From Virtualization to Cloudification: What Wireless Networks Need to Know

What is Virtualization?

Virtualization turns one physical computer into multiple logical computers, each with its own isolated space, allowing different operating systems and applications to run independently, thereby significantly improving computing efficiency.

The essence of virtualization is the shift from physical to logical resources, a concept pervasive in communication systems—from physical channels to logical channels, VLANs, and beyond—offering decoupling both vertically (soft‑hardware) and horizontally (between applications).

Although virtualization promises higher efficiency through resource sharing, real‑world server utilization remains low (6‑12% according to industry surveys), indicating that efficiency gains depend heavily on workload patterns and scheduling algorithms.

Intel initially hesitated to support virtualization due to efficiency concerns, but after recognizing the broader ecosystem benefits, it integrated virtualization extensions into x86, helping the platform surpass ARM.

What is Cloudification?

Unlike virtualization, cloudification lacks a single standard definition; it is often associated with Cloud‑Native concepts such as DevOps, continuous delivery, micro‑services, agile infrastructure, and Conway’s Law.

Definition 1: Cloud‑Native is a collection of DevOps, continuous delivery, micro‑services, agile infrastructure, Conway’s Law, etc.

Definition 2: Continuous delivery, micro‑services, and DevOps describe the Why, What, and How of Cloud‑Native respectively.

Huawei described three features of full cloudification in 2016: hardware resource pooling, software-wide distribution, and fully automated operation‑maintenance. AT&T’s Domain 2.0 highlighted elasticity, openness, and autonomy for future cloudified networks.

The core of cloudification is cloud infrastructure, epitomized by the Cloud Operating System (CloudOS). OpenStack has become the de‑facto standard for such infrastructure.

From Virtualization to Cloudification

Virtualization and cloudification are not strictly sequential; however, virtualization’s unified compute, storage, and network resources facilitate the resource pooling and distribution required for cloudification.

In wireless network products, pure virtualization has limited impact on upper‑layer software but simplifies infrastructure operation and decouples hardware from software. Cloudification, by contrast, often demands substantial software refactoring to achieve elasticity, openness, and autonomy.

Do Wireless Networks Need Cloudification?

From an internal perspective, Cloud‑Native practices (continuous delivery, micro‑services, DevOps) boost development efficiency and productivity. Externally, cloudified software offers better elasticity, reliability, scalability, development environments, ecosystem resources, and faster time‑to‑market, aligning with telecom operators’ digital transformation goals.

Wireless cloudification scenarios include migrating certain pipeline applications to the cloud and leveraging Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) to bring resources closer to users, reducing latency. Even remote radio units (RRUs) can be managed as cloud resources through projects like SD‑RRH in the ODL community.