Azure Operator Nexus Delivers Key Benefits and Features

Azure Operator Nexus delivers a streamlined experience for managing and operating Kubernetes applications. It provides a unified view of multiple clusters, simplifying the process of monitoring and troubleshooting.

With Azure Operator Nexus, you can easily manage and monitor your Kubernetes applications across multiple clusters and environments. This is particularly useful for large-scale deployments where visibility and control are essential.

One of the key benefits of Azure Operator Nexus is its ability to provide real-time monitoring and alerting capabilities. This allows you to quickly identify and respond to issues before they impact your application's performance.

By leveraging Azure Operator Nexus, you can gain better visibility into your Kubernetes applications and streamline your operations. This can lead to improved efficiency, reduced downtime, and enhanced overall performance.

Azure Operator Nexus offers several key features that make it an attractive solution for operators. It provides scalability and optimization for 5G networks, allowing operators to run mission-critical mobile workloads on a unified, carrier-grade hybrid platform.

Azure Operator Nexus also enables operators to create a closed-loop automation environment using AI-based analytics, which can be used to derive prescriptive analytics and reconfigure the network to improve operational efficiency and reduce costs. This is achieved by capturing data from the platform, applications, and network.

Some of the key benefits of Azure Operator Nexus include reduced operational complexity and costs, integrated platform for compute, network, and storage, and expanding network function (NF) ecosystem. Operators can also access key Azure services, such as Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, and Azure Machine Learning framework.

Here are some of the key features of Azure Operator Nexus:

Azure Operator Nexus offers several key benefits that make it an attractive solution for operators. It reduces operational complexity and costs by allowing operators to manage their infrastructure and tenants from Azure.

One of the main benefits is the integrated platform for compute, network, and storage. This means operators no longer need to provision these resources separately, which simplifies the process and reduces costs.

Azure Operator Nexus also expands the network function (NF) ecosystem by supporting Microsoft and partner NFs through the Azure Operator Nexus Ready program. These NFs are tested for deployment and lifecycle management on Azure Operator Nexus before they become available in Azure Marketplace.

Operators can access key Azure services through the same connection as their on-premises network. This includes monitoring logs and metrics via Azure Monitor, analyzing telemetry data using Log Analytics, and more.

Here are some of the key benefits of Azure Operator Nexus:

This unified governance and compliance is achieved through Azure role-based access control and Azure Policy, which allows operators to enforce security and compliance policies across their network.

The network packet broker is a crucial component of Azure Operator Nexus, enabling operators to monitor every packet and replicate it for further processing.

Operators can apply packet filters dynamically, which is a game-changer for network performance monitoring and security intrusion detection.

This flexibility allows operators to send filtered packets to multiple destinations for more processing, making it an essential tool for network management.

With the network packet broker, operators can gain real-time insights into network traffic and identify potential security threats before they become major issues.

You can provide support through the Azure Operator Nexus Ready program, which offers a comprehensive ecosystem of certified network functions.

The program utilizes the Azure Operator Service Manager to ensure a consistent and scalable deployment experience for virtualized and containerized network functions.

Operators can instantiate 5G network functions directly from a centralized catalog, reducing interoperability issues and minimizing infrastructure costs.

System integrators, network vendors, and developers can join the Azure Operator Nexus Ready and SI programs by filling out a form.

To deploy a VM or Container, customers can use APIs, or use the Azure Operator Service Manager to automate deployment of Containerized and Virtualized Network Functions.

Bare metal management with Azure Operator Nexus allows operators to provision bare-metal hosts in their own premises.

This means they can easily set up and configure these hosts without relying on external services.

Operators can interact with their bare-metal hosts to restart, shut down, or reimage them as needed.

The cluster manager in Azure Operator Nexus provides the lifecycle management (LCM) of Kubernetes clusters made up of these bare-metal hosts.

This cluster manager helps ensure the smooth operation of the clusters by automating tasks and minimizing manual intervention.

The Azure Operator Service Manager is a game-changer for network equipment providers and operators alike. It allows NEPs to publish their NFs in Azure Marketplace, making it easy for operators to deploy them using familiar Azure APIs.

With Azure Operator Service Manager, you can test and validate the basic functionality of NFs, including lifecycle management, on Azure Operator Nexus. This ensures that your network functions are working as expected before deploying them in production.

The validation process includes testing the NFs on Azure Operator Nexus, which provides a framework for NEPs and Microsoft to collaborate on testing and validation. This helps to ensure that NFs are carrier-grade and meet the required standards.

Azure Operator Service Manager also simplifies the process of deploying network functions and applications on-premises, making it easier for operators to manage their network infrastructure. This is achieved through the use of Azure services such as Azure Monitor, Azure Container Registry, and Azure Kubernetes Services.

By using Azure Operator Service Manager, you can automate the deployment of your Containerized (CNF) and Virtualized (VNF) Network Functions, making it easier to manage your network infrastructure.

The Azure Operator Nexus Ready program offers a comprehensive ecosystem of certified network functions, utilizing the Azure Operator Service Manager for a consistent and scalable deployment experience.

This program provides proactive validation of multi-vendor network functions, improving agility through continuous delivery of NF feature upgrades.

The Azure Operator Nexus Ready program also reduces interoperability issues and minimizes infrastructure costs for network equipment providers and operators.

System integrators (SIs) trained and certified by the program provide horizontal- and vertical-integration services to operators.

To join the Azure Operator Nexus Ready and SI programs, interested SIs, network vendors, or developers can click on the provided link to fill out the form.

Azure Operator Nexus supports both IPV4 and IPV6 configuration across all layers of the stack.

This means you can use IPv6 addresses to access services running within the cluster, which is a big plus for those who need it.

The load balancer is a key component that allows external services to access the services running within the cluster.

You can refer to the load balancer article for more information on how it works.

Validation of VNF and CNF functions is an ongoing activity, and the list of certified VNFs and CNFs will be published soon.

Upgrades to Operator Nexus are made in two phases - Management bundle upgrades and Runtime bundle upgrades.

Management bundle upgrades deal with the upgrades of Controllers in Azure, Cluster Managers in customer subscription and on-premises instances, and Kubernetes controllers responsible for maintaining the state of infra resources.

These upgrades may cause interruptions to provisioning activities but they don't impact customers running workloads.

Customers don't control or drive these upgrades, but they are essential to provide customers with the options to update to new runtime-based upgrades within their on-premises instances.

Runtime bundle upgrades deal with the components that require updates to the OS and/or workload supporting components.

The update of the runtime bundle is entirely under the customer's control and can be performed using APIs.

Customers might observe some workload impacts during this upgrade.