The Provider Cloud Work Area (formerly the Broadband Forum’s SDN/NFV and Common YANG Work Areas) develops frameworks and specifications to enable broadband services and networks to utilize cloud-based deployment approaches, including automation and autonomous systems that will utilize machine learning and AI.
The work area published TR-451 Amendment 1 ‘vOMCI Specification’. The specification defines a framework for managing Optical Network Units (ONUs) in a virtualized environment, providing operators with greater flexibility and interoperability by enabling the separation of ONU management functions from physical devices.
The group moved key project, WT-383 Amendment 9 to Straw Ballot, with the aim to publish the new amendment by the Summer Meeting in June 2025. This amendment will bring the YANG model for VoIP, extending BBF YANG management support to nodes offering traditional voice services over a packet-based network. It will also add a range of improvements related to QoS, forwarding, and transceiver management.
The CloudCO Architecture Project Stream continued work on updating the architectural framework and on OLT disaggregation, with revisions made to both WT-384 and WT-477 Issue 2. The project stream also began a new project on Linux Foundation and BBF Alignment Analysis, Requirements, and Recommendations. The project brings together BBF and Linux Foundation to align their respective works on architectural alignment and initial gap analysis with recommendations, vOMCI, OpenOMCI, YANG, and Cloud-CO NBI.
The Cloud Components Project Stream continued work on data collection with a focus on protocols for WT-508. Revisions were made to a number of projects including SD-WAN (WT-495), AIM Architecture (WT-436 Issue 2), and AIM Interfaces (WT-486 Issue 2). The Cloud Interfaces Project Stream will continue to work on the intent based interface between an orchestrator and controller (WT-411 Issue 2), on topology and inventory (WT-454 Issue 2), and on interface interoperability and conformance tests between an OLT and controller (WT-414 and WT-520).
More information about the Provider Cloud Work Area can be found at: https://wiki.broadband-forum.org/display/BBF/Provider+Cloud+Work+Area.