Linux and open-source technology provider SUSE today is announcing the latest iteration of its Adaptive Telco Infrastructure Platform (ATIP) 3.0 that offers better control over 5G network deployments using automation and better coverage for hardware.

ATIP is based on SUSE's edge stack with the addition of telco-specific optimizations. It first debuted in 2023 and is now being updated with enhanced capabilities aimed at optimizing networking infrastructure for 5G deployments. SUSE is an active participant in the Linux Foundation's Project Sylva, which is an open-source effort to define a reference architecture that meets the requirements for telco providers. ATIP is intended to be a downstream implementation of Project Sylva architecture.

“ATIP has been very well-received by telcos over the past year,” Keith Basil, GM for the edge business unit at SUSE, told SDxCentral. “It aligns well with telcos' move toward cloud-native packet core solutions.”

New release focuses on automation and hardware support

Among the automation updates is support for the common application programming interface (API) (CAPI), which orchestrates the management of machines across locations at scale. SUSE's product portfolio over the last year has increasingly added support for CAPI, which has become a de facto industry standard for cluster provisioning. SUSE supports CAPI with its Rancher Prime 2.0 Kubernetes (K8s) orchestration platform.

Enhanced hardware management capabilities in ATIP 3.0 now more easily enable telco operators to control machines for tasks like turning machines on, reimaging and loading initial images. The improved management comes by way of the open-source Metal3 (pronounced “metal cubed”) project.

Basil said one of the primary challenges for telcos is managing resources at scale, which is an area where the Metal3 capabilities will be a big help. ATIP also supports a GitOps style of deployment that can help to keep systems up to date as applications change.

ATIP 3.0 supports VNFs, containers and emerging workloads

The ability to support containers is a core element of cloud-native deployment. In the telco space, container network functions (CNFs) are becoming increasingly common, but that's not the only way that applications are deployed. Most telcos still rely on virtual machines for various applications.

To help support virtual machines in telco environments, ATIP 3.0 is adding support for running virtual machines alongside containers. Basil said that ATIP 3.0 incorporates technology from SUSE's Harvester product, which includes the open-source KubeVirt technology for supporting virtual machines.

By integrating the virtual machine capabilities, Basil said that ATIP 3.0 allows telcos to run a whole class of classic virtual machine network functions (VNFs) that may still be deployed as virtual machines alongside their containerized workloads on the same platform. This gives telcos more flexibility in their network function deployments.

Private 5G networking is a growing area for the future

Looking ahead, Basil sees potential for ATIP in private 5G networks.

While ATIP was originally designed for telco operators' public 5G networks, Basil noted they are now pursuing opportunities in the private 5G networking space, particularly within the defense sector working with government contractors. He believes private 5G use cases will be an area of focus and driver of future conversations about ATIP.

“We're seeing a lot of demand for private 5G,” he said.