Verizon and Ericsson have introduced their joint cloud native, container-based technology, which can be found on the core of Verizon’s active network.
The trial took place in Hillsboro, Oregon. It was the first container-based wireless Evolved Packet Core technology deployment in a live network in the world, the companies said. It is designed to introduce a more efficient way to deliver operational applications that run the network. It reportedly will also enable deployment at scale for new services in 4G and 5G.
“The pace of technological advancement is rapid and is exponentially increasing. By evolving our core network past simply using virtualized machines and instead changing our underlying software architecture to run on cloud- native technology, we are able to achieve new levels of operational automation, flexibility and adaptability,” said Bill Stone, VP, Technology Development and Planning, Verizon.
Cloud-native virtualization with built-in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI-ML) will enable dynamic allocation of the appropriate resources and automated network configuration changes. These resources and changes include the ability to scale up or scale down network function capacity to provide the right service levels and network resources needed for each use case.
“The industry’s evolution to cloud native means big changes ahead. Ericsson is leading the industry when it comes to driving cloud-native design in order to bring the agility needed to manage workloads dynamically at the edge required for many new 5G use cases. Now together with Verizon, we are demonstrating how cloud native EPC can be an important step in increasing efficiency and utilization of the cloud infrastructure,” said Nils Viklund, head, Solution Area Packet Core, Ericsson.
The deployment was conducted on Verizon’s commercial network, using Ericsson Packet Core Controller deployed as a cloud-native and microservice-based Mobility Management Entity (MME) in an existing pool. The software used leverages docker images and helm charts, with expected updates on the software from Ericsson every two weeks.
Chrissie Cluney has been a correspondent for IoT Evolution World since 2015. She holds a degree in English with a concentration in writing from the College of Saint Elizabeth.Edited by
Ken Briodagh
