Sophia Antipolis, 4 December 2014

New leadership, organization, and renewed focus on implementation

The ETSI Network Functions Virtualization Industry Specification Group (NFV ISG) has completed its 8th meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona, with over 200 participants kicking-off Phase 2 of the work.

“Operator participants are extremely pleased with the outcomes of NFV Phase 1”, stated Don Clarke, Chair of the NFV Network Operator Council. “Few of us could have anticipated how fast this initiative would grow and how influential it would become. As we enter Phase 2, operators’ expectations continue to rise. We are very conscious of the fact that vendors are investing significant resources to develop NFV capability. It is therefore very important to stay focused and maintain our momentum to create opportunities for NFV deployment.”

Operators and vendors alike are already feeling the benefits of the ISG’s approach to the work and innovative standardization cooperation model, built upon assertive goals, pragmatism, lightweight process, and unprecedented collaboration, allowing the first phase to be completed in record time.

The planning for NFV Phase 2 is now complete and work has commenced with agreement on the objectives and scope to:

  • Grow an interoperable NFV Ecosystem
  • Specify reference points and requirements defined in Phase 1
  • Further grow industry engagement to ensure that NFV requirements are satisfied
  • Clarify how NFV intersects with SDN and related standards, industry, and open source initiatives

Steven Wright, Chair of the ETSI NFV ISG observed “I am very encouraged by the increasing enthusiasm amongst operators and partners alike. The NFV community that we have fostered has never been more robust. While we have challenges to overcome, broad industry participation has resulted in a healthy debate on our Phase 2 plans, which are converging as expected.”

In 2015, Phase 2 will see some reorganization of the ISG NFV working groups, to focus less on requirements and more on adoption. The key areas that will be addressed include:

  • Stability, Interoperability, Reliability, Availability, Maintainability
  • Intensified collaboration with other bodies
  • Testing and validation to encourage interoperability and solidify implementations
  • Definition of interfaces
  • Establishment of a vibrant NFV ecosystem
  • Performance and assurance considerations
  • Security

The work to ensure the smooth adoption of the NFV specifications requires a new working group structure. NFV#8 in Scottsdale has approved the division of the work into five Working groups – each with newly approved Terms of Reference.

Elections

The ISG has elected its technical leadership at NFV#8. Diego Lopez (Telefonica) was re-elected as the Technical Manager, and Joan Triay (DOCOMO) was elected Assistant Technical Manager, succeeding Tetsuya Nakamura (DOCOMO). The new Working Group leadership will be elected at the next plenary meeting (NFV #9), scheduled for Prague in February 2015.

“I am pleased that the ISG reiterated their confidence in me as we approach NFV Phase 2”, commented Diego Lopez, Technical Manager for the ISG. “As our goals shift towards implementation and adoption, we will need more detailed specifications, and need to address functional gaps of the standards we adopt. In order to achieve our goals it is critical that our working groups remain focused, operate with lightweight processes, and strive for interoperability in everything that we do.”

The transition towards Phase 2, with a newly elected leadership and a new working group structure, has energized the group, as it enters a new phase.
Tetsuya Nakamura, ETSI NFV ISG Vice-Chair, stated “I am thrilled about the progress we made on the technical baseline in Phase 1, which required a great deal of collaboration and effort. Congratulations to all contributors for their commitment, dedication, and hard work without which the leap to Phase 2 would not be possible.”

NFV Awards

At the ISG NFV#8 meeting, Tetsuya Nakamura (DOCOMO), Michael Brenner (Alcatel Lucent), Joan Triay (Docomo), and Frank Zdarsky (NEC) were all recognized by the ISG leadership with a special award for their outstanding contributions to NFV Phase 1.