Page 165 - 5G Basics - Core Network Aspects

Core network aspects 1

– It is required to perform data transport and data processing according to requests from the SDN
control layer.
– It is required to support the allocation and release of necessary network resources.
– It is required to provide information and capabilities of virtual and physical elements of network
resources including ports, links and addresses (MAC/IP/transport) to the SDN control layer.
– It is required to provide up-to-date information to the SDN control layer when the status of network
resources changes.
– It is recommended to make data transport and processing functions extensible.
– It is recommended to enable resource virtualization of physical resources.

– It is recommended to enable the reconfiguration of virtual resources.
NOTE 1 – Examples of the reconfiguration of virtual resources include merging multiple virtual resources into a single
one and splitting a virtual resource into multiple ones.
– It is recommended to maintain the mapping information between virtualized resources and physical
resources.
– It is recommended that the SDN control layer utilizes the abstraction of physical and virtual
resources by the SDN resource layer.
NOTE 2 – Resource virtualization can be realized by either or both the SDN resource layer and SDN control layers.

7.5 Multilayer management functions
Multilayer management functions provide cross-layer management functionality for software upgrades, fault
isolation, performance optimization and the initial configuration of the network resources, SDN controllers
and SDN applications.
The functional requirements for multilayer management functions are as follows:
– It is required to monitor and update status information of the SDN application layer, SDN control
layer and SDN resource layer.
– It is required to access and collect network information including resource identifier, resource
address, port information and network connectivity.
– It is required to monitor status including availability, failure and overload of network resources.
– It is required to (re/)configure SDN layers e.g., due to policy changes for management, maintenance
and software updates, and physical resource changes.
– It is required to detect faults and manage reactions (i.e., protection, restoration and isolation) to the
fault across multiple layers.
– It is required to support the exchange of information with external management entities.
– It is required to provide functionality for metering, charging and accounting information exchanges.
– It is recommended to provide topology and connectivity information such as IP address, network
domain, port, interface and location and functional information, such as service description, type,
vender and software version of data processing entities.

8 Environmental considerations
SDN can contribute to reducing energy consumption through the optimization of network resource usage.
SDN, with its feature of logically-centralized control of network resources, can simplify the functionalities, as
well as network operations, leading to a longer lifetime of equipment and reduced energy consumption.

9 Security considerations

For SDN security, securing the controller, verifying the communication channel between the controller and
network resources, shaping secure data traffic, and logging all the network changes are considered.

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