Unlocking the potential of 5G at the edge

The rapid evolution of 5G networks is driving business transformation within many industries, enabling high-speed connectivity, ultra-low latency and support for the massive internet of things (mIoT).

5G is not just an evolution from 4G. 5G demands network transformation for both the radio access network (RAN) and the core network to unlock its full potential. To achieve this transformation, telecommunication service providers are adopting new and distributed architectures that use software-defined, disaggregated infrastructure and automation for the delivery and management of diverse services.

A key element of this infrastructure is a cloud-native 5G platform. When built across their entire network this gives service providers the ability to support multiple network functions and applications from different vendors, allowing them to use the latest innovations that are available and to deliver services at the speed of demand.

5G core network architecture

After the initial wave of 5G non-standalone (NSA) that re-used existing 4G infrastructure to quickly launch 5G, service providers have started to deploy 5G standalone (SA) networks that use a 5G core, as shown in Figure 1. A 5G core opens the door for advanced 5G use cases such as network slicing. Service providers are looking at these types of use cases to monetize their 5G investment.

Figure 1: The User Plane Function (UPF) is the most compute-intensive workload within the packet core.

The 5G core network has been designed around services that are invoked using a standard application programming interface (API). 5G is the first third generation partnership project (3GPP) release to bring in a service-based architecture that uses cloud-native technologies and methodologies.

The 5G core consists of two main categories of network functions:

• Control plane network functions that provide user management, equipment registration, authentication and charging
• User plane network functions that provide data forwarding towards external networks and the internet

Navigating the challenges of 5G edge deployments

Delivering these capabilities at the edge, especially the provision of a distributed 5G core user plane function (UPF) introduces several critical challenges for service providers:

• Simplifying operations at scale
• Resource constraints of edge environments
• Interoperability across diverse technologies
• Latency concerns tied to data gravity
• Growing demands for sustainability

Each of these challenges, if left unresolved, threatens the performance and scalability of 5G networks. Red Hat’s collaboration with Druid Software and Napatech that brings together Red Hat Device Edge, Druid’s Raemis™ cellular network platform and Napatech’s smart network interface card (NIC)-based UPF offload provides a comprehensive solution that allows service providers build efficient, scalable, high-performance edge networks tailored to the demands of 5G services and applications.

Simplifying operations at scale

The scale of edge deployments introduces complexities in managing distributed UPFs across diverse sites. Manual configurations are resource-intensive and prone to errors. Requirements to meet changing customer demands for new services means implementing new changes and new configurations regularly. Day 0, Day 1 and Day 2 management of service provider networks cannot be done without automation.

Druid Software’s Raemis™ platform simplifies management and scales efficiently across large networks. Combined with event-driven automation and the GitOps capabilities of Red Hat Device Edge help provide consistent and reliable deployments while significantly reducing operational overhead.

Resource constraints of edge environments

Edge sites typically lack the computational capacity of central data centers, making it challenging to support packet processing of the 5G UPF.

Red Hat Device Edge is a platform that offers lightweight Kubernetes using Red’s Hat build of MicroShift, Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform to meet the needs of workloads deployed in resource constrained field-deployed devices. With a minimal platform footprint, device resources are preserved for the deployed workload rather than used to run the device itself. Red Hat Device Edge also provides a consistent operational experience from small edge devices all the way to large IT systems in the service provider datacenter and cloud.

Napatech’s SmartNICs offload the UPF data plane processing from general purpose server CPUs to specialized hardware, enhancing performance and reducing CPU utilization.

Interoperability across diverse technologies

Network slicing allows service providers to dedicate virtual slices of their 5G network to specific uses. Network slicing can be tailored to application-specific needs. Critical data, for example, that is used for driverless vehicles, emergency services and other vital infrastructure will have dedicated 5G access that cannot be used by other services. Therefore interoperability across vendors and technologies is essential.

With Red Hat Device Edge, service providers can simplify the deployment and life cycle management of traditional and containerized workloads in small form-factor edge devices, providing operational consistency across thousands of devices in the hybrid cloud. Red Hat Device Edge provides seamless interoperability and enables service providers to meet the unique requirements of modern 5G services.

Druid Software’s RAEMIS™ platform enables flexible migration paths between 4G and 5G architectures with its support for SA and NSA modes, as well as the capability to integrate seamlessly with enterprise networks.

Napatech’s SmartNICs enhance network slicing by offloading and accelerating the slice-specific packet processing associated with the UPF, improving performance and reliability for diverse applications.

Latency concerns tied to data gravity

Latency-sensitive applications like augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) and autonomous systems demand ultra-fast response times, making data gravity a central challenge.

Druid’s UPF deployed on Red Hat Device Edge allows data to stay close to its source, minimizing movement and delays. This integration is critical for improving the responsiveness of 5G services and applications.

As shown in Figure 2, Napatech’s SmartNIC-based UPF offload reduces UPF latency, delivering the throughput required by real-time applications. As an example, the Napatech NT200 SmartNIC, used to demonstrate this solution in a recent PoC with Druid Software and Red Hat, maximizes the performance of UPF offload, processing up to 140 million concurrent flows with a flow learning rate greater than 3 million flows per second, achieving a total throughput of up to 185 million packets per second (stateless operation) and ensuring full 2x 100G wire speed operation with end-to-end latency under 4 microseconds.

Figure 2: UPF as a container working with the SmartNIC

Growing demands for sustainability

Sustainability is a global, industry-wide effort to reduce the environmental impact of service provider networks. Being a sustainable service provider is becoming an important business objective in order to improve reputation, gain a competitive advantage, increase operational efficiency and spur innovation.

Service providers are improving sustainability by adopting strategies and best practices that aim to reduce their environmental impact. One of the most effective ways to reduce energy consumption is to know where energy is consumed and how much has been saved after a specific action has been taken.

Red Hat Device Edge is a key component in the delivery of a sustainable solution due to its lightweight architecture that significantly reduces energy use while maintaining operational excellence. This approach helps service providers align with their environmental goals while scaling efficiently.

Napatech’s SmartNICs offload the compute-intensive UPF data plane from general purpose server CPUs, thereby significantly reducing the number of servers required in edge data centers and a site’s overall power footprint.

How Red Hat, Druid and Napatech can help

Through our work of bringing together network equipment providers (NEPs), independent software vendors (ISVs) and our combined partner ecosystem, Red Hat, Druid and Napatech have gained in-depth insights about 5G network deployment needs for service providers to help them tackle the complexity of modern networks.

By combining Red Hat Device Edge, Druid’s RAEMIS™ platform and Napatech’s SmartNIC-based UPF offload, service providers can better address the challenges of distributed UPF deployments. These technologies form a robust foundation for scalable, efficient and sustainable 5G edge networks. They help address today’s operational hurdles and prepare networks for the growing demands of AI-driven applications and beyond.

Learn more

Explore how these solutions can redefine your edge strategy:

• Red Hat Device Edge
• Napatech SmartNIC solutions
• UPF Offload Solutions for Private Wireless Networks