AI
Nokia’s Network Footprint and Kubernetes at Scale
Nokia builds fixed, mobile, and transport networks. Its software runs in mobile base stations, homes, and data centers. Nearly every IP packet on the internet passes through a Nokia device at some point. The company’s cloud-native telecom applications serve 4.4 billion mobile subscriptions across 1,500 providers in 150 countries. For testing and internal purposes alone, Nokia runs one of the largest private clouds in the world: more than 70,000 cores running Kubernetes workloads.
KEPT: GitOps Configuration for 10,000 Devices at Once
KEPT is a CNCF sandbox project Nokia maintains with community peers. It defines configuration blueprints for applications, letting teams specialize settings based on where each application runs. That location-awareness feeds directly into GitOps workflows. The practical result: operators can push consistent configuration changes to 10,000 devices in a telecom network at once, replacing manual per-device work with a single versioned rollout.
SDC: Kubernetes as a Telecom Control Plane
Schema-Driven Configuration (SDC) exposes the configuration of Netconf Yang-based devices as Kubernetes resources. That mapping lets Nokia run closed-loop automation on network devices through the Kubernetes control plane. SDC is fully open, and Nokia is working with CNCF to bring it into the sandbox. The goal is standardized automation across telecom hardware that previously required vendor-specific tooling, applying Kubernetes controllers and GitOps pipelines to the same devices that power mobile networks.
Notable Quotes
which are serving more than 4.4 billion Gergely Csatari · ▶ 0:34
more than 70,000 cores running Gergely Csatari · ▶ 0:52
reconfiguring reconfiguring 10,000 Gergely Csatari · ▶ 1:33
Key Takeaways
- Nokia’s private test cloud runs over 70,000 Kubernetes cores serving 150 countries.
- KEPT uses GitOps blueprints to reconfigure 10,000 telecom devices in one consistent pass.
- SDC maps Netconf Yang devices to Kubernetes resources, enabling closed-loop network automation.
About the Speaker(s)
Gergely Csatari spent two decades in the telecom industry, watching the shift from vendor-specific hardware to virtualization and cloud-native infrastructure. He works in the OSPO team of the Nokia CTO office, responsible for open source strategy and contribution across the company.