The telecommunications industry is navigating a structural transformation of unprecedented scale, moving from a connectivity-centric model to one defined by distributed intelligence. As core connectivity revenues flatten and the commoditization of data transport accelerates, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) are uniquely positioned to capitalize on the industrialization of Artificial Intelligence (AI). This transition requires more than merely deploying servers at the edge; it demands the creation of AI Factories —sovereign, highly automated, and multi-tenant infrastructures capable of executing AI models with the same reliability, deterministic performance, and security as the mission-critical network functions they host.
This white paper presents a comprehensive Reference Architecture for the OpenNebula AI Factory, specifically tailored for the telecommunications sector. It translates abstract business goals—data sovereignty, latency reduction, and infrastructure monetization—into concrete technical specifications and operational workflows. The optimal architecture for a Telco AI Factory is not a monolithic public cloud stack, but a converged, layered ecosystem that unifies High-Performance Computing (HPC) acceleration with the agility of cloud-native orchestration.
The proposed architecture addresses critical gaps in current edge deployments, specifically the lack of seamless integration between 5G User Plane Function (UPF) and AI inference engines, the challenge of telemetry normalization for AI models, and the operational complexity of managing heterogeneous workloads (vRAN + AI) on shared silicon. By leveraging OpenNebula’s zero-overhead virtualization, integrated with advanced networking fabrics and automated service orchestration, operators can transform their distributed footprint into a sovereign AI-ready engine that serves the diverse needs of the European industrial landscape.
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