VIAVI Solutions, in collaboration with VMware, which was recently acquired by Broadcoam, has announced advanced and additional capabilities of a joint Testbed as a Service (TBaaS). VMware combined the VIAVI TeraVM RIC Test with the VMware radio access network (RAN) intelligent controller (RIC) to create a Digital Twin for the evaluation and performance benchmarking of applications. TBaaS has been validated with multiple app vendors and consortiums, including at the i14y Lab, underscoring expanding industry demand due to its ability to speed deployment and agility, both of which are increasingly urgent in today’s network environments.
Digital Twin modelling is based on artificial intelligence (AI) and enables new predictive capabilities. It is fast emerging as a vital solution to fortify increasingly complex networks. By creating a virtual model of a network in the lab, service providers can more quickly and effectively model network behaviours and disruptions. TBaaS provides a cloud-based Digital Twin via a set of tools that enable communication service providers (CSPs) to streamline evaluation of rApps and xApps prior to selection of partners, continuous integration (CI) / continuous deployment (CD) efforts, deployment, and secure operations in the network.
Commenting on the collaboration, Lakshmi Mandyam, vice president, product management and partner ecosystems, software-defined edge division, Broadcom, said, “We’re collaborating with VIAVI to make sure that CSPs can benefit in many ways from the power of test automation and enablement. By integrating the VMware RIC with VIAVI’s TeraVM RIC Test solution and making it available as a service, we are enabling an entirely new approach in RIC App development, CI/CD test automation and benchmarking. Our combined efforts help to speed CSPs network modernisation and monetisation initiatives.”
With TBaaS, RIC applications address the need for simulations using realistic data. VIAVI provides geolocation intelligence and xApps/rApps, with real RAN data over the VMware RIC platform. This allows a CSP to capture information once and emulate it with multiple other applications, reducing the overhead of repeatedly capturing, processing and transmitting data. In addition, the RAN Scenario Generator within the TeraVM RIC Test allows developers and operators to model scenarios in the lab, either prior to launch or in environments where large volumes of real data are unavailable. Data captured can also be used for training AI/ML models.
Meanwhile, Ian Langley, senior vice president and general manager, wireless business, VIAVI, said, “We are very pleased to continue and advance our partnership with VMware, and now Broadcom, a partner that shares with VIAVI a heritage of decades of innovation, collaboration and engineering excellence. Our complementary portfolios are focused on demystifying the complex environments associated with digital twin, and together they provide a vast array of benefits that will help transform and accelerate new network capabilities.”
