Linux Foundation and the GSMA Announce Partnership to Further Align NFVi Efforts

• Open industry taskforce, working group established to help ecosystem move towards a common NFVi framework
• Augments LF Networking’s compliance and verification program (OVP) with combination of NFVi, MANO (ONAP) & VNFs with OPNFV Test Automation

LF Networking (LFN) and the GSMA today announced a partnership to create a common industry framework for Network Functions Virtualization Infrastructure (NFVi). Hosted by the GSMA and created with input from the Linux Foundation, the Common NFVi Telco Taskforce (CNTT) will operate as an open committee responsible for creating and documenting a Common NFVi Framework. An industry-aligned NFVi framework helps accelerate deployment across the entire telecommunications stack, from infrastructure to Virtual Network Functions (VNFs).

“Operators are undergoing a period of significant digital transformation by migrating their networks from a physical to a virtualized or cloud environment. However, this is a challenging and time-consuming process involving integrating multiple different vendors into a common infrastructure,” said Alex Sinclair, Chief Technology Officer, GSMA. “By following a common approach and framework, operators will vastly reduce the time and costs associated with integration and accelerate adoption and deployment.”

“We are pleased to collaborate with the GSMA to simplify NFVi efforts across the industry,” said Arpit Joshipura, general manager, Networking, Automation, Edge & IoT, the Linux Foundation. “CNTT is a key enabler for our OVP program that brings NFVi, ONAP, VNFs, and OPNFV initiatives together, helping accelerate deployments.”

The CNTT will work closely with global service providers to define and create VNF reference architectures for NFVi (consisting of a global NFVi reference model, reference architecture, and global VNF certification lifecycle). The common NFVi reference architectures will be submitted to LFN for testing and verification via the OPNFV Verification Program (OVP). Open source, SDN/NFV/VNFs, and network automation have become de facto building blocks as the industry moves towards 5G.

The CNTT will hold a face-to-face meeting, July 23-25 in Paris, to further discuss reference model development and analyze integration requirements with OPNFV projects, processes and procedures. Open to both carriers and vendors, anyone interested in joining the taskforce is welcome to attend. More registration information: https://events.linuxfoundation.org/events/cntt-f2f/

For more details on the CNTT, please reference the “Creating a Common NFVI” presentation from Open Networking Summit North America 2019.