Agile Management and Interoperability Testing of SDN/NFV-Enriched 5G Core Networks

• Published in: ETRI journal Vol. 40; no. 1; pp. 72 - 88
• Main Authors: Choi, Taesang, Kim, TaeYeon, Tavernier, Wouter, Korvala, Aki, Pajunpaa, Jussi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Korean
• Published: 한국전자통신연구원 20.02.2018; ETRI
• Subjects: 5G core network (CN); Networkfunction virtualization (NFV); Agilemanagement; Interoperability between CNs; nednetwork (SDN); Software-defi Agile management; Software-defined network (SDN); Network function virtualization (NFV)
• ISSN: 1225-6463; 2233-7326

In the fifth generation (5G) era, the radio internet protocol capacity is expected to reach 20 Gb/s per sector, and ultralarge content traffic will travel across a faster wireless/wireline access network and packet core network. Moreover, the massive and mission-critical Internet of Things is the main differentiator of 5G services. These types of real-time and large-bandwidth-consuming services require a radio latency of less than 1 ms and an end-to-end latency of less than a few milliseconds. By distributing 5G core nodes closer to cell sites, the backhaul traffic volume and latency can be significantly reduced by having mobile devices download content immediately from a closer content server. In this paper, we propose a novel solution based on software-defined network and network function virtualization technologies in order to achieve agile management of 5G core network functionalities with a proof-of-concept implementation targeted for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics and describe the results of interoperability testing experiences between two core networks.