Smart Networks

Novel network architectures and virtualized software networks

Andrea Rossi

Head of BDS-R&D Spain

Mission

Our mission focuses on leading the definition and implementation of novel network management solutions that enable the increase of the overall network performance of what will be next generation networks, 6G. For that purpose, we integrate technologies such as Edge Computing and Artificial Intelligence into network management with specific mechanisms to pursue 3 ultimate objectives: i) improve trust and security in 6G ii) making 6G environmentally sustainable by means of network CO2 emissions reduction iii) provide connectivity solutions for private networks and Mission Critical Systems.

Vision

The work that we perform on networks' advanced technologies will allow us to make the new mobile broadband communications generations a reality through the improvement of EVIDEN portfolio on Telco (5G/6G) Security, Decarbonization and Mission Critical Systems. Besides, it will enable future novel scenarios for use cases in other Vertical Industries (Health, Industry 4.0, etc ) that were previously unthinkable (Holographic communications, Internet of Senses, etc).

Value

Thanks to our long trajectory over the R&D projects in the telecom sector, we offer great expertise in technologies that enable the development of future communications networks, such as Network Virtualization (NFV), AI-based Zero-Touch Management, Open RAN, Network Monitoring and telco-grade cloud-native deployments, among others. This work is being implemented around the following main current software assets:

xNF (Network Function) Trust Framework

xNF-RV - Registry and validation: It provides external repositories functionalities including Storage, Distribution, Validation and Access and Privacy management among xNF vendors in Telco and Cloud Native industries
xNF-SC – Smart Contracts – DLT based system. It contributes to increase the level of trust between network operators that are acquiring xNF resources from software providers by means of smart contact mechanisms. xNF vendors are able to keep track of usage of their software products and support different licensing schemas for them. Besides the network operator is able to know in advance how each xNF has performed in the past or others xNFs of such vendor

Energy Efficiency and Decarbonization

Energy Monitoring Dashboard: Based on open-source energy monitoring tools like Scaphandre, it enables the observability of energy consumption of the components of Kubernetes-based cloud-native applications from individual pods to complete namespaces.
Carbon-aware Metrics Switch: It facilitates a unified view of the carbon footprint of a computing site energy consumption as well as the availability of autonomous energy sources.
Carbon-aware Kubernetes Scheduler: Based on the input from energy monitoring the input from the Carbon-aware Metrics Switch, it enables the optimization of an application´s carbon footprint based on placement algorithms that favor less carbon intense computing resources.

AI-based Network Management framework

it enables the automated deployment of Artificial Intelligence capabilities on (Virtual) Network Functions (NFs) management allowing to perform operations such as alerting or scaling based on more complex metrics leveraging AI/ML algorithms.

This asset is complemented with an optional functionality of an ML framework that facilitates the development and execution of ML algorithms across multiple domains. The ML framework enables the management of the complete lifecycle of ML models, from design and training to deployment in production environments at different domains.
It has been also applied for the optimization of network radio parameters to assist a RAN Intelligent Controller’s near-real-time control-loop within ORAN.