First NFV implementations in GCC Education Sector (2020)

The UAE Ministry of Education announced the "Alef Platform" implementation in all UAE public schools. Alef Platform will allow the ministry to use the Alef Platform to develop a digital education system.

 Moreover, capable of adapting to all possible changes caused due to the Covid-19 pandemic and turn the challenges faced in distance learning into promising opportunities.

The Alef Platform

provides personalized learning experiences for all students, so they learn at their own pace, anytime and anywhere. Artificial intelligence allows students to receive individualized instruction and choose how they prefer to learn.

Alef Platform includes

ENGAGING CONTENT (using effective learning techniques such as engaging videos, activities, and games)
REAL-TIME DATA (Alef platform tracing real-time data to achieve to tracks progress on a district, school, grade, subject, class, and student level)
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (Actionable data insights to teachers and school leaders help support students effectively. To provide actionable data and give intelligent and accurate recommendations, Alef collects over 50 million data points per day!)

 

For a comfortable operation for the Alef platform, we should care IT infrastructure of the MoE school.

The Puzzle

Some challenges are waiting for us.

• Bandwidth limitation.
• Connection/session handling.
• IT security for new changes.
• Operational overhead.
• NOC (Network Operations Center).
• Budget.

Nuts and Bolts to Success

To resolve all the challenges, the Alef team proposed a "Virtual Campus Solution with Traffic Optimization." Furthermore, it does base on the points mentioned below.

•  Be agile.
• Automate and Simplify the WAN.
• On-demand Services for computing resources.
• Automate and unify compliance and estate management.
• Improve mean-time-to-service and mean-time-to-resolution.
• Reduce WAN operational costs.
•  Reduction in CAPEX.

As a Solution Architect, I was tasked with suggesting the best solution to achieve all the mentioned requirements.

 My Role

After thorough research, consultation, and my previous experience, I recommended the concept of network Function Virtualization (NFV).

NFV elements are prevalent in IaaS cloud services. NFV brings a simple concept of implementing network service elements such as routing load balancers, VPN services, WAN optimization, and firewalls in software.

It is possible due to the new capability of provisioning memory and server facility to the network service elements. The NFV elements can be automated, enabling faster provisioning of Alef and other MoE services. These virtual services allow an enterprise to have this network functions on an MoE data center, in the Alef Platform cloud, or at a site(school) location.

The criteria for evaluation and selection were based primarily on:

• Capabilities for existing transport connectivity (native MPLS/Broadband/LTE).
• Micro-segmentation and 
• Paths per segment.
• Integrated and native security (UTM).
• API integration to existing ServiceNow application suite.
• Optimize application performance.
• Intelligent path selection for cloud and on-prem applications.
•  Improved availability and efficiency.
• Improved security stack.
• Reduce operational costs and complexity.
• Automated deployments.
• Improved visibility and analytics via a single centralized management platform.
• Direct local connectivity.

The Solution

 Alef decides on "Versa Networks" for our technology partner for NFV solution and "Dell technology" as a hardware (uCPE) provider.

The first phase

This phase involved moving the MoE network access layer into the NFV fabric. Switching to Versa-certified white box uCPE( DELL) in each branch office location and connecting them to the NFV fabric.

The second phase

Alef and MoE virtual Public and private clouds connect into the NFV fabric. 
 
Alef's Platform hosted on AWS and Azure. MoE's services do host on-premises. 

A virtual data center spun up as a branch. One business requirement is to ensure video traffic performance is of high quality, especially with Alef's Platform transition from MPLS to Internet circuits. This requirement has been addressed with the Versa NFV architecture that overcomes limitations characteristic of Internet circuits.

The Results with the NFV

The NFV architecture has given this high enterprise availability, increased bandwidth, local Internet.

Connectivity, improved performance, enhanced security, improved monitoring, data analysis, multi-cloud connectivity, and a higher quality user experience.

Before deploying the NFV solution, the MoE had an MPLS circuit with a standby backup circuit for binding sites, such as data centers. In contrast, all non-critical locations had a single circuit and no bandwidth Optimization in IP based or application based. After deploying NFV, all branch locations now have Alef platform traffic optimization in all Sites (schools) using VNF.

Enhanced configuration and management allow the Alef and MoE to easily migrate legacy sites to the NFV fabric quickly and reliably. Outside of pre-and post-testing, the Alef can migrate a branch office in less than an hour.

The NFV fabric has allowed the firm to achieve the Alef Platform bandwidth requirement without changing MPLS bandwidth. The organization's operating cost per Site is not changed. Still, almost more than 100 concurrent users are using Alef Platform per Site without any bandwidth issue.

Alef has launched the project in the first week of December 2020. We have completed 191 schools NFV infrastructure in the first week of January-2021.without changing in CAPEX, or Operation Team capacity. And with the help of automation technology, all the systems and services are integrated.