Organic 6G Networks

Dr. Marius Corici
marius-iulian.corici@fokus.fraunhofer.de
www.6G-ready.org© Philipp Plum/ Fraunhofer FOKUS

Fraunhofer FOKUS
Institute for Open Communication Systems

Agenda1Fraunhofer FOKUS NGNI Mission

2

6G Technology Drivers

3

2

Design Aspects for 6G Core Networks

4

FOKUS 6G-ready Toolkit Roadmap

5

Summary & Outlook

M. Corici: “Organic 6G Networks” - 11-03-2022

NGNI Mission & Research Market• Mission:• Researching & Prototyping of emerging global telco standards for Software-based
Networks (based on Network Virtualization) for addressing international markets & customers• Act as a top ten player (➔ stay the best in what you do – less is more!)• We are globally recognized as the 5G core network experts by the industry• Business Models:• Testbed as a Service: 5G Playground – a 5G Reference testbed for prototyping 5G
technologies and services• Testbed2Go: Open5GCore – THE reference software toolkit to build 5G testbeds anywhere• Key public research funding originates from EU, ESA, BMVI, BMWI, BMBF
• Key Industry Customers: Operators (e. g. DTAG, BT, etc.), OT Companies (Bosch, Siemens,etc.), Vendors (GEC, Huawei, Airbus, etc.), Research Institutes (e. g. TNO, ETRI)

3

M. Corici: “Organic 6G Networks” - 11-03-2022

Our Business Model: Testbed as a Service & Testbed2Go (Toolkits)

3G
2001

44G
2005

M. Corici: “Organic 6G Networks” - 11-03-2022

2009

5G
2015

6G
2025

Open5GCore Rel. 7
Software based core network – programs that can be deployed as containers, pods, VMs, …
• Fundamental 5G core network functionality: AMF, SMF, UPF, PCF, UDM, AUSF, …
• Additional services: non-3GPP, location
Main features for 5G:• Integrating with 5G NR SA, non-3GPP and satellite• Data path diversity, local offload• Advanced bearers, QoS and session management• Network slice support• Location service support• Performance Benchmarking• Own UE emulation of regular Android OS App
Highly configurable for:• Edge-central split• Dedicated, private and campus networks
5 M. Corici: “Organic 6G Networks” - 11-03-2022

Deployments and Reference Customers (from 2014 on)

x8

x10

Software andEquipment Providers

ResearchUse Case Owners,
Integrators and Network Operators

6M. Corici: “Organic 6G Networks” - 11-03-2022

Agenda1

Fraunhofer FOKUS NGNI Mission

26G Technology Drivers

37

Design Aspects for 6G Core Networks

4

FOKUS 6G-ready Toolkit Roadmap

5Summary & Outlook

M. Corici: “Organic 6G Networks” - 11-03-2022

6G Research Market started in parallel to 5G Evolution Market
Market Potential

5G

5G Market in 2030
> 590 Billion Euro p. a.

6G
6G-Market in 2030
> ???? Billion EuroStart 5G-Roll-Out

Expected Start for the6G Standardization

First 5GReleaseHigh Innovation in Pre-standardization andStandardization Phases
6G AppliedResearchStart

Qualitative temporal development of theaddressable research market for 5G and 6GTime

2020

82021

2022

M. Corici: “Organic 6G Networks” - 11-03-2022

2023

2024

2025

2026

2027

2028

2029

2030

6G – More Use Case Dimensions compared to 5G
eMBB
Gigabytes in seconds

Home Automation
Smart Buildings
Remote Maintenance3D video
Augmented Reality (AR)Extreme reality (XR)

mMTC-MBBURLLC-MBB

Autonomous mobility

VoiceVideo-based insightIndustry Automation
Self-controlled systems

mMTC

URLLC
Collaborative robots/production

Smart Cities
Smart Rural
Fine-granularenvironment
management© Marius Corici/ Fraunhofer Institute FOKUS
9M. Corici: “Organic 6G Networks” - 11-03-2022

Mission Critical Apps

URLLC-mMTC

New 6G Use Cases: More Mobility and Coverage Area Variations
Network Mobility

PublicTransport

MobileMaritime
Logistics

Nomadic/Temporary Mobile

PPDR

Global Specialized
Disaster Relief
Nomadic

6G

Construction Sites
Surveillance

Temporary

4G

Manufacturing

5G

Large Enterprises

Network
Coverage Area
Single BBU
Networks

CampusNetworks© Marius Corici/ Fraunhofer Institute FOKUS
10

M. Corici: “Organic 6G Networks” - 11-03-2022

Regional
Networks

Fixed/WAN

Multi-National
WANs

GlobalNetworks

Technology Impacts for 5G Evolution towards 6G
New 6GApplications& Use Cases

6G Standardization &Open Source Impacts

New ICT Design Concepts
Private Network Impacts
Artificial Intelligence
Maschine Learning

Non-Terrestrial Networks

New THz/6G Radio
Coms, Localization, Sensing

6G(5G Evolution)

Security & Green ICT &Digital Sovereignty

New Materials

Edge
Innovation
11

M. Corici: “Organic 6G Networks” - 11-03-2022

New Core/Data Layer

Quantum
Computing6G Research Directions

RAN-Core Integration
Mashup of the edge/central RAN
functionality

6G

Organic Core Networks
Adapting to deployment capabilities
and use case requirements

Reliable & SecureSpecifically designed mechanisms forthe new dynamic topologies

Data Centric
Ultra-flexible network adaptations
based on data insight12

M. Corici: “Organic 6G Networks” - 11-03-2022

Scheduled Networks
Optimizations through automatedinsight and resource sharing

Agenda1

Fraunhofer FOKUS NGNI Mission

2

6G Technology Drivers

3

13

Design Aspects for 6G Core Networks

4

FOKUS 6G-ready Toolkit Roadmap

5

Summary & Outlook

M. Corici: “Organic 6G Networks” - 11-03-2022

Evolution Trends for 6G• Infrastructure-free RAN (centralizedRAN)• Pushing core networks to local
infrastructure• Dynamic binding of network pieces in
end-to-end system• Deep integration of transport• Organic adaptations of networks• Data oriented system optimizations(scheduling vs. protocoloptimizations)14

M. Corici: “Organic 6G Networks” - 11-03-2022

5G vs. 6G Deployments

15

5G: Static Networks

6G: Morphing Networks• Macro-operator networks• Active subscribers-based scaling• Dedicated slices in macro-operator networks• Can migrate to new infrastructures• Small(er) non-public networks• Can split load between local and remote processing

M. Corici: “Organic 6G Networks” - 11-03-2022

Core Support for THz RAN•

THz characteristics:•

Highly directional beams ➔ needs advanced beam forming•

Very low delay transmissions ➔ could be used to compute positioning•

Very sensitive to interference ➔ massive MIMO is needed•

Very high network capacity•

Using currently unused spectrum•

Reduced coverage → needs fast handover support•

Only for low speeds ➔ handovers should be aware of the speed of UEs•

Signal could be very fast lost → Break-before-make handovers•

Usable as extra-carrier → needs support for carrier aggregation➔There is a need for a comprehensive, highly dynamic UE profile (e.g.
speed, location, state of communication, etc.)

16

M. Corici: “Organic 6G Networks” - 11-03-2022

Background: 5G Architecture• Based on Network Functions• Each network function can be implemented as an independent micro-service• Connected in a Service-Based Architecture• Using HTTP/2 as support communication protocol• Highly flexible in selecting the network functions

NRF

UDM

AMF

UE

17

M. Corici: “Organic 6G Networks” - 11-03-2022

(R)AN

PCF

AUSF

SMF

UPF

AF

UPF

DN

What is a Network Function?
• A Network Function (NF) is a basic element (a functional block) of a system, within a network infrastructure
which has well-defined external interfaces and well-defined functional behaviour• Transfer Function and• Subscriber state
Subscriber State
Input

Transfer Function

OutputNetwork Function• Each interface exposed by the Network Function has to be standardized in order to allow interoperability
without vendor lock-in.

18

M. Corici: “Organic 6G Networks” - 11-03-2022

Limitations of Network Functions

Isolated state
Scaling is possible only within NF
Needs many operations to synchronize state with other NFsLimited offered capabilities
New services need upgrades of old NFs
StateInput Interfaces

Transfer Function
Network Function

State and Transfer are bound together
Very complicated subscriber handovers to other NFs

19

M. Corici: “Organic 6G Networks” - 11-03-2022

OutputInterfaces

6G Requirements
Requirements

Challenges

Support the core network functionality

Continuous Integration / Continuous Deployment•
••
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
••

Access control, authentication, and authorization
Connection management
Mobility management / Session management
Data path forwarding
Lawful interception and chargingDeployment on any hardware, transparent network bindings
Account for noticeable service characteristics
Remove functionality replicas
Reduce the number of exchanged messages per procedure
Regrouping of the functionality
Split processing and state elements
Reduce functional dependencies
Reduce the number of interfaces
Native support for load balancing
Effective state sharing
Easy to split load across multiple worker entities
Able to parallelize across distributed infrastructures
Graceful deployment of functionality during the runtime of the system

Network management simplification•Same type of components, uniform policies for scaling, uniform configurations,easy to adapt to automation

Infrastructure free implementation
Complexity reduction
Organic growth
Simplify the addition of new functionality
Very fast scaling
High parallelization capacity

20

M. Corici: “Organic 6G Networks” - 11-03-2022

6G Core Network Split
Where to place the core network functionality to be able to:• Provide the expected subscriber service• Maintain the end-to-end service reliability• Assure the service security – protection of authentication• Assure the end-to-end service privacy

21

M. Corici: “Organic 6G Networks” - 11-03-2022

6G: End-to-end perspective
MLML

ML

Configurations through OpenAPIs

Automatic Network Management
Reliability
Mgmt.

Performance& SLAs

Security

User
User
EndUserEndsystem
Endsystem
system
THz

5G/4G

NTN

Subscribers
Mgmt.

Accounting &Data Mgmt.

Authentication
and authorization

Access andMobility

Session and QoS
Mgmt.

Subscriber Mgmt

Hardware and virtualization platforms
RAN
Providing connectivity
for the use cases
22M. Corici: “Organic 6G Networks” - 11-03-2022

Dimensioning, Planning, OAM

Core Network
Customized, Secure &Reliable Connectivity

Apps
Apps
Apps

Industrial
Apps

Industrial
AppsIndustrialApps

Agenda1

Fraunhofer FOKUS NGNI Mission

2

6G Technology Drivers

323

Design Aspects for 6G Core Networks

4

FOKUS 6G-ready Toolkit Roadmap

5Summary & Outlook

M. Corici: “Organic 6G Networks” - 11-03-2022

Roadmap for Open5GCore Rel. 8
Customization of testbeds towards use cases and specific deployments (user equipment, hardware,virtualization, integration with applications etc.), integration of base stations and end devices is available anytime
on-demand.

24

M. Corici: “Organic 6G Networks” - 11-03-2022

Preparing for 6G – from 6G-ready 5G Core towards Organic 6G Core
• NGNI is on track for 6G research: Focus is on Open & Nomadic 6G Campus Networks• NGNI partners & customers ask regularly for upgrades• Never change a winning team: Open5GCore is going to evolve towards 6G in three steps:• OpenRAN-ready Open5GCore (driven by BMWI CampusOS project)• 6G-ready Open5GCore (driven by Fraunhofer 6G Sentinel project)• Organic 6G Core (new implementation from BMBF Hubs)• Ca. 9 Mio. Euro funding secured for 6G research within the next 3 years:• Fraunhofer 6G lighthouse project 6G Sentinel (2 Mio. Euro)• BMBF 6G Hubs:• 6G-RIC Berlin (3 Mio. Euro)• Open 6G Hub Kaiserslautern (4 Mio. Euro)25

M. Corici: “Organic 6G Networks” - 11-03-2022

Open5GCore Evolution towards 6G
Demonstrations oflimitations of 5G

5G-6G features
Features which
could beimmediately usedin the 5G+ core

2020

2021

First 6G-ready
5G Corenetwork
6G features inthe 5G core2022

6G-ready
End-to-end
Demonstration
A complete 6G
ready system

2023

Infrastructure-free core network
6G Data Layer
Deep Integration of Transport
Pre-standardization researchcompletedFirst version ofOpen6GCore
New software toolkit
addressing the specific
6G architecture

2024

2025

6G Standardization Start

26

M. Corici: “Organic 6G Networks” - 11-03-2022

2026

6G Sentinel
Fraunhofer Lighthouse Project• Fraunhofer flagship project Six G Enablers• Flexible Networks, THz Technology and Integration, Non-Terrestrial Networks, SidElink, andLocalization• started in Q1 2021 with a duration of three years, budget: 8 Mio. Euros• Bundles the competencies of five major Fraunhofer Institutes• IZM, IAF, IIS, HHI, FOKUS• to deliver systems know-how in 6G• and funding for building FOKUS ʺ6G-Ready" Open5GCore• more information

29

M. Corici: “Organic 6G Networks” - 11-03-2022

Upcoming BMBF 6G Research Hubs
Funding for the new FOKUS Organic 6G Core
− Germany is funding four 6G research Hubs with 250 Mio Euro• Berlin, Kaiserslautern, Aachen, Munich/Dresden• Start: August 2021 with a duration of four years− FOKUS is contributing to two Open 6G Hub (Kaiserslautern) and 6G-RIC (Berlin)
aiming to develop a new organic 6G core supporting RAN-CORE disaggregation− 6G Hub Webnews

31

M. Corici: “Organic 6G Networks” - 11-03-2022

BMWK CampusOS (OpenRAN for OpenCampus Networks)
CampusOS is:•adapting Open RAN technology for building open 5G Campusnetworks•

aiming to develop an eco system for OpenRAN-based open
campus networks targeting for German 5G digital sovereignty•

Budget: 40 Mio. Euro (20 Mio. Euro for 2 Leitprojekte + 20 Mio.
Euro for 5-7 adjunct "Satelliteʺ projects), Start 01-2022, Duration
3 years•

FOKUS (3,5 Mio. Euro) is co-leading with Franhofer HHI the twoCampusOS main projects developing the reference architecture,developing key OpenRAN components, exploring different
operation models, building reference testbeds, perfomimg trials
with Industry partners (Bosch, Siemens, topcon, Still, etc.)

FOKUS will extend 5G playground and Open5GCore for "OpenRAN-Readynessʺ.

32

M. Corici: “Organic 6G Networks” - 11-03-2022

Agenda1

Fraunhofer FOKUS NGNI Mission

2

6G Technology Drivers

3

35

Design Aspects for 6G Core Networks

4

FOKUS 6G-ready Toolkit Roadmap

5

Summary & Outlook

M. Corici: “Organic 6G Networks” - 11-03-2022

Summary and Outlook− FOKUS has a long tradition in building globally
recognized telco software and testbeds− We are driving the 6G Core network research inGermany− We will extend Open5GCore to become 6G-ready toenable a potential smooth transition from 5G to 6G− We will build a new Organic6GCore toolkit for the2024 time frame to enable more disruptive 6G
research− You can licence Open5GCore today for YOUR
rsearch− We are open for joint international research projects− For more look at www.6G-ready.org

36

M. Corici: “Organic 6G Networks” - 11-03-2022

For further reading
E. Bertin, N. Crespi, T. Magedanz (Editors):"Shaping Future 6G Networks– Needs, Impacts and Technologies”
ISBN: 9781119765516 (Hardback), IEEE Press / Wiley
published in autumn 2021
Shaping Future 6G Networks: Needs, Impacts, andTechnologies is a holistic snapshot on the evolution of 5G
technologies towards 6G. With contributions from international key
players in industry and academia, the book presents the hypeversus the realistic capabilities of 6G technologies and delivers
cutting-edge business and technological insights into the future
wireless telecommunications landscape.

37

M. Corici: “Organic 6G Networks” - 11-03-2022

Kontakt—Marius Corici
Dept. Head of the Software-based Division
Tel. +49 12 3463 7271
marius-iulian.corici@fokus.fraunhofer.deFraunhofer FOKUS Institute
Berlin, Germany
www.fokus.fraunhofer.de