The Open Networking Foundation (ONF) today revealed a pair of projects previously wrapped into its broader Aether project. SD-Core and SD-Fabric join the previously announced SD-RAN project, comprising the three primary layers of ONF’s project for private network architecture.

SD-Core, an open source disaggregated mobile network core architecture, supports 4G LTE and 5G, including non-standalone (NSA) and standalone (SA) architecture for private 5G and enterprise services.

SD-Fabric, a full stack and programmable network fabric offering, targets applications for hybrid cloud, edge, and IoT running on 5G infrastructure. 

“SD-Core and SD-Fabric are integral parts of Aether,” ONF’s VP of marketing Timon Sloane said, adding that these internal components haven’t been exposed as independent projects until now. “Each of these components in their own right are truly substantial and have use cases and applications far beyond Aether." 

Sloane describes Aether as a “holistically consumable platform that pre-integrates” components for radio access networks, core, and fabric, but notes that each of the three components are also available now as independent open source projects.

Aether deployments are live in about 15 sites around the world, including a project with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, according to ONF. 

By separating the trio of layers that form Aether, ONF could receive more adoption from operators and enterprises that prefer to choose the layers most suited to their needs. 

China Mobile, for example, plans to deploy IPv6 segment routing with the aid of SD-Fabric because it allows the operator to “fully program the forwarding path” and deploy the emerging G-SRv6 protocol “without waiting for a switch vendor to release a new ASIC supporting the protocol and new header formats,” Weiqiang Cheng, technical manager at China Mobile Research Institute, said in a statement. 

Dell Technologies, which is assembling a cloud-native network infrastructure with a full stack of open and scalable servers and software, views ONF’s core, RAN, and fabric projects as well suited for private 5G enterprise uses, Ihab Tarazi, CTO and SVP in Dell’s Networking and Solutions unit, said in a statement. 

ONF expects a mix of use cases and deployments to unfold now that all three layers of Aether are independently available, according to Sloane.