Challenges Towards Automation of Live Telco Network Management: Closed Control Loops

Higher automation is seen as a key milestone in the evolution of telecom networks. Maintaining a myriad of different technologies over constantly evolving architectures (from 2G-5G) increases operational expenditures and poses real integration and deployment challenges for operators. In addition, the new network dynamism introduced with virtualization, eventually leading to multi-tenancy, will add further complexities for the operator in managing the network. This paper outlines the essential role of open and closed control loops in achieving higher levels of network automation, identifies the related challenges that operators face in deploying control loops in live environments and describes preliminary, standards-oriented solutions.