SONATA high level architecture

SONATA is a vendor-agnostic MANO platform that fully embraces the flexible programmability of 5G networks and the virtualization of the communication services enabled by Software Defined Networks (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) technologies.

It follows a three-phased approach that covers the three main stages of any network service lifecycle: development, testing and operations. Its flexible architecture consists of three main modules, each of them responsible of each of the above-mentioned phases:

  • Development: An NFV-enabled Service Development Kit (SDK) to support developers in the creation of innovative Virtual Network Functions (VNF) and Network Services (NS).
  • Testing:A Validation and Verification (V&V) Platform with advance mechanisms for the qualification of VNFs and NSs.
  • Operations:A modular Service Platform, with an innovative MANO framework for the agile management of the full lifecycle of the deployed NSs and the use of resources.

These three modules can work either in an integrated or isolated way but, in combination, they realise an extended NFV DevOps model between service developers, telecom operators and vertical industries that increases operational efficiency, fosters collaboration and facilitates the launch of innovative services.

The DevOps vision supported by SONATA aims to maximally support iterations among the development, testing and deployment processes. The feedback produced by the local testing tools might suggest changes in the original implementation, producing a novel setup to be tested. Once all local testing has been satisfactory finalized, more advanced testing against different execution platforms can be performed by the V&V. Again, the results might suggest potential changes in the tested services. Once services have been successfully tested, service operators can be sure that they will behave as expected immediately after they are deployed and put into production.

Key features

Features

  • First integrated approach in the NFV landscape that includes service development, testing and deployment.
  • Invaluable set of tools to support developers in the creation and local testing of services.
  • Automated validation and verification of services over different production-like environments, what ensures that they will behave in a stable, reproducible and expected manner once launched.
  • Innovative MANO framework for the dynamic deployment of services and the efficient management of resources with advanced functionalities such as Network Slicing support, SLA, Policy and licensing management, QoS, VNF migration, on-demand scaling, dynamic network allocation, etc.
  • Support for Cloud-native Network Functions (development, testing and deployment).
  • Flexible architecture and modular design.
  • Customization opportunities depending on customer´s needs, existing assets or future requirements.
  • Openness and multi-vendor compatibility.
  • DevOps model for Telecom that enables the agile management of the whole service lifecycle, increasing productivity and reducing time-to-market.
  • Multi-organizational by design enabling network operators the creation of an ecosystem with external and internal service developers and testers, improving collaboration and a more competitive offering.
  • Compatible with the common existing Virtual Infrastructure Managers (VIM) and Software Defined Networks (SDN) controllers (WAN Infrastructure Managers – WIM) in the market.