OPEN SOURCE GROUP TERAFLOWSDN (OSG TFS) Activity Report 2023
Chair: Ricard Vilalta, CTTC
Developing an open source cloud native SDN controller enabling smart connectivity services for future networks beyond 5G.
An ETSI-hosted initiative based on the TeraFlow research project funded by the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 Programme, Open Source Group TeraFlowSDN (OSG TFS) defines a framework for the development of a cloud-native SDN controller for high-capacity multi-technology and multi-layer networks, aimed at supporting future networks beyond 5G.
Built on a cloud-native micro-services architecture, TeraFlowSDN provides a ‘toolbox’ for research projects and ETSI groups working on network transformation to experiment with new features for flow aggregation, management, network equipment integration, AI/ML based security, and forensic evidence for multi-tenancy.
Supporting use cases such as autonomous networks and cybersecurity, TFS will help service providers and telecommunication operators to meet the challenges of future networks. Software developed by OSG TFS will also be a valuable tool for other ETSI groups working on network transformation, enabling the alignment of goals and helping to accelerate standardization cycles.
TeraFlowSDN Release 2 was delivered in February 2023. It offers improved scalability and resilience of the controller and new workflows for network automation, such as L3VPN establishment with SLA, multi-layer topology discovery, service Access Control List (ACL), service restoration, service location-awareness, traffic engineering, slice SLA enforcement, slice grouping, forecasting, inter-domain slice SLA enforcement, inter-domain connectivity provisioning and SLA enforcement using DLT, and energy-aware network service placement.
Delivered in July 2023, TeraFlowSDN Release 2.1 incorporates substantial improvements to increase alignment with operators' requirements concerning network controllability, management, and support. It also features a number of bug fixes and security enhancements.
TFS works closely with the Telecom Infrastructure Project (TIP) to position TeraFlowSDN as a reference implementation of the TIP MUST (Mandatory Use Case Requirements for SDN for Transport) Requirements. Announced in September, the White Paper ‘ETSI TeraFlowSDN Alignment With TIP OOPT MUST Requirements’ analyzes the support in TeraFlowSDN of essential requirements for SDN control of transport networks, as defined by the Telecom Infra Project's Open Optical & Packet Transport (OOPT) group.
Under development in collaboration with ETSI ISG MEC, a PoC (proof of concept) ‘Network resource allocation for Gaming using MEC BandWidth Management (BWM) service and TeraFlowSDN’ investigates how BWM allows applications to allocate specific amounts of bandwidth to gaming applications, while TeraFlowSDN allows management and control of traffic flows to improve the gaming experience for users. A PoC report is anticipated by the end of 2024. It is also present in ETSI ISG ZSM PoC ‘Building Cloud AR/VR Service on CAMARA by Using ZSM Framework’, which demonstrates the possibility of building a cloud-based AR/VR service on CAMARA platform using the ZSM framework. It also contributes to ETSI ISG F5G PoC ‘End-to-end Management and Control for Building Cloud AR/VR Service’ that demonstrates the feasibility of deploying an end-to-end management and control system (defined in F5G‑006/F5G‑027) for a F5G network architecture composed of an optical access network segment and an optical transport network segment (F5G‑014) to deploy a Cloud AR/VR gaming use-case (F5G‑008/F5G‑018).
The 2nd TFS Hackfest was held on 20‑21 June 2023 during the IEEE NetSoft Conference in Madrid, Spain.
ETSI's Centre for Testing and Interoperability (CTI) and the TeraFlowSDN Community organized the 3rd TFS Hackfest held on 16‑17 October, together with the TFS Ecosystem Day on 18 October. Co‑located with the TFS Plenary meeting, the events were hosted at the headquarters of CTTC in Castelldefels, Barcelona.
A webinar presenting an overview of TeraFlowSDN Release 2 was held on 13 February 2023.
TeraFlowSDN source code is publicly available under the Apache Software Licence 2.0 for download and installation at https://labs.etsi.org/rep/tfs/controller.
Find out more at https://tfs.etsi.org/.