Container technology has rapidly evolved in the last several years, making the Kubernetes ecosystem the most viable set of solutions that can simplify, accelerate and reduce the cost of deploying and operating cloud native network functions. For telecom operators, this is like discovering the missing link that will enable them to achieve the cost savings and service innovation promised all those years ago by the early vision for Network Functions Virtualization (NFV). 

CTO Martin Taylor just published an article in Converge! Network Digest that explains why telecom operators should embrace Kubernetes and make it an integral part of their Network Function Virtualization Infrastructure (NFVI).

Kubernetes is a container orchestration system for automating application deployment, scaling and management. In the parlance of ETSI’s NFV architecture, it performs the roles of the Virtual Infrastructure Manager (VIM) and VNF Manager (VNFM). But it goes well beyond application lifecycle management.

It’s understandable that operators who have built their NFV strategies on virtual machines (VMs) and ETSI’s architecture might loathe the idea of introducing another new concept to an already complex NFVI. But the beauty of Kubernetes is that it can provide a common environment across all types of cloud infrastructures.

In the Kubernetes ecosystem, there is a gem of a project called KubeVirt that provides a way to take an existing VM and run it inside a container. With KubeVirt, you can deploy and manage applications that comprise any arbitrary mix of native container workloads and VM workloads using Kubernetes. The underlying infrastructure can be OpenStack, VMware, bare metal, or any of the main public clouds including Azure, AWS or Google.

In this way, Kubernetes allows us to achieve a unified strategy for NFV that is entirely compelling.

For the full story, please read the original article published in Converge! Network Digest.