Re: Has virtualization become obsolete in 5G?

[Mark Tinka <mark.tinka () seacom com>]

On 3/Aug/20 08:40, Etienne-Victor Depasquale wrote:

> Is the following extract from this Heavy Reading white paper
> <https://www.infinera.com/wp-content/uploads/HR-Operator-Strategies-for-5G-Transport-July-2020_WP.pdf>,
> useful?
>
> " For transport network slicing, 
> operators strongly prefer soft slicing with virtual private networks
> (VPNs), 
> regardless of the VPN flavor.
> Ranking at the top of the list was Layer 3 VPNs (selected by 66% of
> respondents), 
> but Layer 2 VPNs, Ethernet VPNs (EVPNs), and segment routing 
> also ranked highly at 47%, 46%, and 46%, respectively. 
> The point is underscored by the low preferences among all of the hard
> slicing technologies— 
> those that physically partition resources among slices. 
> Hard slicing options formed the bottom tier among preferences."

Well, it's what I've been saying - we have tried & tested systems and
solutions that are already native to IP/MPLS networks. Why try to
reinvent network virtualization when there are plenty of existing
solutions in the wild for next to cheap? VLAN's. l2vpn's. l3vpn's. EVPN.
DWDM. And all the rest?

The whole fuss, for example, about the GRX vs. IPX all came down to
2Mbps private or public IP-based GTP tunnels vs. 100Mbps l3vpn's.

Mobile operators know how to make everyday protocols seem overly
complicated.

If we go by their nomenclature, the simple operators on this list have
been slicing infrastructure for yonks :-).

Mark.