Telco cloud assurance on AWS

Challenges

Correlating performance with QoE

The move to cloud-native network functions (CNFs) on AWS and away from purpose-built equipment introduces a new fault domain. Variability in compute performance can lead to changes in customer QoE that are hard to troubleshoot and resolve. Instrumenting and testing network functions is the first step in correlating network performance with the lived customer experience.

Overcoming network complexity

The introduction of cloud-native network functions has resulted in a more dynamic service path, complicating service assurance and troubleshooting. The answer to this newfound complexity is cloud-native EXFO test agents that can be orchestrated alongside network functions running on AWS. Performance data is ingested by a source-agnostic analytics platform.

Ensuring QoE and QoS

Customers are demanding more than ever from their service providers. Ensuring QoE and QoS requires precision performance data across and throughout the network stack. Automated testing and troubleshooting, powered by sophisticated analytics that leverage telecom-specific algorithms, are critical components in cloud-native 5G and private networks.

Deploying private networks and MEC

Private networks and MEC sit outside the traditional network perimeter. Real-time performance data from throughout the tech stack is correlated with AWS CloudWatch telemetry data to provide the “metrics that matter” for managing different AWS infrastructure options, such as Public Cloud, Local Zones, Wavelength for MEC, Outpost, and Snowball.

Change drivers

The transition to cloud-native 5G infrastructure has introduced a new fault domain. The resulting visibility gap hinders the efficient deployment, operation and troubleshooting of 5G networks and services. Compute and cloud observability must be integrated and correlated with network and service monitoring to rapidly isolate, diagnose and resolve customer-impacting performance degradations in cloud-native networks.

Together with AWS, EXFO is restoring visibility onto 5G network performance and QoE.

A new fault domain

Cloud compute performance can be highly variable.
The QoE visibility gap

Ephemeral compute resources break the traditional link between network performance and QoE.
Performance drives revenues

New 5G revenue streams depend on achieving strict performance criteria.

Benefits

Together EXFO and AWS enable service providers to achieve full-stack visibility in ephemeral network and edge compute infrastructure, delivering real-time actionable insights into service QoE and enabling optimal resource management across the family of AWS infrastructure solutions.

Improve infrastructure performance

Combine EXFO’s extensive QoE/QoS KPI test suite with its AI-enabled analytics and AWS capabilities such as EKS orchestration and CloudWatch monitoring to improve cloud-native network performance. Leveraging several core AWS services, the EXFO ASA platform cuts across domains to deliver visibility from core to edge as well as performance segmentation across network elements.

Enhance QoE and customer satisfaction

Correlate cloud-native network performance with QoE to understand the performance variables that ultimately drive customer satisfaction (NPS). Leverage EKS orchestration to rapidly deploy network capacity to meet QoS levels. Combine CloudWatch monitoring with synthetic QoS and QoE test data to better understand how individual cloud resources affect the customer experience.

Optimize 5G cloud deployments

Feed real-time analytics to the network orchestrator, EKS, to drive the instantiation of probes and active test agents, enabling service assurance requirements to adapt as network conditions ebb and flow. EXFO’s analytics also enrich 5G NWDAF use cases, specifically around network performance and service experience.

Migrate with confidence

EXFO solutions accompany service providers as they virtualize their network function stacks and move their 5G core systems to the cloud. In conjunction with AWS capabilities such as EKS orchestration, S3 storage, and CloudWatch monitoring, EXFO enables service providers to migrate 5G networks to the cloud with confidence.