OREANDA-NEWS. March 28, 2016. Fujitsu today announced that it has supported the development of NTT DOCOMO, INC.'s mobile core network system which employs virtualization technology. DOCOMO launched the network commercially on March 9, 2016.

Specifically, Fujitsu used an SDN solution to build a network in a virtual environment, and integrated VNFM software(1), which manages the lifecycle of EPC(2), a software that carries out data transmission and reception, user authentication, billing, and other functions.

With its experience and expertise cultivated in building wide area networks, Fujitsu will continue to contribute to DOCOMO's new virtualized environment going forward, through initiatives that include enhancing communications reliability and the quick provisioning of new services, while also contributing to the development of a next-generation network.

Background

In the past, adding servers or network devices to wide area networks, as well as modifying applications, or providing new services had been a complicated task to change network settings and configuration, and required large-scale work.

Recently, network virtualization is attracting attention for enabling highly flexible scalability, high reliability, and investment optimization through the application of virtualization technologies to wide area networks and the virtualization of computer and network resources. By applying virtualization technologies, DOCOMO is launching new services, strengthening the continuity of communication services, and improving the reliability of connections in congested network environments caused by disasters, in pursuit of higher quality communications.

Mobile Core Network System Construction Support

1. Building a carrier-grade virtual network environment

Using its many years of experience and expertise in integrating large-scale networks, Fujitsu is contributing to the building of a virtualized network that connects to an orchestrator(3) and fulfills the strict quality requirements of a carrier network.

Using Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI)(4), Cisco Systems G.K.'s next generation SDN solution, this system enabled the fast and easy construction of a virtual network on top of a physical network, by automatically setting complex structural definitions for large volumes of network devices.

2. Providing VNFM software for the virtualization platform

Fujitsu used Nokia's VNFM software to manage the EPC software and integrated the VNFM software into the multi-vendor-environment based virtualized platform. Fujitsu will work toward further contributions to building DOCOMO's network using virtualization technology, through the deployment of EPC software, which has the flexibility and scalability to respond to processing performance and load conditions.

Future Developments

Fujitsu is working to create global services, relevant both in and outside of Japan, by introducing to enterprise and datacenter networks the high-quality, carrier-grade virtual networks it has developed through its support of DOCOMO, and by enhancing network flexibility.

Comment by Mr. Seizo Onoe, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, DOCOMO:

"I'm delighted that we have developed and deployed NFV with FUJITSU and other leading vendors in the NFV domain. To maximize benefit of NFV, DOCOMO expects to virtualize many other key components of its mobile network, aiming to eventually establish a fully virtualized network. I'm convinced that our multi-vendor NFV is the first step toward our goal."

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