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Challenges in Gi-LAN segment

In today ’ s 4G / LTE world , a typical mobile service provider has an ADC , a DPI , a CGNAT and a firewall device as part of Gi-LAN service components . They are mainly deployed as independent network functions on dedicated physical devices from a wide range of vendors . This makes Gi-LAN complex and inflexible from operational and management perspective . Thus , this type of architecture , as known as monolithic architecture , is reaching its limits and does not scale to meet the needs of the rising data traffic in 4G and 4G + architectures . This will continue to be an issue in 5G infrastructure deployments . The two most serious issues are :

• Increased latency

• Significantly higher total cost of ownership

Latency is becoming a significant concern since lower latency is required by online gaming and video streaming services even today . With the transition to 5G , ultrareliable low-latency connectivity targets latencies of less than 1ms for use cases , such as real-time interactive AR / VR , tactile Internet , industrial automation , mission / life-critical service like remote surgery , self-driving cars and many more . The architecture with individual service functions on different hardware has a major impact on this promise of lower latency . Multiple service functions are usually chained and every hop the data packet traversing between service

functions adds additional latency , causing overall service degradation .

The management overhead of each solution independently is also a burden . The network operator must invest in monitoring , management and deployment services for all devices from various vendors individually , resulting in large operational expenses .

Solution

In order to overcome these issues , there are a few approaches you can take . From architecture perspective , servicebased architecture ( SBA ) or microservices architecture will address operational concerns since leveraging such architecture leads to higher flexibility and automation and significant cost reduction . However , it less likely addresses the network latency concern because each service function , regardless of VNF or microservice , still contributes in the overall latency as far as they are deployed as individual VM or microservice .

So , what if multiple service functions are consolidated into one instance ? For example , CGNAT and Gi firewall are fundamental components in the mobile network and some subscribers may choose to use additional services such as DPI , URL filtering . Such consolidation is feasible only if the product / solution supports flexible traffic steering and service chaining capabilities along with those service functions . By consolidating Gi-LAN service functions into one instance / appliance , it helps drastically reduce the extra latency and

simplify network design and operation . Such concepts are not new but there aren ’ t many vendors who can provide consolidated Gi- LAN service functions at scale .

Therefore , when building an efficient Gi-LAN network , service providers need to consider a solution that can offer , multiple network and service functions on a single instance / appliance , flexible service chaining support and subscriber awareness and DPI capability supported for granular traffic steering . In addition , the solution should also offer a variety of form-factor options – physical ( PNF ) and virtual ( VNF ) appliances , high performance and capacity with scaleout capability and easy integration and transition to SDN / NFV deployment . •

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