Huawei and its Industry partners jointly publishes white paper on 5GDN architecture

MWC Shanghai 2021 runs from February 23 to February 25 in Shanghai, China. On the first day of the event, the 5G Deterministic Networking (5GDN) Session took place under the theme “5G Deterministic Networks Drive Industry Digital Transformation”.

At the session, Huawei, China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), China Mobile Research Institute, China Unicom, and China Telecom jointly released the 5GDN Architecture White Paper.

In 2020, the 5G Deterministic Networking Alliance (5GDNA) released the 5GDN Industry White Paper, which stated that the 5GDN aims to use 5G network resources to build predictable, plannable, verifiable, and deterministic mobile private networks capable of delivering differentiated service experiences.

In this white paper, the 5GDN was characterized from three dimensions: differentiated, dedicated, and self-service (DIY). Thanks to the large-scale rollout in 2020, 5G has been rapidly integrated into a variety of industries. Deterministic networks have been widely recognized and are gradually becoming the technical basis and driving force for the upgrade and development of such industries as the industrial Internet, energy IoT, and Internet of Vehicles (IoV).

However, it becomes more difficult to ensure a deterministic experience as 5G continues to develop, with new requirements regarding deterministic network architecture and key technical support.

The 5GDN Architecture White Paper aims to address the preceding technical deficiencies, improve the deterministic network architecture, enhance the deterministic network capabilities, and support additional service scenarios. According to the white paper, the 5GDN network architecture must guarantee E2E SLA, support the independent deployment of deterministic networks, and coordinate various deterministic technologies to improve overall capabilities in this area.

In addition, the white paper notes that it is feasible to build an overall 5GDN architecture based on the current 5G architecture. This can be achieved by focusing on the following aspects: deterministic service management, scheduling, and control center for 5GDN, as well as SLA assurance and performance measurement.

Operators can then centrally schedule and control deterministic capabilities, enhance application awareness, and coordinate the scheduling of radio access networks, core networks, transport networks, and applications. Additionally, they can leverage and enhance existing technologies to maximize the deterministic capabilities of the entire network.

Multiple deterministic network assurance technologies and capabilities are available for 5GDN architecture, such as network slicing, multi-access edge computing (MEC), 5G network service awareness and collaboration, assurance of 5G cross-domain collaborative scheduling, precise performance measurement in real-time, and interconnection and integration between 5G and industry networks.

While industry customers can select these technologies and capabilities on demand, it is recommended that they be optimized and enhanced based on 3GPP standards in order to build a 5GDN architecture and improve deterministic network capabilities.

Moreover, the 5GDN is essential for the continuous evolution of 5G networks, there remains a long road ahead for the improvement and deployment of deterministic network capabilities. Huawei will continue working with industry partners and 5GDNA to promote and improve 5GDN architecture and its key technologies, address diverse service requirements, and accelerate the digital upgrade of the industry.