Chapter 4

The 5G architecture

By
Mrs. Kavana K V
1. Introduction
• The design of a mobile network architecture aims at defining network elements (e.g. Base
Stations [BSs], switches, routers, user devices) and their interaction in order to ensure a
consistent system operation.

• This chapter discusses basic considerations and provides an overview of current research
activities.

• As 5G systems have to integrate a plethora of partly contradicting requirements, enablers

such as Network Function Virtualization (NFV) and Software Defined Networking (SDN)
are to be applied in order to provide the needed flexibility of future networks, especially
for the core network.

• This chapter will give the reader an impression of the most important topics influencing
architecture design of future networks.
1.1 NFV and SDN

• At the end of 2012, network operators have started an initiative on NFV.

• NFV aims at consolidating the variety of network equipment onto industry-standard

high-volume servers. These servers can be located at the different network nodes as
well as end-user premises.

• In this context, NFV relies upon but differs from traditional server virtualization.
Unlike server virtualization, Virtualized Network Functions (VNF) may consist of
one or more virtual machines running different software and processes in order to
replace custom hardware appliances (Figure 1).

• As a rule, multiple VNFs are to be used in sequence in order to provide meaningful

services to the customer.
Fig 1. NFV Framework
• NFV requires an orchestration framework that enables proper instantiation, monitoring
and operation of VNFs and Network Functions (NFs) (e.g. modulation, coding, multiple
access, ciphering, etc.).

• In fact, the NFV framework consists of software implementations of network functions

(VNF), hardware (Industry standard high volume servers) that is denoted as NFV
Infrastructure (NFVI) and a virtualization management and orchestration architectural
framework.

• The most significant benefits of NFV [1] are reduction of capital and operational
expenditures as well as increased speed of time to market. However, an important
prerequisite for leveraging these benefits is that VNFs are portable between different
vendors and that they can coexist with hardware-based network platforms.
Fig 2. SDN Architecture
• As mentioned previously, in addition to NFV, SDN is another important enabler for 5G
future networks. The basic principles of SDN are separation of control and data planes,
logical centralization of network intelligence and abstraction of physical networks from
the applications and services by standardized interfaces.

• Further, the control of the network is concentrated in a control layer (control plane),
whereas network devices like switches and routers that handle data plane functionalities
are distributed within the network topology of the infrastructure layer.

• The control layer interacts at one side with the applications and services via standardized
Application Programing Interfaces (API) and at the other side with the physical network
via a standardized instruction set called OpenFlow. APIs make it possible to implement
network services like routing, security and bandwidth management.
1.2 Basics about RAN architecture

• In this context, it is very important to define a common understanding on how

components designed by different manufacturers are capable of communicating so
that they can execute the needed functionalities.

• So far in standardization, this common understanding is achieved by the

specification of a logical architecture consisting of logical Network Elements
(NEs), interfaces and related protocols.

• Standardized interfaces allow for communication between NEs with aid of

protocols including procedures, message formats, triggers and behavior of the
logical network elements.
Fig 3. Relation between Functional, Logical, Orchestration, Physical Architecture.
• Each NE accommodates a set of NFs that execute operations based on a set of input data.
NFs generate a set of output data that is to be communicated to other NEs. Each of these
NFs must then be mapped to NEs.

• The functional decomposition of technical components and the assignment of NFs to Nes
are described by a functional architecture (Figure 4). An implementation of technical
components may require the placement of their NFs at different places within the logical
architecture.

• The physical architecture describes the assignment of NEs or NFs to physical nodes that
are located at certain locations within the network topology. Physical architecture design
has a big impact on network performance and network economics
• An orchestration and control architecture will allow for significantly more flexible
placement of NFs in future physical networks. To be more precise, the usage of SDN/
NFV is already happening in 4G networks, mainly for core network functions.

• Even though traditional NEs, protocols and interfaces are specified, both network and
device manufacturers still have considerable degrees of freedom. The first degree of
freedom consists of how NEs are mapped to the physical network.

• The second degree of freedom regards the hardware and software platforms architectures
that are applied by the different manufacturers.

• The third degree of freedom relates to how manufacturers can implement the decision
logic behind the different NFs.
2. High-level requirements for the 5G architecture
PRINCIPLE I: The 5G architecture should benefit from co-deployments with the evolution
of LTE, but inter-system dependencies should be avoided. At the same time, all funda
mental RAN functionalities should be designed having in mind the frequencies that the new
air interface should operate at, e.g. system access, mobility, QoS handling and coverage.
 This principle has been derived from i) the acknowledgement of the proven success of LTE when
it comes to Mobile Broadband (MBB) services and possibly other services such as Mmtc

 The fact that it is likely that at the time of the initial 5G deployments LTE will likely have wide
coverage

 There may be no need to support handover or service continuity between 5G and 3G or 2G

networks
PRINCIPLE II: The 5G architecture should enable multi-connectivity, including multi
layer and multi-RAT.
 It is expected that a device may be connected to several links of the same as well as to different
RATs, including new RATs and LTE. This may extend existing technologies such as carrier
aggregation and dual connectivity.

PRINCIPLE III: The 5G architecture should support coordination features usable for
nodes connected via different categories of backhaul.
 This means that the new air interface should be designed in a way that avoids unnecessary
constraints such that deployments with different functional splits are possible. For example it is
a part of the “design principles for 5G”, where massive MIMO and Coordinated Multipoint
(CoMP) transmission and reception are given as examples of expected technologies
PRINCIPLE IV: The 5G architecture should have embedded flexibility to optimize net
work usage, while accommodating a wide range of use cases, and business models.
This principle implies that the same RAN logical architecture, specified by 3GPP, should be
sufficiently flexible to address MBB and non-MBB use cases, e.g. uMTC, and a diversity of
business models, e.g. network sharing.

PRINCIPLE V: The 5G architecture should have a programmability framework to enable

innovation.

In order to support the envisaged wide range of requirements, address many use and allow for
fast business innovation, 5G devices should have a high degree of programmability and
configurability, multi band multi-mode support and aggregation of flows from different
technologies, device power efficiency and service aware signaling efficiency
3. Functional architecture and 5G flexibility
In traditional networks, the assignment of NFs and NEs to physical nodes is designed
for a specific deployment.

SDN and NFV are novel architectural enablers that allow for a new way of deploying a
mobile network. Hence, recent 5G research projects have addressed the logical
architecture design by defining NFs and inter-function interfaces, instead of NEs and
inter-node interfaces, except for the air interface, for obvious reasons. This implies a
number of potential benefits such as

• NFs can be placed at optimal locations in a flexible way considering opportunities and
limitations of the transport network.

• Only necessary NFs are applied to avoid overhead.

• NFs can be optimized through dedicated implementations

3.1 Functional split criteria

During the logical architecture design, the so-called “functional split” allows
mapping of NFs to protocol layers and defining the placement of these layers within
different NEs. There are different possibilities for implementing the functional split
in 5G and they will mainly be driven by the following two factors:

1. A distinction between NFs that operate synchronous or asynchronous with respect

to the radio frames. Depending on this distinction there exist stronger or looser timing
constrains on the interfaces,

2. Backhaul (BH) and fronthaul technologies which may be used to operate the 5G
system. Depending on the technology, there might be latency or bandwidths limita
tions on the interfaces.
• In particular, when it comes to functional split, the following aspects should be
carefully taken into account [8]:

Centralization benefits: Defining whether the architectural approach would imply

benefits in case it is centralized with respect to the case of distributed
implementation (see Table 3.1).

Computational needs and diversity: Some functions may require high computation
capabilities that should be provided centrally, at the same time at these locations
applications with very different types of traffic demands may be implemented.
Physical constraints on the link: With particular reference to the
latency and band width requirements on the connections between
central unit pool and remote units.
Dependencies between different NFs in terms of synchronicity and
latency toward the air interface: NFs running at higher network layers
in the OSI model are considered to be asynchronous. Two NFs should
not be split if one of them depends on time-critical information of the
other.
3.2 Functional split alternatives
• As previously mentioned, 5G is characterized by the flexibility of placing NFs at any
location within the network topology. This flexibility potentially introduces the two
options of a Centralized RAN(C-RAN) and a Distributed RAN(D RAN).Traditionally, C-
RAN primarily aims at centralizing (pooling) base band processing resources.

• For legacy physical architectures where mainly D-RAN is operated, C-RAN as well as
Cloud-RAN architectures represent a kind of paradigm change.

• Figure 4 shows four different options to split the functionality between the local radio
access point and the central processor, the split line identifying what is in the central
location (above the line) and what is locally placed (below)
Fig 4. Overview of four exemplary functional splits .
• Split A: Lower Physical layer split. Similar to the currently deployed CPRI/ORI based functional
split, where highest centralization gains are achieved at the expense of strong fronthaul
requirements.

• Split B: Upper Physical layer split. Similar to the previous option, but only user-based NFs are
centralized while cell-specific functions are remotely managed. For instance, Forward Error
Correction (FEC) coding/decoding may be centralized. Its processing and fronthaul requirements
scale with the number of users, their occupied resources and data rates.

• Split C: MAC centralization. Time-critical centralized processing is not needed but also less
centralization gains are exploitable. This implies that scheduling and Link Adaptation (LA) must be
divided into a time-critical (locally performed) and less time-critical part (centrally performed).

• Split D: Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP)centralization. Similar to existing dual

connectivity mechanisms in 3GPP LTE.
• In addition, the functional split could be arranged in different options regarding control
and user plane. Three models are envisioned:

1.Straight flow: Packets from the core go to the central entity that afterwards sends them
to the remote units. This option is viable with centralized higher layers and distributed
lower layers.

2. Forward-backward flow: Packets from the core are sent directly to the remote units that
decide what must be processed by the central unit. Afterward, the central unit NFs
perform required processing and send the packets back one more time to the remote units.

3. Control/user plane separation: The previous two models can be further split in the case
that central units perform only control plane processing and remote units only user plane
processing.
3.3 Functional optimization for specific applications
5G networks will provide more degrees of freedom to optimize the mobile network operation, e.g. based on a
specific purpose, dedicated software may be deployed and only a subset of the whole RAN protocol stack is
implemented. Some factors that should be considered for optimizing mobile network functionality are listed in
Table 3.2.
3.4 Integration of LTE and new air interface to fulfill 5G requirements

Fig 5. Different protocol architectures for the tight integration of LTE and new air interface
Inter-connected core networks or a common core network
In this case, each RAT has its own RAN protocol stack and its own core networks where
both core networks are linked via inter-node interfaces. The current solution integrates
UTRAN(3G)and E-UTRAN(4G),where an inter-node interface exists between Mobility
Management Entity (MME) and S-GW for the control plane.

Common physical layer (PHY)

The LTE PHY layer is based on OFDM. It provides services to the MAC layer in the form
of transport channels and handles the mapping of transport channels to physical channels.
OFDM-based transmission will most likely remain as a good baseline also for the new air
interface, that will likely have quite different characteristics compared to LTE,
Common medium access control (MAC)

 The LTE MAC layer provides services to the RLC layer in the form of logical channels, and it
performs mapping between these logical channels and transport channels. The main functions are:
uplink and downlink scheduling, scheduling information reporting, Hybrid-ARQ feedback and
retransmissions, (de)multiplexing data across multiple component carriers for carrier aggregation.

Common RLC

 In LTE, the RLC layer provides services for the PDCP layer. The main functions for both user and
control plane are segmentation and concatenation, retransmission handling, duplicate detection and
in-sequence delivery to higher layers. RLC integration is likely to be challenging due to the
required level of synchronicity between PHY, MAC and RLC.

Common PDCP/radio resource control (RRC)

 In LTE, PDCP is used for both control and user planes. The main control plane functions are
(de)ciphering and integrity protection. For the user plane, the main functions are (de) ciphering,
header (de)compression, in-sequence delivery, duplicate detection and retransmission
3.5 Enhanced Multi-RAT coordination features

Fig 6. Different multi-RAT coordination features.

Control plane diversity

A common control plane for LTE and the new air interface would allow a dual-radio device

to have a single control point for dedicated signaling connected via the two air interfaces.

Fast control plane switching

With such a feature relying on a common control plane, the device would be capable of
connecting to a single control point via any of the air interfaces and switch very fast
(without the need of core network signaling, context transfers, etc.) from one link to
another without requiring extensive connection setup signaling.

User plane aggregation

One variant of the user plane aggregation is called flow aggregation, which allows a single
flow to be aggregated over multiple air interfaces. In another variant, defined as f low
routing, a given user data flow is mapped on a single air interface.
Fast user plane switching
Here, instead of aggregating the user plane, the user plane of devices uses only a
single air interface at a time, but a fast switching mechanism for multiple air
interfaces is provided.

Lean by help of LTE

This feature relies on a common control plane. The basic idea is to make
5G“lean” by transmitting all control information over LTE that will anyway be
transmitted for backwards compatibility purpose.
4. Physical architecture and 5G deployment
4.1 Deployment enablers

The logical architecture enables specification of interfaces and protocols whereas

a functional architecture describes the integration of NFs into an overall system.

 The arrangement of functions in a physical architecture is important for practical

deployment. NFs are mapped to physical nodes trying to optimize cost and
performance of the whole network.

In that sense, 5G will follow the same design principles as previous generations

A relation of the logical, functional, physical and orchestration architecture is

shown in Figure
Fig 7. Relation of logical, functional, physical and orchestration architecture.
NFs are compiled in a Network Function Pool. The function pool collects data processing
and control functions, and allows them to be available centrally. It includes information
on the interfaces, function classification (synchronous vs. asynchronous) and placement
options as well as input and output relations.

At high level, RAN related functions can be assigned to the following building blocks:

• Central management entities include overarching network functions that mainly are to be
deployed at some central physical nodes (data centers). Typical examples are context and
spectrum management.

• Radio Node Management provides functions that usually affect more than one radio node
to be operated at selected physical radio node sites (D-RAN or Cloud-RAN)
• Air Interface functions provide functionalities directly related to the air interface

in radio nodes and devices.

• Reliable service composition represents a central C-plane integrated into service

flow management that interfaces to the other building blocks.

• At high level, the physical network consists of transport networks, access

networks and device networks. The transport network realizes interconnection

between data centers by high-performance link technology.

4.2 Flexible function placement in 5G deployments

Wide-area coverage with optical fiber deployment

In this case, all radio access NFs are centralized. This imposes the strongest require ments on
the network in terms of transport network capacity and latency. However, since all radio NFs
are executed in a data center, preferably co-located with core NFs, also the maximum
cooperative diversity gains as well as software virtualization gains can be exploited.

Wide-area coverage with heterogeneous backhaul

This scenario is illustrated in Figure 9 and would allow for different backhaul technologies,
which are chosen based on available backhaul links as well as structural limitations,
Fig 9. Illustration of a heterogeneous wide-area deployment [19] including point-to-point (p2p) and point-to-
multi-point (p2mp) transmissions
Local-area stadium
A stadium deployment is illustrated in Figure 10. and a very good example for
deployments where the infrastructure is owned by the operator of the venue. Similar
deployments are airports or malls. In this case, the operator of the venue provides the
connectivity while mobile network operators must share the facilities .

Fig 10. Deployment within a stadium

Conclusions
• As next generation radio access has to fulfill abroad range of requirements, the
design of future networks architectures will be driven by demand for flexibility,
scalability and service-oriented management.

• Even though not directly associated with 5G, NFV and SDN will complement
each other and enable the implementation of these basic requirements.

• 5G networks respond to changing market conditions will be much faster compared

to legacy networks e.g. 3G or 4G.
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