Tethered Linux CPE for IP service delivery

This paper presents a new delivery model for IP communication services based on using lightweight Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) that is remotely controlled by virtualized software images running on a provider cloud. By removing the complex pieces of the service logic from the equipment in the customer premises, and by placing them in a virtualized software instance running inside the Service Provider's datacenter, relevant Operational and Capital Expenditure (CAPEX and OPEX) savings can be obtained. CAPEX savings are achieved by reducing the complexity of the piece of hardware to be deployed at the customer premises, or by extending the life cycle of existing devices already deployed. Potential OPEX savings are even larger: the complex logic of the service implementation (the software complexity) is under more manageable control of the service provider, thus enabling simpler troubleshooting and software upgrades, and reducing technical support calls and truck rolls. Hardware development is simplified as the service complexity is implemented in software with a continuous development model, thus reducing the time to market for new services whilst maintaining consistency of service regardless of hardware in the home. This model is enabled by the latest advances in the networking stack of the Linux kernel (which allow to implement network functions as programs running in kernel space), coupled with the use of Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Functions Virtualization (NFV). The combination of these technologies allows controlling the broadband service in the cloud, while maintaining local, on-premises service enforcement, security and address management.