Software-defined devices enable group customer access networks to adopt SDN

Software-defined devices enable group customer access networks to adopt SDN

Landor PMC Senior Communications product Manager

SDNThere has been a lot of discussion on this subject in the industry, and there are various arguments within the operatorPMCin the past two or three years, we have been discussing the supply chain and technical practice,SDNis a very large and complex issue, and there are general indications that operators are interested in getting the group's Customer Access Network (hereinafter referred to as theSDNlanded. It is well known that the operator has already grouped the metropolitan area Network for wireless backhaul. PTNand theIP RANtechnology is applied to Metro access. Now, the same update will occur in the group Customer access network. This is reflected in:

1) Traditional TDM technology will gradually be replaced by packet switching and packet transfer technology. Old E1/sdh, light cats and MSAP devices will be replaced by Group-based CPE and HUB new devices.

2) Ptn/ipran technology for Metro Access will also be used in the collection of guest access, so that the set of guest access and wireless access will become a unified packet network.

when the integrated Guest access network and the wireless network are unified, operators will have more urgent need to introduce SDN . the reasons are as follows:

• SDN centralized control that enables end-to-end unified management and scheduling ;
• SDN a big advantage is business agility. And the set of customer access network is the starting point of business. Using SDN at the starting point of the business will maximize The benefits of SDN ;
• the scale of the access network, as well as the diversity and complexity of the industry chain, urgently need SDN The standardized interfaces that are brought together to enhance connectivity.

     in the collection of Guest access network adoption sdn -sdn sdn Can I deploy at the same time not -sdn deployment can be upgraded to sdn sdn can deployments add new features in the future to support new requirements? sdn deployment can be to NFV

     equipment vendors, system integrators also face a variety of challenges. First of all, the former collection access network used the same tdm/msap technology. System vendors develop a set of TDM products can be sold to all operators. However, the new group-based set of guest access networks will vary by operator. Different carriers use different packet switching techniques, such as PTN Span style= "font-family:arial" >ipran , carrier-grade Ethernet, etc. System vendors will not be able to afford to develop different access devices for different operators.

Second, SDN The requirement of "de-categorization" was put forward for hardware. Current devices are developed for specific protocols and network functions, such as Layer two switches, layer three routers,MPLS routers, and so on. SDN is about separating control software from hardware devices. the ideal hardware for SDN is a forwarding engine that is independent of protocol and defined by software. Finally,the standards forSDN are not yet ripe, and the roadmap for development is uncertain. How to choose a forward-looking, not outdated solution is also a headache for the system manufacturers.

combined with the above challenges,PMCproposed by software-definedCPEdevices, which are remote access devices orHUBis to realize access networkSDNThe most feasible solution. What do you call a software-definedCPEit? First, it must be based on a programmable architecture, three-layer forwarding, or two-layer forwarding, orMPLSforwarded. And the forwarded plane must be able to supportOpenFlowpipelining Architecture. There is also a need for a programmable processor engine within the architecture to enable autonomous functions. Remote software upgrades and onsite upgrades are also supported. It is also important to ensure that performance/Power Consumption/Cost and TraditionCPEquite.

PMC Lang Tao's speech "Software definition CPE accelerate the set of guest access network adoption SDN "

    if Software defined is deployed Span style= "font-family:arial" >CPE -sdn stage, CPE is configured as a traditional PTN or ipran equipment. When you need sdn CPE upgrade to support openflow NFV style= font-family " VCPE

     to implement the software definition CPE The ideal solution is sdn friendly access network processor. Why do you say that? The network processor has excellent flexibility and programmability, can be differentiated design, and can be upgraded on site. The processor used for the software definition CPE sdn friendly, means that the operation flow of the data channel requires not only a high degree of flexibility, but also the openflow The pipeline operation is near possible.

        PMC Access network processor is to implement software definition CPE

•     A basic processing unit consisting of a programmable search engine and a network processor engine that mimics the openflow "match" of the switch -
•      Programmable search engine as a search accelerator that supports multi-level lookups and multi-type lookups
•      network processor engine with advanced symmetric multicore, multi-threaded architecture, support for hardware quorum and load balancing
•      support the loop and iteration of the basic processing unit, can flexibly implement the complex forwarding process design
•     no hard-coded, feature-specific pipelining restrictions

from a more long-term perspective, operators want to virtualize their network functions, and the current enterprise IT gateway or router to a cloud server and replace the original IT business, the enterprise will not need to be equipped with its own IT departments. To enable the Enterprise to trust IT to the operator, the software-defined CPE must have a security engine to do various encryption functions, and ensure that the CPE The future can support network virtual function. These functions can be achieved through the PMC winpath access network processor.

we think that in the collection of customer access network to achieve SDN will be able to maximize SDN advantage, by opening more services can bring further profit space for operators. The adoption of SDN technology requires the support of innovative hardware, and the realization of software-defined CPE access devices via a programmable network processor is the best choice.

Software-defined devices enable group customer access networks to adopt SDN