Multi-domain/Multi-operator design. We have defined a multi-domain reference architecture (shown in Figure 2 in the attachement). The Multi-domain Orchestrator (MdO) coordinates resource and/or service orchestration at multi-domain level, where multi-domain may refer to multi-technology (orchestrating resources and/or services using multiple Domain Orchestrators in the same administrative domain), multi-operator (orchestrating resources and/or services using Domain Orchestrators belonging to multiple administrative domains) or multi-ownership (VNF software and/or VNF management / lifecycle management). The MdO interacts with Domain Orchestrators via I3 interface APIs to orchestrate resources and services within the same administrative domains. The MdO interacts with other MdOs via I2 interface APIs to request and orchestrate resources and services across administrative domains. Finally, the MdO exposes on interface I1 a service specification API allowing business customers to specify their requirements for a service. This architecture is aligned with the one defined by the ETSI NFV, and, as pioneer architecture for 5G multi-domain orchestration, is considered by the 5G-TRANSFORMER and the 5G-CORAL projects as a reference solution to address multi-domain federation.
Business Layer and Mechanisms: New business and functional roles have been identified, providing a clear mapping between the technical functionality and the business processes. We analyzed how basic BSS/OSS functionality can be integrated with the 5GEx “core” components and how additional mechanisms, policies and business logic can be seamlessly added. We provided results on charging principles, business coordination models, examples of market mechanisms and federation policies that increase the efficiency of the overall system.
Design and Build: Most of the novel aspects of the 5GEx reference architecture have been implemented, addressing both functional and non-functional attributes (such as security). 5GEx solution has been showcased in more than 15 demos at academic and industrial venues.
Sandbox Exchange: A running sandbox interconnecting most of the 5GEx partners has been set-up, hosting incremental implementations of the reference MdO software, leading to the deployment of a multi-domain, multi-technology testbed to validate and assess the continuous improvement of the MdO. Aspects such as scalability and reduction in complexity of the management costs have been practically evaluated.
Standardization and Open Source: The project has significantly contributed to standardization, with 3 IETF/IRTF adopted documents, 4 adopted contributions to ETSI NFV and multiple contributions to 3GPP, ITU-T, ONF and TM Forum. 3 important components of the 5GEx framework (the RO, the Slicer library and the Catalogue Management System) have been released as open source. Regarding general dissemination, the project has published 75 papers, 3 book chapters and performed 28 presentations.
