MEF issues first SASE standard and Zero Trust Framework

MEF published the first Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) standard defining SASE service attributes, a framework and common definitions, and a Zero Trust framework that together allow organizations to implement dynamic policy-based actions to secure network resources for faster decision making and implementation for enterprises.

• SASE Service Attributes and Service Framework Standard -- This standard specifies service attributes to be agreed upon between a service provider and a subscriber for SASE services, including security functions, policies, and connectivity services. The standard defines the behaviors of the SASE service that are externally visible to the subscriber irrespective of the implementation of the service. A SASE service based upon the framework defined in the standard enables secure access and secure connectivity of users, devices, or applications to resources for the subscriber. MEF’s SASE standard (MEF 117) includes SASE service attributes and a SASE service framework.
• Zero Trust Framework for MEF Services --The new Zero Trust Framework for MEF Services (MEF 118) defines a framework and requirements of identity, authentication, policy management, and access control processes that are continuously and properly constituted, protected, and free from vulnerabilities when implemented and deployed. This framework also defines service attributes, which are agreed between a subscriber and service provider, to enable service providers to implement and deliver a broad range of services that comply with Zero Trust principles.

MEF said its new SASE standard aligns stakeholders on common terminology and service attributes when buying, selling, and delivering SASE services, and makes it easier to interface policy with security functions for cloud-based cybersecurity from anywhere. MEF’s Zero Trust framework defines service attributes to enable service providers to implement and deliver a broad range of services that comply with Zero Trust principles.

“Enterprises are challenged to compare feature sets and solutions when selecting SD-WAN, SSE, and SASE services, including Zero Trust Network Access, which can result in incomplete service offerings that don’t meet needs and expectations. At the same time, service providers want to offer a complete, unified SASE service that includes networking and security under a single pane of glass,” said Pascal Menezes, MEF Chief Technology Officer. 

According to the July 2022 SASE & SD-WAN 5-Year Forecast Report from Dell’Oro Group, the SASE-related technologies market will exceed $13 billion by 2026. SASE has quickly gained traction due to its work-from-anywhere cloud approach to security and networking. The MEF SASE service standard and Zero Trust framework have been developed by the industry’s top managed security and service providers to make it easier to bring to market robust, easy-to-understand, easy-to-manage SASE services for the enterprise. The new standards include:

“With SASE still at an early stage and generating confusion, I applaud MEF’s standardization efforts. In the near-term, they are contributing vocabulary and aligning conceptual frameworks that are vital to getting the industry to rally behind common, interoperable approaches,” said Mauricio Sanchez, Research Director for Network Security & SASE/SD-WAN research at Dell’Oro Group. “In the long-term, I see the resulting standards help make multi-vendor SASE a reality and accelerate overall adoption.”

https://www.mef.net/news/mef-introduces-first-sase-standard-and-zero-trust-framework/

Video: Standardizing SD-WAN and (soon) SASE

Sunday, August 07, 2022  MEF, SD-WAN, Spirent, Video  

SD-WAN evolved independently with a number of big players and, as a result, all of their solutions are different, notes Dave Larson, GM and CTO of Spirent.SASE, as an extension of SD-WAN, brings a new set of monetization possibilities.MEF is about using standards and APIs to level of playing field.https://youtu.be/wwWMah7y...

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OCP releases Bunch of Wires (BoW) spec for chiplet interconnect

The OCP Foundation released its Bunch of Wires (BoW) specification for Chiplet interconnect, representing a next step in the OCP Open Domain Specific Architecture (ODSA) Project's march towards establishing an open Chiplet ecosystem as a catalyst for a new silicon market place and integrated circuit supply chain model. 

BoW specifies a physical layer (PHY) optimized for System on a Chip (SoC) disaggregation, and complements OCP ODSA Open High Bandwidth Interconnect (OpenHBI) PHY specification targeting High Bandwidth Memory and other parallel bandwidth intensive use cases.

The ODSA BoW PHY specification is optimized for both commodity (organic laminate) and advanced packaging technologies, enabling cost and energy efficient, as well as high-performance designs across a wide range of process nodes. The specification was authored to allow many use cases driving significant economies of scale. Care was taken to impose as few constraints as possible and to avoid including required features in the specification that could increase design complexity when disaggregating an existing SoC.

The OCP Foundation notes that its BoW specification follow an open license model. It is already in use in at least 10 companies, including Samsung and NXP, over a dozen different use cases spanning 5, 6, 12, 16, 22 and 65nm process nodes, and covering Chiplet-based products for networking, specialized AI silicon, FPGAs, and processors. 

"The demand for specialized silicon has been increasing steadily due to workload diversity, such as with the adoption of AI and ML, and we expect this trend to continue for several years. In response to this demand the OCP recognizes that it must be a catalyst to establish open and standardized Chiplet ecosystems and new markets by investing in Chiplet interconnect technology that will enable composable silicon. The release of the BoW specification is an important step in this direction. We expect to increase our efforts on developing supply chain models for composable silicon," said Bill Carter, CTO, OCP Foundation.

"The semiconductor industry continues to innovate in new and exciting directions with multicore application specific SoCs, custom core architectures, deep learning, optical communications, analog processing techniques, RF interfaces, memory architectures and more. The new challenge is how to integrate all of these disparate innovations, several of which are not practical to produce at cutting- edge process nodes. Today's announcement from the OCP ODSA, releasing the Bunch of Wires open-source specification for Chiplet interconnect, supplies a new tool toward expanding innovation in the market. This opens the door to a more competitive landscape and diversity in innovation at varying cadences and is fuel or a healthy industry," said Tom Hackenberg, Principal Analyst, Computing & Software Semiconductor, Memory and Computing Division, Yole Intelligence.

http://www.opencompute.org

OCP 2019: New Open Domain-Specific Architecture sub-project 

Thursday, March 14, 2019  #OCPSummit, Netronome, OCP  

The Open Compute Project is launching an Open Domain-Specific Architecture (ODSA) sub-project to define an open interface and architecture that enables the mixing and matching of available silicon die from different suppliers onto a single SoC for data center applications. The goal is to define a process to integrate best-of-breed chiplets onto a SoC. Netronome played a lead role initiating the new project. “The open architecture for domain-specific...

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O-RAN Alliance publishes 52 new specifications

The O-RAN ALLIANCE released a new set of 52 specifications for open and intelligent RAN, as the first batch of the O-RAN Release 003 specifications. Among them there are 12 new titles including use cases for Massive MIMO and the R1 interface, E2 interface testing, O2dms interface, Acceleration Abstraction Layer, outdoor macro cell HW, and security specification of 3 different parts of the O-RAN Architecture.

“The O-RAN ALLIANCE has always taken security very seriously. We have recently converted the Security Focus Group into O-RAN’s 11th technical Work Group to allow even more intensive specification efforts in the field of security,” said Andre Fuetsch, Chairman of the O-RAN ALLIANCE and Chief Technology Officer of AT&T. “Security experts from the O-RAN ecosystem have been applying systematic threat analysis on different components of the O-RAN Architecture. Security is becoming an integral part of individual interface or function specifications and there is a security testing specification for proper verification. A systematic and transparent approach to security by the broad O-RAN ecosystem follows best practices seen in other parts of the network to ensure the best possible, most secure solutions.”

Another 40 technical documents have been updated with extensions and new features.

In June 2022, following on the half year release cycle, the O-RAN Software Community (OSC) published its 6th open software release dubbed "F". The F Release continues to improve the support for Traffic Steering and Network Slicing use cases, as well as the alignment with the latest O-RAN specifications.

Main features of the F release include:

For O-Cloud, the OSC O-CLOUD platform implemented O2 DMS and IMS, and support of 3 types of resource pools (SIMPLEX, DUPLEX, and DUPLEX +) according to the O-RAN O-CLOUD specification

For Intelligence, the F release delivered:

• Implementation of A1-Policy & A1-EI functions according to O-RAN specifications
• Initial R1 interface support such as Data Management Exposure
• Update of the Near-RT RIC to support E2AP specification v2.0
• xApp framework for Python with support of the REST-based interface for E2 subscriptions
• For the radio protocol, new features include Intra-CU handover, Idle Mode Paging and HARQ framework in a new version
• The Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) added its management enhancement by supporting the Standard Defined Messages (StdDefine) over the O1/VES interface, while developing the framework for Network Slicing, and support for the O2 interface
• Tools and functions to provide the O-RAN deployment topology view for rApp and CNF deployment

"Congratulations to the team for continuously progressing at the pace of 2-release cycle per year since its inception in 2019," said Chih-Lin I, co-chair of O-RAN Technical Steering Committee, and Chief Scientist from China Mobile. "One of the key highlights from F release is the implementation of the O-CLOUD with multiple resources, which becomes the steppingstone to Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) xNF deployment for the G release."

https://www.o-ran.org/news-and-events

LF Networking releases ONAP Jakarta

Tuesday, July 05, 2022  LFN, ONAP  

LF Networking released ONAP Jakarta -- the tenth version of its open-source, orchestration and automation framework for network operators, cloud providers, and enterprises. Release Highlights Security enhancements in the A&AI, DCAE, CCSDK, MSB, and MultiCloud projects, reducing log4j vulnerability and removing most GPLv3 dependencies.Deepened O-RAN integration in the OOF Self Optimizing Network (SON) and CCSDK projects with O-RAN O1...

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O-RAN adds certification and badging program

Thursday, June 30, 2022  O-RAN  

The O-RAN Alliance, which has just wrapped up its industry summit in Germany, has launched its Certification and Badging program in collaboration with Open Test and Integration Centres (OTIC).  O-RAN certificates state that an equipment or function is conformant to O-RAN specifications, whereas the O-RAN badges confirm interoperability or end-to-end functionality of an O-RAN solution. O-RAN certificates and badges will be issued by the Open...

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NEC. to acquire Ireland's Aspire Tech. for O-RAN expertise

Thursday, June 30, 2022  Ireland, NEC  

NEC agreed to acquire Aspire Technology Unlimited Company, a system integration company headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. The company specializes in designing and integrating Open RAN solutions. It provides solutions and services across the full network lifecycle for legacy and open architectures, from 2G to 5G. Financial terms were not disclosed.NEC is a global leader in Open RAN. NEC Open Networks is an industry-leading ecosystem consisting of...

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Open RF Association streamlines its technical work

 The Open RF Association, which is dedicated to creating an open 5G ecosystem of interoperable hardware and software across member multi-mode RF (radio frequency) front-end and chipset platforms, is consolidating its existing five working groups into three – Software Interoperability, Hardware Interoperability and Compliance.

When the Open RF Association was formed, it identified five key areas essential for specification development: the RF register map, software APIs, the hardware RF Front End and RFIC, RF power management, and compliance. With the completion of the first phase of its plan to establish a standard for the RF Front-end and RFIC ecosystem, the Open RF working groups have consolidated efforts along natural lines, merging the software-focused register map and software API working groups into the Software Interoperability Working Group, and combining the hardware and power management working groups into the Hardware Interoperability Working Group.

• The new Software Interoperability Working Group, comprised of the Register Map and SW_API working groups, will increase its efforts to develop a register map framework and common hardware abstraction layer (HAL) creating an agnostic RFIC and RFFE interface model.
• The new Hardware Interoperability Working Group, comprised of the RF PMIC and Hardware RFFE working groups, will continue to maximize common frontend features and capabilities, and evolve the 5G user curve model.
• The Compliance Workgroup remains unchanged, working to deliver the consortium's initial Level 1 compliance requirement end of this year.

“The next stage of the OpenRF working groups will focus on standardizing various RF front-end applications – the hardware features, capabilities, and interface requirements associated with each, while still allowing for the flexibility needed for members to differentiate their products,” said OpenRF Hardware Working Group Chair Peter Bacon of MuRata.

https://openrf.com

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Open XR Forum builds momentum with Tier 1 carrier support

 

AT&T, Colt, Crown Castle, Telefónica and ZAYO have joined the Open XR Forum, which is dedicated to the deployment of software-configurable point-to-point and point-to-multipoint coherent optical networks utilizing XR optics pluggable transceiver technology. 

The Forum also released the “Open XR Concept Introductory White Paper,” available for download from the Open XR Forum site. The white paper describes the limitations and shortcomings of today’s point-to-point optical networks and the inherent performance, cost-effectiveness and network agility benefits of point-to-multipoint coherent optical networks utilizing digital subcarriers. The white paper also presents key technical design considerations along with network management and control concepts and highlights a number of important application scenarios.

Open XR Forum membership is expanding to cover a wide range of industry participants and applications and currently includes AT&T, BT, Colt, Crown Castle, Infinera, Liberty Global, Lumen Technologies, Telefónica, Verizon, Windstream and ZAYO. 

http://www.openxrforum.org

Open XR Forum MSA gets underway

Tuesday, June 08, 2021  XR Optics  

A new Open XR Forum has been established to advance the development of XR optics-enabled products and services, accelerate the adoption of coherent point-to-multipoint network architectures, and drive standardization of networking interfaces to ensure ease of multi-vendor interoperability and an open, multi-source solution ecosystem.The Open XR Forum will function as a multi-source agreement (MSA) working group for XR optics, the industry’s first...

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Infinera introduces XR Optics-powered coherent pluggables

Wednesday, May 19, 2021  Infinera  

Infinera introduced a suite of coherent optical pluggables based on its XR optics technology and designed to seamlessly address point-to-point and point-to-multipoint transport applications from the network edge to the core. Infinera’s new suite of vertically integrated ICE-XR pluggables will support a range of transport rates, including 100G, 400G, and 800G, and utilize industry-standard form factors such as QSFP-28, QSFP-DD, and CFP2 to enable...

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MIPI Alliance doubles performance of automotive SerDes to 32 Gbps

The MIPI Alliance completed development work on A-PHY v1.1, the next version of the automotive serializer-deserializer (SerDes) physical-layer interface. 

Version 1.1 will double the maximum available downlink data rate from 16 Gbps to 32 Gbps and include other enhancements to help automotive OEMs and their suppliers implement high-performance image sensors and displays in next-generation vehicles. The specification is undergoing member review, with official adoption expected within the next 90 days.

"A-PHY continues to evolve to meet the ever-increasing demand for high-performance, end-to-end automotive connectivity solutions with high reliability, resiliency and interoperability," said Joel Huloux, chairman of MIPI Alliance. "With unprecedented bandwidth and a growing number of implementation options, A-PHY is positioned to power the development of the next generation of safer, more connected and autonomous vehicles."

MIPI A-PHY is the first industry-standard, long-reach, asymmetric SerDes interface to provide high-performance links between automotive image sensors and displays and their associated electronic control units (ECUs). It was developed to simplify the integration of greater numbers of onboard sensors and displays for applications such as advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), digital cockpits, in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) and autonomous driving systems (ADS).

• A-PHY offers a reach of up to 15 meters, unprecedented reliability with an ultra-low packet error rate of 10-19, high noise immunity and ultra-low latency. It also forms the foundation of MIPI Automotive SerDes Solutions (MASS), an end-to-end framework for connecting cameras, sensors and displays with built-in functional safety, security and data protection.
• A-PHY v1.1 doubles the total downlink data rate from 16 to 32 Gbps by adding support for Star Quad (STQ) shielded dual differential pair cables that provide dual differential pairs of conductors within a single shielded jacket. This enables two A-PHY ports over a single cable, saving cost, weight and complexity compared with using two separate coaxial or shielded twisted pair cables.
• Version 1.1 will also add optional PAM4 encoding for A-PHY downlink gears G1 and G2, with data rates of 2 Gbps and 4 Gbps, respectively. PAM4 encoding features lower modulation bandwidth for sub-1 GHz operation, allowing manufacturers to more easily migrate to A-PHY while using either legacy cables on current platforms or lower-cost cables on new platforms.
• The new version will also add a faster uplink gear with an available data rate of up to 200 Mbps, twice the rate of the existing 100 Mbps uplink gear, providing more bandwidth for command and control of automotive peripherals. A-PHY v1.1 will be fully interoperable with A-PHY v1.0, and devices using both specifications will be able to coexist on the same network.

https://www.mipi.org/mipi-alliance-completes-development-a-phy-v1-1-doubling-data-rate-adding-to-automotive-serdes-interface

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ETSI forms Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces group

ETSI  launched a new Industry Specification Group on Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (ISG RIS). 

RIS is defined as a system node leveraging smart radio surfaces with thousands of small antennas or metamaterial elements to dynamically shape and control radio signals in a goal-oriented manner, either indoor or outdoor. RIS can be configured to operate at any part of the radio spectrum, including frequencies from sub-6 GHz to THz, and may use tools from Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) to enable systems operation and optimization.

ETSI forecasts technology will effectively turn the wireless environment into a service, inspiring a host of new use cases, including localization and sensing. As an example, an RIS can reconfigure the radio environment to sense human posture and detect someone falling, a very useful application for elderly care. RIS, thanks to its associated characteristics, is expected to serve as a key technology in future wireless systems, including for 6G.

"Transforming the wireless environment from a passive into an intelligent actor, RIS will create innovation opportunities and progressively impact the evolution of wireless system architecture, access technologies, and networking protocols. There are however many technical challenges that need to be adequately addressed before RIS can be adopted into future standards, towards commercialization of the technology, and the ETSI ISG RIS aims to identify and address some of these challenges”, says Arman Shojaeifard, Chair of ISG RIS.

https://www.etsi.org/newsroom/press-releases/1979-etsi-launches-a-new-group-on-reconfigurable-intelligent-surfaces

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China Mobile, Huawei, establish 5G VoNR+ working group

China Mobile, Huawei and over 10 other partners have established a 5G VoNR+ (New Calling) Working Group for the 5G Deterministic Networking Alliance (5GDNA). 

The Working Group aims to facilitate 5G new calling industry collaboration and aims to promote VoNR+ new calling standards and technologies, boost its industry, and build an industry ecosystem.

Huawei says that as 5G integrates with AR and VR technologies, new services such as visual menus, video RBT, and remote collaboration become available and give users more interactive experience. Not only this, these services unlock new opportunities for the emerging 5G market, and the 5G VoNR+ (New Calling) Working Group is anticipated to pilot the development of the 5G new calling market.

VoNR+ new calling will bring new communication experience to users and showcase the unique value of 5G. A typical application of VoNR+ new calling is remote collaboration. Remote collaboration allows guidance to be remotely provided through videos in real time. This valuable application is widely used in daily life, such as in elderly care, equipment repair, object searching, and child tutoring, and even may create a new industry. On top of this, users can use new calling services without needing to download any app.

The 5G VoNR+ (New Calling) Working Group will use 5GDNA to provide a global platform for industry collaboration, channeling more industry partners to drive the widespread use of 5G new calling and bring 5G to more people.

https://www.huawei.com/en/news/2021/9/china-mobile-huawei-5g-vonr-new-calling

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Open Eye Consortium completes 50Gbps LR1 and LR4 specs

The Open Eye Consortium (Open Eye MSA)  announced two new specifications targeted for 50Gbps per lane applications: LR1 and LR4 for 10 kilometers, based on the CWDM4 wavelength grid, over a single mode fiber. These new specifications complement the Open Eye MSA’s previously released single and multi-mode specifications.

The Open Eye MSA said its specifications provide an alternative to higher power and higher cost DSP-based solutions. These new specifications are aimed at 53Gbps SFP28 Long-Reach (LR) and 200Gbps QSFP Long Reach (LR) optical module designs for next generation 5G wireless, enterprise and data center networking applications.

The Open Eye MSA aims to accelerate the adoption of PAM-4 optical interconnects scaling to 50Gbps, 100Gbps, 200Gbps, and 400Gbps by expanding upon existing standards to enable optical module implementations using less complex, lower cost, lower power, and optimized analog clock and data recovery (CDR) based architectures in addition to existing digital signal processing (DSP) architectures.

The Open Eye MSA defines the requirements for analog PAM-4 solutions for 50G SFP, 100G DSFP, 100G SFP-DD, 200G QSFP, 400G QSFP-DD and OSFP modules. 

A whitepaper is available to view and download here for interested parties to learn more about the Open Eye’s MSA mission and latest technical information. To access more information about the Open Eye MSA single- and multi-mode specifications please visit: https://www.openeye-msa.org/.

The Open Eye MSA is also excited to announce that its membership has grown to 38 members with the addition of Credo Semiconductor, Fuji Xerox, Hisense and Lumentum to its list of members.

https://www.openeye-msa.org

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Broadband Forum publishes 3 specs targeting 5G

Broadband Forum published three new standards including 5G Wireless Wireline Convergence Architecture (TR-470), Access Gateway Function (AGF) Functional Requirements (TR-456) and Device Data Model (TR-181). Together, these documents provide functions and interfaces for Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC), the AGF, and customer premises equipment (CPE) such as 5G-enabled routers.

Highlights:

• TR-470 – produced in conjunction with 3GPP – describes the 5G FMC architecture, providing a high-level guide for network architects and planners and enabling fixed and mobile functions to coexist over a shared infrastructure. This will facilitate multi-access connectivity and give consumers a seamless, access-independent service experience.
• TR-456 describes the functional requirements of the access gateway function. The AGF resides between fixed access networks and the 5G core network to support 5G and wireline Residential Gateways, creating a truly converged deployment. Alongside this, Broadband Forum’s Device: 2 data model (TR-181 Issue 2 Amendment 14), which is used by User Services Platform (USP), has been extended to address 5G Residential Gateways. The Device: 2 data model applies to all types of TR-069 or USP-enabled devices, including end devices, Residential Gateways, and other network infrastructure devices.
• TR-124 - the Functional Requirements for Broadband Residential Gateway Devices specification is expected to be finalized in Q4 2020. Moving from the network into the home, TR-124 has been extended to add requirements related to the 5G Residential Gateway extending the 5G control plane to the premises to open up new service opportunities with real time fulfillment.

“Operators are keen to harness and deploy fifth generation technology to exploit new opportunities to enhance existing revenue streams and secure new ones by launching new services and applications,” said Broadband Forum CEO Robin Mersh. “Spanning the full scope of the network, including CPE, these specifications take a holistic approach to network management and operation and will greatly accelerate 5G deployments, ensuring operator confidence through an open ecosystem.”

https://www.broadband-forum.org/projects/5g

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OIF begins co-packaging framework IA project

OIF has kicked off a Co-Packaging Framework Implementation Agreement (IA) umbrella project to study the application spaces and relevant technology considerations for co-packaging of communication interfaces with one or more ASICs. 

A primary objective of this specification is to identify new opportunities for interoperability standards for possible future work at the OIF or other standards organizations. Upon completion, the work will be summarized in a Framework IA.

“It is critical that the industry be aligned on the solutions needed to move co-packaged interoperability forward,” said Jeff Hutchins, Ranovus and OIF Physical and Link Layer (PLL) Working Group – Co-Packaging Vice Chair. “With its member-driven focus, OIF is the ideal forum to facilitate industry conversation and drive interoperability of co-packaging with ASICs.”

The scope of the Co-Packaging Framework project is to:

• Identify the key co-packaged applications and their requirements
• Study and identify key issues associated with co-packaged optics
• Identify opportunities and develop industry consensus to pursue interoperability standards
• Document the study in the Framework IA (a technical whitepaper)
• Launch follow-on standardization activities at the OIF or other appropriate standard bodies

http://www.oiforum.com

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CXL Consortium releases 2.0 spec for CPU-to-device interconnect

The CXL Consortium, which was formed in 2019 to develop an open industry standard group for high-speed CPU interconnect, announced the release of the CXL 2.0 specification. 

CXL is an open industry-standard interconnect offering coherency and memory semantics using high-bandwidth, low-latency connectivity between host processor and devices such as accelerators, memory buffers, and smart I/O devices. The CXL 2.0 specification adds support for switching for fan-out to connect to more devices; memory pooling for increased memory utilization efficiency and providing memory capacity on demand; and support for persistent memory – all while preserving industry investments by supporting full backwards compatibility with CXL 1.1 and 1.0.

Key Highlights of the CXL 2.0 Specification:

• Adds support for switching to enable device fan-out, memory scaling, expansion and the migration of resources.
• Includes memory pooling support to maximize memory utilization, limiting or eliminating the need to overprovision memory.
• Introduces standardized fabric manager specification for inventory and resource allocation to enable easier adoption and management of CXL-based switch and fabric solutions.
• Provides standardized management of the persistent memory interface and enables simultaneous operation alongside DDR, freeing up DDR for other uses.
• Introduces managed hot-plug support to take a CXL device online or offline from the system.
• Adds link-level Integrity and Data Encryption (CXL IDE) to provide confidentiality, integrity and replay protection for data transiting the CXL link.
• Supports a wide variety of industry interconnect form factors and standardized management interfaces to ease implementation.
• Includes Compliance and Interoperability specifications and in-system testing to enable a robust and interoperable multi-vendor ecosystem.

Compute Express Link (CXL) promises high-speed CPU interconnect

Tuesday, March 12, 2019    

Alibaba, Cisco, Dell EMC, Facebook, Google, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Huawei, Intel and Microsoft have teamed up to form Compute Express Link (CXL), an open industry standard group for high-speed CPU interconnect.

CXL will maintain memory coherency between the CPU memory space and memory on attached devices, which allows resource sharing for higher performance, reduced software stack complexity, and lower overall system cost. The technology is built upon PCI Express (PCIe) infrastructure, leveraging the PCIe 5.0 physical and electrical interface to provide advanced protocol in three key areas:

• I/O Protocol 
• Memory Protocol, initially allowing a host to share memory with an accelerator
• Coherency Interface

The group has completed work on a CXL Specification 1.0 for interconnect between the CPU and platform enhancements and workload accelerators, such as GPUs, FPGAs and other purpose-built accelerator solutions.

https://www.computeexpresslink.org/

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SFP-DD MSA updates spec for 100G

The Small Form Factor Pluggable Double Density (SFP-DD) Multi-Source Agreement (MSA) Group released an updated (v4.1) hardware specification for 100+ Gbps, high-density networking equipment. The SFP-DD form factor uses 2-lane pluggable modules, is backward compatible with SFP+ and offers improved host to module management communication based on a Two-Wire-Interface (TWI).

SFP-DD revision 4.1 hardware specification includes added features to support ResetL, dual function IntL/TXFaultDD and ePPS. Newly added timing tables will also allow for low speeds signals, soft control and module status. The former chapter 7 Management Interface is now part of chapter 4, Electrical Specification. The updated hardware specification includes port mapping, optical connectors and module color coding moved out of Mechanical and Board Definition chapter 5 and into a new chapter 5. Lastly, TS-1000 Normative Module and Connector performance requirements were added as Appendix A.

Targeting support of optical modules up to 3.5 W, the SFP-DD form factor addresses the technical challenges of achieving a double-density interface and ensuring mechanical interoperability for module components produced by different manufacturers while still enabling the use of legacy SFP modules. This updated specification supersedes previous versions and has updated mechanical connector dimensions. Users should note that the connector dimensions specified in the 4.1 supersede all previous versions.

SFP-DD MSA promoters include Alibaba, Broadcom, Cisco, Dell EMC, HPE, Huawei, II-VI Incorporated, Intel, Juniper Networks, Lumentum, Molex, Nvidia and TE Connectivity. Contributors include Accelink, Amphenol, AOI, Eoptolink, FIT, Fourte, Genesis, Hisense, Infinera, Innolight, Maxim Integrated, Multilane, Nokia, Oclaro, Senko, Source Photonics, US Conec and ZTE.

http://sfp-dd.com/2020/08/sfp-dd-msa-releases-updated-4-1-hardware-specification/

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Multi-access Edge Computing spec expected in Q3

The 5G Future Forum expects to release its first specification for Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) in the third quarter of 2020.

• The “MEC Experience Management” technical specification defines a set of intent-based APIs for functional exposure of edge and workload discovery with potential expansion to include future MEC functions and capabilities which are driven by network intelligence
• The “MEC Deployment” technical specification defines the set of specifications to enable hyperscalers and service providers to deploy and integrate global MEC physical frameworks, including facilities (e.g. power and cooling), monitoring, operational considerations, and security.

The 5G Future Forum was established in January 2020 by América Móvil, KT Corp., Rogers, Telstra, Verizon, and Vodafone to develop 5G interoperability specifications to accelerate the delivery of 5G and MEC solutions around the world. Over the past six months, the Forum’s founding members have been working to create the governance structure for the 5GFF, as well as develop both technical and commercial workstreams.

The specifications will be released in August 2020. Following release of the specifications, the Forum anticipates expanding its membership to qualified new entrants. Other topics are being planned among the existing members with publication timeframes to be communicated shortly.

“The 5G Future Forum was set up to unlock the full potential of 5G and MEC applications and solutions around the globe,” said Rima Qureshi, chief strategy officer, Verizon. “5G is a key enabler of the next industrial revolution, where technology should transform how we live and work through applications including machine learning, autonomous industrial equipment, smart cars and cities, Internet of Things (IoT) and augmented and virtual reality. The release of these first specifications marks a major step forward in helping companies around the world create a seamless global experience for their customers.”

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New H.266/VVC codec improves efficiency by 50%

After devoting several years to its research and standardization, Fraunhofer HHI, together with partners including Apple, Ericsson, Intel, Huawei, Microsoft, Qualcomm, and Sony, announced the release of H.266/Versatile Video Coding (VVC).

The new H.266/VVC global video coding standard reduces bandwidth requirements by around 50% relative to the previous standard H.265/High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) without compromising visual quality.

H.266/VVC provides efficient transmission and storage of all video resolutions from SD to HD up to 4K and 8K, while supporting high dynamic range video and omnidirectional 360° video.

Fraunhofer HHI said H.266/VVC represents the pinnacle of (at least) four generations of international standards for video coding. The previous standards H.264/Advanced Video Coding (AVC) and H.265/HEVC, which were produced with substantial contributions from Fraunhofer HHI, remain active in more than 10 billion end devices, processing over 90% of the total global volume of video bits.

As an example of improved efficiency, the previous standard H.265/HEVC requires ca. 10 gigabytes of data to transmit a 90-min UHD video. H.266/VVC requires only 5 gigabytes of data to achieve the same quality. Because H.266/VVC was developed with ultra-high-resolution video content in mind, the new standard is particularly beneficial when streaming 4K or 8K videos.

“After dedicating almost three years toward this standard, we are proud to have been instrumental in developing H.266/VVC," says Benjamin Bross, head of the Video Coding Systems group at Fraunhofer HHI and editor of the +500-page standard specification of H.266/VVC. “Because of the quantum leap in coding efficiency offered by H.266/VVC, the use of video will increase further worldwide. Moreover, the increased versatility of H.266/VVC makes its use more attractive for a broader range of applications related to the transmission and storage of video.”

"If you consider that Fraunhofer HHI already played a key role in the development of the previous video coding standards H.264/AVC and H.265/HEVC, then we are happy with the fact that more than 50% of the bits on the Internet are generated by a Fraunhofer HHI technology,” adds Dr. Detlev Marpe, head of the Video Coding and Analytics department at Fraunhofer HHI.

A uniform and transparent licensing model based on the FRAND principle (i.e., fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory) is planned to be established for the use of standard essential patents related to H.266/VVC.

https://newsletter.fraunhofer.de/-viewonline2/17386/465/11/14SHcBTt/V44RELLZBp/1

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O-RAN delivers its Bronze release with 23 new or updated specs

The O-RAN Alliance has launched its second open source software release featuring 23 new or updated specifications.

The O-RAN "Bronze" release also includes an initial set of O-RAN use cases and cloud native deployment support options.


Highlights of O-RAN Bronze:

• an initial release of an A1 policy manager and an A1 controller that implements the Non-Real-Time Radio Intelligent Controller (Non-RT RIC) architecture.
• the Near-Real-Time RIC updated to current O-RAN E2 and A1 specifications with 5 sample xAPPs.
• initial O-CU and O-DU Low/High code contributions that support a FAPI framework and integration between the O-DU and RIC with E2 functionality and subscription support.
• a Traffic Steering and Quality Prediction use case leveraging an E2 interface data ingest pipeline to demonstrate the functionality of RAN traffic steering with an E2 interface KPI monitoring capability.
• OAM use cases that exercise Health Check call flows including the Near-RT RIC and its O1 and A1 interfaces.

“The new use cases, the Bronze software release, and the new O-RAN ALLIANCE members are indications that this global forum is working exactly as intended, reaching across borders to drive innovation and build consensus,” said Andre Fuetsch, Chairman of the O-RAN ALLIANCE and Chief Technology Officer – Network Services, at AT&T. “As this coalition evolves, we look forward to seeing how it continues to broaden access to 5G and other new access technologies.”

“Over the past 6 months, O-RAN working groups and the O-RAN Software Community have extensively engaged to achieve tight alignment between the specifications and the Bronze release open source code,” said Chih-Lin I, the Co-Chair of O-RAN Technical Steering Committee. “Specific progress related to both the Non-RT-RIC and the Near-RT-RIC frameworks and associated key interfaces deserves special mention for its importance in enabling AI/ML capabilities in RAN. The O-RAN virtual showcase further demonstrates the growing momentum towards global adoption and deployment of O-RAN solutions.”

“Ericsson is actively engaged in shaping the future of the O-RAN initiative by enabling Non-RT RIC (Non-Real-Time RAN Intelligent Controller) and A1 interface to support fine-grained intelligent steering of the RAN,” said Per Beming, Head of Standards and Industry Initiative in Ericsson. “During OSC Bronze release, Ericsson continued as the key contributor to Non-RT RIC project by improving support for intent based intelligent RAN optimization using A1 interface. This specific capability allows operators to leverage both RAN and non-RAN data to enrich end user experience.”

https://www.o-ran.org/software

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QSFP-DD800 MSA releases initial 800G transceiver spec

The Quad Small Form Factor Pluggable Double Density 800 (QSFP-DD800) Multi Source Agreement (MSA) group has released a new hardware specification for the QSFP-DD800 transceiver form factor.

The new QSFP-DD800 1.0 specification is intended to be incremental to the existing QSFP-DD 5.0 specification. As signal integrity and thermal performance remain imperative, the transceiver pads have been optimized to improve signal integrity for 100 Gbps performance per lane without affecting backwards compatibility. The new specification additionally defines a novel 2x1 connector/cage, with cabled upper ports as an option to address signal loss issues associated with tradition PCBs. Looking ahead, QSFP-DD800 promoters will continue to work on new connector/cage variants, including 2x1 SMT versions that operate at 100 Gbps per lane.

The MSA group was formed to advance the development of high-speed, double-density QSFP modules which support 800 Gbps connectivity and includes the following promoters: Broadcom, Cisco, II-VI, Intel, Juniper Networks, Marvell, Molex and Samtec.

“In the short time our group has collaborated, we are thrilled to introduce this first specification for the next generation of the QSFP family of modules,” said Scott Sommers, co-chair of the QSFP-DD800 MSA. “As signal integrity and thermal management remain challenges for the optical communications industry, our MSA group is confident that its solutions will meet performance needs.”

“With their superior system integration and design flexibility, QSFP modules continue to be the cornerstone in building next generation networks and network equipment, especially as port speeds increase to 800G,” said Mark Nowell, co-chair of the QSFP-DD800 MSA. “Furthermore, their ability to increase switch and routing bandwidth density without sacrificing backwards compatibility with QSFP-DD, QSFP56 and QSFP28 modules provide network operators tremendous commercial and operational advantages.”

http://www.qsfp-dd800.com

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Open Eye Consortium specification defines 53Gbps per lane PAM-4

The Open Eye Consortium (Open Eye MSA) published its 53 Gbps single-mode specification defining the requirements for analog PAM-4 solutions for 50G SFP, 100G DSFP, 200G QSFP, and 400G QSFP-DD and OSFP single-mode modules.

The Open Eye MSA aims to accelerate the adoption of PAM-4 optical interconnects scaling to 50Gbps, 100Gbps, 200Gbps, and 400Gbps by expanding upon existing standards to enable optical module implementations using less complex, lower cost, lower power, and optimized analog clock and data recovery (CDR) based architectures in addition to existing digital signal processing (DSP) architectures.

A whitepaper is available to view and download.

In addition, the Open Eye MSA announced the draft of its multi-mode specification available to its members for comments, with general availability targeted for release in Fall 2020.

http://www.openeye-msa.org

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OIF's Coherent Common Management Interface Spec supports 400ZR

OIF has completed the Coherent Common Management Interface Specification (C-CMIS) Implementation Agreement (IA), which serves as an extension to the CMIS (QSFP-DD/OSFP/COBO) management specification, specifically targeting DCO modules.

“The C-CMIS IA is an important part of the developing 400ZR ecosystem,” said Ian Betty, Ciena and OIF Board Member. “It defines additional management registers, and monitors, together with new functionality, mechanisms, or behaviors, as needed.”

The C-CMIS IA provides register definition for coherent modules in pages and parameters that were previously reserved. Users that have previously implemented software to manage optical modules using CMIS will be able to quickly add support for these coherent pages and parameters. This release, which augments the existing CMIS specification which focused on addressing direct detect client optics, is targeted at the 400ZR application.

The technology and complexity of coherent modules requires additional monitoring parameters for use in field applications. This additional monitoring is primarily focused on Forward Error Correction (FEC) monitoring and optical/analog monitoring including items like Chromatic Dispersion, Differential Group Delay and Electrical Signal to Noise Ratio (eSNR). The C-CMIS IA provides specifications to monitor the standard parameters in a normative manner while taking advantage of the flexibility of the CMIS specification to monitor any additional proprietary parameters. 

“The current IA is focused on supporting the OIF 400ZR IA, which supports a single data path with eight-lane host electrical interface for a 400GBASE-R PCS signal and a single-lane 400G coherent media interface (with a new signal format called 400ZR),” explained Betty. “However, we expect future versions to include more complex Metro modules and may even extend these management features to other form factors.”

https://www.oiforum.com/

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CBRS Release 2 opens door to further innovation

The Wireless Innovation Forum (WInnForum) announced the approval of a new Release 2 specification defining enhancements to the baseline CBRS Operational and Functional Requirements. It defines optional features and functionality that can be incorporated at any time, with special focus on supporting specific vertical markets and their deployments.

“Our new release of the CBRS standards opens the way for substantial additional innovation in the CBRS band,” said Andrew Clegg, Chair of the WInnForum’s Spectrum Sharing Committee CBRS Functional and Operational Requirements Working Group. “Now anyone can rapidly add features to CBRS simply by contributing a suitable appendix to the Release 2 specification, and, pending committee approval and appropriate certification requirements, the feature is ready for adoption by CBRS users, equipment manufacturers, and Spectrum Access System (SAS) Administrators, on demand.”

Based on the Release 2 additions, exciting emerging technologies can be considered and implemented. Examples include:

• Single Frequency Group - a set of CBSDs that require a common radio frequency assignment and reassignment when frequency reassignment is necessary or preferred; and,
• 2D Antenna Patterns - requirements on how CBSD two-dimensional antenna patterns should be specified and used by the SAS to calculate CBSD antenna gain in a certain direction, taking both horizontal and vertical separation into account.

Additional emerging technologies can be considered in subsequent releases. Development is already underway on additional features to be added to Release 2 very shortly. Other planned features include enhanced group handling, flexible grants and grant updates, indoor penetration loss measurements, refined propagation modeling, registration enhancements, and support for beamforming. The Release 2 specifications will include updates to the SAS to SAS and SAS to CBSD protocols to support these new features, and a Release 2 test specification allowing industry to self-certify against requirements that do not impact Part 96.

https://cbrs.wirelessinnovation.org/enhancements-to-baseline-specifications
http://www.WirelessInnovation.org.

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