Milin Patel

Upgrading to a #Nocode OSS is necessary to achieve GenAI-powered #autonomous #networks. In order to make (or recommend) incremental improvements to processes and connectors, you need your AI agent to understand what's going on. Symphonica, the world's first AI-native #nocode OSS, purposefully stores all workflows and connectors in JSON files that a GenAI agent can understand and improve. Download this easy-to-read whitepaper to learn more: https://lnkd.in/eFKaET8f Welcome to the Agile Telco generation! Get in touch if your OSS has become a bottleneck to innovation. #ai #genai #autonomousnetworks #AN #nocode #oss #telco #agile

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Network Data Link (NetDL) streaming network data for advanced functionality A central piece of Arista’s strategy is the Network Data Link (NetDL) architecture. Chief Technology Officer Ken Duda explained during the call that data is the key to understanding and improving network operations. He emphasized the importance of gathering and storing large data sets for machine learning and AI. That’s where Arista’s NetDL technology comes into play. “With NetDL we continually monitor every device, not simply taking snapshots, but rather streaming every network event, every counter, every piece of data in real time, archiving a full history in NetDL,” Duda said. Duda added that NetDL also collects flow data and inbound network telemetry data gathered by switches. All that data is then enriched with user, service and application layer data from external sources outside the network. All that data helps Arista and its users to understand not just how each part of the network is performing but also which users are using the network for what purposes. TOM SHAW

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Multi-Vendor O-RAN RIC xApps/rApps Coordination O-RAN ALLIANCE O-RAN architecture includes the RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC). RIC comes in two flavors: the Non-Real-Time (>1sec) RIC rApps and the Near-Real-Time (10ms<Near RT<1sec) RIC xApps. These applications interact via the O-RAN A1, E2, O1 interfaces. ◼ Importance of Multi-Vendor xApps/rApps Coordination in RIC Operations A core objective of the O-RAN initiative is to facilitate a competitive, multi-vendor ecosystem. With standardized interfaces like O1, O2, A1, E2, xApps and rApps from different vendors can coexist on the same RIC platform, providing Telcos with the flexibility to select the best applications for their unique needs. However, effective coordination between multi-vendor xApps and rApps is vital for smooth RIC operations. These applications work at different layers and speeds to optimize network performance. Without clear coordination, they risk conflicting or redundant actions, ultimately degrading network performance. ◼ Coordination Example: A practical illustration of the importance of coordination involves an energy-saving rApp from Vendor A and a traffic-steering xApp from Vendor B. - Energy-Saving rApp: This application aims to conserve power by intelligently switching off unused or underused cells while maintaining adequate coverage. It monitors long-term traffic patterns to predict low-demand periods. - Traffic-Steering xApp: This application balances traffic loads between different cells and layers in near real-time. It ensures users are always connected to the best-performing cell, reducing congestion and improving user experience. ◼ Coordination in Practice - Initial Setup: Both applications initialize their data collection and configuration processes. The traffic-steering xApp begins adjusting cell traffic loads based on near-real-time metrics, while the energy-saving rApp assesses long-term usage patterns. - Monitoring: The energy-saving rApp notices a consistent low-traffic period and plans to deactivate a specific capacity cell for energy savings. Meanwhile, the traffic-steering xApp ensures that active cells can absorb the additional load. - Notification and Adjustment: The energy-saving rApp informs the traffic-steering xApp through the RIC framework of its intention to deactivate the capacity cell. The traffic-steering xApp then directs the remaining UEs connected to this cell to alternative coverage cells before deactivation. - Action Execution: Once the load balancing is complete and the capacity cell is safely offloaded, the energy-saving rApp executes the shutdown, ensuring no UE is impacted. This was a joint demo by Juniper Networks, AirHop Communications, Rimedo Labs, Keysight Technologies, and Vodafone at the RIC Forum hosted by NITA in March, showing energy savings of up to 25% at the capacity layer. #ORAN #OpenRAN #xApps #rApps #RIC #EnergySaving #TrafficSteering #RICAppsCoordination #RICForum

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Once market leader BSNL, now not only progressing towards indeginious 4G but also strongly working towards indeginious 5G…BSNL walking past all the odds in the competitive telecom market…. Switch to BSNL…. #BSNL #CONNECTING #INDIA #CONNECTING #HEARTS https://lnkd.in/g2D4XCRv

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Learn more about Network and CPaaS APIs and how they differ and complement, serve different use cases and application needs, from Kevin Howe-Patterson's blog post and report from Dean Bubley.

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Synergy in Private 5G and AI Cloud The RAN-in-the-Cloud solution offers an answer to the challenge of underutilization of vRAN computing resources by introducing dynamic resource allocation, and sharing the computing resources with AI workloads. It uses the flexible architecture of cloud computing to dynamically scale network functions up or down based on real-time demand, optimizing server utilization and reducing costs. At last week's Linux Foundation ONE Summit 2024, which I attended, NVIDIA and Aarna Networks jointly introduced a great solution for the Private '5G and AI' Cloud scenario. Of course, their ambitions don't stop at private networks and clouds, but for this post, I cover only the private 5G network and AI cloud environment. According to the architecture they created, here is how it works: ◼ Orchestrate Core, RAN Functions, Prometheus Agents: The central orchestrator (Aarna Networks' AMCOP's BPMN Workflow Engine in this case) manages the deployment and orchestration of Core and RAN functions. It also ensures that Prometheus agents are set up for network monitoring. The Core and RAN (CU1, CU2, DU1, DU2) functions are set up on two separate servers, labeled gNB S1 and gNB S2, along with the Prometheus agents. ◼ Telemetry Agents Report RAN Workload Level Metrics: Admin User configures the Threshold values on OPA (Open Policy Agent), for closed loop to be activated. The Threshold Checking Application (TCA) receives telemetry data via the telemetry agents in 5G Core. The telemetry data includes metrics collected from pods (isolated containers within Kubernetes clusters), providing insights into the performance and resource usage of each RAN function. The Prometheus agents deployed on each gNB S1 and gNB S2 monitor RAN functions like DU1 and DU2, sending metrics back to TCA for threshold checking. ◼ Workflow Engine Scales DU and Edge Application: Based on thresholds set, for example 20% utilization, in the OPA, the Workflow Engine (WFE) scales Distributed Units (DUs) and edge applications as needed. The scaling action takes place within the edge cloud servers. Edge Multi-Cluster Orchestrator (EMCO) and CDS (Controller Design Studio) migrates/reconfigures DU2 to Server#1 (nondisruptive), and the CU on Server#2 deleted. The Lifecycle Manager (LCM) reconfigures the fronthaul switch. This ensures that RAN traffic is routed appropriately to other RAN components after CU2 is deleted. Finally, AI/ML application is deployed on MEC Server#1, and Collectors/Kafka/OPA continue to monitor the threshold metrics for when to reverse the situation. Overall, the combination of cloud architecture and dynamic resource allocation by empowers private 5G customers to achieve high-quality, cost-effective private 5G RAN networks, and run AI workloads simultaneously. The next step for nVidia/AarnaNetworks is to quickly evolve their orchestrator to Nephio. #5GandAI #Private5G #DynamicScaling #DynamicResourceManagement #nVidia #AarnaNetworks #ONAP #Nephio

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Why managing conflict between rApps is vital for RAN automation at scale Intelligent automation using O-RAN Alliance rApps has the potential to revolutionize the world of network management and orchestration. O-RAN Alliance rApps can automate radio access networks at scale, leveraging rich data and AI/ML to automate use cases such as network healing, network optimization, outage compensation, performance anomaly detection, energy saving and many more. As CSPs deploy rApps at scale, the need to co-ordinate between them to ensure optimal behavior increases. In this blog we consider strategies for intelligent co-ordination between different rApps to avoid conflicts between them. Read below article to understand more. https://lnkd.in/dBrZetvu

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Designing the Software Stack Architecture for O-RAN The O-RAN ALLIANCE is at the forefront of transforming mobile network construction and operation through the adoption of open interfaces. Central to this evolution is the pivotal role of Work Group 8 (WG8), tasked with shaping the software architecture central to the O-RAN framework. In line with this, the O-RAN Software Community (OSC), dedicated to advancing open-source software in the O-RAN ecosystem, is propelling its development efforts in a strategic alliance with the The Linux Foundation and OpenAirInterface Software Alliance. WG8's efforts span a wide range of activities, including: ◼ Software Architecture and Design for the O-CU and O-DU: This includes Layer 1 (physical layer), Layer 2 (data link layer, encompassing RLC, MAC, and Scheduler), and Layer 3 (RRC, SDAP, and eGTP). ◼ APIs: WG8 is responsible for specifying APIs for internal communication between components within the O-CU and O-DU, as well as APIs for external communication with other systems and for OAM functions. ◼ Reference Design Specifications: WG8's work culminates in the development of comprehensive reference design specifications, which serve as a blueprint for the implementation of O-RAN software components. The flowchart below illustrates the intricate process behind the development of these reference design specifications. It outlines three distinct stages: Stage 1: defining the use cases, features and the overall O-RAN architecture, drawing insights from WG1 (Use Cases and Overall Architecture) and MVP-C (Minimum Viable Plan) committee. Stage 2: Building upon the foundation laid in Stage 1, this stage delves into the specifics of feature descriptions, node architectures, and interfaces driven by contributions from various workgroups. Stage 3: The final stage involves the definition of call flows, APIs, data models, and profiles. Along with these stages, component-level descriptions, test strategies, final reference designs with call flows and APIs, and test profiles and test cases—all essential elements in ensuring the robustness and interoperability of the O-RAN software stack—are specified. Lastly, the software releases by the OSC (O-RAN Software Community) will include: - Implementation of O-DU and O-CU: the actual code that implements the functionalities of the O-DU and O-CU as per O-RAN specifications. - O-CU/O-DU/O-RU End-to-End Tests: To ensure the proper integration and functionality of the RAN, end-to-end tests are conducted at the OSC labs and OTICs. These tests cover the entire signal flow from the user equipment (UE) through the O-RU, O-DU, and O-CU, ensuring that data can be successfully transmitted across all parts of the network. With its ambitious goals and collaborative approach, WG8 is playing a pivotal role in the alliance. #ORAN #OpenRAN #ORANWG8 #ORANstackreference #ORANstack #ORANOSC #opensource #LinuxFoundationNetworking #Radisys

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Private 5G needs to be super simple to use. There needs to be a single pane of glass to orchestrate & manage all the P5G components. Moreover, MSPs and large enterprises need a single pane of glass to manage all their P5G networks. Aarna Networks Multi Cluster Orchestration Platform (AMCOP) provides both of the above functionalities. Check this out using our experience kit.

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“The network is not an afterthought, it’s critical” in delivering the capacity for AI – as my colleague Amit Malik says. Every new AI application generates more data, escalating demands on the network. While data usage is surging and data centers are expanding rapidly, it is the network that is the most important element here. Amit Malik emphasizes the need for networks to swiftly adapt to meet user requirements. As I’ve said before, the networks of today are insufficient for tomorrow’s needs. To quote Amit, networks need to be adaptive: scalable, secure, sustainable, self-optimizing and self-configurable. https://ow.ly/5yTf50RJV7R #Network #Networks #Telco #Telecoms #AI

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I love this simile: "Containerization is to software management what food trucks are to street food delivery: it brings flexibility, mobility, and efficiency. Without food trucks, anyone wanting to sell food on the street would need to invest heavily in a fixed location, extensive kitchen equipment, and a large staff to run their operations" But what technology fits best when it comes to orchestrate containers in industrial environments? David gives compelling arguments in this article. What do you think?

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Revolutionizing Telecom: Navigating the Shift to Cloud-Native OSS With cloud-native OSS emerging, certain challenges need to be addressed to fully leverage its potential. ◼ Challenge #1: Integration of Gen AI in OSS Deploying AI in OSS can optimize network management, automate processes, and enhance service delivery. However, issues like data standardization, AI model training, and integration with legacy systems can impede its adoption. Solutions: - Data Standardization: Establishing uniform data formats and common data models is crucial. Industry bodies such as TMF can play a role in setting these standards, promoting interoperability and ease of AI integration. - AI Training and Model Development: Invest in robust training frameworks that use accurate, comprehensive datasets to train AI models. Partnerships with academic institutions and technology companies can enhance AI capabilities in OSS. - Legacy System Integration: Utilize middleware and API gateways to connect AI systems with existing OSS infrastructure, allowing for a phased and flexible integration approach. ◼ Challenge #2: Implementing Cloud-Native OSS Transitioning from traditional OSS to cloud-native architectures involves significant changes in technology infrastructure and operational practices. Solutions: - Adoption of Microservices: Break down traditional monolithic OSS applications into microservices. - Containerization and Orchestration: Use technologies like Kubernetes to manage containers that encapsulate microservices. - CI/CD: Implement CI/CD pipelines to enable frequent updates and consistent deployment of new features and fixes, reducing downtime and accelerating time to market. ◼ Challenge #3: Aligning with NGOSS and Event-Driven Architecture Implementing this requires an overhaul of traditional OSS to support event-driven, responsive operations. Solutions: - Event-Driven Processing: Adopt event-driven architectures that react in real-time to network events and customer interactions. - State/Event Management: Develop state/event tables as suggested by the NGOSS Contract to manage complex interactions within the OSS. - Service Modelling and Automation: Utilize service orchestration platforms that align with NGOSS principles, automating the lifecycle management of network services and ensuring compliance with established standards. ◼ Challenge #4: Fostering Ecosystem Collaboration Solutions: - Open APIs and Interfaces: Standardize APIs as per industry guidelines. - Partner Management Platforms: Develop platforms that enable easy integration and management of third-party services and solutions. - Community and Standards Participation: Engage actively in industry forums and standards organizations. Ref: https://lnkd.in/eBnh_n6q #TelcoDigitalSupportSystem #OperationsSupportSystem #NGOSS #GenAIOSS #AIOps #GenOps #CloudNativeOSS #TMF #ODA

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The Power of Cloud O-RAN, GPU Acceleration, and 'AI and RAN' The integration of O-RAN technology with cloud and AI capabilities marks a significant advancement in modern network infrastructures. This post explores the evolution of traditional RAN into cloud O-RAN, highlighting the benefits of O-RAN standards-driven disaggregation and cloud-native implementations. It further delves into the acceleration of CloudRAN through GPU-aided processing and the optimization of GPU cloud resources, as well as the innovative combination of AI and RAN workloads on the same GPU cloud, showcasing how this synergy enhances network performance, flexibility, and efficiency. ◼ Cloud-native O-RAN implementations: O-RAN components are implemented using cloud-native technologies, which means they are designed to run in cloud environments, leveraging the benefits of cloud infrastructure such as scalability, agility, and efficiency. ◼ Accelerating Cloud O-RAN: GPU-aided acceleration for L1 & L2 RAN layers: To handle the intensive processing needs of the physical (High-PHY) and MAC layers of the O-RAN, GPUs are used. This acceleration enhances performance and efficiency, enabling faster data processing and transmission. ◼ O-RAN in the GPU Cloud: Optimize the GPU Cloud CAPEX: By utilizing the GPU cloud for RAN workloads, organizations can optimize their CAPEX. This optimization comes from better utilization of GPU resources, which can be expensive, ensuring they are used efficiently to maximize return on investment. ◼ AI and O-RAN: AI & RAN on the same GPU cloud: The integration of AI workloads with RAN workloads on the same GPU cloud infrastructure allows for shared resources and better overall utilization. - Optimizing GPU Utilization: Combining RAN and AI workloads on the same GPU cloud can optimize resource use. Dynamic scaling of workloads ensures efficient GPU utilization and improved ROI. - Technical Architecture and Implementation: Functional Blocks: Infrastructure orchestration, AI orchestration, RAN orchestration, and closed-loop control for dynamic resource provisioning. - The overarching orchestrator manages AI and RAN workloads, providing a single pane of glass for infrastructure and workload management across multiple sites. - Dynamic Orchestration Scenarios: Peak Load Scenario: Fully utilizes hardware for RAN workloads. Off-Peak Scenario: Scales down RAN workloads to free up resources for AI workloads. #CloudRAN #CloudORAN #GPUCloud #AIandRAN #DynamicOrchestration #nVidia #AarnaNetworks #RANinGPUCloud #GPUAccelerator #AIonRAN #AINativeRAN #AIML #6GRAN #ORAN

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Looking forward to sharing my views on the topic... Is #Ai just hype or MNOs or are there real use cases? Are there just trials/PoC projects, or are they really saving $ and improving productivity and performance? What specific areas #AI is proving out, & where else is it showing promise? Come join me & find out for yourself...

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As CEO of Connectbase, I am thrilled to celebrate a significant milestone achieved by one of the largest regional fiber operators in the US —a visionary step in the world of connectivity. Our client has embraced the future of serviceability management by choosing to leverage our Demarcation Grid. This innovative tool will store, manage, and communicate the precise location of their network reach past the Minimum Point of Entry (MPOE) within each location record in the Connected World with #LocationTruth. This move by our client is not just about technological advancement; it's about setting a new standard in transparency and reliability. By providing clear expectations on service delivery, they are significantly reducing order fallout. This is a leadership step that speaks volumes about their commitment to excellence and customer satisfaction. I encourage our entire ecosystem of over 370 providers, which includes many of the world's largest, to follow in these footsteps. Embrace the next step in serviceability management with Location Truth. Let's shine a light past the MPOE to every Demarcation point, connected or potentially connected, and transform the way we manage and communicate our network capabilities. Together, we can drive forward a more connected and transparent future. Congratulations to the team at our customer for leading the way! #Telecom #Innovation #NetworkManagement #glid #Serviceability #Connectbase #Fiber #LocationTruth #IndustryLeadership

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What's the future of SONiC? Will it eventually become the network version of Linux?  You know I am not an opinion leader nor boundary breaker nor company representative -- all the thought here is my own and mostly from recent market observation. Obviously some operators running large scale network seem tired of following "a certain" equipment vendor's policies.  They had to upgrade the OS not for their own needs but by the vendor's bug or end-of-life policy. They are also experiencing increasing SW license / subscription / service fees, which increases TCO eventually. When your network is multi-vendor environment, it's surely more pain. So it's fully understood the desire of having single "open" Networking OS through all leaf layer or spine layer or both and get hardware from multiple vendor just factoring the price. But the question is "can SONiC solve all the issue?" SONiC is originally intended for full dis-aggregation network - it works with single NPU only.  It is hardware dependent more than Linux - it requires datapath programming onto NPU. The damage of outage due to a bug cannot be comparable the one may happen in the compute.   More importantly who will fix bugs? Who will develop and test the overlay protocol? Even if you find a company running professional service to do that for you, isn't it creating another vendor dependency?  Will Enterprise edition from a vendor work on another vendor's switch? Who will test it and fix issues if any? There seems still many unsolved issue and questions - please let me know if I am wrong. Some of them may be fully addressed today, which I am not aware of :-) Going back to the original question, I am asking to myself, if having single "open" netowrking OS is the ultimate goal, should it be SONiC? Is there any other candidate whose architecture is the latest, more scalable and openness? Who is willing to take that role while investing huge engieering effort on that? Just wrote a few words in my head, hoping the market is going into right direction. 

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What Does a Connection Mean in the Connected World Platform? At Connectbase, we are pioneering the enablement the next generation of Network-as-a-Service (#NaaS) through our innovative API Fabric, extending NaaS across a connected ecosystem unique to each provider and built with Location Truth with #GLID, and trusted Connections. But what does it mean to be truly "connected" in today's digital ecosystem? In the Connected World platform, a Connection is more than just an api or link—it's a dynamic, trusted relationship that powers the seamless integration of serviceability, product qualification, quoting, and orders across an ecosystem of providers. Whether you are a supplier, a buyer, or both, joining our ecosystem opens up unparalleled opportunities to maximize your participation and drive growth. **How Providers Can Join the Ecosystem:** 1. **Sign Up as a Provider**: Whether you're supplying services, looking to buy, or both, the Connected World platform enables your use case to directly engage with scale, trust and security. 2. **Leverage Connectbase Applications**: Our suite of applications is designed to enhance your capabilities and connect your existing applications to our API Fabric effortlessly. 3. **Approval and Trust**: Every Connection is started with 2 sided permissions, verified through Connectbase, ensuring a trusted network. Providers have control over their connections and can generate API keys to integrate seamlessly. **Unlock the Power of Connections:** - **Serviceability**: Instantly check the availability of services. - **Product Qualification**: Qualify products faster and more accurately at a location and demarcation level. - **Quoting and Orders**: Streamline your quoting and ordering processes with digital precision. **The Benefits of Being Connected:** - **Maximize Participation**: Engage more effectively with a larger network of partners. - **Drive Growth**: Scale your operations and market reach with ease. - **Accomplish More with Less**: Optimize resources and enhance efficiency. - **Improve Experience**: Enhance both the buying and selling experiences through a seamless digital interface. -**Improve Decisions**: Enhance decision making with data driven workflow to improve growth and margin. At Connectbase, we believe in the power of connection to transform the way we do business. Join us in building a robust digital ecosystem that fosters innovation and growth for all participants, almost 400 and growing. Together, we can accomplish more. Come join the Connectbase API Fabric today. Learn more at https://lnkd.in/gPqdZ6Yc #ConnectedWorld #NaaS #DigitalEcosystem #TechInnovation #API #connectivitymatters

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Customers are ignoring your calls. Are you adding context to the mobile display for your outbound calls with branded calling—including name, logo, number and reason for the call? If not, it may be your customers who aren’t answering. When customers pick up, business picks up. Watch the full video to learn more about TransUnion Branded Call Display (BCD). https://lnkd.in/gGWbaE3P

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