Open Source MANO (OSM)

Open Source MANO (OSM) is a popular open-source management and orchestration platform for network functions virtualization (NFV). NFV refers to the process of virtualizing network services, such as firewalls and routers, to run on standard computing infrastructure. The aim of OSM is to provide a unified management and orchestration solution that simplifies the deployment of virtualized network functions (VNFs) and network services, while increasing their scalability and agility.

OSM is a collaborative project that is supported by several major players in the networking industry, including Telefónica, Canonical, and Intel. It is designed to work with a wide variety of NFV environments, from small-scale deployments to large, multi-vendor networks. The platform is released under the Apache 2.0 open-source license, which allows users to freely use, modify, and distribute the software.

In this article, we will discuss OSM from a technical perspective. We will look at its architecture, components, and key features.

Architecture

OSM is designed as a modular platform with a layered architecture that separates the various functions and components of the system. The architecture is based on the ETSI NFV architecture, which defines the functional blocks and interfaces of an NFV environment.

At a high level, the OSM architecture consists of three main layers:

1. Infrastructure Layer: This layer includes the physical and virtual resources that are used to host the VNFs. This can include compute, storage, and network resources.
2. Virtualization Layer: This layer includes the software that enables the creation and management of virtualized resources, such as virtual machines and containers. This layer is responsible for abstracting the physical infrastructure and presenting it to the upper layers as a pool of virtual resources.
3. Management and Orchestration Layer: This layer includes the software that is responsible for managing and orchestrating the VNFs and network services. This layer is responsible for tasks such as VNF lifecycle management, service chaining, and network optimization.

The OSM architecture is designed to be flexible and extensible, allowing users to integrate their own components and functions into the system.

Components

OSM is made up of several components that work together to provide a complete NFV management and orchestration solution. These components are designed to be loosely coupled, allowing users to swap out or add new components as needed.

The main components of OSM include:

1. OSM Northbound APIs: These APIs provide a REST-based interface for external systems and applications to interact with OSM. This allows users to create their own management and orchestration applications that can interact with OSM.
2. OSM Southbound APIs: These APIs provide a standardized interface for interacting with the virtualized infrastructure, such as hypervisors, SDN controllers, and VIMs (Virtual Infrastructure Managers).
3. OSM Information Model: This is a data model that describes the various entities and relationships within the NFV environment. It provides a common language for the different components of OSM to communicate with each other.
4. OSM VNF Manager: This component is responsible for managing the lifecycle of VNFs. It can instantiate, scale, heal, and terminate VNFs as needed.
5. OSM Service Orchestrator: This component is responsible for managing the lifecycle of network services. It can create service chains, deploy VNFs, and manage network functions.
6. OSM Resource Orchestrator: This component is responsible for managing the physical and virtual resources that are used to host the VNFs. It can allocate, configure, and monitor resources in the NFV environment.
7. OSM Dashboard: This is a web-based user interface that provides a visual representation of the NFV environment. It allows users to monitor and manage the different components of OSM, such as VNFs and network services.

Key Features

OSM offers several key features that make it a powerful and flexible NFV management and orchestration platform. Some of the key features of OSM include:

1. Multi-VIM Support: OSM supports multiple virtual infrastructure managers (VIMs), which allows it to work with a wide range of virtualized environments.
2. VNF Onboarding: OSM provides a streamlined process for onboarding new VNFs. This includes automated validation and testing to ensure that VNFs are compatible with the NFV environment.
3. Service Chaining: OSM allows users to define and manage service chains, which are sequences of VNFs that are used to provide specific network services.
4. Scalability: OSM is designed to be highly scalable, allowing it to support large-scale NFV deployments with thousands of VNFs.
5. Fault Tolerance: OSM is designed to be fault-tolerant, with built-in mechanisms for automatic recovery and failover.
6. Open Standards: OSM is based on open standards, such as the ETSI NFV architecture and OpenStack, which ensures that it is interoperable with other NFV systems and tools.
7. Extensibility: OSM is designed to be extensible, with an open architecture that allows users to add their own components and functions to the system.

Use Cases

OSM is used in a variety of NFV deployments, ranging from small-scale proofs of concept to large, multi-vendor networks. Some of the common use cases for OSM include:

1. Cloud Service Providers: OSM can be used by cloud service providers to deploy and manage VNFs and network services on their infrastructure.
2. Telecom Operators: OSM can be used by telecom operators to virtualize their network functions, such as firewalls and routers, and to deploy new services more quickly.
3. Enterprises: OSM can be used by enterprises to deploy and manage their own virtualized network functions, such as VPN gateways and firewalls.

Conclusion

Open Source MANO (OSM) is a powerful and flexible open-source management and orchestration platform for NFV. It provides a unified solution for managing and orchestrating VNFs and network services, with a modular architecture that allows users to add their own components and functions to the system.

OSM is based on open standards, and is designed to work with a wide range of NFV environments, from small-scale proofs of concept to large, multi-vendor networks. Its key features include multi-VIM support, VNF onboarding, service chaining, scalability, fault tolerance, and extensibility.