Telco clouds and IT clouds use the same architectural framework and agile principles to achieve scale, but they’ve been siloed. 5G core networks are now-cloud native. PETER COHEN takes a deep dive into this.
What’s the difference between the telco cloud and IT cloud? Until now, the two have existed separate but equally. Whether it’s a telco cloud or IT cloud, public, private, or hybrid. Wherever the cloud lives, cloud computing architectures are the same. They’re scalable, agile, flexible, and responsive. Data storage and compute resources can be made instantly available depending on need.
What Is IT Cloud?
At the heart of both clouds is Software-Defined Networking (SDN). Replacing network hardware with software made the first clouds able to more efficiently manage and scale network operations than they ever could before. Network Function Virtualization (NFV) started the trend as routers, switches, and other proprietary gear was replaced with Virtual Machine (VM) software running in the data center.
Abstracting real hardware to run virtually in the cloud operators the ability to scale operations. Bare-metal hypervisors running VMs in data centers squeezed every iota of performance available. From there, the best opportunity to manage compute resources efficiently is to replace VMs altogether with Cloud-Native Functions (CNFs).
The IT cloud doesn’t just power agile enterprise operations. It’s enabled the explosive growth of hyperscalers, the architects of the modern public cloud. Managing networking and Internet service infrastructure is an essential function of the cloud ecosystem. Getting that infrastructure to scale elastically to meet the often opposing demands of consumers and enterprise requires hyperscale services.
Cloud computing is ubiquitous. Enterprises and consumers increasingly depend on public cloud services. The forces of gravity of both domains require IT cloud and telco cloud to merge. Hybrid cloud solutions put cloud resources where they need to be. Whether that’s on-prem, in a private cloud, on the public cloud, or, depending on security and service requirements, or anywhere in between.
That’s enabling new opportunities for IT system integrators like Kyndryl (née IBM’s GTS managed service business). VMware has partnered with VMware and also with Microsoft to develop new customer solutions for app modernization which are cloud-independent. Kyndryl will tap VMware’s portfolio of products to speed cloud transformation for its clients. Areas the companies expect to offer “differentiate solutions” include edge computing, security and multi-cloud infrastructure and management.
What is Telco Cloud?
Telco clouds have existed in parallel development just like IT clouds. Network operators have, by necessity, siloed their clouds. Telco clouds are purpose-built for the stringent operational demands of telecom. 5G cloud-nativity promises and end to dependency on more vendor-specific hardware. Vendors can to manage almost all network services using software running on commodity hardware. Even at the baseband level with efforts like Open RAN.
The 5G core network is cloud-native. It employs a Service-Based Architecture, which works fundamentally like any other cloud. But the needs and service requirements of network operators are different from hyperscalers, and the devil is in those details.
Telco operations have more stringent performance and quality of service requirements than IT or public cloud operation. As well as with vastly more regulatory oversight. Operator networks require faster traffic management, more reliability, minimized jitter and lower latency than public clouds. Clouds for telcos exist with special requirements in mind.
“A telco cloud represents the data center resources that are required to deploy and manage a mobile phone network with data transfer capabilities by carrier companies in production operations at scale,” said VMware.
IBM Cloud for Telecommunications, for example incorporates IBM Cloud Satellite and Red Hat OpenShift for flexible cloud-based service delivery and integrates IBM’s Edge Application Manager and Telco Network Cloud Manager. It is an ecosystem with dozens of partners focusing on vertical solutions using 5G and edge.
VMware’s Telco Cloud platform is its consistent horizontal architecture to provide 5G network operators with “to continue to run existing services, such as vEPC and have the same platform support new, cloud-native services, including standalone 5G services.”
Dish is using VMware Telco Cloud in its 5G Standalone (SA) network. VMware Telco Cloud is the underlying cloud platform and infrastructure layer to power the carrier’s open radio access network-based 5G network.
