5G core adoption the open way with Red Hat OpenShift

Red Hat continues to drive support of an open 5G infrastructure to help drive accelerated adoption of cloud-native technologies for our communications service provider (CSP) customers and partners. As operators look to offer new revenue generating services, the importance of scalability, flexibility and security become critical for the smooth evolution of their networks. With this in mind, customers are looking for ways to deploy cloud-native technology with confidence and an open hybrid cloud foundation offers an essential tool for those deployments.

Red Hat OpenShift delivers the container based platform that provides consistency from the core to the edge. This platform is part of the recently announced HPE Telco blueprint that we collaborated on with Hewlett Packard Enterprise and utilizes Intel® Xeon® processors. CSPs can use the blueprint to implement an open 5G cloud-native core that provides transformation for telco networks and enables CSPs to engage with leading industry ecosystem partners more easily. 

A standards-based 5G infrastructure

CSPs want to add differentiation in 5G services and applications. The less time spent designing, deploying and maintaining their infrastructures, the better. That's why we are working on making it easier to put the infrastructure in place so CSPs can focus on added value.

Through efforts like the HPE 5G Core Stack, we are helping accelerate 5G time-to-revenue. In addition, Red Hat offers greater confidence to end-users with validation and certification for key ecosystem applications on proven infrastructure bundles.

To support this momentum, the new HPE 5G Core Stack enables CSPs, ISVs and network function suppliers to collaborate on innovative 5G initiatives. This new generation of differentiated vertical applications is designed to help drive net new value to the market. This solution allows for validation and pre-integration and offers a platform to create leading-edge 5G solutions based on the HPE 5G Core Stack, integrating Red Hat OpenShift and powered by 2nd Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors.

Cloud-native infrastructure provided by Red Hat OpenShift

The 5G specifications introduce a modular network design and include a service-based architecture allowing open and distributed deployments of the 5G core components. The architecture imposes new requirements on the underlying infrastructure - such as continuing to deliver high performance as it scales. 

We see a cloud-native infrastructure as critical to the success of building a 5G core network. Built on the back of the world’s leading enterprise Linux platform, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Red Hat OpenShift is the proven Kubernetes-based solution to get this done. By integrating Red Hat OpenShift with the HPE 5G Core Stack, organizations can benefit from a platform that frees them to focus on applications and the services experience. 

Red Hat OpenShift delivers container image management, container orchestration, scaling, monitoring, and much more. OpenShift Operators can help CSPs manage day two (and beyond) operations by automating deployment, configuration and management of cloud-native network functions. OpenShift's hardware acceleration support means that CSPs can take advantage of containerized applications’ direct access to hardware, helping them get the most out of their investment.

Building 5G networks on standards based, more secure, carried grade infrastructure can be achieved by leveraging the HPE Telco  Blueprints that have been extensively validated with Red Hat OpenShift for 5G use cases. These are designed to match the way CSPs are procuring and deploying 5G infrastructure. The HPE Telco Blueprints are optimized reference designs for open, scalable and agile 5G networks from edge to core.

We look forward to creating a platform for our customers and partners to collaborate, innovate and help transform the industry based on open technologies. Red Hat recently announced its validation and certification program for network applications, expanding the ability for partners to certify cloud-native network functions on Red Hat and Intel-based technologies. We continue to simplify how partners can certify and customers can deploy quickly and with confidence. 

Read the full press release from HPE here