Page 312 - ITU-T Focus Group IMT-2020 Deliverables

5 ITU-T Focus Group IMT-2020 Deliverables

There can be significant differences across access technologies in the following aspects:

– due to different designs of networks, user plane entities needs to be deployed more centralized for
some access technologies, while needs to be more distributed for others.
– functional requirements are different across access technologies. (NOTE – 5G UP is simplified more
like IP routing after separating DPI, charging out if possible)
– performance requirements are different across access technologies.

The UNIC-UP contains the following user plane modules:
– user plane for 5G
– user plane for 4G
– user plane for fixed broadband
– user plane for WLAN

Each of the user plane modules is aiming to serve its corresponding access technology. But it is not precluded
that different access technologies use the unified user plane module in the future.

5.3.3 Converged User Data

The Converged User Data component is the central data repository of UNIC. All the subscription data e.g.
user identity and runtime state data e.g. restoration data are stored in Converged User Data component. See
section 8.4 for more details.

5.3.4 Service Chain
The Service Chain related functional component is an enhancement to UNIC-UP. It provides functionalities
such as firewall, DPI, etc. The Service Chain functionalities are shared across access technologies and are
invoked on demand. Service chain can be an efficient mechanism to realize flexible add-in and removal of
value-added services. See section 8.3 for more details.

5.3.5 Telecom Integrated Cloud
The telecom integrated cloud is characterized by NFV and SDN, which is the underlying infrastructure on
which the 5G functions are deployed. The Cloud provides “general purpose” hardware, software platform
and related management/orchestration function to fulfil the function deployment requirement and resource
management requirement. There can be different kinds of infrastructure requirements for different UNIC
function components, such as infrastructure requirement aiming for control logics serves UNIC-CP,
infrastructure requirement aiming for packets switching serves UNIC-UP, infrastructure requirement aiming
for data storage serves Converged User Data.

5.4 Reference points
5.4.1 Uc
The Uc reference point is between UNIC-CP and UNIC-UP. Uc reference point provides the following
functionalities:
– deliver traffic steering rules

– policy installation
– event reporting (e.g., reporting user traffic volume)
The protocol used Uc reference point can be GTP, OpenFlow, H.248, etc.
NOTE – Whether interface between different types of UP and CP can be unified is FOR FURTHER STUDY.

5.4.2 Ud
The Ud reference point is between UNIC-CP and Converged User Data. Ud reference point provides the
following functionalities:
– authentication

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