October 2020

Ericsson Dynamic Orchestration Solution brief

2 Ericsson | Ericsson Dynamic Orchestration – Solution brief

Automate your network for success

Network automation is the process of automatically deploying, configuring, orchestrating and assuring network functions (NFs) and services using software.

For some time, CSPs have been modernizing their operations and infrastructure. Most have transformed their operations and virtualized applications as the first stage of automation. 5G cloud native containerized network functions (CNFs) are slowly replacing virtual network functions (VNFs) due to the need for greater openness.

Despite the increased complexitycaused by these hybrid, physical and virtual networks coexisting, CSPs still need to increase service offerings and lower cost. The ability to accelerate the development and introduction of new services is critical for many. Using our Dynamic Orchestration solution for automated testing and onboarding can reduce time to market (TTM) by up to 70 percent and new enterprise-centric capabilities, such as network slicing, can contribute to an increase of up to

Automation reduces network complexity to simplify operations and introduce new services faster, and is critical for 5G success. Ericsson Dynamic Orchestration lets communications service providers (CSPs) plan, deploy, configure, orchestrate and assure their networks and services using modular software.

Figure 1: How Dynamic Orchestration helps CSPs

Key challenges for CSPs

Increasing network complexityNetwork virtualization alongside physical networks creates highly complex hybrid networks. Siloed network domains are increasingly managed by horizontal service operations centers, exposing multi-vendor and multi-domain complexities and driving up opex.

High costs and slow TTMTo launch new revenue-generating services and improve TTM, CSPs need to radically redcuce their product and service development lifecycle and costs, while complying with service-level agreements.

Increasing customer expectationsAs connectivity services become more mission critical, CSPs face increased competition and customer expectations and must improve their network and service performance. They need to reduce downtime and resolve faults faster.

40 percent in new revenue. Simplifying operations is about driving down operational expenditure (opex), which Ericsson Dynamic Orchestration can reduce by up to 30 percent. This is done by simplifying processes to automate the creation, testing, provisioning and assurance of commercial services.

The industry requires an open, future-proof automation solution that is ready for 5G’s technical and organizational transformation. However, CSPs also need to address the complexity of existing legacy 2G/3G/4G-LTE networks and multi-vendor environments to support their automation.

Ericsson Dynamic Orchestration is designed to address the real-world operational complexities of CSPs’ multi-vendor, multi-technology networks and the huge potential of 5G cloud native networks to create new revenue streams. It will enable your journey toward zero-touch, automated operations.

Pain points

High operational costs,silos and network complexity

Monetize newopportunities

Ericsson Dynamic Orchestration

Simplify operations

• Service orchestration – to automate service lifecycle management across multiple domains

• WAN orchestration – for network slicing transport automation

• Closed-loop automation – for automated service optimization

Accelerate introduction of new services

• Test and onboard automation – to shorten TTM with new functionalities

• Network slicing automation – for new 5G/IoT use cases in eMBB, mMTC and cMTC

Benefits

~30 percent opex savings

~70 percent faster TTM

~40 percent new revenues

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A versatile way to maximize efficiency

With built-in provisioning and assurance, Dynamic Orchestration enables operations to achieve new levels of automation.

End-to-end network slice automation and assuranceThe solution performs network slice automation across all areas of the service lifecycle: service creation, configuration, testing, deployment and closed-loop assurance.

A single multi-vendor, multi-domain and hybrid network orchestratorDynamic Orchestration can ensure orchestration across the radio access network (RAN), core and transport domain. It also manages physical, virtual and containerized NFs across networks.

Model-driven continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD)Taking a DevOps approach to service creation, it supports automated VNF onboarding, service design, validation, testing and deployment.

Faster service creation Service orchestration realizes dramatic TTM improvements – up to 70 percent – when combined with automated testing and onboarding. With onboarding automation, Dynamic Orchestration makes it easy to offer new network services faster.

Pre-integrated solutionThis solution drives down the system integration cost.

Closed-loop assuranceThis enables CSPs’ networks to self-optimize and self-heal using predefined assurance metrics and leveraging machine learning and artificial intelligence (ML/AI). With the advent of NFV, provisioning and assurance can be fully connected.

Ericsson Dynamic Orchestration enables unparalleled levels of automation for provisioning and assuring hybrid networks today. Fully integrated into our comprehensive next-generation network technology roadmap, it is also ready to maximize delivery of new services based on tomorrow’s network architectures.

“The Ericsson Dynamic Orchestration solution brings us the automation of network slices required to reduce our provisioning time of services from weeks to hours.”

Patrick Weibel, Head of 5G Program, Swisscom1

Figure 2: Key features

Dynamic Orchestration

Slice automation

and assurance

Single multi-domain orchestrator

Model-drivenCI/CD

Closed-loopnetwork and

serviceassurance

Pre-integratedOSS stack

Faster service

creation

1 www.ericsson.com/en/press-releases/2019/2/ericsson-enhances-5g-platform-for-smooth-network-evolution

Ericsson Dynamic Orchestration’s key features

Future-proofThe first multi-vendor OSS stack to offer a standards-based modular solution, it is designed to support new services and network technologies. It is ready to orchestrate any network, IT or cloud service.

Pre-integratedIt allows hybrid networks to be planned, engineered, provisioned and assured from a single pre-integrated OSS stack. This enables ease of deployment.

Hybrid network compatibleThe solution enables today’s CSPs to be more agile, efficient and focused through automation of their hybrid networks. It will enable tomorrow’s DSPs to collaborate effectively with hyper-scalers, IT providers and systems integrators.

Multi-vendor/multi-domainCSPs can evolve through an incremental and modular approach. It is future-proof, providing the flexibility to pick and choose components.

OpenEricsson Dynamic Orchestration is European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) compliant, Open Network Automation Platform (ONAP) compatible and built on cloud native principles.

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Ericsson Dynamic Orchestration components and features

Ericsson OrchestratorEricsson Orchestrator drives our service orchestration and network automation capability. Designed as a multi-domain orchestrator, it is capable of orchestrating third-party orchestrators and SDN controllers – an “orchestrator of orchestrators”.

It consists of three modules – service, NFV and WAN orchestration – that can be offered individually.

Service orchestrationService orchestration provides the service management and orchestration function for end-to-end services. It is key in service lifecycle management (LCM), from service definition using TOSCA to service instantiation. Service orchestration interfaces to multiple modules within Ericsson Dynamic Orchestration and third-party systems, and is where network slice management takes place.

Ericsson Dynamic Orchestration comprises several pre-integrated, modular products with the flexibility to meet CSPs’ current and future needs.

Figure 3: Ericsson Dynamic Orchestration

NFV orchestrationEricsson Orchestrator – Cloud Manager provides NFV orchestration, service configuration management and evolved virtual network function manager for VNF configuration and management functionalities defined by ETSI-MANO. NFV orchestration manages multiple Virtual Infrastructure Managers and can orchestrate third-party VNFs either directly or via the VNFs’ dedicated VNF Manager.

WAN orchestrationWAN orchestration provides cross-domain orchestration across access, transport and core, interfacing with both Ericsson and third-party software-defined network controllers.

Ericsson Network ManagerEricsson Network Manager manages our RAN, transport and core infrastructure. Ericsson Network Manager is tightly integrated with Ericsson Orchestrator, enabling orchestration of physical and virtual network elements.

Ericsson Adaptive InventoryThe “single source of truth” about network resources, status, availability and capacity, Ericsson Adaptive Inventory houses the network service definitions and plays a key role in the deployment of VNFs and CNFs.

Continuous deployment and deliveryContinuous deployment and delivery enables rapid service design. It onboards VNFs and CNFs, and validates and tests new services using a CI/CD approach, as well as carrying out service LCM.

Ericsson Order Care

Service Order Manager

Ericsson Catalog Manager

Technical Catalog

Ericsson Orchestrator

Service Orchestration

Universal Design Studio

Technical Catalog

Continuous Deployment and Delivery

Onboarding Validation

PolicyFramework

WANOrchestration

EO -Cloud Manager

Evolved VNF Manager

ServiceConfig.Mgmt.

EricssonAdaptiveInventory

EricssonExpert

Analytics

CENXService

Assurance

EricssonDynamic

Activation

Ericsson Network Manager

Technical service catalog

Service designO

nboarding and testing

Service order m

anagement

Netw

ork slicing and orchestration

BSS

OSSInventoryN

etwork

assurance

Design time Run time

AI

analyticsA

ctivation

Network management

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“Ericsson is the leading vendor according to its market share position in the global telco operational and business management software and services.”

Martina Kurth, Associate Vice President, IDC

CENX Service AssuranceCENX provides closed loop network and service assurance. The system performs near real-time network analysis and fault correlation, which drives closed-loop automation, taking inputs from ML/AI systems.

Ericsson Expert AnalyticsEricsson Expert Analytics is a real-time, multi-vendor, cross-domain, big-data analytics platform that produces actionable insights into customer experience and behavior. These insights can then drive decisions (and even automate actions) across marketing, customer care, operations and planning.

Ericsson Catalog ManagerEricsson Catalog Manager is a unified product and service catalog used to drive the service fulfillment workflow. It enables visual product and service modeling and the ability to edit and reuse components.

Universal Design StudioUniversal Design Studio is a single platform for service design, including onboarding, distribution and LCM, such as network functions, service topology, descriptors and configuration data. Universal Design Studio is based on ONAP.

Ericsson Order CareEricsson Order Care provides catalog-driven service order management including validation, decomposition, routing, provisioning and tracking. It manages service fallout and jeopardy and supports real-time orchestration.

Ericsson Dynamic ActivationEricsson Dynamic Activation manages subscriber activation, batch provisioning, resource configuration and error handling. It is a multi-vendor system supporting over 400 pre-integrated network elements and avoids the challenges of multiple provisioning siloes.

Ericsson Dynamic Orchestration products have the flexibility to meet current and future needs

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Ericsson Dynamic Orchestration –orchestration and automation workflow

Ericsson Dynamic Orchestration drives end-to-end network automation and service orchestration across multiple domains in design-time and run-time environments.

Ericsson Dynamic Orchestration automates the network and orchestrates services in both design time and run time using continuous delivery and deployment to manage the end-to-end service lifecycle.

The design, deploy and operate lifecycleThere are three distinct phases in the lifecycle: design, deploy and operate. The design phase drives the acceleration of new service introduction – it reduces TTM by decreasing service design time, enabling service component reuse and automating test and verification. TTM can be reduced by around 70 percent and is a key enabler for new revenue streams.

Figure 4: Ericsson Dynamic Orchestration automation workflow

Core network RAN SD-WANTransport Edge Others

Order automation

CI/CD

Service assurance and analyticsService creation

Run time

Domains

Design time

Composite Orchestrator

Service assurance

Service and resource orchestration

Deploy OperateDesign

End-to-end, cross-domain automation

The deployment phase enables new products and services to be ordered and deployed efficiently. It provides a tight linkage between service ordering and resource orchestration, improving service fulfillment.

The operate phase employs closed-loop service assurance and AI analytics to manage network and service performance, including automated reconfiguration and instantiating new resources if required.

Composite Orchestrator Ericsson Dynamic Orchestration uses the concept of a composite orchestrator, which tightly integrates service order management (BSS) with multi-domain and resource orchestration (OSS) to provide an intent-driven customer experience.

Service assuranceEricsson Dynamic Orchestration provides assurance across both deployment and operations using CI/CD, meaning inputs from CENX Service Assurance and Ericsson Expert Analytics drive network and service changes through Ericsson Orchestrator.

Cross-domain automationEricsson Dynamic Orchestration is multi-vendor, multi-domain and multi-cloud capable. It can orchestrate services and automate networks across multiple domains to meet SLAs and policy-mandated performance. Ericsson Dynamic Orchestration manages our end-to-end network slice capability across multiple domains.

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Ericsson Dynamic Orchestration use cases

Ericsson Dynamic Orchestration supports a variety of use cases that aid virtual and physical network provisioning, as well as assurance for enterprises, resulting in rapid TTM and high-quality service.

Enterprise Service Orchestration

Ericsson Dynamic Orchestration will help to drive the rapid delivery of Verizon’s enterprise services. Our solutions will help to reduce TTM and stimulate innovation by enabling third-party partners to create, test and onboard VNFs.

Verizon Enterprise Solutions selected us to orchestrate its global managed network services offering, including software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) services.

To discover how we accomplished this with Verizon, click here

Orchestrate end-to-end across domains

Ericsson Dynamic Orchestration can orchestrate across RAN, core and transport on 4G and 5G networks with one single orchestrator. This manages the process between radio base stations and the data center, including core applications such as the IP Multimedia Subsystem and packet core. With an orchestrator that can scale and heal VNFs, you can support multiple different use cases. When deploying services, this drastically reduces the need for cumbersome manual procedures. You can address the operational complexity and reduce the integration cost, which creates a more efficient, high-performing network with optimized total cost of ownership.

To learn how we achieved this with Swisscom, click here

Network slicing at scale

Ericsson and BT’s study found that network slicing can create economic benefits for new service launches. It enables new revenue generation, lower opex and greater capex efficiency. The greater the number of slices, the more economical the model becomes, with increased revenue and cost savings. The key survey results were: • Increased revenue by 35 percent• Reduced opex by up to 40 percent• Payback of investment in

1 to 2 years

The case reflects a ramp-up of 40 annual service launches over 5 years.

To find out more about this Ericsson and BT study, click here

The content of this document is subject to revision without notice due to continued progress in methodology, design and manufacturing. Ericsson shall have no liability for any error or damage of any kind resulting from the use of this document

EricssonSE-164 80 Stockholm, Sweden Telephone +46 10 719 0000 www.ericsson.com

1/0341-FGB 101 800© Ericsson 2020

Ericsson enables communications service providers to capture the full value of connectivity. The company’s portfolio spans Networks, Digital Services, Managed Services, and Emerging Business and is designed to help our customers go digital, increase efficiency and find new revenue streams. Ericsson’s investments in innovation have delivered the benefits of telephony and mobile broadband to billions of people around the world. The Ericsson stock is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and on Nasdaq New York.

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