自智网络产业白皮书6.0-Autonomous Networks - Level 4 industry blueprint – high-value scenarios -TMForum

<BacktoContentstmforumANJOURNEYGUIDENetworksLevel4industryblueprint–high-valuescenariosNOVEMBER2024Objective:tohighlightablueprintforprogressiontowardLevel4autonomousnetworks,withaparticularfocusonhigh-valuescenarios.11<BacktoContentstmforumEDITORSTMForumOltaVangjeli,AndyTiller,DawnBushausANProjectmembersDongSun,KevinMcDonnellCONTRIBUTINGCOMPANIES&INDIVIDUALSAccentureAdrianoPoloni,HakanEkmen,TuncYorulmaz,CarmeloCiceroAISBoonchoungTansuthepverawongse,WasitWattanasapAsiaInfoSenBian,YeOuyang,ChenHehe,WangYingBUPTWenjingLiCAICTMaJunfeng,XuYunbin,LiuZhiruo,ZhangShiqiChinaMobileKaixiLiu,YuanYao,GuXianyao,TianTianChinaTelecomShaoXinhua,JiaYan,WangYanchuan,ZengYu,ZhuTing,ZhangLe,YuanJingjing,NingJingwen,WangZeyu,WuShanshanChinaUnicomLiHongwu,ZhangTaoye,ZhaoJingyi,GengYan,YangJianjian,ZhangDing,ZhaoZhanchun,ZhaoYongjian,YangJieyan,LiXinglong,ZhangJie,WangRong,SunHongChinaUnitechsSongGang,LiuJun,HuangJianfeng,WangHanChunghwaTelecomHao-YuKao,KaiMingTeng,Tse-HanWangDeteconEsaVesterinenEricssonDavidCondon,TonySalim,JörgNiemöllerHKTDerekChen,LloydChan,MichaelYue,Kam-ShingFungHuaweiJi’angLi,LinYongming,PaulLinhuaDeng,PauloShikunWang,TimTianxiSong,ZhaoFenghua,ZhengGuangying,JiaxuHuang,LiuXianpeng,FrederickMang,ZhangYejun,YunheWu,FernandoCamacho,KevinMcDonnell,SongXiaodi,WangYining,ZhuFeng,WangJian,YangZhilong,ZangLongquan,HaoXingyuan,ZhangGuogang,MaXiping,ZhaoYueliang,XiaoChuanyiInspurZhangChuangang,ShenLinjiang,ChuYufei,XiaoHongmei,HanJianyou,HanQuanlei,LiQuan,LiBin,SunXuezhiMTNDanielSmith,LloydMphahlele,MohamedSalah,TinyikoMabunda,NkosinathiNzimaSelfXNowMinHeSingtelTimothyHuiCheeKin,RakeshVRajaGopal,KayHongLimTelecomArgentinaAdrianGrimaldi,EduardoPancieraMolanes,RubenDelgado,JuanPabloMonarca,NicolasTellechea,DamianDelCampo,AnaOlivieri,JuanMartinBonelli,NicolasVisca,MarianoA.Tomas,DiegoMartinezHeimannTelefónicaEdiFernandoViera,PedroGarciaParra,HectorBahiaAguilar,JoseMariaRamonPardoTelekomMalaysiaEliasBinAhmedKamal,MuhammadQusairyBinMohamadTelkomselAriSondang,DeasyApriani,RoySimatupang,WahyudiC.Purnama,CitraTayuwijaya,Jendrohartono,DwiSUtomo,HeryWijayanto,AsepJajangNTMForumAlanPope,DaveMilhamUbiqubeHervéGuesdon,RajaRamamurthy,AmitRajUltraPowerXiaojunWang,PengLiu,ZhenChen,ChaoWang,GuoxingCaiWhaleCloudGuoYihua,LuoQi,LuChuntao,YangZizhenZTEJuManchang,XuKun,JiangXianzhong,XiePengxiang33tmforumcontentscontentsIntroduction6Section1:HowdoesTMForumdefineautonomousnetANvision8ANFramework9Intentandautonomousdomains9Autonomousnetworklevels11Referencearchitectures12ANmap,strategicplanningandjourney13Section2:WhatistheANLevel4IndustryBlueprint?DefiningLevel4AN16ANL4ReferenceArchitectureincludesAI16IdentifyingL4high-valuescenarios17Target-statedesignforLevel4high-valuescenarios18MeasuringvaluewithKEIs,KBIsandKCIsEvolvingtoLevel423Section3:WhereareweontheANjourney?24Pilotassessmentresults25CSPs’ANstrategiesandprogress27Section4:BestpracticesforimplementingANhigh-valuescenarios30ChinaMobile’sLevel4ANpracticeaimsfor‘lights-outfactory’30ChinaTelecom’sANbusinessvalueassessment33AIS’sANLevel4architectureevolution34TelecomArgentina’stargetarchitecturedevelopment36Telkomsel’sANLevel3.5architecturedesign37SingtelGroupandOpCos’ANpracticecollaboration38TelecomArgentina’sANusecaseselectionanddevelopment39Section5:InnovationinautonoEnablingverticals:CSPsjoinforcesinautonomouscomputingforcenetworkCatalyst41ImprovingCX:AIS’sCX-drivenoptimizationevolution42ImprovingCX:ChinaUnicomautomatesandimprovesall-opticalprivatelineservices44EfficientO&M:ChinaTelecomusesitsownLLMinnetworkmaintenancescenario45EfficientO&M:ChinaMobile’sdigitaltwin-basedintelligentnetworkoptimizationclosedloop46EfficientO&M:ChinaTelecomreducesIPnetworkfailureswithonlineintelligentsimulation48EfficientO&M:MTNbuildsahigh-efficiencyIP+opticalautonomousnetwork50EfficientO&M:TelecomArgentinaoptimizesWi-Fiinthehome51EfficientO&M:Telkomsel’sCPRIopticallinkfaultpredictionandprevention53EfficientO&M:stc’sdigitaltwin-basedcloud-networktopologyvisualizationandanalysis54EfficientO&M:ChinaMobile’sdigitalandintelligentconvergenceofdual-domainnetworkO&M55Greenenergy:HKT’snetworkevolutionaimstoincreasesustainability57Section6:ANstandardsupdate59Section7:What’snextforautonomousnetworks?Sizingtheopportunity63GenAI’simpact63Nextsteps64Additionalresources64©TMForum2024.Theentirecontentsofthispublicationareprotectedbycopyright.Allrightsreserved.Theviewsandopinionsexpressedinthiswhitepaperareprovidedinthecontributors’personalcapacitiesandmaynotreflecttheviewsoftheircompanies.Whileallcarehasbeentakeninpreparationofthispaper,noresponsibilityforanylossoccasionedtoanypersonactingorrefrainingfromanyactionasaresultofanymaterialinthispublicationcanbeacceptedbytheeditors,contributorsorpublisher.44tmforum<BacktoContents|IntroductiontmforumIntroductionAutonomousnetworks(ANs)representatransformativeshiftforcommunicationsserviceproviders(CSPs),enablingthemtooperatemoreefficiently,deliverbettercustomerexperienceandinnovaterapidly.TMForumisattheforefrontofindustry-widecollaborationtodrivethedeploymentandevolutionofANtechnology,processesandbusinessmodels.Duringthepastyear,CSPshavetakensignificantstepsforwardinlayingthefoundationforautonomousnetworksbyupgradingICTinfrastructureincludingwirelessandfiber-opticnetworks.Somemobileoperatorsarebeginningtorollout3GPP’s5G-Advancedstandards,whileopticalbackbonenetworksareenteringthe400-Gbpsera,enablingubiquitous,high-quality10-Gbpsaccessforendusers.Atthesametime,AItechnologyisevolvingrapidly,withCSPsbeginningtouseGenAIandlaunchprojectstodeveloptelecom-specificlanguagemodels.Telcooperationsareevolving,too,asoperatorsadoptplatformbusinessmodelssuchasnetwork-as-a-service(NaaS)toabstractthecomplexityoftheunderlyingnetworkusingAPIssuchastheTMForumOpenAPIs.Ultimately,CSPsneedtobeabletoscaleorchestrationofzero-touch,zero-waitandzero-troubleservicesendtoendacrossnetworkdomains(forexample,radioaccess,fixedaccess,core,IP,opticaltransportanddatacenter/cloudnetworks).Thisrequiresautomationoftheentireservicelifecycle,fromorderingtofulfillment,activation,orchestration,management,assurance,optimizationandbilling.Telcoshavebeenworkingonthiskindofautomationforyearsandhavemadeprogress.Infact,TMForum’sOpenAPIprogramresultedfromtheseefforts.Butend-to-endautomationhasremainedelusivebecauseofinteroperabilityissues,architecturalfragmentationandheavycustomization.TMForum’sAutonomousNetworksProjectaimstochangethis.Theprojectwasformedin2019todefinewhatitmeansfornetworkstobe“autonomous”andtoexplainhowtogetthere.Unlikeautomation,whichreliesonpredefinedrules,autonomyinvolvesintelligentsystemsmakingindependentdecisions.Transitioningfromautomationtoautonomyisasignificantbusinessandtechnologychallenge,requiringstraightforwardimplementationandintegrationpatterns.TohelpCSPsmanagethetransitionfromautomationtohighlyautonomousnetworks,wepublishedourfirstANwhitepaperin2019,andsincethenthepublicationhasevolvedintoanANjourneyguide–thiseditionmarksthesixthannual.Ourgoalistobuildconsensusaroundhowtoevaluate,design,implementandmanageautonomousnetworks.GETTINGTOLEVEL4AkeyelementofTMForum’sANworkthatisgainingtractionacrosstheindustryisasix-leveltaxonomyCSPscanusetomeasuretheirprogressimplementingautonomousnetworks.EachANlevelhasasetofcharacteristicsdescribingtheevolutionarystageoftheCSP’sjourneyfrommanualtofullyautonomousoperations(seegraphic).5543210Fullyautonomousnetwork:Thesystemhasclosed-loopautomationcapabilitiesacrossmultipleservices,multipledomains(includingpartners’domains)andtheentirelifecycleviacognitiveself-adaptation.Highlyautonomousnetwork:Inamorecomplicatedcross-domainenvironment,thesystemenablesdecision-makingbasedonpredictiveanalysisoractiveclosed-loopmanagementofservice-drivenandcustomerexperience-drivennetworksviaAImodelingandcontinuouslearning.Conditionalautonomousnetwork:Thesystemsensesreal-timeenvironmentalchangesandincertainnetworkdomainswilloptimizeandadjustitselftotheexternalenvironmenttoenable,closed-loopmanagementviadynamicallyprogrammablepolicies.Partialautonomousnetwork:Thesystemenablesclosed-loopoperationsandmaintenanceforspecificunitsundercertainexternalenvironmentsviastaticallyconfiguredrules.Assistedoperationsandmaintenance:Thesystemexecutesaspecific,repetitivesubtaskbasedonpre-configuration,whichcanberecordedonlineandtraced,inordertoincreaseexecutionefficiency.Manualoperationsandmaintenance:Thesystemdeliversassistedmonitoringcapabilities,butalldynamictasksmustbeexecutedmanually.TMForum,202455<BacktoContents|IntroductionAccordingtoTMForum’sdefinition,Level4autonomousnetworksrepresentamajorshiftfromtraditionalhuman-definedautomationprocessestotrueautonomousdecision-making.ThisisasignificantleapfromLevel3,wheremachinesassisthumansindecision-makingbutstillrelyonhumanoversight.AtLevel4,thenetworkcanself-manage,self-optimizeandhandlecomplextasks.Toachievethislevelofautonomy,CSPsneedtotranslatetheircustomers’businessgoals,or“intents”,intonetworkrequirementsthatcanbefulfilledwithoutthecustomersneedingtounderstandtheunderlyinginfrastructure.Thisrequiresaformalontologytoexpresstheseintentsinawaythatenablesseamlessmachine-to-machinecommunication.GenerativeAIcanbeusedtointerpretnaturallanguageinputsfromcustomersandgenerateintentexpressionsthatthenetworkcanactupon.Todate,morethan60companieshavesignedtheAutonomousNetworksManifestopledgingtoworkrapidlytowardLevel4autonomy.EvenmorehaveparticipatedinANCatalystproofsofconcept.Acrossthetelecomsindustry,morethan120ANstandardsandresearchprojectshavebeeninitiated,withmultiplestandards-developmentorganizations(SDOs)andopen-sourcegroupsworkingtodefineanddeployANs.WithinTMForum’sANProject,manyCSPshaveoutlinedtheirANvisionsandstrategies,and24havecarriedoutAutonomousNetworklevel(ANL)assessmentstopromoteANprinciplesandpractices.WelookattheanonymizedresultsoftheseassessmentsinSection3oftheguide.IDENTIFYINGLEVEL4HIGH-VALUESCENARIOSAmainfocusoftheguidethistimeisoncreatingablueprintforLevel4high-valuescenarios.Scenariosareusecasesthatcombineanoperationflowandanetworkdomain(forexample,faultmanagementontheRAN).Level4scenariosarethosethatarelikelytohavemaximumimpactontheoperationsand/orbusinessofaCSP.Weexplorehowtelcosandtheirtechnologypartnersaredevelopingthesescenarios,withagoalofevolvingthenecessarystandardsandsharingknowledgetomakeiteasiertoreachLevel4autonomy.InSeptember2024,TMForumlaunchedaspecialtypeofCatalystproofofconceptcalledtheAutonomousNetworkInnovationPioneerProjecttostudyANLevel4high-valuescenarios.Thatteam’sfirstimplementationsarebeingdemonstratedatInnovate24Asia.ThegoalforeachscenarioisfirsttoidentifygapsbetweenthecurrentlevelofautomationinCSPs’networksandLevel4autonomy.Then,theteamsdesignsolutions,implementandtestthem,andfinallyverifytheachievementofANLevel4.TeamsparticipatingintheongoingprojectareleveragingTMForum’sAutonomousNetworkFramework,whichsupportsintent-basedmanagementandintelligentorchestrationtosimplifynetworkmanagement,automateservicedelivery,andenableself-optimizingandself-healingcapabilities.Wediscussthisframeworkthroughouttheguide.Tocreatetheguide,TMForumsolicitedcontributionsfromcompaniesandindividualsworkingbothinsideandoutsideTMForum’sANProject.Theguideprovidesanoverviewandsummaryofselectedcontributions.Intheappendixyouwillfindlinkstoallcontributionsreceived,whichhavebeenpublishedintheirentiretyontheANProject’swebpage.YoucanreadthefirstfiveANguidesbyclickingontheimagesbelow.TolearnmoreabouthowtogetinvolvedinTMForum’sindustry-leadingworkonautonomousnetworks,pleasecontactAlanPope.autonomousnetworkstmforumAutonomousNetworks66tmforum<BacktoContents|HowdoesTMForumdefineautonomousnetworks?tmforumHowHowdoesTMForumdefineautonomousnetworks?Section1CSPsoperatingmobileand/orfixednetworksCSPsoperatingmobileand/orfixednetworkshaveadoptedacommonvisionfortheirbusinessestodeliverconnectivityandotherservicesviaautonomousnetworksthatusepredictiveanalyticsandAI,includinggenerativeAI(GenAI),todeterminewhichnetworkresourcesareusedtofulfillacustomer’sbusinessgoals,withallcomplexityhiddenfromnetworkoperationsteamsandcustomers.Asthisguideshows,thevisionisbecomingreality.TMForumisoneofseveralSDOsandopen-sourcegroupsthataredefiningandevolvingautonomousnetworksconcepts,standards,implementationmethods,andusecasestobuildconsensusacrossthetelecomsindustry.Achievementsinclude:AgreementonconceptssuchasthevisionforZero-Xexperiences,Self-Xcapabilities,ANlevels(ANL),andkeyeffectivenessindicators(KEIs)tomeasurethebusinessvalueandoperationseffectivenessofANscenariosDevelopmentofatargetarchitecturesupportingsingle-domainautonomy,cross-domaincollaborationandintent-driven,full-stackAICollaborationamongSDOssuchas3GPP,CCSA,ETSI,GSMA,IEEE,IETF,ITU,NGMNandTMForumtounifyANstandards(knownasMDSO)PledgesfrommorethanadozenCSPstoaimforLevel4autonomyinmultipledomainsbetween2025to2027.TMForummembershavedevelopedanANtargetarchitecture,whichincludesguidingarchitecturalprinciples,abusinessarchitecture,andtechnicalandformalreferencearchitectures.CSPsalreadyleveragingTMForum’sOpenDigitalArchitecture(ODA)cannowintegrateautonomouscapabilitiesintotheirexistingframeworks,transformingODAintocomposable,self-managingsystemsorganizedasautonomousdomains.CSPsCSPshaveacommonvisiontodeliverconnectivityandotherservicesviaautonomousnetworksthatusepredictiveanalyticsandAItodeterminewhichnetworkresourcesareusedtofulfillacustomer’sbusinessgoals.AlltheseassetsarecomprehensivelydefinedinTMForum’sstandards,andmostoftheconceptshavebeenoutlinedthoroughlyinpreviousANguides.Werecapthemostimportantconceptsandworkhere.77<BacktoContents|HowdoesTMForumdefineautonomousnetworks?tmforumSmartCitySmartIndustrySmartGovernmentSmartX… Zero-waity•Infrastructure••Infrastructure•Service•BusinessSelf-healingSimplified•OperationSelf-healingSimplified•Development•MaintenanceAsaServiceAsaPlatformSelf-XSelf-Self-XLean•PlanningLean•Ordering•MarketingSelf-fulfillingAgilePreventive•OrganizingAgilePreventive•Orchestration•Configuration•Monitoring•Healing•OptimizingTMForum,2024ANVISIONANVISIONThevisionforautonomousnetworksistoprovidezero-wait,zero-touchandzero-troublecustomerexperiencesforconsumersandbusinessesthroughintelligentinfrastructureandagileoperations(seegraphicabove).Thismakestheenduserexperiencebetter,byprovidinghigheravailabilityofnetworkservices,quickerfulfilmentofordersandeasierdescriptionofordersas“intents”ratherthandetailedspecifications.Atthesametime,ANsneedtosupportself-service,self-fulfillmentandself-assuranceoftelecomnetworkinfrastructuresforinternalusersacrossvariousdepartmentsincludingplanning,marketing,andoperationsandmaintenance(O&M).TheThevisionforautonomousnetworksistoprovidezero-wait,zero-touchandzero-troublecustomerexperiencesforconsumersandbusinessesthroughintelligentinfrastructureandagileoperations.88tmforum<BacktoContents|HowdoesTMForumdefineautonomousnetworks?tmforumTMForumAutonomousNetwoTMForum,2024ANANFRAMEWORKTMForum’sANFramework(ANF)isanout-of-the-boximplementationmethodologytohelpCSPsplanandimplementANinanefficientandsystematicmanner(seegraphicabove).Itconsistsoffourkeyelements:KEIstomeasurethebenefitsofimplementingANusecasesANlevelevaluationstomeasureprogressReferenceandtechnicalarchitecturestoguideimplementationAnANMaptoplancapabilitydeployment.TheframeworkalsoincludesoperationsbestpracticesalongwithamethodologyandtoolsforassessingANlevels.Wediscusslevelevaluationinsection4,whilesection5focusesonbestpractices.TheTheANframeworkisanout-of-the-boximplementationmethodologytohelpCSPsplanandimplementANinanefficientandsystematicmanner.INTENTANDAUTONOMOUSDOMAINSToprovideZero-XexperiencesandSelf-XO&M,theANtargetarchitectureusesintent-based,closed-loopmanagementasillustratedinthegraphiconthenextpage.Intentisawaytoexpressusers’requirements,goalsandconstraints,andtheninteractwiththeminvariousdomainsinawaythatallowsasystemtoadaptitsoperationaccordingly.Importantly,intentsareabstractedfromthetechnicalinnerworkingsofthenetwork.Putmoresimply,intentsarethe“what”notthe“how”–meaning,youtellthesystemwhatgoaloroutcomeisrequiredwithouthavingtotellithowtoachievethegoal.Thisdecouplingincreasesagility,allowingautonomoussystemstofulfilltheintentusingdata,machinelearningandAI,whileenablingsupplierinnovationthatcanbeeasilyintegratedandadopted.Intentcanbeexpressedatvariousoperationallayers(businessintent,serviceintentandresourceintent,forexample).IntheANReferenceArchitecture(IG1251),intentsguidetheclosedloopcontrolprocess,whichisacontinuousprocessofmonitoring,analyzingandadjustingperformancetoimprovethequalityofexperienceforendusersandautomatethefulllifecycleofservices.Autonomousdomainscanbedefinedbasedonfactorssuchasservicetypes,networktechnologiesordeploymentlocations.Fromaninfrastructureperspective,examplesincludeclosed-loopsystemswithinanoperator’saccess,metrobackbone,core,edgeandcustomernetworks.Attheserviceoperationslayer,autonomousdomainsmayalsobeorganizedaroundspecificservicessuchasSD-WAN,VoiceoverLTE(VoLTE)orcontentdeliverynetworks(CDNs),withcollaborationbetweendomainstomanageandoptimizeservicedelivery.99<BacktoContents|HowdoesTMForumdefineautonomousnetworks?Intent-based,closed-loopmanagemetmforumTMForum,2024EachautonomousdomainoperatesEachautonomousdomainoperatesindependently,guidedbytheoperator’sbusinessobjectives,whilehidingimplementationdetailsfromcustomersthroughanAPIabstractionlayer.Whenmultipleautonomousdomainsaredefinedanddeployed,theupperlayerserviceoperationsleverageintent-driveninteractionsbetweendomainstomanageandfulfilltheentireservicelifecycle.TMForummembershavecollaboratedinseveralCatalystproofsofconcepttodeveloptheIntentManagementAPI(TMF921),whichcommunicatesbetweenautonomousdomainstomanageclosed-loopoperationsacrossbusiness,serviceandresourcelayers.High-leveldescriptionsofintentaredefinedinTMForum’sAutonomousNetworksBusinessRequirementsandFramework(IG1218),andthetechnicalworkispublishedinIntentinAutonomousNetworks(IG1253).IntentsIntentsarethe“what”notthe“how”–meaning,youtellthesystemwhatgoaloroutcomeisrequiredwithouthavingtotellithowtoachievethegoal.Thisdecouplingincreasesagility.Keyeffectivenessindicators,orKEIs,measurethebusinessvalueandoperationseffectivenessofautonomousnetworks.TheANKEIsystemincludedintheANFrameworkisbasedon:thebalancedscorecardtheory(awidelyusedKEIcreationtool);CSPs’practicalexperiencewithKEIs;andTMForum’sindicatorframeworkasdescribedinTMForumMetricsFramework(GB935),TMForumMetricDefinitions(GB988)andotherstandardsdocuments.Thisvalue-drivensystemfocusesonbotheffectivenessandefficiency.TMForummembershavealsocreatedtheANKEIFramework(explainedinAutonomousNetworksEffectivenessIndicators–IG1256),whichallowsCSPstoadd,deleteormodifyindicatorstodeveloptheirownKEIsystem.WediscussKEIsmoreinthenextsection.1010<BacktoContents|HowdoesTMForumdefineautonomousnetworks?tmforumAutonomousL0:ManualOperation&MaintenanceAssistedOperation&MaintenancePartialAutonomousNetworksConditionalAutonomousNetworksL4:HighAutonomousNetworksFullAutonomousNetworksExecutionPP/SSSSSAwareness