Work Area Overview
Mission Statement:
This Work Area focuses on the introduction of Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Functions Virtualization (NFV), including migration and coexistence of physical and virtual elements, into the broadband network. Work Area Directors: Ken Ko, ADTRAN and George Dobrowski, Huawei Technologies
Business Impact:
The migration to SDN and NFV in the broadband network facilitates agile deployment of new customized distributed broadband services and applications. This enables new revenues and provider differentiation while managing OpEx both in the access network and in single and multi-tenant residential and business locations.
Scope:
The scope includes migration to and deployment of SDN- and NFV-enabled implementations across all aspects of the broadband network. The architecture is based on the initial definition of and extensions to the framework for virtualization in the broadband network.
ARO Work Area View https://aro.broadband-forum.org/bin/c5i?rid=68&k1=28
Project Streams
Project Stream | Description | PS Leadership |
|---|---|---|
Non-PS Assigned | Projects that don’t fit under the scope of an existing Project Stream or if they fit under the scope of more than one Project Stream, are developed under the Non-PS Assigned category. | Ken Ko, ADTRAN George Dobrowski, Huawei Technologies |
| Project Stream | Description | PS Leadership |
|---|---|---|
| Cloud in the Central Office (Cloud CO) | This project stream proposes developing a next generation Central Office (CO) System that aligns with the BBF Broadband 20/20 vision, which incorporates Software Defined Networking and Network Function Virtualization, running on a cloud-like infrastructure deployed at Central Offices. By ‘cloud-like’ is meant that the infrastructure leverages commodity network switches and commodity compute nodes with virtualization software to host various virtualized network functions (VNFs). Infrastructure operators can offer these functions to 3rd parties, and 3rd party network functions can be inserted into the platform, allowing Value Added Services. The goal of this project is to provide an architectural framework for such a Cloud CO, with appropriate abstracted functional modules, and interfaces, eventual API and protocol choices and/or definitions. The architectural framework allows interconnecting these functional modules in an interoperable manner This project will also establish a reference implementation of the Cloud CO framework, creating a platform for innovation and potential open source upstreaming into other organizations, as well as a platform for industry interoperability testing and certification of NFs and the components that implement the aforementioned functional modules. | Yves Hertoghs, VMWare |
| Project Stream | Description | PS Leadership |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed Access Network Sharing (FANS) | FTTx represents today a high-cost technology (in terms of Return on Investments) to enhance data rates to the end customers, but it requires a huge effort, in terms of CAPEX and OPEX for access network deployment. Due to this, some operators have recognized the need to partner in order to improve the RoI of FTTx deployment. FANS delivers one network sharing model with high flexibility for forward looking broadband network deployments and operations, facilitating the business innovation, enhancing the network efficiency and improving customer experience. | Bruno Cornaglia, Vodafone |
| Project Stream | Description | PS Leadership |
|---|---|---|
| SDN for MSBN | Addresses all aspects of Software Defined Networking as deployed in broadband networks, with particular attention to issues affecting migration and mixed deployments. Architectural and framework definition is coordinated closely with the Architecture and Migration WA. Specific nodal requirements and other aspects may be coordinated with other Work Areas. | Charles Cook, CenturyLink |
SDN and NFV Work Area Email List
memgen@broadband-forum.org
- List for all BBF Members to receive general information
contrib@broadband-forum.org
- List for notification of BBF Contribution Uploads/Updates in ARO
- List for BBF SDN and NFV WA
List for BBF SDN and NFV WA Cloud CO PS
SDN-NFV Calls, Minutes, Agendas
Pages in this space
NPIFs
- Virtual Business Gateway (WT-328)
- Cloud in Central Office (WT-384 & others)
- FANS Overall Architecture and Requirements (WT-370)
- FANS - Access Network Sharing Interfaces (WT-386)
- Support of SDN in Access Network Nodes (WT-358)
- YANG Data Models For WT-358 (WT-368)
Completed specs and white papers (Public Web site)
Projects in Progress for this Work Area
| WT/MD/SD# | Non-PS Assigned Projects | Abstract | Related Contributions | Editor(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MD-322 | Service Provider Managed Enterprise Services | This white paper aims to describe the Service Provider Managed Enterprise Services (SPMES), which could help the fixed network operators to enhance their capabilities to accelerate new service deployments, ensure services availability for customers as well as facilitate the operator infrastructure migration towards new networking technologies. | Click Here | Jie Hu, China Telecom |
WT/MD/SD# | CloudCo Projects | Abstract | Related Contributions | Editor(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WT-328 | Virtual Business Gateway | This Working Text specifies architecture and requirements for the virtual business gateway. The virtual business gateway architecture describes the migration of functionalities running on a business gateway to the network service provider's infrastructure for enabling network-based features and services. Such migration is expected to simplify the deployment and management of the network and business services. The purpose of this Working Text is to specify the virtual business gateway architecture as well as deployment scenarios. Such architecture would target different business premises sizes, e.g., small and medium enterprises (SMEs), campus, as well as single office and home offices (SOHO). | Ron Insler, RAD Data Communications | |
| WT-384 | Framework of Cloud in Central Office | Definition of a reference architectural framework of the Cloud Central Office i.e. defining the behavior of the functional modules and how they interact. The project will: describe a reference architectural framework for the Cloud Central Office; provide use cases; decompose BNG, Access Node and CPEs to functional modules, physical or virtual, with proper granularity; reconstruct into network functions and service processing flows/interfaces between them; and specify how to host VAS VNFs and corresponding service processing flows/interfaces between them. | Click Here | Ding Hai, China Unicom |
| WT-411 | Definition of interfaces between Cloud CO Functional Modules | This work will define the Interfaces between the Functional Modules in the Cloud CO Architectural Framework, as well as the Cloud CO Northbound API. Network Transport Protocols will be defined to carry the interface attributes. Furthermore the data models, schemas or APIs that are signaled across them will be defined as well. Existing Open Interface works, as described in Standards and Open Source work will be leveraged as much as possible. It is foreseen that this work will grow incrementally, based upon a series of Cloud CO Application Notes. Cloud CO Application Notes will detail how a certain service is instantiated, maintained and consumed across the Cloud CO Architecture and will detail the necessary interactions between the different Functional Modules in the Architectural Framework, as well as the interactions with the Cloud CO Northbound API in order to achieve the necessary end result. | Click Here | |
| WT-412 | Test Cases for Cloud CO Applications | This work will define Test Cases for Cloud CO Applications. Cloud CO scenarios are described in Cloud CO Application Notes. The Cloud CO Application Notes will detail how a certain service is instantiated, maintained and consumed across the Cloud CO Architecture. The Test Cases will be consumed by the Open Broadband Labs, effectively validating the Cloud CO Application Note. | Click Here | |
| WT-413 | Migration to SDN-Enabled Management and Control | In the Cloud CO context, WT-413 specifies the management and control framework of Network Functions and a formalism to specify their NBIs to identify the supported macro functionalities and link them to existing/to-be YANG DMs. This work primarily enables the migration from SNMP/MIB towards NETCONF/YANG interfaces and potentially other protocols to exercise not only traditional FCAPS management functions but also fine grained flow control across VNFs and PNFs network service graphs. This is a key step towards Software Networking introduction and in turn the automation and Orchestration of PNFs and VNFs in a Cloud CO type of architecture. The development of this Working Text shall also shape the thinking on the way Cloud CO interfaces, especially for VNFs, are modeled and the opportunity to reuse/extend existing YANG work for that. | Click Here |
WT/MD/SD# | FANS Projects | Abstract | Related Contributions | Editor(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WT-370 | FANS Overall Architecture and Requirements | FANS Overall Architecture and Requirements investigates on the technical aspects associated with Fixed Access Network Sharing (FANS), which covers the Access Network and part of the Customer Network in case of PON architecture, addressing the typical infrastructures, topologies and deployment scenarios. It also provides security considerations necessary to support multi-operator access sharing. This project outlines technical aspects related to the migration of TR-101 and TR-178 based architectures toward a shared converged broadband access network architecture that supports the business drivers defined in SD-351. Besides multi-operator sharing scenarios, this project can be also appropriate for a network operator that wants to slice its access network to offer different services toward customers (e.g., for residential or enterprise markets) and wants to be able to manage it using a vertical organization structure. Furthermore, FANS Overall Architecture and Requirements is the ongoing pilot project for the upcoming activities related to Access Network Sharing interface(s) and SDN-Enabled FANS. | Click Here | Bruno Cornaglia, Vodafone Group Services |
| WT-386 | FANS Access Network Sharing Interfaces | “FANS - Access Network Sharing Interfaces” investigates technical aspects related to the system interfaces associated with FANS. This document provides details and the necessary information required to effectively define these interfaces as well as the rules for communicating with them. | Click Here | Peter Silverman, ASSIA |
WT/MD/SD# | SDN MSBN Projects | Abstract | Related Contributions | Editor(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WT-358 | Support for SDN in Access Network Nodes | WT-358 "Requirements for Support of SDN in Access Nodes" has two goals. The first goal is to define the requirements necessary to support SDN-based implementations for Access Nodes including FTTdp. This work is based on use cases identified in SD-313 and existing TRs such as TR-101 and TR-178 developed within BBF. A second goal is to identify gaps in current SDN protocols relative to the requirements identified and to communicate those gaps to the appropriate development organizations. | Click Here | Ruobin Zheng, Huawei Technologies |
| WT-368 | YANG Models for ANs in SDN | In development. | Click Here |