In September 2024, ETSI NFV has released the first drop of Release 5 group specifications and reports, where DOCOMO Euro-Labs members have contributed and led key new features.
ETSI NFV is continuously evolving its core set of group specifications (GS) to address new technology trends and use cases. Through four Releases, the NFV architectural framework, and specifically the NFV management and orchestration (NFV-MANO), has evolved to support multi-site connectivity management and containerized/cloud-native NF deployments, among others.
In September 2024, the first “drop” of GSs for stage 2 (architecture, interfaces and information models) and stage 3 (protocols and data models) of Release 5 has been delivered. Release 5 considers very important features for network operators, including NTT DOCOMO, like “NFV support for virtualized RAN”, “energy savings and efficiency in NFV”, and “physical infrastructure management”, to name a few.
DOCOMO Euro-Labs members have actively contributed, and also led the specification work of the Release 5 features, like some of the ones just referenced. Dr. Kostas Katsalis was the rapporteur of the ETSI GR NFV-IFA 046 report on “NFV support for virtualization of RAN” and Dr. Joan Triay the rapporteur for the ETSI GR NFV-EVE 021 report on “Energy efficiency aspects for NFV”. Other team members are also contributing and leading the normative specification work in the NFV-IFA and NFV-SOL series.
Nevertheless, the work is not completed and specifications are continuously enhanced; additional new version drops are expected in the near future, which will certainly keep the team at DOCOMO Euro-Labs still busy for the coming months.
For more information about the first ETSI NFV Release 5 delivery, refer to the press release issued by ETSI at https://www.etsi.org/newsroom/press-releases/2439-etsi-nfv-release-5-version-5-1-1-is-now-available
