How AWS Local Zones can revolutionize 5G network function deployment

This blog explores the ways in which AWS Local Zones can enable faster and more efficient deployment of 5G network functions.

Recent years have marked the widespread adoption of 5G networks and their applications. But deploying 5G networks is a complex task that involves a lot of steps, subroutines, and considerations. The article explores how the deployment of 5G can be optimized with AWS Local Zone integration.

The 5G Core Network

The 5G core network is specifically designed for faster data transfer, low latency, and massive machine-to-machine communication. NFVs, SDN, network slicing, Edge computing, Service-Based Architecture, and UPF are some of the many components of 5G core networks.

As an essential component of 5G core network technologies, the User Plane Function (UPF) handles the data traffic of users. It connects the Radio Access Network (RAN) with the rest of the 5G network. UPF offers modular functionality for packet routing, QoS management, policy enforcement, data processing, billing, and other network functions.

UPFs can be implemented with AWS Local Zone for improved overall performance and user experience.

More about AWS Local Zone

AWS Local Zone is a deployment of AWS infrastructure and services at a specific geolocation. AWS Local Zone enables users to operate high-bandwidth, low-latency applications, and network functions within proximity. It offers a viable alternative for extending AWS infrastructure within your region, thereby reducing latency. AWS Local Zone can be used in tandem with other AWS services such as Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS), and other container services to deploy UPFs.

Network architects can leverage UPFs and AWS Local Zone to achieve better speeds and minimize latency between end-user devices and the 5G core network. Some of the technologies used for this purpose are AWS, EKS, VPC, CodeCommit, CodePipeline, CloudFormation, and EC2.

Deploying 5G Network Functions with AWS Local Zone

Here are a few basic steps involved in setting up 5G Network Functions with UPFs and AWS Local Zone.

1. Create a dedicated 5G Core Kubernetes Cluster.
2. Deploy 5G Core components within the cluster.
3. Add a worker node to the cluster. (The worker node must be deployed to the local zone.)
4. Create 2 separate instances with Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2). One instance must be hosted on the cloud availability zone. Host the 2nd instance on a local zone.
5. Create a local zone and two availability zones. The availability zones are used to deploy the defined cloud components like VPC, EKS, Control Plane, and worker nodes.
6. Create an Amazon VPC in the local zone to deploy your 5G network functions.
7. Configure the VPC by setting up security groups, routing tables, network address translation (NAT) gateway, etc.
8. Deploy 5G network functions in the local zone with UPFs and Service Function Chaining (SFC).
9. Test and monitor the 5G network functions with Amazon CloudWatch or Amazon Route 53.

Overall, using AWS Local Zones for deploying 5G network functions can provide low-latency, high-bandwidth connectivity to end-users, especially in metropolitan areas. However, it’s essential to consider the specific requirements of your 5G network functions to ensure that they can be deployed in an AWS Local Zone effectively.

For more in-depth information about leveraging AWS solutions for 5G network functions, you can access a demo video here — DEMO: Deploying 5G Network Functions with AWS Local Zone.

Conclusion

Telecommunication companies, enterprises, cloud service providers, system integrators, and many other organizations need 5G network functions across their workflows. It is forecasted that by 2026, more than 4.8 billion people will subscribe to 5G networks. Standalone 5G delivers on most of its promises, compared to NSA 5G (built on 4G/LTE infrastructure).

To fulfill the demand for rapid adaptation of 5G networks, companies need to work closely with capable and innovative network architects, RF engineers, software developers, security specialists, and more. Calsoft Inc has established itself as a pioneer in the tech space.

We host a wide array of resources, expertise, and IT/software experts for facilitating the deployment of 5G networks. Learn more about how Calsoft’s customized 5G networking solutions are helping organizations across various sectors. Calsoft’s expertise in 5G network orchestration greatly optimizes performance, latency, speeds, bandwidth, and connectivity.

For more information about 5G use cases, Calsoft’s 5G Labs, and more, book a demo session with us at — Calsoft’s 5G Lab Solutions.