WHAT ARE THE KEY FACTORS THAT CAN MAKE NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURES FUTURISTIC?
The technology landscape is fast-changing with new types of devices, systems and functionalities. New applications such as holographic telepresence, instant data transmission, remote surgery, and autonomous transportation systems have made the need for a network infrastructure of the next generation more urgent. The architecture of the future networks must consider all the gaps of already existing networks in order to ensure the highest robustness, extremely low latency, and ubiquitous coverage required in these applications.
Low Latency
Latency-sensitive services like three-dimensional data exchange and augmented reality (AR)/virtual reality (VR) have not been supported in the 4G system because it was only aimed at increasing the user service capacity. In addition to supporting broadband service, a fifth-generation system considers how to support reliable and low-latency communication for latency-sensitive services.
In a 5G core network, the user plane function (UPF) plays a vital role in managing data traffic for your device. The UPF is strategically placed close to your device to ensure that data is sent to the right destination so that there is no latency. It does this based on various factors, such as the information about your subscription, where you are located, data from the application you are using (like a video streaming app or a game), and specific rules or guidelines set by the network. Since it is made sure that the data goes where it needs to go based on different factors, the latency is low.
A converged core network is designed to support edge computing, which means that certain tasks can be done closer to your device rather than sending everything to a central location, reducing the latency. This is achieved through a combination of different functions that work together. Edge computing allows faster processing and response times for applications and services, as some tasks can be done right where you are instead of going back and forth to a distant server.
Virtualization
Network virtualization abstracts network services from the physical hardware and infrastructure. To do this, a network hypervisor creates an abstraction layer that hosts and supports different virtual networks. A virtualized network service allows for efficient resource allocation and sharing, optimizing the utilization of available hardware and reducing the wastage of resources. Since expensive physical hardware is not required, users can experiment with new technologies without disrupting the entire network infrastructure.
With the help of an open and virtualized RAN, telecommunications operators can run their baseband functions as software. One of the primary benefits of virtualizing radio access networks (RANs) is that RAN functions no longer require special proprietary hardware to run and can instead be run on standard servers.
Cloud-Native
5G operational procedures will need to support massive data traffic, maintain stringent service level agreements (SLAs), multi-access edge computing and exposure. Therefore, processes requiring manual activities will not be able to react to the number of decisions and actions required to maintain the expected customer service experience.
For this, a converged core network will need to be deployed by the service provider. Since it is cloud-native, it will enable a faster time to launch new services and implement the latest improvements to the network. These include the cloud infrastructure, software applications and IT domains like OSS and BSS, management of network slices for end-to-end services and the exposure of APIs.
Security and Privacy
As 5G and beyond networks are responsible for interconnecting many Internet protocol Telephony based critical national infrastructure, attacks on future telecommunication networks will have a ripple effect. Some devastating examples caused by such attacks are smart cities and factories shutting down. These challenges demand significant effort from the research and industry communities to standardize and implement security for all networks, including Open RAN networks. Especially the decentralization of control functions with Open RAN increases the number of threat vectors and the surface area for attacks. Less hardware dependency and support for complete software control in an Open and virtualized RAN allow isolating security breaches quickly and intelligently, reducing the impact of security risk.
Low Latency
Latency-sensitive services like three-dimensional data exchange and augmented reality (AR)/virtual reality (VR) have not been supported in the 4G system because it was only aimed at increasing the user service capacity. In addition to supporting broadband service, a fifth-generation system considers how to support reliable and low-latency communication for latency-sensitive services.
In a 5G core network, the user plane function (UPF) plays a vital role in managing data traffic for your device. The UPF is strategically placed close to your device to ensure that data is sent to the right destination so that there is no latency. It does this based on various factors, such as the information about your subscription, where you are located, data from the application you are using (like a video streaming app or a game), and specific rules or guidelines set by the network. Since it is made sure that the data goes where it needs to go based on different factors, the latency is low.
A converged core network is designed to support edge computing, which means that certain tasks can be done closer to your device rather than sending everything to a central location, reducing the latency. This is achieved through a combination of different functions that work together. Edge computing allows faster processing and response times for applications and services, as some tasks can be done right where you are instead of going back and forth to a distant server.
Virtualization
Network virtualization abstracts network services from the physical hardware and infrastructure. To do this, a network hypervisor creates an abstraction layer that hosts and supports different virtual networks. A virtualized network service allows for efficient resource allocation and sharing, optimizing the utilization of available hardware and reducing the wastage of resources. Since expensive physical hardware is not required, users can experiment with new technologies without disrupting the entire network infrastructure.
With the help of an open and virtualized RAN, telecommunications operators can run their baseband functions as software. One of the primary benefits of virtualizing radio access networks (RANs) is that RAN functions no longer require special proprietary hardware to run and can instead be run on standard servers.
Cloud-Native
5G operational procedures will need to support massive data traffic, maintain stringent service level agreements (SLAs), multi-access edge computing and exposure. Therefore, processes requiring manual activities will not be able to react to the number of decisions and actions required to maintain the expected customer service experience.
For this, a converged core network will need to be deployed by the service provider. Since it is cloud-native, it will enable a faster time to launch new services and implement the latest improvements to the network. These include the cloud infrastructure, software applications and IT domains like OSS and BSS, management of network slices for end-to-end services and the exposure of APIs.
Security and Privacy
As 5G and beyond networks are responsible for interconnecting many Internet protocol Telephony based critical national infrastructure, attacks on future telecommunication networks will have a ripple effect. Some devastating examples caused by such attacks are smart cities and factories shutting down. These challenges demand significant effort from the research and industry communities to standardize and implement security for all networks, including Open RAN networks. Especially the decentralization of control functions with Open RAN increases the number of threat vectors and the surface area for attacks. Less hardware dependency and support for complete software control in an Open and virtualized RAN allow isolating security breaches quickly and intelligently, reducing the impact of security risk.
Comments