The Broadband Forum released two documents to help reduce the time and cost associated with onboarding new Optical Network Unit (ONU) vendors:
Broadband Forum’s TR-451 ‘vOMCI Specification’ and MR-451 ‘ONU Management using Virtualized OMCI’ have armed operators with more choice in how they create, activate, and maintain services associated with ONUs. Previously, the management cycle of the ONU was tied to a specific vendor’s Optical Line Terminal (OLT). The latest specification enables operators to de-couple the ONU and OLT from control and management purposes, with the Virtualized ONU Management (vOMCI) being introduced as a solution to centralize operations without relying on each OLT to act as a management entity.
“The latest specification can be used in the evolution of the management of ONUs, not as a replacement for the management processes and data models already in use by operators but to future-proof their infrastructure while maintaining their investment in existing ONU devices,” said Bruno Cornaglia, Co-Director of the SDN/NFV Work Area at Broadband Forum. “Ultimately, ONU management will be more adaptive to changes in operators’ processes and services, as well as less costly to maintain.”
