From the course: 5G Architecture, Design, Protocols, Evolution, and Deployment

5G deployment options, part two

From the course: 5G Architecture, Design, Protocols, Evolution, and Deployment

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5G deployment options, part two

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(calm bright music) - [Instructor] Now, out of the different options to deploy the 5G network, let's understand the standalone option in a little bit more detail. So, NR standalone, which is option two, represents the true 5G deployment where the device connects directly to the 5G new radio. And then the gNodeB, in this case, which is the 5G new radio, connects to 5G core instead of relying on the legacy technology or infrastructure for 4G or LTE. Now, here we have the different interfaces between the gNodeB and the core network for 5G, and we have in that case the control plane, which is in the blue color, and we have the user plane, which is in the red color. So, we have the complete segregation of control and user plane in this case. And that is important because we have the network slicing and some applications related to lower latency. For that, we need to have segregation from the devices towards the internet. So in the core network, in this case, the gNodeB is now talking to the core network where NG interfaces and the core network has certain different functions. So, we have the control plane related functions, which will be taken care by NG-C. It goes to AMF and which is the access and mobility management function, which manage device authentication and mobility. Then we have the session management function, which handles the session establishment and IP allocation. And then we have other nodes, such as PCF for policy control function which defines quality of service and network slicing policies. We have the user plane function, which is connected precisely to NG-U interface. So whatever the blue line communication, if you see, it goes towards the AMF. AMF talks to SMF talks to PCF, but when it's a user plane, when it's the actual data which will be transmitted between the device and the network, in that case, user plane comes into the picture. We talked about the call flows in the previous slides, and we'll get into more details in the subsequent slides also. But here primarily we are focusing on how the connectivity looks like from the device towards the network in case of standalone option. Now, if we talk about these different interfaces, we have NG-C, which is a control plane interface, and we have NG-U, which is a user plane interface. Now, NG-C, it connects gNodeB to AMF, and it carries all the signaling messages for UE registration and authentication. It interacts with SMF for session management purposes. There is a mobility management that is also being taken care by NG-C in this case. We have certain other protocols which is next-generation application protocol over HTTP, which will be used in this case for NG-C communication. On the right side, we have the user plane interface, which connects the gNodeB to the user plane function, which is UPF. It carries actual user data, so somebody is browsing the internet or streaming the videos. In that case, the communication will pass on to the UPF from the device via the gNodeB. Here we use the GTPU protocol, which is GPRS tunneling protocol for user plane. And the key features involves support towards the ultra low latency services. It enables edge computing by placing UPF closer to the gNodeB somewhere at the hub location. Now, in case of SA, which is option two, the communication, how it works is UE connects to gNodeB via 5G and a radio interface. And then it connects to the control plane, which is the NG-C, which is the blue color here, which connects the gNodeB directly with the AMF for authentication. AMF coordinates with SMF to establish session. And PCF applies the policy. Once everything is done, the UPF then establish a GTP-U tunnel with the gNodeB, and user plane data flows directly between UE and the UPF and goes towards the internet. So, this is the complete operation if we look into the standalone architecture and which is being taken care by the interfaces for control and for the user plane.

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