The OAS provides open capabilities for devices. It uses the virtualization technology to reserve an independent space in the original closed device system architecture. When the inherent functions of a device cannot meet requirements, users can install customized applications in the OAS to meet diversified network management requirements.
Why Do We Need an OAS?
With the continuous development of networks, users' requirements for differentiated network devices are increasing. The inherent functions of traditional network devices are unable to fulfill users' needs as users turn their attention towards applications that meet their service requirements. The software and hardware architectures of traditional network devices are relatively closed, and no single vendor can provide all services required by customers. Therefore, customers have to purchase and deploy new servers to meet service requirements. In this way, the entire system becomes increasingly large and complex, and these isolated applications are difficult to uniformly manage. To resolve this problem, network devices need to gradually evolve from closed to open, allowing users to flexibly customize their service applications based on open systems.
Although Huawei has provided unified application programming interfaces (APIs) to enhance the open programmability of network devices, the openness is far from enough. To solve this problem, virtualization technology is used to construct the OAS based on the original basic hardware and operating system of network devices. The OAS provides an independent and operable platform for users to install personalized applications. When new services are required, users can install customized applications on existing network devices without needing to purchase additional servers. This reduces service expansion costs and the burden on O&M.
These personalized applications may be functions customized by Huawei for specific users, or may be customized and developed by a partner or a user. Improved openness encourages more individuals and organizations to participate in improving and optimizing the communications system, providing users with richer service experience and more choices. Furthermore, increasingly more third-party applications are loaded to the existing network architecture through the OAS, providing a foundation for the seamless connection of future IoT applications and construction of a fully connected ecosystem.
OAS Application
The OAS can be used in many scenarios. For example, for healthcare IoT as shown in the following figure, the medical devices of each patient in the hospital are connected to the clinical healthcare IoT through Wi-Fi. A third-party application is installed on network devices using the OAS capability to collect information about medical devices, convert the information into service data, and upload the service data to the healthcare cloud. This aids medical personnel in quickly assessing the condition of patients.
Healthcare IoT
