloud automation

Dell Technologies Infrastructure Automation Suite helps to simplify and automate infrastructure management in disaggregated networks, allowing CSPs to seamlessly provision, manage and monitor their infrastructure. In addition to operating based on the O-RAN O2-IMS and O2-DMS APIs, the Suite provides an open, model-driven framework for a ubiquitous single point of control. This suite then serves as the unified entry and exit point for automated deployment and orchestration of multi-site and multi-vendor infrastructure, as well as streamlined day 2 lifecycle management, including updates and upgrades.

Figure 2 Dell Telecom Infrastructure Automation Suite

Dell Telecom Infrastructure Automation Suite’s open and extensible architecture serves as the driving force behind O-RAN infrastructure automation. It includes a comprehensive set of components, including full orchestration, data-driven telemetry of cloud infrastructure, resource controllers, API adaptors, a user interface and a single pane of glass for complete cloud infrastructure.

Importantly, the suite, with its open declarative automation framework, also delivers support for cloud infrastructure operations, lower infrastructure total cost of ownership (TCO), accelerated time to market (TTM)/time to repair (TTR), and a modular, extensible architecture to avoid vendor lock-in. 

A ground-breaking proof of concept with Vodafone

A main takeaway from our collaboration with Vodafone was that the ability to replace manual processes with zero-touch operations would represent a real game changer. To showcase this vision, Amdocs and Dell Technologies set the goal of building a proof-of-concept (PoC) that would achieve this objective. Taking an end-to-end distributed zero-touch deployment approach, we set out to build a model that significantly reduces the time to bring new sites and services online. Ultimately, Vodafone also seeks to automate the radio network rollout and validate the joint solution’s ability to manage a hybrid, multi-vendor, and disaggregated O-RAN network.

For this PoC, a joint blueprint was created, whereby Amdocs would manage SMO and system integration, with Dell overseeing O-Cloud and infrastructure (including bare metal) layers, and Radisys providing O-RAN CNFs. Additional software will include Red Hat® OpenShift®, a hybrid cloud application platform powered by Kubernetes,  as a CaaS platform and Open Telemetry for performance metrics in CaaS.

Figure 3 Vodafone O-RAN PoC blueprint

Vodafone Proof of Concept use cases

The PoC aims to showcase the seamless integration of Amdocs SMO with Dell Technologies Infrastructure Automation Suite, enabling zero-touch deployment of a RAN site. The deployment involves transitioning infrastructure from bare-metal to the cloud using a declarative approach. Once the site is deployed, Amdocs and Dell will demonstrate end-to-end implementation through a data call. Both Amdocs SMO assurance capabilities and Dell Technologies Infrastructure Automation Suite will gather and transmit various telemetry data from the infrastructure, CaaS and the RAN network functions to Amdocs SMO, facilitating real-time monitoring of alarms and events. The setup is both versatile and supports service assurance and closed-loop automation.

Roadmap to innovation

Looking ahead, Amdocs and Dell Technologies remain committed to evolving SMO and O-Cloud management in alignment with O-RAN standards, and empowering CSPs with the flexibility and agility they need for O-RAN deployment activities.

Amdocs SMO remains central to this goal, supporting a rich set of capabilities, including model-driven dynamic orchestration, service decomposition, network slicing, dynamic inventory and closed-loop SLA assurance. Importantly, we’re also investing in specific O-RAN capabilities such as O1, O2, R1, and A1 interfaces, as well as management of x/rApps and respective ML-models.

Meanwhile, Dell Telecom Infrastructure Automation Suite effectively manages the complete lifecycle of the O-Cloud, using the O2 API and RESTful APIs. Employing an open software framework with vendor-agnostic resource controllers, the Suite empowers CSPs to fully capitalize on the advantages of disaggregated infrastructure and cloud layers. It can also seamlessly configure the O-Cloud by orchestrating intricate dependencies, coordinating tasks across various infrastructure elements and cloud stacks.

Even as Amdocs and Dell Technologies solidify our positions as key players in O-RAN development, we remain equally excited to find new ways to collaborate and innovate in the ever-evolving O-RAN management landscape.