Will 5G accelerate SD-WAN adoption ?!

SD-WAN market started heating up since late 2017. There are nearly two dozen SD-WAN vendors in the market today. In the Gartner's Hype Cycle for Midsize Enterprises report for 2018, Gartner reports that SD-WAN is in the "Slope of Enlightenment". It means that more Enterprises are now beginning to acknowledge the benefits of SD-WAN technology, Enterprises are doing pilots/trials and newer versions of SD-WAN solutions are entering the market. In the current situation, 5G can potentially accelerate the adoption for SD-WAN technology and fix some of the gaps in the SD-WAN solution. 

Source: Gartner, 2018

How can 5G technology complement SD-WAN solution?

1. Speed: 5G offers speeds upto 1 Gbps today, which is ideal for a Small and Medium Enterprise (SMEs) or the branch offices of large enterprises. For example, you can connect all of the branch offices of a bank or the bank's ATM machines using 5G wireless technology as the SD-WAN backbone. 
2. Quality of Service (QoS): With features like network slicing, 5G can easily meet the quality of service expectations of enterprise customers. Today, SD-WAN being an OTT solution cannot guarantee QoS. However, 5G network slicing can provide dedicated virtual network slices for customers and dramatically improve the quality of service.  
3. Service Activation Time: One of the differentiators of the SD-WAN solution when compared to the MPLS based WAN solution is the time it takes to activate the service. With SD-WAN, you can bring up the secure WAN connection in hours, as opposed to the several months that it takes to get a dedicated MPLS circuit. Today, many service providers use 4G technology with SD-WAN solutions to shorten the service activation time. However, with 5G, you can get the benefit of shorter service activation time, without compromising on the speed offered by dedicated MPLS circuits. 
4. Reliability: Service reliability is going to be one of the differentiators for 5G. In the recent CES event, Hans Vestberg, CEO of Verizon said service reliability of 99.999% is going to be one of the eight currencies for 5G. 5G is already getting positioned for mission critical services and hence, 5G would be apt for meeting the reliability needs of the SD-WAN solution.
5. Security: 5G, with the help of network slicing, can provide an E2E virtual network slice for the customer. The enterprise customer can be assured that their traffic that goes over the secure SD-WAN connection on the 5G network, is secure. 

I would not be surprised if service providers start to promote 5G based SD-WAN services to their enterprise customers. It will give a real big push - both for the adoption of 5G as well as SD-WAN, in the enterprise market segment. 

[Updated on 26th Feb 2018: Cisco announced deals with Verizon, AT&T and other service providers, that they'll launch a 5G enabled SD-WAN solution soon.]

5G Fixed Wireless Services - Why is there a buzz?!

5G technology comes with a lot of promises, especially the wide array of 5G use cases - Fixed Wireless Services, being one of them. With Verizon launching their fixed wireless service (aka 5G Home) for residential customers and AT&T outlining their 3 pillars strategy for business (fixed wireless being one of them), there is more focus on "5G based Fixed Wireless Services". 

If this is the first time you are hearing the term "Fixed Wireless Service", it means providing Internet service to customers by deploying a Customer Premise Equipment (CPE) which connects to the 4G or 5G tower over wireless. You can plug-in your computer, television etc., into the ethernet ports in the CPE to access Internet or connect over WiFi.

(Image for representational purposes only. This isn't a 5G device)

Fixed Wireless Services have been offered by service providers for a long time. However, they were mostly based on 4G network - with limited speeds. For ex., AT&T's fixed wireless service based on 4G network supports upto 10 Mbps speed. However, with 5G technology being deployed rapidly in US by both AT&T and Verizon, there is a lot of hope on 5G based Fixed Wireless Services. 

Why is there a lot of focus on 5G based Fixed Wireless Services?

1. 5G supports up to 1 Gbps speed - which is more than adequate for a small / medium sized business or an average house hold. Verizon is officially supporting 300 Mbps speed, as part of their initial launch, on the Verizon 5G Home. Customer's bandwidth needs can be easily met with 5G based fixed wireless services.
2. Fixed Wireless Services help service providers like Verizon to compete against the cable service providers such as Comcast. Both AT&T and Verizon have a lot of fiber foot print in US - and fiber is very critical for 5G infrastructure. This enables both AT&T and Verizon to directly compete with the cable service providers, with 5G based fixed wireless services. 
3. Verizon is rolling out 5G based fixed wireless services today in cities, where they don't have Verizon FiOS broadband offering. So, it helps them to create a new market, acquire new customers and generate new revenue stream.
4. The time taken to activate a Fixed Wireless Service is much lesser when compared to the time it takes to provide a cable connection or a fiber based Internet service. For example, a Fiber based Internet service would require the service provider to dig the lawn, lay fiber and then connect the home to the Internet. This process would easily take anywhere from 4 - 6 hours, for the installation. On the contrary, for a Fixed Wireless Service, all that you've to do is just install a 5G modem that connects to the 5G small cell tower over wireless. When the service providers have a lot of 5G towers deployed, installing the 5G Fixed Wireless modem may atmost take an hour for the technician. 
5. Verizon & AT&T has a lot of technicians who go to the customer's premise to install their Fiber based Broadband Services. This brings-in a overhead for the service provider - they've to schedule the installation jobs in advance, customers have to wait for the technician to visit their homes and if the technician couldn't install the service on the same day, the job has to be rescheduled to another day. This process increases the operational costs for the service provider and impacts the customer experience. With 5G based fixed wireless services, as the technology matures, Verizon can just ship a customer premise equipment to the customer and the customer has to just mount it on the wall and power-it on to get 5G based Internet services. This would significantly reduce the service activation time and improves the customer experience dramatically. 

5G based fixed wireless services are still in the early stages of deployment. The critical success factor for providing fixed wireless services is the availability of signal coverage, that supports 5G speeds. It would take at least a year or two for service providers to reach the stage, where they can start supporting fixed wireless deployments in large numbers. 

5G Network Slicing - What, Why and How?

Building a network infrastructure that addresses the needs of a wide variety of 5G use cases and at the same time, meeting the performance expectations is quite challenging. 5G architecture introduces a new concept called “Network Slicing”, to meet the scalability and user experience demands of the wide variety of 5G use cases.

Need for Network Slicing

5G will enable new services and new business models that were not possible using older wireless technologies such as 4G (Read 4G vs. 5G). 5G technology is expected to provide a consistent and highly reliable user experience for a wide variety of use cases. For example, 5G infrastructure has to support a Smart Metering  application, where several thousands of utility meter devices are continuously sending small chunks of information over a long period of time. This use case is not latency sensitive, but expects the network to scale to several thousands of devices. And, at the same time, 5G has to support a fast moving autonomous vehicle, that consumes lots of data and expects sub-millisecond response time. 

The following are some of the requirements for the network slicing implementation in a 5G network:

• Service provider should be able to configure / manage a network slice dynamically based on the customer needs 
• Service provider should be able to manage each network slice separately without impacting the performance characteristics of other network slices 
• Provide security for the services that run on top of a network slice, including protection of the data that gets transferred over the network slice
• Service providers should be able to expose Application Programmers Interfaces (APIs) for its partners, vendors or customers to create and manage network slices 
• Support E2E resource management from RAN all the way to the 5G NG Core. 

What is Network Slicing?

Network Slicing allows 5G service providers to divide a single physical network (all the way from the radio to the core network) into multiple virtual networks. Each network slice can have different speed limits, different latencies and different quality of service configuration. The advancements made in Network Functions Virtualization (NFV), Software Defined Networks (SDN) and Cloud has helped in implementing network slicing in 5G networks. 

Benefits of Network Slicing

Network slicing provides a number of benefits to both service providers and customers. 

• Reduces operational costs in managing / running the wireless networks - as the 5G network slicing exposes APIs for programmatically managing the network infrastructure. 
• Today, Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) services (letting other wireless service providers share your network infrastructure) require complex manual pre-provisioning of network infrastructure. Network Slicing allows Service Providers to dynamically create, configure and manage MVNO services
• Allows Service Providers to offer differentiated services to customers using the same network infrastructure, without impacting the performance of the services offered to other customers. For example, support Autonomous Cars and Smart Utility Meters on the same network infrastructure. 
• Allows service providers to monetise the network infrastructure - not just based on bandwidth consumed, but also based on other parameters such as latency, quality of service, energy consumption and number of connections.

Network Slicing provides a lot of monetization opportunities to service providers, without spending loads of money in upgrading their network infrastructure. (Read: Eight 5G Currencies)

5 misconceptions about 5G

5G is the latest buzz word in the telco world. 5G deployments have just started in some countries across the globe. While technologists are still chiseling 5G to give it a finishing look, there are a lot of misconceptions and debates about 5G technology. I thought of clarifying some of them in this blog post. (Also read: Will WiFi get killed by 5G?). 

1. 5G is dangerous 

Many people think that 5G radiations will bring the world to its knees and cause a lot of health hazards to people. 5G expects service providers to deploy several thousands of mini cell phone towers called as "Small Cells", almost one in every street corner. That raises the eyebrows of commoners - whether that would increase our exposure to wireless radiations. In US alone, it is estimated that there will be roughly 800,000 small cells to power-up the country with 5G signals. According to a recent SDxCentral article, there is at least 20 lawsuits in US against the rollout of 5G. (Read: 5G FAQ)

American National Cancer Institute did some studies on wireless radio frequency and reported in Jan 2018 that "A limited number of studies have shown some evidence of statistical association of cell phone use and brain tumor risks, but most studies have found no association". NCI website says non-ionized radiations, such as the ones used in wireless cell phones, are not as impactful as the ones caused by ionized radiations such as X-Rays.

Recently, media speculated about 297 birds getting killed due to 5G tests in Netherland. However, subsequently the news was reported as false. 

Researches say that using cell phones for a long time isn't advisable, as they tend to generate a lot of heat. No study has clearly established that 5G radiation is going to be harmful or more dangerous than 4G radiations. (Read: 4G vs. 5G).

A detailed analysis of the research data can be found at Is 5G radiation going to kill us?". 

2. 5G is for mobile phones

Most people still think that 5G is for mobile phones, like the previous generation wireless technologies. However, 5G is intended for totally new set of use cases.  In fact, though 5G services are launched in many cities / countries, 5G phones are yet to be commercially launched. 5G technology is for high bandwidth / low latency use cases such as Autonomous Cars, Remote Robotic Surgery, AR/VR and Holograms. 

3. 5G will drain battery fast

When 3G was initially launched, all of us noticed that our phone batteries drained fast. Even today, when you keep the data connection ON with a 4G enabled mobile phone, the smart apps suck up the charge from your mobile batteries. However, 5G comes with a lots of promise. Lowell McAdam, past CEO of Verizon said “In an IoT setting, 5G will have 10-year battery life. And we expect that in a mobile phone environment, you’ll probably charge your phone once a month". Recently, Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg appeared in CES and said "Energy Efficiency" is one of the eight currencies for 5G. Verizon expects 5G technology to be consuming only 10% of the current energy consumption. 

4. Internet of Things (IOT) use cases rely heavily on 5G

When people talk about 5G, they also talk about Internet of Things (IOT) use cases such as Autonomous Cars and Smart Cities. While 5G will accelerate the adoption of IOT technologies such as Autonomous Cars, it is not needed to enable IOT services in Smart Cities. Typically, IOT enabled devices will have sensors that use a low power radio frequency to communicate with other IOT devices.  These devices do not directly connect to Internet - rather, they communicate with a local IOT gateway, which provides the connectivity to the Internet. Since IOT gateway devices are stationary in nature (they may be kept in street corners or in poles), they can be connected with traditional wired network connections. Hence, IOT use cases do not rely heavily on 5G technology. 

5. WiFi will get killed by 5G

One of the common debates in the industry is, will 5G kill WiFi? WiFi is a growing industry. According to a study commissioned by WiFi Alliance®, the economic value provided by Wi-Fi is nearly $2 trillion in 2018, and is expected to grow to almost $3.5 trillion by 2023. Considering the penetration of WiFi technology, the cost of deployment of 5G infrastructure and the speed supported by WiFi, WiFi is going to stay with us at least for the next 10 years. 5G may selectively replace WiFi within Enteprises. However, it may complement WiFi in other areas like Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB). 

Telco Network Virtualization Projects & Score Card

When the SDN/NFV wave started in 2012, there were a lot of promises about new revenue opportunities, operational efficiency improvements and programmability. Let us take a look at the progress made by different Service Providers in virtualizing their network. 

(Also read: SDN Enabled Switches)

1. AT&T - Project Domain 2.0 is AT&T's virtualization project. AT&T rolled out a Domain 2.0 white paper in 2013, outlining their vision and approach to virtualize their network. Towards the end of 2014, John Donavan, the then Sr. Executive VP of Technology & Operations, said by 2020 they'll virtualize 75% of their network. Since then, AT&T has been sharing regular progress updates every year - against their virtualization targets. 
• In 2015, AT&T claimed that they had virtualized 5% of their network 
• In 2016, AT&T virtualized  34% of their network 
• In 2017, AT&T virtualized 55% of their network. 
• In 2018, AT&T virtualized 65% of their network. Recently, they also started talking about Project Indigo (which is perceived as their Domain 3.0)
2. Verizon - Verizon hasn't been as vocal as AT&T on their virtualization goals. They published their reference architecture for SDN/NFV, in 2016. However, Verizon is the first to launch SD-WAN managed services to customers, way back in 2015. Verizon is building its own openstack based cloud platform called Verizon Cloud Platform (VCP) to host its virtual network services. In 2017, the company shared their plans of building 40 telco cloud datacenters, based on Verizon Cloud Platform stack. Verizon launched software based Virtual Network Services (VNS) bundles for enterprise customers which run on Universal CPE platform.  Verizon claimed in 2017, that Virtualization played a vital role in their 5G Tests and 5G is built ground up based on network virtualization. Nokia acknowledged in 2018 that it is collaborating with Verizon to build a Virtualized RAN (vRAN 2.0) architecture, for enabling 5G and IOT services.  
3. Vodafone - Project Ocean is Vodafone's network virtualization project. Vodafone announced their plans in 2016, claiming that their focus is to adopt SDN in IP and Optical network automation and resource optimization. Vodafone picked Nokia Nuage Virtualized Services Platform (VSP) and Mirantis Openstack to build their virtualization infrastructure. Early this year, Fran Heeran, who heads Vodafone's virtualization efforts, said their focus is virtualizing VoLTE and Evolved Packed Core (EPC) functions. He also said that their 5G network will leverage this infrastructure.
4. Telefonica - Project UNICA is Telefonica's network virtualization project. Telefonica announced Project UNICA in 2015, with a goal of virtualizing select network functions such as AAA, IMS, EPC, HSS and HLR. Telefonica also shared their network virtualization strategy in 2017, outlining the challenges that they are facing. Telefonica's virtualization infrastructure is based on Openstack, HP OpenNFV, Ericsson and NetScout. Telefonica is also actively driving Open Source MANO (OSM) community - though they are unhappy with the production readiness of OSM. 
5. Deutsche Telekom - Project PAN-Net isn't necessarily DT's virtualization project. However, DT sees an opportunity to connect multi-vendor networks together and offer cloud based virtualized network services through Project PAN-Net. PAN-Net aims at connecting the cross European service providers, to provide cloud based services. DT also launched a Zero Touch Network Services Management (NSM) project, by working with a number of network equipment vendors. So far, DT has launched a Virtualized Set Top Box (STB) solution, a Cloud VPN solution. In 2017, it appeared that PAN-Net has really not taken off, as per DT's expectations, as there are a lot of limitations in technology and industry support. But, Jean-Claude Geha, SVP in DT's international technology and services delivery operation said PAN-Net infrastructure is closer to completion and has produced a lot of virtualized applications.  DT is yet to make a decision on RAN virtualization, though it is planning for 5G. 

As you can see, Network Virtualization still has a long way to go. Service Providers are still somewhere in the middle of their virtualization journey. Network Virtualization is quite complicated when compared to the cloud based services offered by the FANG companies. Simple functions like loadbalancers and firewalls are easy to virtualize, when compared to complex functions like EPC or vRAN. Hence, Service Providers may go well past 2020 to have a true 100% virtualized network. 

Eight 5G Currencies from Verizon CEO in CES Show

Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg did the keynote in the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). One of the things that he revealed during his keynote is how 5G services are dependent on the eight different 5G currencies (performance metrics). 

Hans Vestberg Keynote Address in CES Show (Source: www.ces.tech)

It is a well known fact that 5G is far superior than the previous generation wireless technologies (Read: 4G vs. 5G). 5G isn't just for mobile handsets - and supports a myriad use cases, beyond providing 5G connectivity to mobile phones. However, the big question in everyone's mind is how are the service providers going to monetize on their 5G investment? Hans speech at CES show provides some hints on how Service Providers are planning to monetize on the 5G investment. 

Here is the list of eight 5G currencies that Hans talked about:

1. Peak Data Rate (10 Gbps)
2. Mobile data volume (10 Tb/s/Km2)
3. Mobility - 500 Km/hr
4. Connected Devices - 1M / Km2
5. Service Deployment (90 minutes)
6. Reliability (99.999%)
7. Energy Efficiency (10% of current consumption)
8. E2E Latency (5 milliseconds)

While most of these are performance metrics related to 5G services - it also gives some insights on how the Service Providers are planning to monetize 5G services. 

Traditionally, wireless services are monetized based on the bandwidth needs. However, 5G is different. Given the fact that 5G is going to support use cases such as IOT, AR/VR, Robotic Surgeries and Live TV, service providers can cash-in on the additional performance indicators of the service. For example, using network latency as a currency can allow service providers to charge customers differently based on the applications served by the network. If the application is latency sensitive (such as robotic surgery), customers may pay a premium to avail the service. Similarly, use cases such as IOT would result in more 5G connections hitting the small cells - while the bandwidth consumption of those devices may be very low. Customers availing such IOT services can be charged based on the number of 5G connections. 

You can watch the full video at http://live.ces.tech/detail/videos/featured/video/5987318570001/verizon-keynote

5G provides unimaginable possibilities to both the service providers and the customers. It is exciting to watch the 5G technology evolution and adoption. 5G deployments have just started in a handful of countries and we still have a long way to go to talk about monetization of 5G services. 

(Also read: Will WiFi get killed by 5G?)

SD-WAN certifications & Trainings

A number of SD-WAN vendors and training service providers are offering SD-WAN Certifications. MEF is working on a vendor neutral certification for SD-WAN. However, it is going to be available only by 1H'19. In the mean time, engineers looking for SD-WAN certifications can increase their knowledge / expertise on SD-WAN solutions by going through the SD-WAN trainings/certifications offered by vendors.

MEF 3.0 SD-WAN Service Certification

MEF is planning to introduce a certification for MEF 3.0 SD-WAN services in the first half of 2019. This certification will test a set of service attributes and their behaviors defined in the upcoming SD-WAN standard and described in detail in the MEF 3.0 SD-WAN Service Certification Blueprint. More details at https://www.mef.net/mef-3-0-sd-wan

Citrix SD-WAN Certified (CC-SDWAN)

Citrix SD-WAN Certification validates the knowledge required to successfully configure Citrix SD-WAN to increase WAN throughput, reliability and performance while improving the application experience. More details at http://training.citrix.com/cms/index.php/certification/networking/

Cisco SD-WAN Operations & Deployment

Cisco SD-WAN Operations & Deployment (ENSDW) is a training + certification offered by multiple Cisco authorized training partners. More details at Torque IT

Silver Peak SD-WAN Professional (SPSP) - Deploying SD-WAN Technologies (DST) Training

The Deploying SD-WAN Technologies (DST) course is an introduction to deploying Silverpeak's SD-WAN solution. They offer both online/self-paced as well as instructor-led courses. More details at https://www.silver-peak.com/support/training

Nuage's Virtuoso Certification Program (VCP)

Nuage revamped its Virtuoso Certification Program (VCP) to provide an end to end curriculum to support both datacenter and SD-WAN deployments. The certification is aimed at helping engineers to work in leading-edge SDN environments. More details at http://www.nuagenetworks.net/products/virtuoso-certification-program/

Perpetual Solutions - SD-WAN, SDN & NFV for Network Operators

Perpetual Solutions, a leading training services vendor is offering a 5-day program for SDN & NFV, with focus on the SD-WAN application. More details at https://www.perpetual-solutions.com/training-course/7043/sd-wan-sdn-nfv-for-network-operators

SD-WAN solution - 10 features that you should look for

SD-WAN solutions are available in plenty in the market today - both from SD-WAN startups and established vendors. SD-WAN solutions are expected to reduce costs, improve efficiencies and reduce time taken for service activation. Service providers are now convinced about the need for SD-WAN solution. If you are new to the SD-WAN world and confused about the SD-WAN options available in the market, here are some features that you should look for in a SD-WAN solution.

1. Core MPLS Support - Core MPLS support would enable the SD-WAN solution to interoperate with legacy MPLS networks. This would allow the Enterprise to have service continuity, as well as provide flexibility during the transition to SD-WAN. Enterprises can route the traffic generated by sensitive/critical business applications over the MPLS link and route the other non-critical traffic over the SD-WAN link. (Read: Will 5G accelerate SD-WAN adoption?)

2. Security / E2E Encryption - This is a mandatory feature, as it provides security for the traffic that gets exchanged over the SD-WAN links. Given that SD-WAN is a OTT (Over the Top) service, E2E encryption / security is a must to protect the information exchanged over the Internet.

3. Local Internet Offload / Breakout - Local Internet Offload allows Enterprises to offload Internet traffic (such as accesses to Youtube.com, Facebook.com, CNN.com), so that they don't get carried over the SD-WAN links.  Also, many Enterprises have migrated to SaaS offerings from the Cloud, which are delivered over a HTTPS connection. Such connections can be directly routed over the Internet as opposed to carrying such traffic over the SD-WAN link to the corporate head-quarters. Some SD-WAN vendors also allow Enterprises to apply security policies over the traffic that goes through the Local Internet Breakout. Untrusted / Suspicious and Unknown traffic gets routed to the headquarters over the SD-WAN links.

4. Dynamic Routing - If you are installing SD-WAN solution in a simple coffee shop, you may not have to depend too much on Dynamic Routing. You can meet most of your routing needs using static routes. However, if it is a medium sized Enterprise with multiple subnets and if you require the SD-WAN solution to interoperate with your existing network, you would need Dynamic Routing support. Dynamic Routing is achieved through the support of protocols such as BGP and OSPF in SD-WAN solution.

5. Load Balancing - Most SD-WAN solutions in the market today support multiple upstream Internet links. If you want to distribute the load across multiple Internet links, you can use the Load Balancing feature. Load-Balancing can also be used to achieve service resiliency and high availability - when an SD-WAN link goes down, traffic can be automatically routed through the Internet or MPLS link.

6. Zero Touch Automation (ZTA) - One of the key differentiators of a SD-WAN solution is the zero touch automation / activation of the network services. Different SD-WAN vendors have different ways of supporting ZTA. MEC has recently published a standard for SD-WAN services, which also covers the expectations around ZTA.

7. Managed Services - Many Small / Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) have outsourced their WAN and IT infrastructure management to service providers. As SMEs can't afford to have dedicated IT personnel, they seek managed services.

8. Orchestration - As SD-WAN services follow SDN principles, the control plane, management plane and data plane functions are normally separated. For example, the control/management plane functions may be running on the service provider cloud and data plane functions may be running on the premise.  Orchestration of network services become very critical - stitching the control, management and data plane functions.

9. Analytics - SD-WAN solutions continuously gather analytics for understanding vital network parameters such as network utilization, network availability and network performance. Analytics gathered is used for optimizing the network services for the customer. It also helps the customer with the capacity planning.

10. WAN Optimization - Some SD-WAN vendors also bundle WAN optimization services as part of their SD-WAN solution. It helps the Enterprise to improve the network utilization and thereby helps them to achieve efficiencies.

Why do we need SD-WAN solution?

According to IDC research, SD-WAN Infrastructure market is expected to reach $4.5 Billion in 2022. They expect an average 40.4% compound annual growth between 2017 and 2022. Several enterprises have started to slowly experiment with SD-WAN solutions. There is at least two dozen SD-WAN vendors around the globe. So, the fundamental question for Enterprises who are yet to switch to SD-WAN is "Why do we need SD-WAN solution"?

What are the problems that exist today?

1. Bandwidth Growth: Enterprises are witnessing an average 25% growth of bandwidth needs, year-on-year. As a result, they are paying a huge bill to service providers for their MPLS services (dedicated circuits connecting multiple enterprise locations / facilities). 
2. Service Activation Time: Today, service providers take anywhere from 30 days - 90 days to turn-on a MPLS service for a customer. The lead time to get a service is way too long for small and medium sized enterprises.
3. Manual Setup: Traditional MPLS networks are static in nature and requires a lot of manual setup procedure (Designing the network, high availability, technician dispatches, router service configuration etc.,). Imagine a large bank or a coffee shop that have to activate the MPLS service for several hundreds of their office locations.
4. Changing Customers' needs: Enterprises are migrating many of their services to the cloud. Most small/medium sized enterprises are subscribing to SaaS offerings. Such SaaS services are already providing security features. Small/Medium enterprises are just looking for an effective connectivity solution to the cloud. The number of business applications exchanging "sensitive" traffic between their office locations is minimal. Such applications don't demand a high cost MPLS service. 

What are some of the benefits offered by SD-WAN?

1. Cost Savings: SD-WAN vendors claim up to 90% cost savings by switching completely to SD-WAN based solution. However, Enterprises aren't ready to make the switch completely. Today, Enterprises operate SD-WAN solutions in conjunction with MPLS services. According to a recent study done by Masergy, they are able to save up to 40% costs, by adopting SD-WAN solutions. 
2. Quicker Service Activation: SD-WAN solutions are offered as Over-the-Top (OTT) services. Hence, the activation time is very short. You can turn-on the services in just a few hours - if you are using a solution that supports Zero Touch Activation. The long pole in the service activation cycle is the time it takes to ship a Customer Premise Equipment (CPE) device to the customer location. 
3. Ease of Traffic Management: SD-WAN solutions support features such as dynamic-routing - which enables the customers to decide how the traffic gets routed across different links, which traffic has to be prioritized/deprioritized etc., SD-WAN solutions also allow non-sensitive/non-critical business traffic to be offloaded locally to the Internet. For example, in a coffee shop, the visitors' Internet traffic can be offloaded locally and only the corporate traffic can be sent over the SD-WAN connection. 

SD-WAN technology is still in its early stages - it is still crawling - and would take a few more years to walk and run. Given that the service is offered over the top, there are still a lot of unanswered questions on SD-WAN security, quality of service and high-availability. (Read: Will 5G accelerate SD-WAN adoption?)

Role of NFV in 5G network

Service providers across the globe are busy building their 5G network foot print and Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) plays an integral part of the 5G infrastructure. While many telcos have been virtualizing their network infrastructure for the last 3+ years, 5G makes NFV, almost mandatory. While 4G's Evolved Packet Core (EPC) was an evolution from the 3G packet core networks, the 5GC (5G Core) has been designed from its inception to be “cloud native”. 5G Core inherits many of the technology solutions used in cloud computing. NFV plays a critical role in the success of 5G implementation.

What is the role of NFV in 5G networks?

1. Enables Virtualization of Cloud RAN - One of the major changes in 5G is the changes to the radio specification (5G New Radio Specification). Unlike 4G, 5G towers (aka small cells) have to be installed almost in every street - to achieve coverage and speed. If service providers end up deploying hardware based RAN (Radio Access Network), the CAPEX would go up. Virtualizing RAN and migrating select RAN functions (for ex., Base Band Unit function) to the Cloud would help service providers to bring down the cost of the network infrastructure. Service providers have to just deploy antennas on the streets and the heavy lifting of handling the data workloads will be done in the edge cloud. 
2. Provides Infrastructure for Network Slicing - Network Slicing allows the same physical network infrastructure to be partitioned and made available as multiple logical / virtual network slices. Each of the network slices would have their own performance (speed / latency) and quality of service characteristics. User-subscribed services (for ex., Enhanced Mobile Broadband) will get mapped to the network slices. NFV provides infrastructure for orchestration and automation of the life cycle management of network slices. 
3. Makes the 5G network elastic and scalable - Given the dynamic nature of the bandwidth demands and the diversity of the 5G use-cases, it is important for service providers to build an elastic network that scales-in / scales-out based on demand. For example, there will be a number of mobile connections originating from the residential areas, during late evenings and early mornings. However, during the day, there will be more mobile connections originating from industrial / work locations. A static network will result in low utilization of the network infrastructure.  5G infrastructure services are cloud-native, thereby making the network more dynamic. If there are unused 5G core instances in the cloud, they can be temporarily shutdown to save power and cooling costs in the data center. An elastic 5G network will also improve the user experience - as the network adapts to the user's demand. 
4. Enables 5G network to support a "Service-based" architecture - 4G networks are connection based, whereas 5G network architecture is "service-based". In a service based architecture, E2E services are provided by creating service chains that span across multiple network functions. For ex., a Live TV service may not just depend on video streaming servers running on the network edge, but may also have specific latency requirements from the network infrastructure. NFV allows service providers to dynamically create service chains in the network, depending upon the type of the 5G service. 
5. Improves the agility and simplifies network upgrades - Given the fact that 5G network is continuously evolving - network equipment vendors are continuously rolling out software upgrades / patches introducing newer functionalities in the network. When the 5G core infrastructure is virtualized and supports cloud-native services, a network equipment vendor can just roll out a patch for a specific network function (for example, Policy Charging Function (PCF)), as opposed to the complete Evolved Packet Core. This simplifies the management of the network services, for the service providers.

5G Technology Overview (5G FAQ)

If you are in the technology industry, you would've heard this term 5G, at least a few times in the last one year. 5G is getting a lot of traction across the globe. If you are trying to learn about 5G, this blog post provides a quick 5G technology overview.

What is 5G?

5G is the next generation wireless technology, which provides higher speed and lower latencies.

What is the speed of 5G?

5G currently supports 1 Gbps network throughput (with a promise of reaching upto 10 Gbps network speed). With such high speeds, you should be able to download a HD movie in a fraction of a second.

Read: What makes 5G networks faster?

How much latency does 5G provide?

5G supports sub-millisecond latencies. Hence, 5G enables use cases like Autonomous Cars, Robotic Surgeries etc.,

How is 5G able to support low latency?

5G network infrastructure is able to offer low latency, through a number of mechanisms:

• Radio’s frame structure is redesigned to reduce transmission times for all types of traffic and to increase scalability.
• Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC) will reduce the distance between the applications and the users/devices, by bringing content and compute infrastructure closer to the end user/device.
• Network Slicing enables creating virtual slices that provide dedicated path for applications that require low-latencies.

What is millimeter wave & why is that important for 5G?

5G supports a wide range of spectrums from low bands below 1 GHz, to mid bands from 1 GHz to 6 GHz, to high bands 24 / 30 GHz to 300 GHz (also, known as millimeter-wave).

Lower frequencies typically travel long enough and can propagate deeper than higher frequencies. Lower frequencies offer a better coverage. Higher frequencies will travel short distance, however can offer higher bandwidth. 5G has to offer both better coverage and higher speeds - and hence, millimeter wave is very important for 5G to offer higher speeds.

What are the differences between 4G & 5G technologies?

Fundamental difference between 4G and 5G networks is the speed. 4G offers roughly 100 Mbps speed and 5G offers 10 times more speed. 4G's latency is 50 ms which makes it ideal for use cases such as video streaming, web browsing, online gaming etc., On the other hand, 5G's latency is 1 - 2 milli seconds, which makes it ideal for use cases like Autonomous Cars and Robotic Surgeries.

What are the 5G use cases?

Some of the popular 5G use cases are Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Fixed Wireless, Robotic Surgery, Autonomous Cars, Live TV, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Private Wireless Network and Holographic Calls. Learn more about 5G use cases here

What are the commercial 5G deployments, so far?

So far, 5G is rolled out by Verizon in US, AT&T in US, EE in UK, SK Telecom in South Korea and Deutsche Telecom in Poland. Learn more about the First 5G Cities.

Why is there a lot of hype around 5G?

Unlike the previous wireless technologies (such as 2G, 3G and 4G), 5G does not just provide an incremental improvement to speeds. 2G, 3G and 4G were focused on mobile devices. 5G's use cases are mostly non-mobile and enterprise use cases. 5G opens up a lot of opportunities for service providers to establish newer revenue streams.

What is network slicing in 5G?

5G network slicing allows operators to divide a single physical network (all the way from the radio to the core network) into multiple virtual networks. Each network slice can have different speed limits, different latencies and different quality of service configuration.

How are service providers planning to monetize 5G?

Most service providers are looking at Enterprise and IOT use cases for 5G. Traditionally, wireless services were monetized based on the speed offered by the service provider and the bandwidth consumed by the user. With 5G, network latency can be monetized through network slicing. The same radio network can be sliced to offer differential services to various customers. Customers can be charged based on their service tier. (Read: Eight 5G Currencies)

Who creates 5G standards?

3GPP defines 5G standards. 5G NR (New Radio) is the new 5G standards. Service providers and network equipment vendors have to comply with this standard to support interoperability.

What are some of the popular test tools for 5G?

There are a number of vendors offering testing tools for 5G such as Anritsu, Spirent, Viavi and Keysight. Refer to 5G Testing Tools for more details.

What are the 5G challenges?

5G requires service providers have to do "network densification" (i.e., deploy a large number of cell phone towers aka "small cells") to provide uninterrupted roaming experiences to the customers. It is not only capital intensive, but also forces the service providers to work with government agencies to get permits. 

Are 5G mobile phones available in the market today?

5G based mobile services are expected to be launched only in 1H 2019. However, multiple equipment vendors claim support for 5G mobile devices/cell phones. You can find more information at 5G technology enabled mobile / cell phones - What, When, Who and Where ?

Is 5G technology dangerous?

No study has proved so far that 5G wireless technology and radiations emitted by 5G towers are dangerous.

What are the common misconceptions about 5G?

There are a lot of misconceptions about 5G technology. Some of them are:

• 5G is dangerous
• 5G is for mobile 
• 5G would drain batteries fast
• Internet of Things (IOT) relies heavily on 5G

How much does it cost to deploy a 5G cell site?

According to the research firm iGR, it would cost approximately $35,000 for the service provider to deploy a cell site. (which includes the cost of acquiring the site, equipment, power, and backhaul necessary for a mmWave small cell transmitter) 

Popular Open Source NFV Orchestrators

NFV Orchestrators play a critical role in the life cycle management of Virtual Network Functions in the Telco Cloud. A number of open source orchestrators and communities are solving the orchestration challenge - trying to simplify the onboarding / orchestration process for the operators, through standardization and automation.

Community Name: Openstack

• Started in: 2010
• Description: OpenStack is a cloud operating system that manages large volumes of compute, storage, and networking devices in a datacenter, supporting infrastructure orchestration capabilities. Many service providers such as AT&T, Verizon, Telefonica and Vodafone have built their Telco Cloud infrastructure using OpenStack. OpenStack is used as the Virtual Infrastructure Manager (VIM) in the ETSI NFV Reference Architecture.
• Current Status: Very active community (Several 1000s of member companies and developers are actively contributing to the community.
• Key Drivers: AT&T, Ericsson, Huawei, Intel, Rackspace, Red Hat,  SUSE and Tencent Cloud.

Community Name: Open Network Automation Platform (ONAP) 

• Started in: 2017
• Description: ONAP Platform provides capabilities for design, creation and lifecycle management of network services - both physical and virtual. It was formed by integrating the ECOMP framework opensourced by AT&T and the Open-O open source community. 
• Current Status: 125+ active contributors to the community.
• Key Drivers: Amdocs, AT&T, China Mobile, Bell Canada and a bunch of service providers / network equipment vendors. 

Community Name:  Open Source MANO (OSM) 

• Started in: 2016
• Description: Open Source MANO project is delivering an open source Management and Orchestration (MANO) stack aligned with ETSI NFV Information Models. 
• Current Status: 100+ active contributors to the community. There are 49 member companies and 67 participant companies in the forum. 
• Key Drivers: Telefonica and a bunch of service providers / network equipment vendors. 

Community Name:  Open Baton 

• Started in: 2015
• Description: Open Baton is yet another ETSI compliant open source Management and Orchestration (MANO) stack. It is very lightweight and can be used for developing quick prototypes. Open Baton has its roots in the Open SDN Core Project.  
• Current Status: 30+ contributors to the community. 
• Key Drivers: Telefonica and a bunch of service providers / network equipment vendors. 

Here is our assessment of the various open source orchestrators available in the industry today:

• OpenStack is well established as an infrastructure orchestrator and adopted by several leading enterprises and telcos. 
• ONAP is relatively new and is far from being "production grade", though service providers like Bell Canada have done a limited production deployment of ONAP. 
• OSM has been there for a while, however since the launch of ONAP, OSM is losing its shine. Telefonica is aggressively looking at a system integrator who can make OSM production grade. 
• Unlike ONAP/OSM which was developed by network equipment vendors and service providers, Open Baton was developed by Research Institutes from Europe. It is currently used in a couple of community projects. Open Baton was somewhat popular in 2016/2017, but it lost its fanfare once ONAP emerged in the market.  

2019 is going to be the deciding year for the Open Source Orchestrators. ONAP picked up a lot of momentum in 2018. We've to wait and watch if ONAP really gets any adoption by service providers in their production environment. That is going to be the litmus test for ONAP.