Technical Report

Cloud Native
5G Core
Samsung 5G Core Vol.2
Contents
02 Introduction

04 Samsung’s Cloud Native 5G Core

Why Cloud Native

What is Cloud Native
The Cloud Native Samsung 5G Core
The Next Step of Cloud Native Samsung 5G Core

12 Open Source Activity

Why Open Source

Samsung Open Source Activity

14 Samsung 5G Open Labs

14 Closing

Introduction
2019 heralded the 5G era. Starting with Korea, commercial mobile The 5G networks build on and leverage the experiences of LTE.
5G services are operating globally, with GSA reporting 61 With LTE, operators adopted and deployed an all-IP architecture,
networks across 34 countries having 5G commercial services in which allowed their voice-centered mobile networks to evolve
operation at the beginning of 20201. In Korea, which launched the into a data network that supports much more than voice services.
world’s first 5G mobile service in April 2019, the number of 5G As mobile traffic volumes exploded on LTE, the mobile core began
subscribers surpassed 4.7 million in just nine months of migrating to the Network Functions Virtualization (NFV)
commercialization, exceeding a 7% penetration rate, which is a architecture, in which network functions are virtualized and
faster growth rate than the customer adoption of LTE. 5G provided as software entities running on commercial off-the-shelf
commercialized in 2019 using the 5G Non-Standalone (NSA) (COTS) servers instead of dedicated network appliances.
architecture, which connects 5G base stations with the existing
Evolved Packet Core (EPC) to offer eMBB-oriented services. In the Furthermore, as the 5G mobile core evolves to enable a great
5G Standalone (SA) architecture that will come to the market in variety of services, the 5G core is further leveraging the cloud
2020, the 5G network will include the new 5G core to enable full concept by migrating to a cloud native core, in which network
support of 5G use cases that not only increase throughput for functions are modularized and containerized to enable highly
mobile broadband services, but also offer Ultra-Reliable flexible scaling and function lifecycle management. The cloud
Low-Latency Communications (URLCC) that may also connect to native core provides capabilities that allow the network to adapt
edge computing platforms to support innovative services such as to changing demands and support new services with minimal
augmented or virtual reality (AR/VR,) streaming games, interactions required by operational teams.
autonomous driving, and smart factories.

1. 　http://gsacom.com/technology/5g/ - 5G Market Status: Snapshot January 2020", GSA, January 7, 2020

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 Classical Network Appliance NFV Cloud Native

Stateful Stateless

Message CDN Session Border WAN Monolithic Microservices

Router Controller Accelera�on

Orchestration Intelligent
VNF CNF Orchestration
DPI Firewall Carrier Grade Tester/QoE
NAT Monitor NFVI Efficient NFVI

SGSN/GGSN PE BRAS Radio/Fixed Access COTS server COTS server

Router Network Node

PNF Container Container Container Container Container

VM VM VM
Micro Micro Micro Micro Micro
Network functions on dedicated H/W VNF VNF VNF
service service service service service

Container Container Container Container Container

Guest OS Guest OS Guest OS Micro Micro Micro Micro Micro
service service service service service

Hypervisor Container Engine

Host OS Host OS

Infrastructure Infrastructure

PNF: Physical Network Func�on VNF: Virtualized Network Func�on CNF: Cloud Na�ve Network Func�on
VM: Virtual Machine

Figure 1-1 Evolving to Cloud Native

This means that the 5G core will enable operators to rapidly In addition, Samsung operates 5G Open Labs. With these efforts,
develop services, launch them on time, and adapt the network Samsung is strengthening the interworking abilities and stability
frequently according to market demands. Open source can of its 5G core, resulting in highly efficient 5G solutions. These
accelerate this innovation by providing platform services with efforts and accomplishments provide the 5G network operators
features commonly used by 5G core functions such as monitoring, with the flexibility they desire to support the faster deployment of
data base activities, and high availability related features. new services. This white paper first introduces the features and
telco-grade capabilities of the cloud native Samsung 5G Core,
To this end, Samsung collaborates with many operators and which is ready for 5G SA commercialization and examines its
partners in efforts to create 5G core solutions and to expand the 5G benefits for network operators. Then it will discuss the impact of
ecosystems through active participation in the following Samsung’s open source activities on the development of the cloud
organizations: native Samsung 5G Core and its global competitiveness.
1.　Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), which leads the
de-facto standard for cloud technology, and
2.　Open Network Automation Platform (ONAP), a telco-oriented
open source project

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Samsung’s Cloud Native 5G Core
Why Cloud Native
As the operator’s business paradigm shifts to service-oriented Flexible – Expand network functions and capacities flexibly as service
businesses, the challenge faced by network operators preparing demand grows
for the 5G era is to build an environment in which they can launch Agile – Timely launch and upgrade profitable services as market
services promptly and upgrade the services frequently, as demands
influenced by market demands. Telco operators began introducing Scalable – Provide rapid high-scalability with telco-grade reliability
the Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) environment to reduce Tunable – Boost operational efficiency by simplifying and automating
CAPEX and boost service agility. With the transformation to NFV complex network operations
allowing network functions to run as software on COTS servers,
　　For more information on the vision and strategies of Samsung 5G Core,
operators have been able to manage network capacity and
see the technical report "Samsung 5G Core Vol. 1 : 5G Vision"
optimize CAPEX to accommodate traffic/subscriber growth. On
the other hand, the complexity of network operations has To commercialize the 5G core, the network operator is pursuing
increased due to vendor-specific solutions that manage their innovative changes that transform the 5G core into a service
implementations of Virtualized Network Functions (VNFs). In the 5G platform that can easily scale from small to large capacity by
era, where everything from small sensors to high-speed introducing cloud native design principles and IT-based
automobiles is connected, innovation is a key factor in the network development methodologies. The Samsung 5G Core adopts a
transformation. As the 5G radio provides not only eMBB but also cloud native architecture to modularize network functions in order
URLLC and mMTC connectivity, the 5G core environment to easily port them to any environment by making full use of
undergoes significant changes. First, the core must: containers and open source technologies. As a result, the 5G Core
functions are quickly created, deployed, and scaled, using
1.　process a substantially higher volume of traffic, automated lifecycle management (LCM). The Samsung 5G Core
2.　reliably and quickly create connections that meet strict service also strengthens monitoring and analytics to provide high-quality
level agreements, and services continuously and consistently and maximizes operational
3.　support massively more Internet of Things connectivity. efficiency by performing closed-loop automation with automatic
feedback. As a flexible service platform in the 5G era where
Second, the single 5G infrastructure must provide a variety of everything is connected and mobility is integrated with all
innovative services, such as AR/VR, streaming games, autonomous industries, the cloud native Samsung 5G Core will be the essential
driving, and smart factories, quickly and reliably. To fully adapt to driver of business growth for telco operators.
this environment, Samsung 5G Core is driving 5G innovations with
the following vision.

What is Cloud Native

In general, “cloud native” is an approach to building and running applications that exploit
the advantages of the cloud computing model. One key attribute of “cloud native” is how the
system creates and deploys applications. According to the definition of CNCF, "cloud native"
means that an application is containerized and uses open source software stack.

A cloud native application (CNA) is developed as loosely-coupled microservices to improve agility

CNA
and manageability. Each microservice is packaged in a container, and a central dynamic (Cloud Native
orchestrator schedules the containers to efficiently manage server resources and reduce Application)
operational costs. CNAs also require a DevOps environment. DevOps refers to a type of
development or operations methodology that integrates software development and IT
operations. Traditionally, the development team tried to improve services by adding new features,
while the operation team was reluctant to change to preserve reliable service operations.

4
In today’s IT-centric environment, services must be released quickly and easily, and services are continuously updated with
improvements that reflect market demands. In a DevOps environment, both the development team and the operations team work
closely together under common business goals that include reducing the time for development and delivering improved services.
Developers program and build new features, deploy them to the system, then run the service, and monitor it for improvement. For rapid
development and improvement, DevOps continuously integrates and deploys services by automating existing manual processes.

The Cloud Native Samsung 5G Core

Telecom services, unlike IT services, demand strict performance and reliability characteristics. Based on its cloud native architecture,
the Samsung 5G Core uses open source technologies to provide highly stable solutions that deliver the high reliability required for
network operator applications. Figure 2-1 shows the cloud native Samsung 5G Core architecture.

Samsung Cloud Orchestration (SCO)

Orchestration Centralized Orchestra�on Network Slicing Manager Centralized Opera�on Centralized Analy�cs
& Automation

Data layer
Cloud Native NF UDSF UDR
(5G Core NF) NF
Dynamic State Data Master DB Manager
Stateless AMF/ SMF/ UPF/ PCF/ UDM/ ...
& Microservices NRF NSSF AUSF NEF
MME GW-C GW-U PCRF HSS

Platform Service
Prometheus Envoy Istio Kiali mongoDB Grafana Helm

Cloud Native ...

Open Sources
Fluentd Jaeger CoreDNS Jenkins Harbor Spinnaker

Cloud
Infrastructure
Containers Kubernetes Docker

Samsung Cloud Platform (SCP)

Figure 2-1 Samsung 5G Core’s Cloud Native Enabled Architecture

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The architecture of the cloud native Samsung 5G Core consists of Samsung Cloud Orchestration (SCO), Samsung Cloud Platform (SCP), and
the use of Cloud Native Network Functions (CNFs). SCO contains “Orchestration & Automation” and “NF Manager” functions, and SCP
consists of "Cloud Infrastructure” and “Platform Service.” The CNF layer has two sub-layers - the data layer and the control/user plane layer.

SCO – SCO manages End-to-End (E2E) orchestration and lifecycle management of CNFs. It provides a variety of automation tools for
monitoring and data analysis to mitigate network complexities and increase the automation and efficiency of network operations.

5G Core NF – The 5G Core NF is composed of CNFs that combine to enable 5G-specific features based on 5G standards and common
features and services provided by the Platform Service. The basic components of a CNF are microservices, which can execute
independently in separate containers, be deployed independently, and be re-composed when creating a new CNF. These
microservice-based CNFs are highly scalable and can enable the deployment of new features quickly.

Platform Service – The Platform Service provides a container-based run-time environment that uses cloud native open source tools
for the rapid development of CNFs. This approach allows developers to focus more on 5G Core NF development, while operators can
improve their network operational efficiency and create new revenue streams by opening new business-to-business (B2B) and
business-to-consumer (B2C) services.

Cloud Infrastructure – Cloud infrastructure uses containers to create virtualized components. Containers are highly efficient users of
server resources, which makes them lightweight, fast to deploy, and highly portable. The deployment, networking, scaling, and
management functions of containers are handled automatically by Kubernetes.

Design Principles of Samsung 5G Core Network Function

The 5G Core NF, as a cloud native NF, is designed using the cloud native principles to fully utilize the advantages of cloud native
applications. The fundamental design of the Samsung 5G Core NF uses container and microservice technologies. Also, to use
best-of-breed cloud native technologies for SCP, the 5G Core NF chose CNCF tools like Kubernetes, Istio/Envoy, Prometheus, among
others, which are widely used solutions in cloud environments.

The following attributes comprise the design principles of Samsung 5G Core NF:

Stateless & Microservices – The 5G Core CNF uses stateless and loosely coupled software-based Design concept of 5G Core NF
microservices. Stateless and loosely coupled software is appropriate for microservices and
Kubernetes container environments, as they provide efficient support for failover handling, scaling
Stateless & Microservices
in/out, and seamless upgrades. This approach also improves reusability by minimizing dependencies
between microservices. Open API

Open API – The 5G Core CNF also uses REST-based open APIs. Most web applications employ Agnostic to Platform
REST-based APIs; therefore, CNFs can take advantage of the extensive capabilities of existing tools Resiliency
designed for cloud native applications. Open APIs enable more convenient monitoring, debugging,
and tracing, reducing the development time. Moreover, third parties can more easily integrate
applications into Samsung 5G Core NF using open APIs.

Agnostic to Platform – The 5G Core CNF remains agnostic to the tools provided by the Platform Service. CNFs frequently use
well-known tools like Prometheus and EFK, but more suitable and optimized tools may be necessary for 5G Core CNFs depending on
the network operator. For example, Istio/Envoy, a service mesh tool, may or may not be deployed depending on each operator's
environment and may be replaced with a different stable and effective service mesh tool.

Resiliency – The 5G Core CNF should always be reliable and available whether the base infrastructures are stable or not. In cloud
native environments, infrastructures are not always reliable, and all applications should adapt to these environments. To help with
the availability, the careful design of the 5G Core CNF minimizes the size of its components to facilitate quick and easy recovery.

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Platform Service
The 5G Core’s Platform Service provides a development environment and set of functions for faster and more efficient 5G Core CNF
development. It leverages cloud native open source tools and provides basic components commonly used by CNFs including package
manager, logging capabilities, reporting services, CI/CD abilities, a variety of metrics, service mesh, container network, tracing,
certificate manager, service discovery, and databases. By leveraging this Platform Service architecture, core network function
developers can focus on improving operator-specific mobile core functions and implementing business-focused services logic.
Likewise, operators can enhance operational efficiency using functions for monitoring, usage measurement, auto-scaling of resources
based on service demand, and automatic recovery from failures.

Grafana Jaeger Kiali

Metric analytics & visualization E2E distributed tracing Visualization for service mesh

•　Basic and customer metrics •　Analyzing packet inspection functions •　Visualizing service mesh topology
•　Abnormality in metrics as messages •　Errors in service mesh
•　Error and delay in trace

Skydive Kibana
Real time network analyzer Ser Data visualization dashboard for elastic search
lity v
bi
ice
rva

Opt
Obse

imization

Ne
tw r
•　Capturing network topology and flows
o r k A n a ly z e •　Easy handling of large volumes of data
•　Packet loss, congestion points •　Errors, alerts from the log

Figure 2-2 Open Source Tools for Proactive Problem Detection and Troubleshooting

Figure 2-2 shows the GUI screens of some of the major open source tools used for proactive problem detection and troubleshooting
available on the Platform Service of the cloud native Samsung 5G Core system. These tools provide operators with superior
visualization and comprehensive understandings of their 5G network. When a problem occurs in the 5G network, the operator can try
to optimize the service by correlating data from tools that enable observability (e.g., monitoring, tracing, logging) and tools that
provide metric-based network analytics. For example, if a Grafana dashboard reports a degradation in the KPIs it is monitoring, the
operator can troubleshoot the situation by tracing with Jaeger, checking the network status with Kiali/Skydive, and examining the log
data for the part suspected of causing the problem with Kibana.

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DevOps Environment
Microservice Architecture – The mobile core system traditionally resided in a monolithic architecture. The main disadvantage of this type
of architecture is that modules of an application are tightly coupled, which means it is difficult for operators to timely deploy new service
packages. As well, troubleshooting and resolving problems could be very time-consuming and complex to fix. To solve this problem,
Samsung transformed its 5G Core architecture into an architecture built on microservices. By applying this new architecture that
leverages agile methodologies during the complete 5G Core development process, the result was a core network application that
reduced the dependencies between software modules, which helps with troubleshooting. Being comprised of these small applications
performing particular functions, the network function architecture uses services that can be quickly changed and scaled easily, which
enables operators to deploy network functions to meet the demands for that service.

Monolithic Microservices

Open Common API

Container
VM

Scale out by deploying VM including all SW modules Scale out by deploying each microservice (a SW module) independently

Figure 2-3 Comparison of Scaling Modules in the Monolithic and Microservice Architectures

Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) – For frequent network function/service updates, the integration and
deployment process must use automation. The cloud native Samsung 5G Core includes CI/CD process in support of DevOps activities that allow
fast updates and recoveries of 5G Core functions. CI is the process of building software modules for automated testing that verifies and confirms
the correct operation of the complete software system that includes the updates. CD is the process that produces and automatically distributes
the new software updates for service deployment. The CI/CD cycle is entirely automated. The software updates reside on containers, and
various testing and analysis of these containers are automatically performed during the test phase. After the test phase, the verified application
will package the new updates into containers for automatic delivery to the operator. The operator completes the acceptance testing of the
application, then deploys the updated functionality into the production environment. The operator reports any problems that arise
during their testing or from their network operations to Samsung as feedback to be reflected in subsequent service updates.

Samsung Domain Operator Domain

Feedback

Plan
Partners Monitor

Code
Build Block/SIT/SVT Deliver Acceptance Deploy Operate
Test Test

Operator’s Test-Bed

Figure 2-4 Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD)

Through these processes implemented using microservices that support CI/CD, the Samsung 5G Core can support the continuous
deployment of on-demand software updates, quick recovery, and organic scaling based on the needs of the applications, which
contributes to the reduction of the CAPEX and OPEX of operators.

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Competitiveness of Cloud Native Samsung 5G Core
In the 5G core, the transition from VM-based cloud infrastructure to container-based cloud native infrastructure boosts the system
performance and operational efficiencies. The fundamental challenges in VM-based cloud infrastructure include increased latency,
longer loading times, and higher costs due to VM overload. To solve these problems, cloud native introduced lightweight containers that
operate more efficiently than VMs, leveraging the experience of Kubernetes as a container orchestrator. Cloud native Samsung 5G core
can integrate with existing VNF infrastructures to facilitate seamless migration to CNF and support telco-specific networking to provide
telco-grade performance and reliability. To these ends, the Samsung 5G Core leverages the following technologies:

Multi-interface – The components of the 5G CNF can connect to Inline Upgrade – The CNF uses ProtoBuf to support different
multiple planes (user, control, management) and VM-based software versions (version N and version N+1) simultaneously to
legacy networks. Samsung 5G Core supports: enable inline upgrades without any service termination. Within
• Kuryr container network interface (CNI) to use OpenStack Neutron, the same CNF, different versions of the identical type of
• Layer 2 communication between VMs and containers using Kuryr microservice can run separately, allowing inline upgrades. This
CNI. feature also serves to perform canary tests more efficiently.
Furthermore, Samsung 5G Core extends Kuryr CNI to support
multi-interface in a pod, supporting Open vSwtich (OVS) and UPF Performance Improvement – Samsung 5G Core provides
Single Root I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV) simultaneously. It can also packet acceleration technologies such as SR-IOV and OVS-DPDK
use Multus CNI to interface with other containers. for telco-grade I/O performance. It also improves packet transfer
performance by leveraging parallel packet processing that
Load Balancer – The load balancer, essential for high scalability, processes both QoS control and packet transfer stipulations
should support the following Layer 4 protocols: SCTP, UDP, HTTP/2 simultaneously and data acceleration through traffic offloading.
and TCP. The Samsung 5G Core configures a load balancer in the
form of a pod that meets the stated conditions. By creating load Open Tracing – Jaeger is an open tracing tool that performs DPI
balancer pods for each service, the Samsung 5G Core provides functions based on message analysis. Through Jaeger's traffic
excellent scalability. tracing, Samsung 5G Core can support network assurance by
analyzing pod-to-pod communication.
Geo-redundancy (GR) – The Samsung 5G Core supports
geo-redundancy (GR) for CNFs for stateful session continuity.
Samsung designs and deploys AMFs and SMFs with all active
(N+K) GR, where AMF/SMF set interworks with the same UDSFs
and NRF. If some NFs within the set fail, then the other normal NFs
within the same set retrieve the existing session information
through UDSFs and NRF to continue the service without
interruption. User Plane Functions (UPFs) are designed as
active/standby (1:1) GR for fast recovery. When any active UPF fails,
the standby UPF becomes the active UPF and ensures session
continuity by updating BGP routing to the new active UPF to
ensure it receives subsequent packets for all forwarding activities.

Things to Consider when Developing Cloud Native 5G Core

Many network operators and vendors refer to the cloud native 5G core architecture to take advantage of the phrase “cloud native,” but
they are only now in the very early stages of implementing the principles of cloud native. To develop a telco-grade cloud native
application, the application must be a completely new design – one that starts from scratch and incorporates cloud native principles.
Initiating the first 5G standard in 3GPP Release 15, 3GPP defined a service-based architecture (SBA) for the control plane of 5G core. For
Release 17, it is considering expanding the SBA to the user plane, which changes the N4 interface between decomposed UPFs and the
control plane to a service-based interface (SBI) that lets UPFs report events directly. This new approach would allow the user plane to
leverage the benefits of cloud native. One of the important factors in the SBA design is the size of the service, which varies depending on
the degree of granularity of network functions. Generally, smaller sized services require an increase in signaling messages, which increases
overall latency, whereas bigger sized services result in network functions that would be similar to the existing VNFs, which diminishes the
benefits of microservices. Therefore, it is essential to derive the optimal size of the service.

9
The core principles behind the cloud native design of the Samsung 5G Core are:

•　Break down of network functions into the smallest possible capability;

•　Develop needed services by leveraging open source components as much as possible; and
•　Identify and solve the bottleneck points for telco-grade reliability and stability.

Hybrid Virtualization and Cloud Orchestration – Samsung's microservice architecture is well-matched with containers and cloud native
technology in terms of infrastructure. With the development of cloud native technology, the telco infrastructure is on a path to leverage the
container-based architecture. But until then, solutions will incorporate a mixture of VMs and containers. In virtualized legacy networks like
the EPC and 5G NSA Core, network functions that create real-time services and manage the user plane traffic typically run on VMs, which is
appropriate for supporting services that do not have strict latency requirements or network configurations. Meanwhile, operators use
containers for broadband services that need scalability or services that are not susceptible to failures. Therefore, to support interworking
with existing networks, the 5G Core requires virtualization and orchestration technology that can support both VMs and containers at the
same time. The Samsung 5G Core does; it can support hybrid virtualization that enables seamless migration from VNF to CNF; it can also
support hybrid cloud orchestration that integrates and manages all physical, virtualized, and containerized resources.

Virtualization Hybrid Virtualization & Cloud Orchestration

SCO
GSO
NFVO
DSO (VNF + CNF)

VNFM VNFM CNFM

VNF VNF CNF CNF

VM Container
+ Container + Container
VM VM VM VM Container Container

Compute Network Storage Compute Network Storage

CNF : Cloud native Network Function NFV : Network Function Virtualization VNF : Virtualized Network Function
CNFM : CNF Manager NFVM : NFV Manager VNFM : VNF Manager
DSO : Domain Service Orchestrator NFVO : NFV Orchestrator SCO : Samsung Cloud Orchestration
GSO : Global Service Orchestrator VM : Virtual Machine

Figure 2-5 Samsung Hybrid Virtualization and Cloud Orchestration

High Availability – One of the risks of cloud native-based technology is that, due to the rise in transactions among loosely coupled
services, the chances of failures also increase. For decades, Samsung has developed and deployed network elements that interwork with
a wide variety of legacy network equipment. This experience creates a comprehensive knowledge of issues that may arise in the
interworking of unstable systems, as well as the expertise to resolve them. Samsung has rich experience in building anti-fragile systems
where predicting signaling traffic volume is difficult. For example, when one network element is congested and affects other network
elements, existing Samsung implementations prevent malfunctions through signaling throttling.

Telco-specific Platform Service Support – In cloud environments, monitoring is critical for operational efficiency. Although there are many
open monitoring tools available, there is still insufficient support for telco-specific protocols, like SCTP, Diameter, and GTP. Samsung is
leveraging its strength in telco-specific protocols and applications to ensure that these open-monitoring tools meet the needs of telco
operators. With telco-grade software pursuing cloud-based software architecture using microservices, these solutions will suffer more and
different problems than IT-based software. In telco-grade solutions, strict reliability and availability are critical, so finding the right solution
for the new architecture is a challenging and essential task. Samsung has many references in the mobile core, available tools, and rich
development experience. Such legacy combined with Samsung's decades of technical carrier-focused innovation positions Samsung as a
leader in the evolution of cloud native 5G.

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The Next Step of Cloud Native Samsung 5G Core
With cloud native, 5G networks will continue to evolve with the proliferation of 5G. In line with this growth, the cloud native Samsung 5G
Core keeps evolving to the architectures that can provide multi-cloud and serverless solutions.

Multi-cloud – The 5G standard is evolving to define ultra-low latency connectivity and edge computing. To efficiently provide low latency
services and mobile edge services in environments where public clouds are prevalent, the 5G network environment is changing to
multi-cloud environments that simultaneously use on-premise, private, and public clouds.

By using public clouds, 5G operators can quickly introduce multi-access edge computing (MEC) applications and enterprise
environments. To meet the needs of 5G operators, the Samsung 5G Core will support multi-cloud. To enable private cloud platforms, in
addition to Samsung Cloud Platform (SCP), VMware and RedHat OpenShift will be supported in the first half and the second half of 2020
respectively. Similarly, to leverage public cloud platforms, the Samsung 5G Core is developing support for AWS with EKS/SCP and MS
Azure with AKS in the second half of 2020. Samsung 5G CNFs will be easily ported across these cloud platforms, and Samsung Cloud
Orchestration (SCO) will offer hybrid orchestration to deploy and manage Samsung 5G CNFs across the cloud platforms. Figure 2-6 shows
examples of multi-cloud environments. The left figure shows a hybrid based multi-cloud that combines private and public cloud
environments. The operator builds its private cloud on COTS servers and runs 5G CNFs (vRAN and basic vCore) on those servers. The
vCore operates at a defined level of capacity on the private cloud, and if the vCore traffic suddenly exceeds planned limits, the system can
offload the excess traffic to the public cloud. Operators can deploy and run Samsung 5G CNFs on both clouds without being affected by
the private and public cloud infrastructure. The figure on the right illustrates a public cloud-based multi-cloud combining public cloud
environments. In this architecture, operators deploy Samsung 5G CNFs (vRAN and vCore) across multiple public clouds. Latency sensitive
DU and user plane functions run on-premise, which is also a public cloud built on the servers provided by a public cloud provider. In this
configuration, operators can deploy Samsung 5G CNFs to run seamlessly across both public clouds. If the public cloud environments are
identical, the operator can use the same infrastructure and a consistent set of services and tools.

Hybrid based: Private Cloud + Public Cloud Public Cloud Only based

Public Cloud Public Cloud

Private Cloud Public Cloud
vCU-CP
vDU/vCU vCore vCore OSS/BSS vDU/vCU-UP vCore-UP vCore-CP OSS/BSS

+ +
COTS server Outpost

On-Premise On-Premise

•　vRAN and basic vCore capacity on COTS server •　vRAN and vCore across Public Clouds
•　Traffic offloading to Public Cloud •　Amazon Outposts for latency sensitive components

Figure 2-6 Examples of the Evolution of Samsung 5G Core: Multi-cloud

By building multi-cloud environments and leveraging public clouds with high scalability and better operational efficiency, 5G operators
and enterprises can improve service agility and flexibility. To support multi-cloud solutions, the Samsung 5G Core utilizes open source
technology to automate and optimize the management of its 5G CNFs across multiple cloud platforms. These enhancements will
strengthen the monitoring and analytics and by providing automatic feedback.

Serverless – Serverless refers to a cloud computing model whereby application developers do not need to perform server provisioning or
manage the scale of their applications. By reducing the burden on server provisioning and management tasks, operators can focus their
developers on developing their applications, and by automating management tasks, operators also reduce their OPEX by minimizing
dependencies on the operating environment. In the public cloud service, currently available serverless solutions include AWS Lambda,
Azure Functions, and Google Cloud Functions; for on-premise clouds, there is KNative/KEDA. Samsung Cloud Native 5G Core plans to
further strengthen platform service functions such as monitoring, debugging, testing, and analytics to support easier implementation of
network functions and services. Samsung will continue to follow and apply could native principles and architectures in line with business
models pursued by operators while also innovating and showcasing new technologies for 5G solutions.

11
Open Source Activity
Why Open Source
With the 5G Core, 3GPP revolutionized the mobile core architecture by introducing the concept of virtualization and cloud. The 5G core
architecture that adopts the recent technologies of cloud and web is a service-based architecture (SBA), where microservices combine
to form network functions that are packed in containers and deployed automatically.

5G, where everything is connected, aspires to be the next-generation network platform that connects and integrates solutions across
industrial sectors. Thus, 5G mobile network should not only be rolled out and managed dynamically to meet the diverse needs of
customers, but also open to third parties to integrate across industries. Above all, it must quickly build its network infrastructure and
expedite service launches and upgrades that support and enable customers’ business successes.

Open source is a powerful enabler of innovation that transforms telecom networks into a service platform. Collaboration using open
source can accelerate the development of sustainable services cost-effectively. The telecom industry is moving toward this direction
by adopting open source technology. Many players are actively opening up their development solutions to open source communities
that are becoming the de-facto standards, which allows their products to be further improved by third parties and enables the
expansion of sustainable 5G ecosystems. At the center of this movement are the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) and
Linux Foundation Networking (LFN), which facilitates collaboration and operations across open networking projects.

Samsung Open Source Activity

Samsung began working with various open source projects in the 2000s, having embedded open source software in a variety of IT,
Mobile, and Consumer Electronics products. Currently, open source is applied to 80 to 90% of its software development, and Samsung
is expanding its open source activities to future technologies like 5G, AI and Robotics.

Starting with the OS and Platform

Expand to future technologies, such as 5G, AI, Robot, etc.

5G, AI, Robot

IoT

2002 2009 2012 2018 2019

Figure 3-1 Samsung Open Source Progress (Keynote, SOSCON 2019)

In the area of 5G core and network automation, Samsung is focusing on securing and expanding 5G core ecosystems by actively
working on CNCF and Open Network Automation Platform (ONAP,) a project under LFN. Samsung benefits from adopting open source
practices because:

‒　Using an open source approach reduces development costs and accelerates time-to-market;
‒　Being involved in open source projects allows Samsung to understand current trends and developments in the technology; and
‒　Participating in open source communities enables Samsung to identify the needs of potential customers.

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CNCF – CNCF is leading the de-facto standards for cloud native ONAP – ONAP is a representative open source networking project
technology. It adopted Kubernetes as the default open source for hosted by the LFN. It is currently developing a massive scale
container cluster management and aims to apply container- automation platform that orchestrates and automates xNFs from
packaged, microservice-oriented applications to enable enterprise central data centers to edge/on-premise data centers through the
scale. To adapt to the rapidly evolving open source and telco E2E lifecycle management of network services.
environment and to introduce cloud native environments into its
future technologies, Samsung joined CNCF in August 2019 and has Operational efficiency is one of the key factors driving the
been working on the Telecom User Group (TUG), a standard group transition to cloud native, which allows operators to focus on
under CNCF, as well as other projects. service development by simplifying the complexity of network
operation and management. For deployment of cloud native
The main goal of the TUG is to derive the specialized functions and applications, CNCF Kubernetes is regarded as a robust de-facto
requirements of telco networks and to identify and analyze the standard, that improves portability among various cloud
gap between solutions for IT and telco systems. TUG also environments. On the other hand, for end-to-end network
management and orchestration, CNCF Kubernetes struggles to
•　builds testbeds for apple-to-apple performance comparison obtain operational efficiency due to the lack of any successful
between VNF and CNF, de-facto standards. ONAP is emerging as a compelling candidate
•　designates CNCF open sources associated with the telco for a de-facto standard in network automation and orchestration
requirements, and to manage 5G core functions as it can reduce integration and
•　delivers monitoring information and the requirements to be deployment costs of operators' heterogeneous equipment.
reflected in de-facto standards.
Samsung joined LFN as a platinum member in 2018 and has been
Through TUG activities, Samsung is contributing to integrating proactively pushing for ONAP standards as an ONAP board
cloud native environment into telco environment by cooperating member. Samsung is contributing to the development of ONAP's
with global telco operators and equipment manufacturers. main components, such as service design, service orchestration,
and policy framework. In addition, Samsung's areas of interest in
Besides TUG, Samsung is contributing to the development and ONAP include security hardening and provisioning. In security
improvement of open sources in various projects. Samsung is a hardening, Samsung led the activity to perform penetration tests
reviewer for the Kuryr project at OpenStack to support Kubernetes on the software, and in provisioning, it contributed to the
and is also proposing and developing the functions that support adaptation of ONAP provisioning tools (offline installer) to fit
resource management that optimize the performance of 5G CNFs production network deployments without having access to
in Kubernetes environments. Examples of these contributions external networks. Thanks to such active effort, Samsung has
include the Node Topology Manager, support for Non-Uniform become a driving force in the ONAP community, ranking second in
Memory Access (NUMA), and improvements in Linux huge pages number of commits for ONAP for 2019.
that are being developed in the Kubernetes improvement
　　For more information on Samsung's activity on ONAP, see the LFN Blog
projects. Through these activities, Samsung strives to make
"LFN Member Spotlight: Samsung"
significant contributions that will deliver improvements that bring
telco-grade performance for 5G CNFs.

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Samsung 5G Open Labs
Simplifying the complexity of multi-vendor environments is critical for the commercialization and growth of 5G. In addition, securing the
interoperability of E2E 5G core solutions in multi-vendor environments can optimize the operator’s CAPEX and OPEX.

Currently, Samsung is operating 5G Open Labs in Suwon, Korea, and Samsung Electronics America (SEA) Plano in the United States. The
purpose of operating these 5G Open Labs is to confirm interoperability and robustness of 5G core solutions and to integrate Samsung
Cloud Platform (SCP) and its partners’ CNFs. Samsung will obtain the best of breed components in the E2E Samsung 5G Core through
partnerships with top-tier vendors for each 5G Core function, including data layer, policy, charging, to name a few.

Suwon 5G Open Lab, located at the headquarters of Samsung, provides optimized test environments for 5G/4G xNFs and performs
integration for IOT and commercialization with all partners. Samsung Electronics America Plano 5G Open Lab offers optimized test
environments for 5G/4G RAN and Core. It is also responsible for conducting various 5G/4G tests for North American operators, including
demos and commercial trials.

During the process of IOT and integration, any ambiguities found in 3GPP 5G standards are clarified, which strengthens the openness and
reliability of Samsung 5G core solutions. Samsung is preparing for 5G SA commercialization scheduled for 2020 through partnerships
with both Korean and global telco operators based on the 5G core solutions verified through 5G Open Labs and is establishing a strong
position in 5G core market.

Through 5G Open Lab activities, Samsung continues updating IOT specifications with existing partners in line with 3GPP 5G standard
timeline. At the same time, Samsung continues to search and discover new partners and new network functions to expand E2E 5G
ecosystems that encompass SA device – NR – SDN – Core – Platform – Orchestrator.

　　For more information on 5G SA Core, see the article

　　"Samsung Completes Multivendor Interoperability of Cloud-Native 5G Standalone Core with HPE & Openet”

The success of open source depends on building and expanding ecosystems. Samsung will accelerate the development of 5G Core
solutions and the expansion of E2E 5G ecosystems by further strengthening open source project activities and boosting Samsung 5G
Open Lab operations. These efforts by Samsung are hastening the commercialization of 5G SA Core by fortifying its openness and
reliability. In addition, Samsung will secure future technologies in the evolutionary path of 5G Core and provide customers with truly
new values and unprecedented experiences of the 5G era.

Closing
Samsung will offer a commercialized 5G SA solution in the first half of 2020. With the commercial availability of 5G SA, which
introduces 5G core functions, innovative 5G services fully utilizing the characteristics of ultra-high speed, ultra-low latency, and
massive connections will finally be possible.

Samsung's 5G SA-ready cloud native 5G Core allows network operators to launch new services quickly and upgrade frequently
according to their business needs while reducing OPEX by providing higher operational efficiency. The cloud native Samsung 5G Core
solutions using microservices architecture, container-based execution environment, E2E dynamic orchestration and automation,
CI/CD, open source platform services, telco-grade performance support, and telco-oriented open sources will deliver an E2E solution
that drives success for network operators. With the adoption of cloud native architecture, Samsung 5G Core transforms into a service
platform that can scale easily from small to large capacity. In the era of 5G that will soon come into full force, Samsung 5G Core will
continue to pioneer the 5G innovation success for operators.

14
Abbreviations
AKS Azure Kubernetes Service NFVI NFV Infrastructure
AWS Amazon Web Services NFVO NFV Orchestrator
AMF Access and Mobility Management Function NR New Radio
API Application Programming Interface NRF Network Repository Function
AR Augmented Reality NSA Non-Standalone
AUSF Authentication Server Function NUMA Non-Uniform Memory Access
B2B Business-to-business applications or services mMTC Massive Machine Type Communications
B2C Business-to-consumer applications or services ONAP Open Network Automation Platform
CD Continuous Deployment OVS Open vSwitch
CI Continuous Integration PCF Policy Control Function
CNCF Cloud Native Computing Foundation PCRF Policy and Charging Rules Function
CNF Cloud native Network Function PNF Physical Network Function
CNFM CNF Manager RAN Radio Access Network
CNI Container Network Interface REST REpresentational State Transfer
COTS Commercial Off-The-Shelf SA Standalone
DPDK Data Plane Development Kit SBA Service Based Architecture
DSO Domain Service Orchestrator SBI Service Based Interface
E2E End-to-End SCO Samsung Cloud Orchestration
EKS Elastic Kubernetes Service SCTP Stream Control Transmission Protocol
eMBB Enhanced Mobile Broadband SDN Software Defined Networking
EPC Evolved Packet Core SMF Session Management Function
GCP Google Cloud Platform SR-IOV Single Root I/O Virtualization
GSO Global Service Orchestrator UDM Unified Data Management
GTP GPRS Tunneling Protocol UDR Unified Data Repository
IT Information Technology UDSF Unstructured Data Storage Function
IoT Internet of Things UE User Equipment
LTE Long Term Evolution UPF User Plane Function
LFN Linux Foundation Networking vCore Virtualized Core
MME Mobility Management Entity URLLC Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communication
NEF Network Exposure Function VM Virtual Machine
NF Network Function VNF Virtualized Network Function
NFV Network Functions Virtualization VR Virtual Reality
NFVM NFV Manager vRAN Virtualized RAN

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About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. 2020 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

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