ONAP review
A broad open-source stack for policy-driven network service orchestration.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
ONAP is an open-source network automation project for communication service providers, cloud providers, enterprises, and network technology developers. It brings together functions for designing, orchestrating, monitoring, and automating physical, virtual, and cloud-native network services. Its scope covers policy-driven service design, service and resource modeling, inventory, controller-based operations, and end-to-end lifecycle management. Teams looking for open-source service orchestration across multiple network-function types are the clearest fit.
The platform's strongest differentiator is its breadth across the service lifecycle. Design-time tooling supports service, resource, and product modeling, while Active & Available Inventory provides real-time inventory and relationship views. ONAP also supports closed-loop automation based on monitoring, analytics, alarms, and events. Controllers manage physical and virtual networks, and the platform covers configuration management, workflow orchestration, and network testing. This makes it relevant when network services must be modeled, deployed, monitored, and adjusted as one operational process rather than handled through isolated tools.
Deployment is self-hosted: operators run ONAP in their own Kubernetes-based environments using the ONAP Operations Manager, Docker containers, and Helm. Kubernetes-based deployment and lifecycle management are handled through OOM. That model gives organizations control over where the platform runs, but it also places infrastructure and operational responsibility with the adopting team. ONAP should appeal to organizations that need a broad, modular foundation for open-source network service automation. Teams seeking a narrow tool with a simpler deployment model may prefer a more focused alternative.
ONAP pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Orchestrates physical, virtual, and cloud-native network functions
- Supports closed-loop automation using monitoring, analytics, alarms, and events
- Combines modeling, inventory, controllers, and lifecycle management
- Where it doesn't
- Requires self-hosted deployment in a Kubernetes-based environment
- Its broad modular scope can demand substantial operational coordination
- Less suited to teams seeking a narrow, standalone network automation tool
ONAP fact sheet, pricing and score →
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