5G Vertical Application Enablers Implementation Challenges and Perspectives
Dimitrios Fragkos, George Makropoulos, Panteleimon Sarantos, Harilaos G. Koumaras, Anastasios-Stavros Charismiadis, Dimitris Tsolkas · 2021
5G system aims to enable vertical industries utilizing network programmability to its full extension. 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) has already established the foundations to provide 5G Core’s capabilities to third parties with Common API Framework (CAPIF) and Service Enabler Layer Architecture (SEAL). Vertical application developers communicate implicitly, through the Network Exposure Function (NEF), to unlock the available services. As more third parties move towards 5G ecosystem, their vertical applications need to be scalable, robust and more secure. Cloud native approach is the key enabler to fulfill those requirements and empower the inherent cloud-native characteristics of the 5GC. This paper investigates how the 5G architecture will support Vertical Application Enablers (VAEs) currently studied in 3GPP Rel.17, and proposes cloud native alternatives regarding VAEs implementation.