by Alberto Crivelli, Country Manager of A10 Networks

22 July 2019

5G will enable greater speed, low latency, a multitude of new IoT applications and, for mobile network operators, a seismic shift in the network technologies and business models adopted so far. At stake is $1.3 trillion in new business from 5G, with growth rates 10 times greater than historical mobile network revenues. Mobile operators are pursuing this new opportunity knowing that it is the only way to put a stop to the decline in revenues and margins associated with the 4G technologies currently available. Initial rollouts are planned within the next 18 months.

5G NSA (non-standalone) models defined under the 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) collaboration agreement and combined with multi-access edge computing offer mobile network operators a path to upgrade existing RANs to 5G while leveraging a common 4G core.

But this is not a simple task. Mobile network operators need to carefully plan the transition from 4G to 5G. Virtualized and highly service-oriented infrastructures are required, strengthening security, improving operational efficiency, lowering costs and increasing performance, all with lower latency.

The optimization of the Gi-LAN is a key point to satisfy all these objectives.

Gi-LAN for loads of traffic 5G

Gi-LAN functions protect the core of the network and define the speed and efficiency of network traffic through the core itself. Therefore, it is crucial to have an effective Gi-LAN architecture to deliver a high-quality 5G service experience. Recent research conducted by A10 Networks, as well as experience with seven Tier-1 operators, highlighted several key challenges for operators as they begin to deploy the 5G NSA network.

Here are some of the most important findings that emerged from this research:

• Need for greater safety: Operators are deeply concerned about the growing security risks associated with IoT devices, the increase in network traffic, the growth in the number of cyber criminals and potential DDoS weapons that can target mobile infrastructure and new mission critical applications. The 5G vertical applications that operators rely on to increase profit margins require tighter SLAs.
• According to research findings, 94% of operators surveyed expect 5G traffic and devices to significantly increase security and reliability issues. In fact, operators have defined security as “extremely important, almost as important as network capacity and coverage” and see “the need for greater security against DDoS attacks as a critical need.” As a result, they are strengthening protection in the Gi-LAN portion of the network, as well as in other particularly vulnerable areas (roaming, DNS, IMS), offering increasingly granular solutions against DDoS attacks.
• Better integration and architecture scalability: Gi-LAN requires multiple functions including firewall, CGNAT, DPI, ADC which must integrate perfectly, providing a constant level of performance. Since many of these features have been added over time, the end result is often a series of devices that must be scaled and managed individually. This adds complexity and latency to traffic flows at a time when operators are looking to reduce latency and streamline operations.
• Consolidating these functions into a single device, physical or virtual, is a practical answer to this problem, and many operators pursue this strategy in the initial phase of NSA implementation. The survey conducted by A10 Networks shows that 85% of operators believe that the consolidation of security and application delivery services is important or very important to reduce latency in the network.
• Uneven Path to Virtualization Gi-LAN: the elements of the latter must work closely with each other, since the virtualization of Gi-LAN functions depends on the interconnection of all the other elements. Not all legacy technologies have evolved equally towards virtualization. In fact, they may lack a level of performance and scalability necessary in a software-only solution or may not provide the required interoperability with orchestration systems. As a result, operators often choose to implement physical Gi-LAN functions during the initial 5G roll-out, with a view to subsequent virtualization.
• However, overall, network operators reported making significant steps toward virtualizing their core infrastructures, with nearly three-quarters reporting they have completed (or are close to) or are making good progress toward virtualization.
• Different and higher performance requirements to support new use cases 5G: The network must now be able to support higher throughput, a greater number of sessions with smaller packet sizes, and lower latency. Many legacy GI firewalls and Gi-LAN elements were designed for high throughput and larger packet sizes, but cannot meet the high connection requirements or low latency of these high-value applications.
• Recent operator selection criteria for 5G Gi-LAN devices have included these new parameters.

Mobile network operators have increasingly acquired the skills necessary to build and support complex mobile networks with a massive data flow. From 2G, through 3G to 4G, mobile service providers have successfully managed operational changes and technology changes, successfully implementing and managing their networks and maintaining high performance. This is a fundamental skill that few, if any, companies outside of the mobile operator industry can replicate.

But the transformation dictated by 5G is deeper: success is no longer defined by network technology alone. In the case of 5G, in fact, mobile network operators become part of an ecosystem enabled by this new technology and composed of many other players in the ICT world. Vertical business applications will take center stage with new large-scale industrial applications and critical IoT, such as telemedicine, public safety and infrastructure. These new commercial applications will leverage multi-access edge networks that include Wi-Fi, fixed broadband, mobile and unlicensed spectrum.

Increasing security and optimizing the Gi-LAN network can help operators move towards 5G.