Using OpenStack for Private Cloud Infrastructures in Telco
As telecommunications organizations continue to explore the efficiencies and cost-savings of telco cloud, few infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) platforms have seen as much success as OpenStack.
In this blog, we explore the benefits of managing private cloud infrastructures with OpenStack, while exploring some of the comparisons between the different OpenStack deployment models.
What is OpenStack?
OpenStack is “the most widely deployed open source cloud software in the world.” It provides the essential building blocks for managing virtual clouds (both public and private), and is capable of delivering the cloud infrastructure for virtual machines, bare metal, and containers.
In other words, OpenStack virtualizes network functions into clouds and offers a flexible solution for managing those clouds through APIs /web-based dashboards. It consists of numerous interconnected components, each of which works together to manage the full lifecycle of cloud management.
What are the key components of OpenStack?
A single OpenStack deployment can contain a wide range of components / APIs for accessing infrastructure resources. We’ve listed each component below, and marked the most important ones with an asterisk.*
Compute
Hardware Lifecycle
Storage
- *Swift: Object store. Stores / retrieves large amounts of data.
- *Cinder: Block Storage. Provides block-level storage for VMs.
- Manila: Shared filesystems.
Networking
- *Neutron: Networking. Provides networking-as-a-service (NaaS).
- Octavia: Load balancer.
- Designate: DNS service.
Shared Services
- *Keystone: Identity service. Provides authentication and authorization across all components.
- *Placement: Placement service. Tracks the usage of resources.
- *Glance: Image service. Provides a repository for VM images.
- Barbican: Key management.
Orchestration
- Heat: Orchestration.
- Mistral: Workflow service.
- Zaqar: Messaging Service.
- Blazar: Resource reservation service.
- Aodh: Alarming Service.
Workload Provisioning
Application Lifecycle
Web frontends
- Horizon: Dashboard. Provides an interface for managing all resources.
- Skyline: Next generation dashboard.
Should telco organizations use OpenStack?
OpenStack claims that 96% of communications service providers (CSPs) implementing Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) strategies believe OpenStack is “essential to their success.” In terms of the most common use cases, 37% of CSPs say they use OpenStack to manage private clouds, while 35% are using it as the basis for NFV.
For telcos, there are five major benefits to choosing OpenStack:
- Network agility: OpenStack offers higher levels of flexibility, scalability and resiliency compared to most enterprise solutions.
- Cost savings: It’s cheaper to install and manage infrastructure through OpenStack.
- Track record: OpenStack has been implemented by some of the world’s leading telcos.
- Open standards: Adhering to ETSI and OPNFV means OpenStack is more collaborative in nature.
- Vendor support: Many industry-leading solutions are based on OpenStack and come with strong technical support.
Which telco organizations are using OpenStack?
OpenStack is a popular tool within the telco landscape. Millions of AT&T wireless subscribers are connected to virtualized network services, many of which are based on OpenStack, while T-Mobile’s OpenStack footprint covers around 6,000 bare metal servers and VMs.
Elsewhere, BT rolled out OpenStack-powered 5G access to over 75% of the UK population in April 2025. Further afield, Telekom Networks Malawi (TNM) has reduced costs and complexity by embracing OpenStack as part of a unified cloud environment.
Explore which other organizations are using OpenStack by taking a closer look at OpenStack’s use cases.
Is OpenStack a public or private cloud?
While OpenStack can be used to build private clouds, it’s also common within public clouds. According to OpenStack, there are more than 180 OpenStack-powered public cloud data centers throughout the world.
One of the key advantages of OpenStack is its flexibility, which allows organizations to choose the type of cloud deployment that best suits their requirements. There are five main deployment methods to be aware of…
On-premises
This deployment model involves installing and managing the OpenStack platform on the hardware of an individual user.
- Advantages: Increased control, customization and security.
- Disadvantages: Slow deployment, lack of technical expertise, high operational costs, complex to manage.
Public cloud based on OpenStack
In this model, an OpenStack-based public cloud solution provides the underlying infrastructure, giving users access to resources through APIs / a web interface.
- Advantages: Reduced overheads, limited expertise required.
- Disadvantages: Less control over data, minimal customization.
OpenStack-based private cloud
This occurs when an OpenStack platform is managed by a third-party vendor, but used by a single organization (who maintain control over their data and applications).
- Advantages: Faster to deploy, reduces operational complexity.
- Disadvantages: May not be compatible with existing infrastructure, reduced control over data, potential vendor lock-in.
OpenStack-as-a-Service
This is when a cloud service provider offers a private OpenStack cloud environment to customers as a fully managed solution.
- Advantages: Massive reduction in operational complexity, avoids vendor lock-in, rapid deployment.
- Disadvantages: Requires consistent and secure HTTPS access between customer and vendor.
OpenStack with Kubernetes
Thanks to the complementary nature of OpenStack and Kubernetes, OpenStack services can also be deployed as containers in a Kubernetes cluster.
- Advantages: Provides the added scalability, flexibility and simplicity of Kubernetes.
- Disadvantages: Requires additional technical knowledge to perform.
It’s also worth noting that OpenStack recommends a number of tools for managing the lifecycle of OpenStack deployments:
- Openstack-helm: Deploys OpenStack in containers using Helm.
- Kolla-ansible: Deploys OpenStack in containers using Ansible.
- Kayobe: Deployment of containerised OpenStack to bare metal.
- Openstack-ansible: Ansible playbooks to deploy OpenStack.
- Openstack-charms: Deploys OpenStack in containers using Charms and Juju.
- Bifrost: Ansible playbooks using ironic.
Public cloud alternatives to OpenStack
If you don’t need a private solution, there are numerous public cloud alternatives to OpenStack which you can consider — although the potential benefits of each platform will depend on your specific requirements.
For large-scale deployments, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) offer mature platforms with a wider range of features to explore. In contrast, the developer-friendly environments of DigitalOcean, Akamai Connected Cloud and Vultr might be better suited to smaller / simpler deployments. And, if an open-source solution is non-negotiable, then OpenNebula or Apache CloudStack™ are both potential alternatives to OpenStack.
That said, we believe that a private OpenStack cloud is the best option for securing the unique combination of flexibility, scalability, and cost-efficiency that telcos require to manage their network infrastructure in the modern world.
How to Build a Private Cloud Using OpenStack
Building a private cloud with OpenStack starts with ensuring your team has the right skills and capabilities.
If you want to upskill your development team and learn everything you need to know about OpenStack, LabLabee’s hands-on training labs provide the practical experience and in-depth knowledge needed. Our dedicated OpenStack training lab consists of an all-in-one OpenStack environment, including essential information on Horizon, Keystone, Nova, Neutron, Cinder, Glance, Swift, and Heat microservices.
Looking for more? Explore our full collection of hands-on training labs and upskill your team today.
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