Open Source MANO: An Introduction
There are numerous talks about the best way to operate a well-organized, accessible, automated network infrastructure. One of the most common difficulties is the ability to offer high availability services along with having the agility to swiftly deploy new techniques. DevOps comes with a need to keep ongoing operations running with a reduced cost. These aspects need not be contradictory.
The solution to this challenge is the combination of cloud computing network functions virtualization (NFV), and the software-defined network (SDN). With the help of NFV and SDN, it becomes possible to manage several network functions over the same hardware, both in on-premises as well as public clouds. To reach these technologies, operators need a new approach to manage network architectures. NFV Management and Orchestration (NFV MANO) plays a significant role in cloud infrastructure when it comes to unlocking the complete potential of virtualization of network functions.
About OSM
Open Source solutions or Open Source MANO focuses on the deployment of open-source NFV management and orchestration software stacks. The primary aim of OSM is to align activities in development with the evolution of the NFV standard that allows operators and vendors to have an ecosystem that supports delivery as well as the deployment of services in an affordable manner. It is important to follow network architects in order to leverage synergies between the open-source approach as well as the NFV standard, which are essential when it comes to developing Management and Orchestration infrastructure. The main two components of OSM are the run-time scope and design-time scope.
The primary aim of the run-time scope is the simplification of service as well as lifecycle management. It also aims to support different functions, including automated service orchestration. It can also perform provisioning for SDN controllers that include plugin models integrating multiple controllers. It also consists of the delivery of plugin models for the integration of VIMs. In addition to this, its Generic VNF manager plays an important function in controlling VNFs along with demand-based support for specific VNF Managers. It also supports the integration of a new Physical Network Function into an automated service deployment and the integration of multiple monitoring tools via a plugin model.
Design-time scope functions to support a model-driven environment fully aligned with the NFV standard. It consists of functions for creation, update, and deletion of service definitions. It can also provide a GUI in order to accelerate VNF onboarding, deployment, and service design time.