Before we dive into the 5 main solution architecture patterns for 5G deployments, let us discuss the key considerations and domains involved in creating an architecture that can accommodate the demanding performance, latency and scale requirements of a distributed telco platform.
The domains of 5G Architecture
The seven key areas that determine what kind of deployment model to follow for your 5G network are as follows –
- The business use case
- The kind of workload type – 5G Core or RAN or MEC application etc
- Networking requirements
- Performance requirements
- Operational ease of use
- Security
- Cost
Given that most 5G networks will be complex endeavors, both in terms of the number of sites as well as in the number of services (as shown above). Services will be deployed on prem for edge/RAN function and managed via the Cloud (such as running 5G Core on EKS on AWS). Across both on-prem and in the cloud, CNF lifecycle management will be fully automated to maximize the efficiency of operation in scale and minimize associated costs.
The business usecase – In lots of ways, everything boils down to the need for running the 5G network. Is it a CSP (Communications Services Provider) designing a large-scale nationwide 5G network across 50 states? Or a non CSP (typically a private enterprise looking) to own and control (but not operate) 5G network for their internal use? Everything really depends on the usecase as covered here – https://www.vamsitalkstech.com/cloud/the-three-key-use-case-areas-for-5g/
The kind of workload -Depending on the component being architected, operators of 5G broadband networks will deal with complex and dynamic containerized workloads running across 1000s of radio towers and core networks. Depending on which workload or application is being deployed, stringent latency and performance requirements need to be met. For instance, the radio or RAN will consist of various functions such as mobility, radio-link control etc which are fulfilled by software functions running in various sites. The RAN is connected through a transport network to the 5G core.
Networking requirements -5G networking is complex as it covers instance-level networking, pod level networking, and network policy management. Please refer to this blog post for more details – https://www.vamsitalkstech.com/5g/why-5g-implementations-will-need-a-meta-cni-aka-multus/
Performance Requirements – The sheer number of interconnected endpoints with 5G such as mobile devices, IoT sensors and nodes, etc will easily exceed billions over the next 5 years. In that context, performance has multiple implications and infra stacks such as compute instances, containers, etc all will need loads of tuning work. At the network layer, VNFs and CNFs will need near-line rate performance and will require SR-IOV, DPDK, PCI-passthrough, MACvLAN etc. Most networks will also need to support IPv6 to enable the avoidance of IP address exhaustion issues.
Operational ease of use – We covered this topic at some depth in the blog – https://www.vamsitalkstech.com/5g/infrastructure-as-code-iac-for-5g-core-and-radio-network-setup/.
Security – 5G security is a huge topic. Just focusing on the container/compute layer this means data and control plane security, pod security policies, secure OSs, network and
Cost – The cost can be divided into a few buckets based on the actual use case. Cost includes fixed costs (for compute, servers and storage) and operational costs.
Conclusion
The next blog post will introduce the five main solution architecture patterns for 5G networks.