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Open RAN SRV mid-point review.pdf

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Andy Jones
Andy Jones

The document discusses the need for an independent System Release Validation (SRV) process for Open RAN in order to accelerate adoption. It notes that major vendors currently validate full RAN systems before release but that this responsibility is unclear in the disaggregated Open RAN ecosystem. The UK Telecom Lab (UKTL) is proposed to provide "SRV-as-a-Service" to address this gap by restoring efficiency through a "test once, deploy many times" approach. A pilot SRV project in 2020 identified issues across vendors and demonstrated that centralized testing through UKTL could accelerate Open RAN readiness and reduce costs.

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Open RAN System Release Validation Interim Review 10th June 2021
Scope of this Research ? Explain the reasons why Open RAN needs an independent System Release Validation (SRV) process in order to accelerate market readiness and confidence to stimulate widespread adoption ? Identify and articulate the current gap in the Open RAN ecosystem that SRV addresses and the reasons why SRV for Open RAN is not happening today ? Set out what¡¯s needed in terms of an SRV process in order to address that gap and why UKTL could become a viable entity to fulfil the provision of ¡°SRV-as-a-Service (SRVaaS)" for the telecom industry ? Identify any potentially required liaison agreements with other national or international bodies e.g. TIP, O-RAN Alliance, OTIC etc to ensure UKTL¡¯s SRVaaS offering remains relevant as the market evolves
Problem Statement: Disaggregation disrupts traditional supply chain efficiencies ? Major incumbent vendors have >100 years of system engineering experience ? They are masters in the art of System Release Management ? Full RAN system is validated once at ¡°goods out¡± for every major release ? Both functionality and performance are validated ? Who will take this responsibility in the new disaggregated Open RAN ecosystem? 1919 1939 1969
Current scope of SONIC + UKTL 9.0 or a Perfect Ten? De?ni&on of TRL 10*: ¡°Use of the technology in a recurrent manner as part of a tested, validated and use-cer9?ed system with characterized and acceptable levels of unplanned troubleshoo9ng and repair required. This TRL includes upgrades and re?nements to improve the func9onality of the opera9ng system, repair latent defects and reduce troubleshoo9ng and repair requirements. ¡° * ¡°In search of technology readiness level (TRL) 10¡± Jeremy Straub, Department of Computer Science, University of North Dakota Aerospace Science and Technology Volume 46, October¨CNovember 2015, Pages 312-320
Open RAN SRV mid-point review.pdf
Open RAN System Release Validation as a Service ? Restoring the natural efficiency of a holistic system ? Enabling ¡°Test Once, Deploy Many Times¡±
SRV Pilot successfully concluded in Q1¡¯20 Scope Duration Result Conclusion 3 RAN vendors 16 weeks 56 issues found & fixed in timely manner 60% faster to test a release centrally with SRV, vs per operator 45 test cases 4 weeks actual test execution Details are under NDA between Pilot participants Creates confidence in functional, performance and operational capability of a specific combination of OpenRAN products, combined into a full, deployable RAN system €1.8Bn Operator TCO cost reduction over 5 years >60% reduction in Testing Effort 1 year acceleration in OpenRAN market readiness $3.4Bn (45%) increase in OpenRAN vendor revenue over 5 years Secure OpenRAN deployment in 5G investment window Market Impact Forecast:
How do we execute on SRV? Build Buy Partner & Franchise Pros ? Retain full control ? Retain full control ? Scale fast & globally ? Specialist skills available ? Low risk Cons ? High cost, delayed launch ? Required skills are extremely rare = launch delay ? Slow to scale ? Upfront cost ? Difficult to scale globally ? TIP overhead to select & integrate supplier ? Looser control (mitigated by franchise model) Recommended Approach ? Network of 3rd party test houses with specific domain expertise ? TIP retains control and ownership of intellectual assets ? Offers TIP an opportunity to test the partnership & franchise model, then scale Examples of potential partners:
SRV-as-a-Service Business model TIP PG roadmaps (directed by Tech Committee) TIP Testing & Validation TIP OpenRAN Annual Releases R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 TIP OpenRAN Members OpenRAN Operators OpenRAN Vendors - Baseband - Radio TIP Community Lab TIP SRV Product test against Release ref design E2E Interop CL Badged OpenRAN vendors TIP Plugfest Per Release Test cycles for each Vendor permutation R1 Rn SRV-Badged OpenRAN Vendor permutations Operator beneficiaries Access Backhaul Core & Management Blueprint Badged OpenRAN vendors
Open RAN SRV mid-point review.pdf
Open RAN SRV mid-point review.pdf
System Release Valida-on iden-?ed but s-ll not being addressed ?
1. Need Recognition 2. Need Definition 4. Supplier Identification 3. Solution Specification 5. Proposal Solicitation 7. Negotiate Order & Contract 6. Supplier Selection 8. Performance Review RFI stage RFP stage Typical MNO Stakeholders within the telecom equipment procurement cycle Standardisation Expert Strategy & Architecture Director Domain Head of Strategy & Architecture Domain Architect Head of Industry Rela=ons & Standards R&D Director Responsible Accountable Consulted Informed Domain Head of Strategy & Architecture Domain Architect Domain Head of Procurement Category Manager Head of Central Operations Head of Regional/Field Ops Operations Director Domain Head of Engineering Domain Engineering Expert Standardisation Expert Opera=ons Director Strategy & Architecture Director Domain Head of Engineering Domain Head of Procurement Category Manager Head of Central Operations Head of Regional/Field Ops Domain Head of Engineering Domain Engineering Expert Engineering Director Operations Director Engineering Director Network Procurement Director Based on Kotler, P. & Keller, K.L. (2007) Product Marketing Director Head of Product Management Product Manager Product Manager Product Manager Chief Marketing Officer Chief Technology Officer [Excerpt from Stakeholders and Behaviours in Telecom Equipment Procurement, Jonesthefone Consulting and MightyWaters]
Typical attitudes towards risk within the telecom equipment procurement cycle Strategy & Architecture Director Chief Technology O?cer Domain Head of Strategy & Architecture Engineering Director Domain Head of Engineering R&D Director Head of Industry Relations & Standards Domain Engineering Expert Domain Architect Resistive Evangelist Receptive Evaluate Approve Specify Advocate Accept & Use Re- commend Attitudes towards supply chain diversification: Roles in the procurement process: Operations Director Head of Central Operations Head of Regional/Field Ops Chief Procurement Officer Network Procurement Director Domain Head of Procurement Category Manager Standardisation Expert Network Operation Centre Shift Leader Domain Field Operations Team Leader Receptive to new technologies Resistive to new vendors Insulated from Operations¡¯ objections Well-defined processes for status quo Fear of ¡°selling¡± change to Operations Procurement do not have streamlined processes or commercial leniency to nurture new vendors PercepCon of Dependency Risk is not percolated down the org Company Risk dominates Buyer Risk dominates Favours short-term stability over long-term viability Favours long-term viability over short- term stability Chief Marketing Officer Product Marketing Director Head of Product Management Product Manager [Excerpt from Stakeholders and Behaviours in Telecom Equipment Procurement, Jonesthefone Consulting and MightyWaters]
UKTL¡¯s Role and Purpose within the Ecosystem The UKTL¡¯s purpose is ¡°security-first¡± but its remit is broader than that. Implicit within its ¡°build and connect¡± mission, the UKTL will connect existing disparate capabilities into a holistic capability for the UK Telecom sector. This has the further implication that the scope is not limited to security, since the nature of those existing capabilities is not limited to security, but already extends to other aspects of investigation, research and testing. Furthermore, in describing the UKTL¡¯s remit as ¡°security-first¡±, the definition of ¡°security¡± should not be limited to a narrow focus on ¡°cyber¡±, but instead should extend to become a ¡°zero trust model¡± encompassing many orthogonal non-functional requirements into a far broader definition of security as it relates both to the UK¡¯s legacy telecom networks and to emerging telecom technologies in light of the fact that these constitute a significant portion of the UK¡¯s national critical infrastructure. These other dimensions to security include - but need not be limited to - the availability; reliability; longevity; vendor viability; maintainability; scalability; performance; ability to meet investigatory obligations. Meanwhile, the UKTL will also play a pivotal role in delivering outcomes to realise the UK Telecom Supply Chain Diversification agenda, not least because diversification is a major enabler for the broader definition of security outlined above. There remain significant capability gaps ¨C both nationally and internationally ¨C that will hamper the adoption of diversification initiatives such as Open RAN. The UKTL can leverage its ¡°hub¡± role to address these gaps, thereby accelerating market readiness ¨C particularly in the fields of disaggregation (multi-vendor interoperability) and reaggregation (system release validation). [Excerpt from UKTL Target State Blueprint, Section 6.]
UKTL¡¯s Role and Purpose within the Ecosystem ¨C with respect to SRV Level 1 Services Pre-deployment Evaluation Methodology Guidance Level 1 Service Description This service provides creation, maintenance, quality assurance, recording of pre-deployment evaluation specifications and methodologies. It also provides best practice advice and expertise related to these specifications and methods. ? UKTL provides leadership and stewardship of the test specification for System Release Validation (SRV), which is the process organisations can use to conduct a pre-deployment evaluation of new components. ? UKTL will monitor SRV practices and issues at regular intervals, in order to update guidance and specifications Outputs ? Pre-deployment evaluation specifications ? Pre-deployment evaluation methods & advice Features & Assumptions ? The UKTL will NOT provide SRV/pre-deployment evaluation of telecoms components ? Pre-deployment evaluations will be conducted by a range of organisations within the UK telecoms ecosystem Dependencies, Notes & Comments ? Dependent on staff with relevant skills being recruited and onboarded at suitable rate ? Expectation that SRV will function like a franchise model across the UK telecoms ecosystem [Excerpt from UKTL Services Catalogue v0.6, dated 2021.03.29]
The UKTL Partner Ecosystem The Telecom Partner Ecosystem will consist of the following constituencies: Telecom operators Telecom equipment vendors Regulator - Ofcom NCSC Test equipment manufacturers and distributors System Integrators Specialist test houses Ethical hackers Existing UK Testbeds and Trials Academia Industry bodies ¨C TIP, O-RAN Alliance, GSMA etc Standards organisations ¨C 3GPP, ETSI etc International partners ¨C other national governments, regulators, EU, FVEY, NATO etc Vitally important to aggregate scale of demand internationally to restore natural efficiency within the supply chain

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Open RAN SRV mid-point review.pdf

  • 1. Open RAN System Release Validation Interim Review 10th June 2021
  • 2. Scope of this Research ? Explain the reasons why Open RAN needs an independent System Release Validation (SRV) process in order to accelerate market readiness and confidence to stimulate widespread adoption ? Identify and articulate the current gap in the Open RAN ecosystem that SRV addresses and the reasons why SRV for Open RAN is not happening today ? Set out what¡¯s needed in terms of an SRV process in order to address that gap and why UKTL could become a viable entity to fulfil the provision of ¡°SRV-as-a-Service (SRVaaS)" for the telecom industry ? Identify any potentially required liaison agreements with other national or international bodies e.g. TIP, O-RAN Alliance, OTIC etc to ensure UKTL¡¯s SRVaaS offering remains relevant as the market evolves
  • 3. Problem Statement: Disaggregation disrupts traditional supply chain efficiencies ? Major incumbent vendors have >100 years of system engineering experience ? They are masters in the art of System Release Management ? Full RAN system is validated once at ¡°goods out¡± for every major release ? Both functionality and performance are validated ? Who will take this responsibility in the new disaggregated Open RAN ecosystem? 1919 1939 1969
  • 4. Current scope of SONIC + UKTL 9.0 or a Perfect Ten? De?ni&on of TRL 10*: ¡°Use of the technology in a recurrent manner as part of a tested, validated and use-cer9?ed system with characterized and acceptable levels of unplanned troubleshoo9ng and repair required. This TRL includes upgrades and re?nements to improve the func9onality of the opera9ng system, repair latent defects and reduce troubleshoo9ng and repair requirements. ¡° * ¡°In search of technology readiness level (TRL) 10¡± Jeremy Straub, Department of Computer Science, University of North Dakota Aerospace Science and Technology Volume 46, October¨CNovember 2015, Pages 312-320
  • 6. Open RAN System Release Validation as a Service ? Restoring the natural efficiency of a holistic system ? Enabling ¡°Test Once, Deploy Many Times¡±
  • 7. SRV Pilot successfully concluded in Q1¡¯20 Scope Duration Result Conclusion 3 RAN vendors 16 weeks 56 issues found & fixed in timely manner 60% faster to test a release centrally with SRV, vs per operator 45 test cases 4 weeks actual test execution Details are under NDA between Pilot participants Creates confidence in functional, performance and operational capability of a specific combination of OpenRAN products, combined into a full, deployable RAN system €1.8Bn Operator TCO cost reduction over 5 years >60% reduction in Testing Effort 1 year acceleration in OpenRAN market readiness $3.4Bn (45%) increase in OpenRAN vendor revenue over 5 years Secure OpenRAN deployment in 5G investment window Market Impact Forecast:
  • 8. How do we execute on SRV? Build Buy Partner & Franchise Pros ? Retain full control ? Retain full control ? Scale fast & globally ? Specialist skills available ? Low risk Cons ? High cost, delayed launch ? Required skills are extremely rare = launch delay ? Slow to scale ? Upfront cost ? Difficult to scale globally ? TIP overhead to select & integrate supplier ? Looser control (mitigated by franchise model) Recommended Approach ? Network of 3rd party test houses with specific domain expertise ? TIP retains control and ownership of intellectual assets ? Offers TIP an opportunity to test the partnership & franchise model, then scale Examples of potential partners:
  • 9. SRV-as-a-Service Business model TIP PG roadmaps (directed by Tech Committee) TIP Testing & Validation TIP OpenRAN Annual Releases R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 TIP OpenRAN Members OpenRAN Operators OpenRAN Vendors - Baseband - Radio TIP Community Lab TIP SRV Product test against Release ref design E2E Interop CL Badged OpenRAN vendors TIP Plugfest Per Release Test cycles for each Vendor permutation R1 Rn SRV-Badged OpenRAN Vendor permutations Operator beneficiaries Access Backhaul Core & Management Blueprint Badged OpenRAN vendors
  • 12. System Release Valida-on iden-?ed but s-ll not being addressed ?
  • 13. 1. Need Recognition 2. Need Definition 4. Supplier Identification 3. Solution Specification 5. Proposal Solicitation 7. Negotiate Order & Contract 6. Supplier Selection 8. Performance Review RFI stage RFP stage Typical MNO Stakeholders within the telecom equipment procurement cycle Standardisation Expert Strategy & Architecture Director Domain Head of Strategy & Architecture Domain Architect Head of Industry Rela=ons & Standards R&D Director Responsible Accountable Consulted Informed Domain Head of Strategy & Architecture Domain Architect Domain Head of Procurement Category Manager Head of Central Operations Head of Regional/Field Ops Operations Director Domain Head of Engineering Domain Engineering Expert Standardisation Expert Opera=ons Director Strategy & Architecture Director Domain Head of Engineering Domain Head of Procurement Category Manager Head of Central Operations Head of Regional/Field Ops Domain Head of Engineering Domain Engineering Expert Engineering Director Operations Director Engineering Director Network Procurement Director Based on Kotler, P. & Keller, K.L. (2007) Product Marketing Director Head of Product Management Product Manager Product Manager Product Manager Chief Marketing Officer Chief Technology Officer [Excerpt from Stakeholders and Behaviours in Telecom Equipment Procurement, Jonesthefone Consulting and MightyWaters]
  • 14. Typical attitudes towards risk within the telecom equipment procurement cycle Strategy & Architecture Director Chief Technology O?cer Domain Head of Strategy & Architecture Engineering Director Domain Head of Engineering R&D Director Head of Industry Relations & Standards Domain Engineering Expert Domain Architect Resistive Evangelist Receptive Evaluate Approve Specify Advocate Accept & Use Re- commend Attitudes towards supply chain diversification: Roles in the procurement process: Operations Director Head of Central Operations Head of Regional/Field Ops Chief Procurement Officer Network Procurement Director Domain Head of Procurement Category Manager Standardisation Expert Network Operation Centre Shift Leader Domain Field Operations Team Leader Receptive to new technologies Resistive to new vendors Insulated from Operations¡¯ objections Well-defined processes for status quo Fear of ¡°selling¡± change to Operations Procurement do not have streamlined processes or commercial leniency to nurture new vendors PercepCon of Dependency Risk is not percolated down the org Company Risk dominates Buyer Risk dominates Favours short-term stability over long-term viability Favours long-term viability over short- term stability Chief Marketing Officer Product Marketing Director Head of Product Management Product Manager [Excerpt from Stakeholders and Behaviours in Telecom Equipment Procurement, Jonesthefone Consulting and MightyWaters]
  • 15. UKTL¡¯s Role and Purpose within the Ecosystem The UKTL¡¯s purpose is ¡°security-first¡± but its remit is broader than that. Implicit within its ¡°build and connect¡± mission, the UKTL will connect existing disparate capabilities into a holistic capability for the UK Telecom sector. This has the further implication that the scope is not limited to security, since the nature of those existing capabilities is not limited to security, but already extends to other aspects of investigation, research and testing. Furthermore, in describing the UKTL¡¯s remit as ¡°security-first¡±, the definition of ¡°security¡± should not be limited to a narrow focus on ¡°cyber¡±, but instead should extend to become a ¡°zero trust model¡± encompassing many orthogonal non-functional requirements into a far broader definition of security as it relates both to the UK¡¯s legacy telecom networks and to emerging telecom technologies in light of the fact that these constitute a significant portion of the UK¡¯s national critical infrastructure. These other dimensions to security include - but need not be limited to - the availability; reliability; longevity; vendor viability; maintainability; scalability; performance; ability to meet investigatory obligations. Meanwhile, the UKTL will also play a pivotal role in delivering outcomes to realise the UK Telecom Supply Chain Diversification agenda, not least because diversification is a major enabler for the broader definition of security outlined above. There remain significant capability gaps ¨C both nationally and internationally ¨C that will hamper the adoption of diversification initiatives such as Open RAN. The UKTL can leverage its ¡°hub¡± role to address these gaps, thereby accelerating market readiness ¨C particularly in the fields of disaggregation (multi-vendor interoperability) and reaggregation (system release validation). [Excerpt from UKTL Target State Blueprint, Section 6.]
  • 16. UKTL¡¯s Role and Purpose within the Ecosystem ¨C with respect to SRV Level 1 Services Pre-deployment Evaluation Methodology Guidance Level 1 Service Description This service provides creation, maintenance, quality assurance, recording of pre-deployment evaluation specifications and methodologies. It also provides best practice advice and expertise related to these specifications and methods. ? UKTL provides leadership and stewardship of the test specification for System Release Validation (SRV), which is the process organisations can use to conduct a pre-deployment evaluation of new components. ? UKTL will monitor SRV practices and issues at regular intervals, in order to update guidance and specifications Outputs ? Pre-deployment evaluation specifications ? Pre-deployment evaluation methods & advice Features & Assumptions ? The UKTL will NOT provide SRV/pre-deployment evaluation of telecoms components ? Pre-deployment evaluations will be conducted by a range of organisations within the UK telecoms ecosystem Dependencies, Notes & Comments ? Dependent on staff with relevant skills being recruited and onboarded at suitable rate ? Expectation that SRV will function like a franchise model across the UK telecoms ecosystem [Excerpt from UKTL Services Catalogue v0.6, dated 2021.03.29]
  • 17. The UKTL Partner Ecosystem The Telecom Partner Ecosystem will consist of the following constituencies: Telecom operators Telecom equipment vendors Regulator - Ofcom NCSC Test equipment manufacturers and distributors System Integrators Specialist test houses Ethical hackers Existing UK Testbeds and Trials Academia Industry bodies ¨C TIP, O-RAN Alliance, GSMA etc Standards organisations ¨C 3GPP, ETSI etc International partners ¨C other national governments, regulators, EU, FVEY, NATO etc Vitally important to aggregate scale of demand internationally to restore natural efficiency within the supply chain