# 5G NPN Performance Evaluation for I4.0 Environments
## 3 Hybrid 5G and I4.0 Concept Architecture
### 5G-Enabled AAS  
AASs already play a focal role in the I4.0 ecosystem, and serve as the catalyst for full adoption of the proposed enhanced technologies in the manufacturing field, along with interoperability across value chains. The proposed AAS solution can provide control and provision functions for both OT and IT equipment and modules. Furthermore, an important aspect in the implementation is the unified management of the lifecycle of both domains in a seamless manner. The architecture takes into account the asset lifecycle stage, according to IEC 62890, as considered in RAMI 4.0. Such lifecycle orchestration considers the heterogeneity of various physical and virtualized devices and services, and focuses on building the tools required for seamless commission, re-configuration, and decommission. Due to the variety of underlying technologies, a multifaceted AAS framework is implemented, which incorporates separate AAS in a many-to-one relationship. The distinct sub-AASs are the industrial AAS (for various equipment and services), a 5G UE AAS (including the interfaces for 5G-enabled equipment), and the 5G network AAS, supporting the core, RAN, and TSN components. Maintenance and management functions for the 5G-centric operations are performed by the 5G-OAM subsystem, also called the 5G operation support system (5G-OSS). The main points of innovation related to the 5G Network AAS, as depicted in Figure 2, are (i) upgrading to the latest 3 GPP release, which adds new features to the UPF functions and, to some extent, redefines the QoS; and (ii) adding new features (e.g., localization services such as those being studied in 3 GPP SA2 for Release 17, \"Enhancement to the 5 GC location services phase 2 (5G_eLCS_ph2)\"). Additional changes that the framework can support during its operation include (i) reconfiguration of communication links, such as QoS or addition of new 5G connections, while updating the 5G network AAS and related entries in the 5G UE AAS; (ii) deployment of different UPF functions on different host computers to boost capacity and redundancy; and (iii) flexible communication across the hierarchies of a factory using 5G network slices. This means that AAS information can be updated throughout the factory's lifecycle (i.e., across development, engineering, operations, and maintenance, to final scrapping and recycling). The crucial aspect in this core objective that the proposed prototype addresses is linking the different OT and IT entities, in order to operate them in a universal and technology-agnostic manner. To achieve this, the OPC 30081: OPC UA for Process Automation Devices (PA-DIM) model can be utilized, in order to create a ubiquitous asset reference model for OPC UA compatibility. PA-DIM can be extended appropriately to support 5G ontologies and create a holistic I4.0 information model. The industrial AAS and the 5G AASs are able to exchange information through the APIs that utilize this meta-model. The main objective of the proposed AAS solution is to provide a universal factory network management system (FNMS) based on 14 AAS--the OPC 30270: UA for Industry 4.0 Asset Administration Shell specifications and the industry standard IEC 62443. Figure 3 provides a brief overview of the possible interfaces between the 5G AAS and the 5G system. The 5G system consists of various physical and logical components; the 5G core network controls the data flows and connections between the 5G device endpoint (the UE) and the Data Network (DN) endpoint (the user plane functions or UPFs), and the 5G Network Management System (NMS)--which has a service-based architecture--is responsible for configuring the physical and logical nodes of the 5G core network domain. Figure 3: AAS support for 5G networks. Figure 2: Proposed architecture for I4.0 and 5G convergence. The 5G system is able to communicate the network status and events, as well as obtaining external configurations through a standardized Application Protocol Interface (API).