Application Note
The ONF CORD VOLTHA™ and OMCI Virtualization –
Addressing Testing Challenges
Introduction
The CORD™ (Central Office Re-architected as a Datacenter) project, initiated by
ONF, is intended to transform the network operator's central office into an agile
service delivery platform, enabling the operator to deliver the best end-user
experience along with innovative next-generation services.
The CORD platform leverages SDN, NFV and Cloud technologies to provide a
complete integrated platform, with everything needed to create an operational edge
datacenter with built-in service capabilities, all built on commodity hardware using
the latest in cloud-native design principles.
With the increased usage of PON technologies in the access network, CORD has
dedicated significant time and resources to define the architecture of the GPON/XGS-
PON network elements utilizing virtualized OMCI, resulting in VOLTHA™ (Virtual
OLT Hardware Abstraction) as the recommended architecture.
VOLTHA makes the access network look like an abstract programmable switch. It
works with legacy as well as virtualized devices, and can run on the device, on
general purpose servers, or in a virtualized cloud.
VOLTHA Architecture (Source: OpenCORD Wiki)
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Application Note
In the VOLTHA architecture, the OLT can be realized as a "white box", which
handles the optical interface and the MAC layer, while the other OLT functions,
including the OMCI layer, are virtualized.
Along with the benefits that CORD brings to the telecom world, it introduces new
challenges for testing the network and ensuring its quality and its performance. This
document describes some of the testing challenges related to the GPON/XGS-PON
segment in the CORD environment and presents new approaches for addressing them.
VOLTHA and OMCI Virtualization – Goals and Benefits
One of the main goals of the OMCI virtualization is to simplify the ONU selection for
the service provider by resolving the interoperability problems that are common to
traditional OLTs and ONUs.
These interoperability problems are most commonly caused by OMCI, due to
differences in the OMCI implementations of different vendors and different models.
OMCI virtualization resolves this by decoupling the OMCI software from the OLT
and moving it to the cloud, thus allowing multiple versions of OMCI to run in
parallel.
Virtualized OLT with Virtualized OMCI – Multiple Versions of OMCI Run in Parallel
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Application Note
The cloud-based management software “knows” which OMCI stack to use for which
ONU, and when an ONU registers on the PON, this software “pushes” the right
OMCI stack for this ONU to the virtualized OLT based on its vendor ID, S/N and
registration ID. Thanks to this, service providers can choose any ONU from any
vendor, upload its OMCI configuration file into the cloud and by this ensure its
interoperability with the OLT.
VOLTHA and OMCI Virtualization – Testing Challenges
While the VOLTHA architecture brings significant benefits for service providers, it
also introduces new challenges to them:
The virtualized OLT supporting multiple versions of OMCI in parallel is a totally
new function with a variety of complexities. Thus, verifying its proper operation
requires extensive testing, including the development of new testing
methodologies and approaches.
The integration of the white box OLT hardware and MAC layer with the
virtualized OLT functions from different sources and different vendors very often
introduces new interoperability problems – at least in their early phases of
integration.
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Application Note
Addressing the Testing Challenges with TraceSpan's Solutions
TraceSpan offers a family of advanced testing solutions to address the challenge
involved with OLT virtualization, enhance the testing coverage of this new
architecture and simplify its testing. These solutions include the Multi-ONU Emulator
and the GPON Xpert and NG-PON Xpert analyzers and OLT Emulators.
The Multi-ONU Emulator introduces a new unique and revolutionary approach for
testing of OLTs. It can emulate hundreds of ONUs in a single compact box, each of
which can be individually configured to behave like an ONU of a specific vendor and
model. Furthermore, each of the emulated ONUs can be specified to have its own
OMCI configuration file, making it especially valuable for testing a virtualized OLT.
Multi-ONU Emulator Configuration Screen – Allows Individual Configuration of Each
ONU Vendor, S/N, Registration ID and OMCI Configuration File
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Application Note
The GPON Xpert™ and NG-PON Xpert™ analyzers can help in troubleshooting of
interoperability issues and isolate their root cause, and thus in the virtualized
architecture can pinpoint the element that is causing the issues.
Typical causes of interoperability issues are the use of vendor-specific MEs by the
OLT, the use of optional MEs that the ONU doesn't support, and mismatch between
the VLANs and priority bits defined in OMCI with the actual traffic coming into the
ONU.
The GPON Xpert and NG-PON Xpert have a variety of tools to troubleshoot such
issues, including the unique upper layer analysis module and the extensive OMCI
analysis capabilities. Among others, they can present the details of the OMCI protocol
that the virtual OLT is using with each ONU, including its OMCC version, the MEs
that it supports and their attributes, as well as the details of vendor-specific MEs that
the OLT is trying to configure.
GPON Xpert/NG-PON Xpert Present the OMCC Version, Supported MEs and Vendor-
Specific MEs Individually for Every ONU
TraceSpan's OLT Emulators can be used for testing the ONU as a stand-alone unit,
and by doing so isolate issues of the ONU from those of the virtualized OLT. Among
others, their unique OMCI playback feature allows emulation of the virtualized OLT
by recording its OMCI messages and then playing them back with the OLT Emulator.
More details about each of these products and their applications are described in
separate documents that can be provided upon request.
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Application Note
Summary
TraceSpan's Multi-ONU Emulator introduces a new revolutionary approach for
testing an OLT, with unique benefits related to a virtualized OLT. It enhances the
testing coverage of OLTs with additional functionalities and ensures repeatability in
test scenarios, while significantly simplifying the test setups.
The GPON/NG-PON Xpert OLT Emulators, combined with the best-in-class PON
analyzers, provide complete cost-effective and integrative testing tools for PON
equipment and networks. They address the need for testing an ONU on a stand-alone
basis, as well as for end-to-end testing of the virtualized PON. This prevents finger
pointing between vendors and significantly speeds up the process of getting
virtualized OLTs and ONUs to work together.
TraceSpan™ Communications Contact Information
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: www.tracespan.com
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