The ETSI Industry Specification Group (ISG) on Network Functions Virtualisation (NFV) ended 2018 on a bright note, with the publication of the first version of ETSI GS NFV-SOL 001, the specification of NFV descriptors based on the Topology and Orchestration Specification for Cloud Applications (TOSCA). 

This was a highly-anticipated document in the industry, considering the prominent role VNF deployment templates play in an NFV system. Together with ETSI GS NFV-SOL 004, the specification of the structure and format of a VNF package, this new specification provides the foundations of an open ecosystem.

Conformance to these specifications is a key enabler to foster a truly open ecosystem, where Virtualized Network Functions (VNFs) can be on-boarded and managed by independently developed management and orchestration systems. Encouraging interoperability within an open ecosystem was a key objective for ETSI NFV when it was launched in 2012 by global carriers.

ETSI GS NFV-SOL 001 specifies rules for structuring and filling NFV descriptors according to the TOSCA Simple Profile in YAML specification. It is applicable to Virtualized Network Function Descriptors (VNFD), Network Service Descriptors (NSD) and Physical Network Function Descriptors (PNFD). The TOSCA type definitions to be imported in ETSI-compliant NFV descriptors can be directly accessed from the ETSI Forge website.