Are you looking to improve your network operations by automating tasks? Building a network automation solution is simple with a graph platform like Neo4j. See the presentation from Neo4j and Elisa, our telco customer based in Finland.

1. Elisa Oyj - Neo4j
April 30, 2019
Graph-based real-time
inventory and topology
for Network Automation

2. Teemu Nykänen
Service Architect at Elisa
Jesús Barrasa
Director Telco Solutions at Neo4j

3. The #1 Platform for
Connected Data

5. Why Graphs in Telco?

6. Challenges / Requirements
Capture Complexity
Allow Flexibility
High Performance
Rich, Dynamic, Flexible
Graph Model on a
Native Graph Platform

7. Adoption

8. Adoption Highlights
Leading OSS Vendors
Half of the leaders in the 2018
Gartner MQ for OSS embed
Neo4j in their products
2 of the 3 world’s largest CSP
use Neo4j in mission critical
solutions
Largest Telcos

9. Use Cases

11. Elisa Software Defined Networking
Graph based real-time inventory

12. • What Elisa does and why should you care
• Network automation (zero touch included, no added sugar)
• Beauty benefits of graph databases
• Your guide today:
• Teemu Nykänen, Service Architect (teemu.nykanen@elisa.fi)
Introduction

13. First in Finland and in the world
1882: 1929: 1936: 1950: 1991: 1993: 2007: 2010: 2011: 2015: 2019:
Daniel Wadén
brings the
telephone to
Finland.
The telephone
network in
Helsinki is
automated.
The speaking
clock service
is introduced.
The Helsinki
Telephone
Association
builds a
telephone
network with
four
switchboards
for the
Olympic
Games.
A GSM
telephone call
is made over
the Radiolinja
network.
A GSM data
call takes
place over the
Radiolinja
network.
Thanks to the
commercial
UMTS900
network, the
3G network
can be built
quickly all over
Finland.
The 4G
network taken
into pre-
commercial
use.
The Elisa
Viihde service
combines a
modern TV
service and
the ability to
watch
recordings
using a tablet.
Elisa Internet
of Things (IoT)
service
package
launched in
Finland and
Estonia
Commercial
5G

14. Elisa key figures
2.8 million
customers, Finland and Estonia
25.4 (21.1)
customer satisfaction (NPS) 2018
Approx. 185,000
shareholders
4,800 (4,700)
Elisa employees
#1 Finland, #2 Estonia
market position
€1.83 billion (1.79)
revenue 2018
€1.95 (1.86)
comparable earnings per share (EPS) 2018
€254 million (240)
capital expenditure investments 2018
4.66 million (4.68)
mobile subscriptions, Finland and Estonia 2018
696,500 (692,300)
fixed broadband subscriptions 2018

15. Leading market position in Finland
Mobile subscriptions Fixed network subscriptions
Elisa
40%
Telia
32%
DNA
28% Elisa
35%
Telia
29%
~20 Finnet
companies
8%
Others
2%
DNA
26%
Source: FICORA
Source: Company reports Q3/2018
Post-paid market shares: Elisa 40%, Telia 34% and DNA 26%

16. Digital services for international markets
Innovative managed
services and solution
provider for large enterpise
video conferencing
Providing automation
solutions to telcos for
zero-touch network
processes
Solution for
manufacturers to enable
better decisions, reduce
downtime and improve
quality

17. The best network, the best customer experience
• We offer fast broadband connections
implemented using the best possible
technologies
• Elisa’s 4G network covers 99.8% of Finland’s
population
• Connections up to 1 Gbit/s are available to more and
more households
• We are the first in world to build a 5G network,
and soon we will offer 5G services to all Finns
• We focus on quality and on continuously
improving our customers’ user experience
• We prevent disturbances
with the help of automation

18. • SDN with Elisa twist à Elisa
Software-defined Networking
• ”Facilitates network management
and enables programmatically
efficient network configuration in
order to improve network
performance and monitoring”
• Not just for fancy things
but also for devices à Hybrid
networks
Codename EDN

19. • Enables automation for network. From CLI towards Intent Driven network
• Service activation/provisioning
• ”Zero touch” functionality
• Telemetry collection
• Network optimization (closed loop with telemetry data and machine learning applied )
• Multivendor (and protocol) capable. (take the power back)
• Multiple domains. IP/MPLS currently under construction
• Building things for our own needs but also planning to make parts of it commercially available
• Available from your local dealer at later in time and space
• Situational awareness required
Codename EDN

20. • Nothing to see here. Just some:
• Nodes
• Edges
• Vertices
• Connections
• Required for true automation
• Essential piece in the EDN puzzle
• Graph database fits like a glove
Network topology view (in real-time please)

21. • It’s alive! We’re in production with few services released.
• Causal cluster filled with nodes and connections
• One microservice to kill rule em’ all
• Several data streams
• Element managers
• Network discovery
• Telemetry events
• Once more, automation.
• Most of the graph is not exposed via UI
• Sharing data for analytics, anomaly detection etc.
State of a nation

22. Supermodels

23. • Around 1.3 million nodes and 1.9 million connections
• To date, we have modelled:
• Physical layer (which can also be virtual)
• Part of the logical layer (portion of the services of IP/MPLS network)
• To be continued…
So far so good

24. • Other good graph databases in the market
• We even have in-house experience of some of them
• Querying and the power of Cypher
• Not just a graph but native labelled property graph.
• Maturity
• In-house deployment
Why neo4j?

25. • Elisa is awesome
• Finns are using loads of data. Also beware of angry 5G.
• Train it with automation instead of tight leash.
• We sell things
• SDN is nice EDN is nicer
• Cooler than being cool is ice cold.
• Did I already mention automation?
• Know your enemy network! Store it into graph, you won’t regret it.
• Make nodes not tables
Summary

26. Thank you!
Follow our journey on Facebook (@elisasuomi) and Twitter (@ElisaOyj)