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Open Network Automation Platform

Open Network Automation Platform (ONAP) is an open-source network automation and orchestration platform (network automation) for designing, deploying, and managing physical and virtual network services at scale.

  • End-to-end service orchestration and lifecycle management for physical and virtual network functions (network automation).
  • Model-driven design of network services and resources through a common service design and creation framework (service modeling).
  • Policy-driven automation to control runtime behavior of services and infrastructure (policy management).
  • Closed-loop automation using real-time monitoring, analytics, and control loops (service assurance).
  • Extensible platform integrating with multi-vendor and multi-domain network technologies and management systems (integration framework).

More About Open Network Automation Platform

Open Network Automation Platform (ONAP) is an open-source platform (network automation) under LF Networking that provides a unified framework for the design, orchestration, and lifecycle management of network services and resources across physical, virtual, and cloud-native environments. It addresses the need for a common, model-driven automation layer that can operate across multi-technology and multi-vendor networks, supporting use cases such as Virtual Network Function (VNF) deployment, 5G network services, and software-defined wide area networking.

ONAP combines multiple functional domains within a single architecture, including service design (service modeling), orchestration and control (service orchestration), analytics and assurance (service assurance), and policy (policy management). Its design environment enables creation of reusable models for services, networks, and resources, which drive runtime behavior without custom code per service. These models underpin the orchestration engines that automate provisioning, configuration, and updates across hybrid infrastructures spanning Network Functions Virtualization (NFV), container-based network functions, and traditional network elements.

The platform implements a modular, component-based architecture (platform framework) that separates design-time and run-time capabilities. At run time, ONAP coordinates service orchestration, resource orchestration, inventory management, and control loop execution. Closed-loop automation (service assurance) uses telemetry and events from the network, combined with analytics and policy rules, to trigger actions such as scaling, healing, or reconfiguration. This supports automated operations aligned with carrier-grade and cloud-scale network environments.

ONAP is designed for deployment in large carrier and enterprise networks (network operations). It integrates with existing network management systems, Software Defined Networking (SDN) controllers, and orchestration frameworks through standardized interfaces and adapters (systems integration). The platform supports multi-domain and multi-vendor interoperability, enabling operators to automate services that span radio, core, transport, and enterprise networks, while maintaining a single orchestration and policy layer.

From a technology stack perspective, ONAP uses a microservices-based architecture (cloud-native platform) and can be deployed on cloud infrastructure using container orchestration technologies. Its open APIs (integration framework) and model-based abstractions allow vendors and operators to extend the platform with custom plugins, policies, and service models, aligning with broader ecosystems in NFV, SDN, and cloud-native networking. In an enterprise technical catalog, ONAP fits under network and service orchestration, closed-loop automation, and operational support systems, providing a programmable control and automation layer for complex network services.