Nephio Community Advances Cloud Native Automation With Release 2, Across Multi-Cloud, Multi-Domain, Multi-Vendor Ecosystems

• Linux Foundation’s Nephio project sees 40% yearly increase in contributors, enhancing cloud native network implementation.
• Nephio Release 2 builds upon the success of Release 1, offering enhanced multi-vendor, multi-cloud, and additional cloud native automation capabilities across Cloud, RAN and Packet core domains. 
• R2 further builds on cloud native intent-based automation using Kubernetes, boosting telecom network deployment and efficiency.

SAN FRANCISCO – February 22, 2024 – Project Nephio, an open source initiative of partners across the telecommunications industry working towards true cloud native automation announced the availability of its Release 2 (R2). Project Nephio is a graduated project under the Linux Foundation Networking. Nephio R2 introduces significant improvements in the deployment, life cycle management, and scaling of telecom cloud infrastructure and network functions, leveraging advanced Kubernetes cloud native technologies and intent-based automation.

Established in 2022 as a collaborative project between the Linux Foundation, Google Cloud, and other industry partners, Nephio delivers carrier-grade, simple, open, Kubernetes-based cloud native intent automation and common automation templates that materially simplify the deployment and management of multi-vendor cloud infrastructure and network functions across large-scale edge deployments. It brings zero-touch provisioning of cloud infrastructure and network functions, which can offer increased network availability and resiliency while reducing maintenance downtime.

“Nephio’s growth and continued advancements in enabling telecoms to reach true cloud native automation is astounding,” said Arpit Joshipura, general manager, Networking, Edge, and IoT at the Linux Foundation. “The success of R1 last year provided a strong foundation for even more improvements in efficiency and scalability that’s available in R2. We are eager to see more deployments as organizations embrace open source to more fully automate their networks.”

Building on the core automation of Nephio Release 1, Nephio R2 advances with a focus on automating Radio Access Network (RAN) and multi-cloud automation framework. The new release introduces Kubernetes-based cloud native intent automation and new templates, simplifying deployment and management of multi-vendor cloud infrastructure. Emphasizing zero-touch provisioning, R2 aims to enhance network availability and resilience, reducing downtime. R2 further extends Release 1‘s foundation, addressing telecom network complexities and enhancing efficiency, particularly in RAN automation.

To accommodate Nephio's rapid growth and innovation, the community has created "nephio-experimental" projects to quickly test out additional use cases and technology that allows for clear differentiation between stable, supported code and experimental developments. This strategic initiative ensures that the main Nephio code base remains streamlined and trustworthy, fostering a framework that is conducive to rapid growth and pioneering innovation within the community. Additionally, a Security Special Interest Group (SIG) has been formed, and the community is collaborating with OpenSSF to provide enhanced open source security best practices. 

“The Nephio community's swift journey from concept to multiple releases, coupled with extensive vendor product integration and accelerating telecom adoption, is a remarkable achievement. Nephio's intent-based automation represents a fundamental shift in infrastructure management, unlocking the potential for AI-driven innovation” said Kandan Kathirvel, TSC chair, Nephio.

Release 2 Highlights:

• Strengthened interoperability with enhanced multi-vendor and multi-cloud support for flexible telecom solutions.
• Expanded end-to-end cloud native automation with Open Air Interface (OAI) 5G core and RAN components 
• Integration with the latest release of Porch, ensuring improved stability and security in deployments.

New Feature Details:

• Introduction of API changes for better customization and efficiency.
• Improvements to the sandbox environment and expanded support for Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and OpenShift.
• Deployment of OAI 5G core and RAN (CU and DU) NFs via Python-based operators.
• Enhanced stability and security in deployments, alongside repository watcher changes with Porch integration.
• Improved methods for documentation generation, offering clearer guidance.
• Experimental features such as the Nephio SDK, flux-based deployment of Helm charts, Helm-to-operator converter, and a topology controller with a northbound API.

More information on the R2 release can be found in the documentation.

Since its launch in April 2022 in partnership with Google Cloud, cloud, telecom and network function providers have embraced Nephio by expanding the seed code provided by Google Cloud to deliver R2 and R1. The community is further committed to enhance Nephio with additional use cases in future releases.

Attend ONE Summit

Join Nephio at the ONE Summit 2024 in San Jose from April 29 to May 1, to explore the forefront of cloud native networking. As a key project under LF Networking, Nephio is featured on the event agenda, sharing insights on 5G core management, Gen AI integration, autonomous network orchestration, and more. ONE Summit, organized by LF Networking, is a prime opportunity for learning about advancements in AI, open innovation, network security, and real-world applications in telecom and edge computing. Register now and be part of this industry-leading event.

Resources:

• Supporting quotes
• Nephio R2 Blog Post
• Nephio R2 Documentation