Where is the Network Edge? MEC Deployment Options, Business Case & SDN Considerations Ian Goetz, Chief Architect, Vodafone Global Account, Juniper Networks August, 2016
Market Trends & The Network Environment
Mobile Market Trends: The Customer Experience OTT APPLICATIONS Trusted Reliability Pervasive Coverage Seamlessly Converged Application Optimized The Smartphone and Tablet, combined with 3G HSPA and 4G have driven the proliferation of applications for business, lifestyle and pleasure with most coming from OTT Web Companies Availability of those applications and the network latency impacting them is key to the end user experience which in turn impacts Churn and Market Share for mobile operators The drive to 5G Highlights latency and IoT as key areas to address for mobile operators with low latency and distributed application requirements inherent in the services.
Mobile Backhaul Environment: Moving To Extensive 4G & Multi-Service Access Hub-Site Site 3 Hub-Site Core-Site Site 1 Hub-Site Site 4 Site 2 Hub-Site Mixed 2G, 3G HSPA, LTE, LTE-A Coverage Macro Sites Used as Hub-Sites for surrounding Small-Cells Hub-Sites Aggregate 10-20 Macro and associated Small Cells All IP, MPLS Access Network For 4G, IPsec Tunnels from Base Station (enode B) to Core Site, terminated on SecGW All data traffic is currently backhauled to the core cost and latency impact Accurate Timing (Freq & Phase) a key requirement with distributed security
5G Impacts : Distributed EPC.v. MEC MX104 Hub-Site Telco Cloud Core-Site Other Core VNFs MX104 Hub-Site Former RNC/MSC Site Telco Cloud Border Router vepc Control Plane (GTP-C) S1 S1 Aggregation Router Many operators centralise their EPC: Usually to fewer sites than current 3G core (RNC, MSC etc) 3GPP CUPS (Control User Plane Separation) Allows EPC User Plane to move closer to the user Potentially as far as the base station. This could reduce the Core Network Latency, placing the SGi close to the user BUT.. Mobility issues and signalling volume are likely to drive a complimentary approach: CUPS allows centralised, NFV based vepc Control Plane functions and distributed User plane Former RNC/MSC Sites MEC allows applications to run cost effectively at hub sites. SGi CUPS Control Interface (Sx a, b, c)
MEC Deployment Options & Business Case
Mobile Edge Computing: Is The Device The Edge? The Device (User or IoT) would be the logical network edge for MEC: Compute, Storage and Power Provided by the user Minimum Latency Known application distribution method BUT: Content/Application security is an issue Content/Application distributed for specific user is the the same as current applications User Privacy issues for operator facing applications Many Device and OS Versions to manage Hence, the network offers the scale and most of the latency Benefits without the device management issues
MEC Deployment options Small Cells WiFi Enterprise Site Compute CPE Or COTS Server MEC edge applications MEC Server (Access) MEC Gateway (Core) Small Cells Small Cell Hub Site Outdoor Small Cell Hub Router Pre-Agg/Hub Site COTS Server Adjacent to Pre-Agg Router Core LTE SecGW Core Network Site Charging Internet/ Roaming Partner Macro Cells S1 EPC SGi SGi Service LAN C-RAN Site LI Remote Radio Heads (RRH) COTS Server Adjacent to C-RAN Control Server
5 year total (Millions) Hub Site Deployment Offers Best Business Case: Compromise Between Quality, Cost & Speed Of Deployment $450 $400 $350 $300 $250 $200 $150 $100 $50 $- $412 Revenue $150 Direct costs HUB SITE $2 $32 $127 ~6x ROI of cell site Compute Backhaul & Storage $291 Net benefit $349 Revenue Direct costs CELL SITE $12 $37 Compute Backhaul & Storage $246 Net benefit Positive Negative Total JUNIPER MODELLING CONCLUSIONS Faster rollout to hub sites leads to greater average improvement in customer experience (& revenue) due to the faster rollout Direct costs includes normal opex costs from the business (e.g. sales & marketing, interconnect, etc ) Significantly higher compute costs at cell site, for limited additional backhaul savings Overall benefits higher at hub site with much greater ROI Long term service improvements from cell site deployment do not outweigh additional costs and time to deploy
Mobile Backhaul Environment: MEC & SDN Enablement MEC Enables applications to be deployed at the mobile network edge Hub Site Small Cell Hub Enterprise ucpe SDN Enables the chaining of MEC Applications and the Life-cycle Management of MEC Application VNFs using automation Juniper CONTRAIL & Contrail Service Orchestrator SDN Control automates the creation of service chains in the Telco Cloud DC and MEC Eco-system VNF Orchestration, such as Juniper Service Maestro, can be used to instantiate VNFs and manage their Life-Cycle Service chaining is needed to automate the link of IPsec termination (vsecgw) and MEC Server With appropriate subscriber awareness, different MEC service chains can be applied to different customer traffic, enabling monetised service bundles Hub Site: SDN Enabled MEC Core Network Site VM1 vsecgw Juniper vsrx VM2 MEC SERVER VM3 MEC Application 1 x86 COTS Server VM5 MEC App 2 Hypervisor (KVM) VM.. N MEC App N VM4 vsecgw Juniper vsrx WiFi & Small cell HetNet Enterprise ucpe Hub Site SDN Control & VM Orchestration (ETSI NFV) Core LTE SecGW Virtualised Network Functions e.g. EPC, MGE/MSC Server HLR/HSS, IMS IN, PCRF SBC, CMTS NAT, Gi LAN MEC Gateway Internet/ Roaming Partner S1-U IPsec Juniper SDN Service Chaining OS Subscriber B SDN Control Link S1-U IPsec S1 EPC SGi SGi Service LAN Juniper MX104 Subscriber A LI Charging
Mobile Backhaul Environment: MEC In The Backhaul Network: Enterprise ucpe Use Case Enterprise ucpe Enterprise deployments of small cells allow LTE Coverage and capacity to be delivered to high value corporate users on premises SDN enables and automates the ability to provide enterprise VNFs on a customer premises and the routing of VPN services through the network These capabilities are termed vcpe and ucpe: VM1 vsecgw Juniper vsrx SDN Enabled Enterprise ucpe VM2 MEC SERVER x86 COTS Server VM3 MEC Application 1 N VM4 vsecgw Juniper vsrx SDN Control Link vcpe deploys CPE services as VNFs on x86 compute in the network ucpe allows VNFs to be deployed on the customer site and the automation of VPN routing As LTE Small Cells are deployed the ucpe platform can be used to host the MEC server and vsecgw This allows enterprise and customer specific applications to be hosted on the customer site Enterprise LTE Small Cells S1-U IPsec S1-U IPsec Small Cell Hub Router S1-U IPsec Subscriber B S1-U IPsec Subscriber A Hypervisor (KVM) Juniper SDN Service Chaining OS CSR Hub Site LTE SecGW Hence a CPE with compute capability and SDN Service Chaining is needed Enterprise Premises JUNIPER NFX250: Enterprise Compute CPE
MEC Use Cases
MEC Use Case 1: Saves Network Resources, Fast P2P Traffic, Analyze, Store, Control at the Edge Local IoT Gateway MEC Core Solution MEC RAN Solution S1 SGi Radio Access Network (RAN) Based on Microsoft cloudlet research by Dr. Victor Bahl SHORT TRANSACTIONS EXTENDED BATTERY LIFE Core Network Internet
MEC Use Case 2: Software Defined Secure Networks Mobile SP Network 3 rd Party Feeds Policy Policy defined in Policy Engine Attacks from infected mobile devices should be blocked in the Mobile Hub site Mobile Hub Site Policy Enforcement on vsrx SD SKY ATP SDSN Policy Engine Detection Sky Infected Host feed 3 rd party feeds SRX data to Sky Dynamic Service Chain w/ vsrx Contrail Service Orchestrator Policy update for Service Chain requirements Enforcement Contrail provisions vsrx in the Service Chain Traffic from infected mobiles dropped by vsrx
MEC Use Case 3 Unified Enterprise Communication: Local Break Out Deliver a unified customer experience Segregate public 4G/3G access from enterprise services: Private Mobile LAN Reduce costs for enterprise mobile users VoLTE & Mobile Data Break Out from MEC straight to the corporate LAN Private Enterprise Voice & data Network Enterprise Site Core LTE SecGW Core Network Site Charging Internet/ Roaming Partner Small Cells WiFi Compute CPE Or COTS Server S1 EPC SGi SGi Service LAN LI
Using SDN To Speed MEC Delivery
Partner Open-RAN Architecture Mobile Edge Computing Platform RAN Vendor and Mobile Operator independent Operates inside the Radio Access Network; as close as possible to mobile users Runs 3 rd party applications serving content directly to mobile users MEC Gateway MEC Server S1 SGi Internet Radio Access Network (RAN) EPC Enable certified MEC applications to run on the MEC server Provide real-time information regarding cell congestion, location, user and application Replay content to the core network Steer traffic to the appropriate app Accelerate webpage loading with DNS caching Preserves core functionality for RAN-generated traffic: LI, Charging and policy control Manages handover for RAN-generated traffic
Juniper Cloud CPE :Enterprise SDN VPN Enterprise Customer 1 Existing L3 CPE CPE Enterprise Customer 2 Operator Access Network vcpe & IW GW Juniper MX/vMX/SRX5K PE PE VPN Network P P P P PE PE Existing L3 CPE CPE Cloud Service Providers Enterprise Customer 3 Existing or New Simplified L2 CPE CPE Universal CPE (ucpe) Enterprise Customer 5 SRX3XX & SRX1500 Embedded SDN Chaining Service Orchestration Contrail Cloud SDN Controller, CSO NSC & Service Orchestrator Openstack VIM vfirewall Juniper vsrx x86 Appliances NAT 3 rd Party VNFs Contrail vrouter PE PE Internet Peering Network P P P P PE PE NFX250 Overlay VPN via LTE, ISP Broadband &/Or SP Access Possible
MWC16 Multi-Vendor SDN-VPN POC- JUNIPER NFX Now Used for Operator MEC POCs SCOPE: Overlay VPN and Cloud Service Chains Using Zero Touch Deployment Compute CPE COMPONENTS: Amdocs Orchestration (NCSO) - Service Orchestration Juniper Contrail - SDN Controller Juniper MX PE - vcpe Gateway Juniper NFX250 CPE - Compute CPE Juniper vsrx FW - Security VNF RedHat Openstack - VIM Laboratory (UK) x86 Appliances NFV Orchestrator NCSO Openstack (VIM) vfirewall NAT vsrx MWC Barcelona Internet Connection SDN Controller Contrail Contrail vrouter Enterprise CPE NFX250 SDN Control Overlay VPN MX480
MEC and Contrail Service Orchestrator Automated Catalog Driven Network Service Self Care OSS/BSS Portal Contrail Service Orchestrator Programmable Network Service Layer (REST API) Catalog Driven Services Network Service Abstraction Network Facing End User Contrail SDN Controller vsrx MEC App Radio Access Network MEC Server Infrastructure SP Infra SecGW epc Gi-LAN NFVI MEC GW Cloud Hosted Internet Network Designer RAN and Backhaul Aggregation/Edge Mobile Packet Core Gi DC/Cloud DevOps/NetOps Network Service Abstraction of MEC and Gi-LAN services for best E2E experience
MEC SDN Environment Juniper is enabling the SDN/NFV Environment for Mobile Network MEC Deployment: Automated Set-Up of MEC Infrastructure Security Gateways for secure LTE networks Core Access MEC Application (Access Side) VNF On NFX250 NFV Orchestrator Network Services Controller Openstack (VIM) MEC Application (SGi/Cloud Side) MEC App Device 4G Small Cell S1 (User & MME) MEC Server VNF On NFX250 SDN Controller Contrail MEC Gateway S1 IPsec S1 GTP Local SecGW SGi NFX250 Non-MEC App Device 4G Small Cell S1 IPsec HubSite Router MX104 S1 IPsec S1 IPsec S1 IPsec Broadband Connection SRX LTE SecGW S1 S1 EPC
Thank you