Verizon Network Infrastructure Planning SDN-NFV Reference Architecture Version 1.0 February 2016 Copyright © 2016 Verizon. All rights reserved SDN-NFV Reference Architecture v1.0 Legal Notice This document contains information regarding the development and evolution of SDN and NFV. The views expressed in this document are not final, and are subject to change at any time. Although this document contains contributions from multiple parties, it is not a consensus document and does not necessarily reflect the views of any or all contributors. Verizon reserves all rights with respect to its technology and intellectual property that may be disclosed, covered, or reflected in this document. The only rights granted to you are to copy, print, and publicly display this document. All trademarks, service marks, trade names, trade dress, product names and logos appearing in this document are the property of their respective owners, including, in some instances, Verizon. All company, product and service names used in this document are for identification purposes only. Use of these names, logos, and brands does not imply endorsement. Neither Verizon nor any contributor to this document shall be responsible for any action taken by any person in reliance on anything contained herein. © 2016 Verizon. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2016 Verizon. All rights reserved Page 2 SDN-NFV Reference Architecture v1.0 Executive Summary The intersection of telecommunications, Internet and IT networking paradigms combined with advances in hardware and software technologies has created an environment that is ripe for rapid innovations and disruptions. This document is aimed at laying a foundation for enabling various industries to benefit from applications and devices that change how industries are run. ‘Software defined networking’ (SDN) and ‘network function virtualization’ (NFV) are two promising concepts developed in the telecommunications industry. SDN is based on the separation of control and media planes. The control plane in turn lays the foundation for dynamically orchestrating the media flows in real-time. NFV, on the other hand, separates software from hardware enabling flexible network deployment and dynamic operation. Advances in hardware technologies, software technologies, cloud computing, and the advent of DevOps have led to agile software development in the IT and web application industries. These same methodologies can be used to enable the transformation of the telecommunications network to simplify operations, administration, maintenance and provisioning (OAM&P) and also to lay the network foundation for new access technologies (e.g., 5G). Several industry bodies are working on various aspects of SDN and NFV. However, operator network transformation needs to get started now. This architecture consolidates and enhances existing SDN, NFV and orchestration into an implementable and operable framework. This document enhances the industry developed architectures to address several operating scenarios that are critical for network evolution.  Standalone NFV architecture where virtual network functions (VNFs) can be deployed: This scenario is to migrate network functions that continue to grow and require continued capital investment. Some operational changes like DevOps, automation of workflows, and orchestration of services can be initiated while continuing to leverage existing backend systems as needed.  Hybrid NFV where physical network functions (PNFs) and virtual network functions co-exist.  Standalone SDN with new SDN controllers and white boxes: This scenario covers Data Center and Inter-DC use cases initially and could later expand to wide area networks (WANs).  Hybrid SDN where new SDN controllers will work with existing forwarding boxes and optionally vendor-specific domain controllers.  SDN-NFV networks. The architecture extends the concepts of NFV to maintain SDN catalogs in addition to VNF catalogs. Concepts of NFV network services based on forwarding graphs of VNFs are extended to combo SDN- NFV network services. End-to-End Orchestration (EEO) extends the concepts of NFV orchestration to support orchestration of SDN services (transport/WAN/enterprise) and end-to-end network services. The document covers all aspects of network operation like provisioning, capacity planning, KPIs and service assurance of infrastructure and software; charging; and security. It is intended to provide Verizon planning and operations teams an understanding of the end-to-end architecture. This Architecture document has been co-authored with several Verizon industry participants – Cisco, Ericsson, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Intel, Nokia, Red Hat and Samsung. Copyright © 2016 Verizon. All rights reserved Page 3 SDN-NFV Reference Architecture v1.0 This page intentionally left blank. Copyright © 2016 Verizon. All rights reserved Page 4 SDN-NFV Reference Architecture v1.0 Contributors and Acknowledgements Organization Contributors Acknowledgements Verizon Kalyani Bogineni, Fellow Dave McDysan, Anil Guntupalli, Girish Denny Davidson, Document Editor Nair, Mike Ryan, Luay Jalil, Phil Ritter, Antonia Slauson, Project Manager Mike Altland, Sankaran Ramanathan, Lorraine Molocznik, Graphic Artist Andrea Caldini, Chris Emmons, Gagan Puranik, Fernando Oliveira, Raquel Morera Sempere, and their teams. Cisco Christian Martin Ken Gray, Ravi Guntupalli, Humberto Kirk McBean LaRoche, Scott Wainner, Mike Geller Ericsson Doug Brayshaw Mehul Shah, Tarmo Kuningas, Torbjorn Cagenius Francesco Caruso HPE Tariq Khan Stinson Mathai, Noah Williams, Ajay Kevin Cramer Sahai, Raju Rajan, David Lenrow, Paul Burke, Jonas Arndt, Marie-Paule Odini Intel Kevin Smith David Lowery, Gerald Rogers, Kapil Joseph Gasparakis Sood Nokia Peter Busschbach Peter Kim, Volker Mendisch, Tuomas Nabeel Cocker Niemelä, Marton Rozman, Norbert Jukka Hongisto Mersch, Hui-Lan Lu Steve Scarlett Red Hat Rimma Iontel Bret Luango, Stephen Bates Gordon Keegan Samsung Ray Yuhanna Robbie Martinez Nurig Anter Copyright © 2016 Verizon. All rights reserved Page 5 SDN-NFV Reference Architecture v1.0 This page intentionally left blank. Copyright © 2016 Verizon. All rights reserved Page 6 SDN-NFV Reference Architecture v1.0 Table of Contents Executive Summary .................................................................................................................................... 3 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 8 2 Architecture Framework ............................................................................................................... 14 3 NFV Infrastructure ......................................................................................................................... 18 4 VNF Manager ................................................................................................................................. 35 5 VNF Descriptors ............................................................................................................................ 39 6 End-to-End Orchestration ............................................................................................................ 45 7 End-to-End Network Service Descriptors ................................................................................... 50 8 Policy Framework ......................................................................................................................... 51 9 SDN Controller Framework .......................................................................................................... 54 10 Interfaces ....................................................................................................................................... 64 11 Architectural Considerations ....................................................................................................... 72 12 VNF considerations for NFVI ....................................................................................................... 78 13 Reliability ....................................................................................................................................... 90 14 IMS Functions ................................................................................................................................ 93 15 EPC Functions ............................................................................................................................. 104 16 L1 – L3 Functions ........................................................................................................................ 113 17 SGi-LAN Architecture ................................................................................................................. 117 18 Charging Architecture ................................................................................................................ 131 19 Service Assurance ...................................................................................................................... 138 20 Key Performance Indicators ...................................................................................................... 145 21 Security ........................................................................................................................................ 157 22 Devices and Applications ........................................................................................................... 173 Annex A: Intent-Based Networking ....................................................................................................... 192 Annex B: Federated Inter-Domain Controller....................................................................................... 194 Annex C: Segment Routing.................................................................................................................... 196 Annex D: SDN Controllers ...................................................................................................................... 203 Annex E: IMS VNF Management Example ............................................................................................ 205 References ............................................................................................................................................... 210 Acronyms ................................................................................................................................................. 213 Copyright © 2016 Verizon. All rights reserved Page 7 SDN-NFV Reference Architecture v1.0 This page intentionally left blank. Copyright © 2016 Verizon. All rights reserved Page 8 SDN-NFV Reference Architecture v1.0 1 Introduction Traditional networks have been designed with purpose-built network equipment (e.g., Routers, Ethernet switches, EPC hardware, firewalls, load balancers, etc.) based on vendor-specific hardware and software platforms. Deploying these monolithic network elements has resulted in long development and installation cycles (slowing time-to-market for new products and services), overly complex lifecycle management practices (adding to operational inefficiency and overhead) and increasing levels of investment driven by escalating customer demand at a rate that exceeds revenue growth. An operator’s network is currently composed of a variety of “bundled” network elements, where the control, management, and data (user data traffic) functions are physically tied together and the bundled network elements are each provided by the same supplier. Deployment of new services or upgrades or modifications to existing services must be done on an element-by-element basis and requires tight coordination of internal and external resources. This bundling limits operational flexibility while increasing reliance on proprietary solutions from suppliers. The goals of the SDN-NFV program in Verizon are the following: 1. Operational Efficiencies  Elastic, scalable, network-wide capabilities  Automated OAM&P; limited human touch  Dynamic traffic steering and service chaining 2. Business Transformation  Time-to-market improvements; elimination of point solutions  Agile service creation and rapid provisioning  Improved customer satisfaction Verizon SDN-NFV Based Network The following are key features of the network based on SDN and NFV:  Separation of control and data plane;  Virtualization of network functions;  Programmatic control of network;  Programmatic control of computational resources using orchestration;  Standards-based configuration protocols;  A single mechanism for hardware resource management and allocation;  Automation of control, deployment, and business processes; and  Automated resource orchestration in response to application/function needs. Combining these techniques facilitates dynamic adaptation of the network based on the application, increases operational flexibility, and simplifies service development. Functions may be dynamically scaled to meet fluctuations in demand. SDN and NFV together change the traditional networking paradigms. This significant shift in how an operator designs, develops, manages and delivers products and services brings with it a variety of technological and operational efficiencies. These benefits are aimed at fundamentally redefining the cost structure and operational processes, enabling the rapid development of flexible, on-demand services and Copyright © 2016 Verizon. All rights reserved Page 9 SDN-NFV Reference Architecture v1.0 maintaining a competitive position in the industry. Enhancements to the Software Defined Networking (SDN) Concept The fundamental concept of ‘Software Defined Networking’ (SDN) changes the current network design paradigm by introducing network programmability and abstraction. In its initial, narrow definition, SDN is about separating the network control and data planes in L1, L2, L3, and L4 switches (Figure 1-1). This enables independent scaling of control plane resources and data plane resources, maximizing utilization of hardware resources. In addition, control plane centralization reduces the number of managed control plane instances, simplifies operations, and enables orchestration. The idea of centralized network control can be generalized, resulting in the broader definition of SDN: the introduction of standard protocols and data models that enable logically centralized control across multi- vendor and multi-layer networks. Such SDN Controllers expose abstracted topology and service data models towards northbound systems, simplifying orchestration of end-to-end services and enabling the introduction of innovative applications that rely on network programmability. Orchestration OSS/BSS Open API Management Control Plane Plane Data Plane Legacy Hardware (Forwarding Box) (Switch/Router) Figure 1-1: SDN Concept: separation of control and data planes Enhancements to Network Functions Virtualization The second concept is network function virtualization (NFV). This concept is based on the use of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware for general purpose compute, storage and network. Software functions (implementations of physical network functions) necessary for running the network are now decoupled from the hardware (NFV infrastructure). NFV enables deployment of virtual network functions (VNFs) as well as network services described as NF Forwarding Graphs of interconnected NFs and end points within a single operator network or between different operator networks. VNFs can be deployed in networks that already have corresponding physical network functions (PNFs) and can be deployed in networks that do not have corresponding PNFs. The proposed architecture enables service assurance for NFV in the latter scenario and enables data collection for KPIs from the hardware and software components of NFV. End-to-End Orchestration This section provides a high-level description of the Management and Control aspects of the SDN and NFV architecture. This serves as an introduction to the more detailed description of the architecture shown in Figure 1-2 below. Copyright © 2016 Verizon. All rights reserved Page 10