Page 63 - ITU-T Focus Group IMT-2020 Deliverables

ITU-T Focus Group IMT-2020 Deliverables 2

creation, operation, and control of multiple dedicated communication service networks running on top of a
5G E2E infrastructure.
Integrated Network Management & Operations (Sub)Plane – It enables the creation, deactivation,
operation, control and coordination (orchestration) of dedicated management functions operating on top of
a 5G E2E infrastructure; and the collection of resources required for managing the overall operation and
coordination of individual network devices. It further includes E2E Network segments management, FCAPS
functionality, Monitoring operations, Network Information Management, In-network data and operations
processing and Multi domains management operations.
Control Plane Functionality – The collection of functions responsible for controlling one or more network
functions. Control Plane instructs network devices, network elements, and network functions with respect
to processing elementary data units (packets, frames, symbols, bits, etc.) of the user/data/forwarding plane.
The control of (virtual) network functions include Control of Network (Virtual) functions, Control of
Orchestration functions, Control of Mobility functions, Cloud Control functions, Mobile Edge Computing
Control functions and adaptors to different enforcement functions. The control of (virtual) network functions
is generally 5G-applicable, and they are separated from the control and enforcements functions which are
network segment-specific. The control plane interacts primarily with the forwarding plane and, to a lesser
extent, with the management plane.
Forwarding Plane / Data Plane Functionality – The collection of resources across all network devices
responsible for forwarding traffic.
Softwarization Embedded / Native Functionality – It includes triggering, instantiating and running of
programing functions in all network elements, network segments, network functions and network slices.
Enables the provisioning and operation of software and service networks. It facilitates the operation of end-
to-end heterogeneous networking and distributed cloud platforms, including physical and logical resources
and devices. It includes functions for designing, implementing, deploying, managing and maintaining network
equipment, network components and/or network functions and /or network services by programming. It
further includes functions for the provision of software and service networks, application driven network
softwarization, programmability of Software Networks, dynamic deployment of new network and
management services (i.e. which could be executed in data, control, management, service plane), network
capability exposure, and E2E slice provisioning. It includes functions for dynamic programmability of (1)
network devices; (2) network (virtual) functions; (3) slices, (4) network services and applications; (5) user
plane; (6) control plane; (7) management plane. The software utilizes features such as flexibility and rapidity
all along the lifecycle of network equipment/components/services, in order to create conditions that enable
the re-design of network and services architectures, optimize costs and processes, allow self-management
and bring added value to network infrastructures.
Softwarization functionality affects and changes the other planes functions though a set of Programmability
recursive methods and APIs including: (1) allowing the functionality of some of their network elements to be
dynamically programmable. The behaviour of network elements and resources can then be customized and
changed through such programming interfaces ; (2) enabling the fast, flexible setting-up of new network
services, new slice-services, new software networks and new management services by dynamic
programmability of the network resources executed as groups of virtual machines in the user plane, control
plane, management plane and service plane in all segments of the network; (3) enabling dynamic re-
deployment and/or dynamic changes to elasticity characteristics for network services, slice services, software
networks and management services.; (4) enabling injection of executable code into the execution
environments of network elements in order to create the new functionality at run time; (5) enable trusted
third parties (some end users, operators, and service providers) to inject application-specific services (in the
form of code) into the network and/or slices. Applications may utilize this network support in terms of
optimized network resources and, as such, they are becoming network aware.

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