Wireless disaggregation and virtualization demands assurance spanning physical and virtual infrastructure.

Wireless Services Assurance Applications

Hyper-bandwidth, low latency, and network ubiquity are hallmarks of 5G.

Virtualization of wireless infrastructure has global momentum, with programmable networks a prerequisite of 5G. Disaggregation and virtualization of the Radio Access Network (RAN) and Evolved Packet Core (EPC), as well as deployments of self-organizing networks are underway. The 5G future introduces an enormous set of disparate telemetry across wireless data and control planes. This data must be instantaneously analyzed and actioned with edge cloud analytics and closed-loop assurance automation.

Assurance that future-proofs today’s 4G wireless network, and readies service providers for capabilities that 5G demands.

Functional Modules

Innovation is already well underway.

Disaggregation and virtualization of the RAN and EPC are well underway. Self-organizing networks will provide a new level of coordination and self-healing and network slicing will enable a whole new class of innovative wireless offerings.

Disaggregation introduces
headaches.

Disaggregation not only delivers increased flexibility and innovation, it also introduces a fair share of headaches. The 5G future is one with high-capillarity cell coverage using heterogeneous technologies that require next-level of edge cloud analytics.

Applications

Cloud WAN

The promise of the 5G ‘Tactile Internet’ depends upon a high density programmable RAN.

Cell disaggregation allows more efficient separation of Remote Radio Head (RRH) and Baseband Unit (BBU) functions. Small-cell Access Points help achieve deep wireless capillarity.

However, by separating RRH from BBU, stringent latency and synchronization budgets are now of greater concern. Fronthaul fabric must support 5G’s incredibly high demands on BER, frequency, delay, and jitter. Careful functional splitting must be engineered and continuously groomed.

The coordination of a heterogeneous and highly disaggregated RAN requires a new generation of fine-grained, real-time automation. SONAR4 flexibly scales with the 5G Edge, providing instant full-stack feedback to wireless network control functions.

Virtual EPC

The Evolved Packet Core (EPC) composite applications are ripe for disaggregation.

Advances in virtual network acceleration promise to allow even the EPC Data Plane to run on standard high volume COTS cloud servers.

In order to gain experience, CSPs are hardening limited scale vEPCs and vDSCs for emerging services. The captured learnings are clear: granular, real-time vEPC analytics are sorely missing.

SONAR4 fills the vEPC Analytics gap by delivering deep, real-time visibility of these newly virtualized composite applications across their entire technology stack, and closed-loop feedback to orchestration functions.

“Extreme bandwidths and ultra-low latency of 5G will stress existing infrastructure, presenting new assurance challenges.”

View Assurance Solutions