ETSI Open Source MANO (OSM) Activity Report 2022
Chair: Francisco-Javier Ramón Salguero, Telefónica S.A.
Open Source MANO is an ETSI-hosted project to develop an Open Source NFV Management and Orchestration (MANO) software stack aligned with ETSI NFV.
ETSI is actively exploring synergies between the worlds of open source and standardization in its work on NFV. Two key components of the ETSI NFV architectural framework are the NFV Orchestrator and the Virtualized Network Function (VNF) manager, referred to collectively as NFV Management and Orchestration, or MANO.
Open Source MANO (OSM) is an ETSI-hosted initiative to deliver a regularly updated reference implementation of the MANO stack, aligned with ETSI NFV Information Models and meeting the requirements of production NFV networks. Development is based on accepted open source working procedures, using a software development platform managed by ETSI.
Complementing the work of ETSI ISG NFV, OSM aims to build a thriving NFV vendor ecosystem capable of delivering solutions rapidly and cost effectively. Accessing a diverse set of contributors and developers, it harnesses synergies between standardization and open source approaches – maximizing innovation, efficiency and time to market by ensuring a continuing series of reference implementations.
Delivered in June 2022, OSM Release TWELVE is the second Long Term Support release of ETSI Open Source MANO. One of the most prolific iterations to date, Release TWELVE key features include:
- Long Term Support (24 months of bug fixes and security patches)
- Healing of network functions (manual and automated) in any cloud
- Network Function upgrade capabilities
- Network Service modifications during runtime
- ETSI NFV SOL003 Support for interaction with third party orchestrators
- Support of anti-affinity groups
One of many innovations in Release TWELVE is the ability to heal network functions that may be affected by any kind of infrastructure failure. This healing process – which may be triggered either manually or automatically depending on operator preference – can be applied in all clouds supported by OSM, in line with OSM’s multi-cloud approach.
In addition to significant improvements in day-2 operation of a network service, this release makes it possible to upgrade a running network function instance with a new package version – all with minimal downtime. Moreover, the composition of network services can also be modified in runtime.
To further increase interoperability with third party solutions, Release TWELVE supports additional ETSI NFV Specifications, such as ETSI GS NFV-SOL003 for VNF Lifecycle Management. With the support of the VNF Lifecycle Management APIs, Release TWELVE offers both the API of an NFV Orchestrator and the API of a Generic VNF Manager, providing operators with additional options for the integration of OSM in their Telco Cloud Architecture. This support of additional ETSI NFV specs continues the journey initiated since OSM creation, where ETSI GS NFV-SOL005 was already the foundation of OSM’s northbound interface, OSM data model and descriptors were derived from ETSI GS-NFV SOL 006, and its NF and NS package formats were also based on ETSI GS-NFV SOL 004 and ETSI GS-NFV SOL 007.
Release TWELVE also includes several valuable features to assist production deployment. These include support of anti-affinity groups (per VNF), the addition of password expiry policies, new options for Kubernetes cluster registration, and the experimental migration of Openstack-based network function instances.
Two fully remote OSM Hackfests were held in January and June 2022. Organized by ETSI's Centre for Testing and Interoperability and the OSM Community, OSM#13 Hackfest was conducted from 13-17 June as an open-to-all remote event. Like earlier OSM Hackfests, participants conducted sessions in a shared lab environment provided by ETSI through its Hub for Interoperability and Validation (HIVE).
The event coincided with OSM#13 Ecosystem Day that gave organizations in the OSM Ecosystem an opportunity to share their own experiences and discuss how OSM is helping them to realise their goals. Presentations and demos covered a wide range of aspects from research activities in academia to production deployments and commercial initiatives, mainly focusing on cutting-edge telco use cases.
Following these remote events, a face-to-face Hackfest (the first since 2019) was held in Amsterdam from 18-19 October, collocated with the first TeraFlowSDN Hackfest.
To date code for OSM Releases ONE to TWELVE has been downloaded over 55,000 times from more than 85 countries.
31 EU Projects working on 5G/6G research are using and contributing code and feedback to OSM. The OSM community currently numbers 45 members and 105 participants (150 organizations in total).
OSM Release THIRTEEN is currently scheduled for December 2022.
See OSM Hackfest presentations, demonstrations and talks on the dedicated Open Source MANO YouTube channel.
Learn more about OSM activities at osm.etsi.org