HPE Shared Data Environment –

Critical enabler for 5G Service Based Architecture

A Strategy Analytics white paper sponsored by
Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Intel

Report Snapshot

5G Service Based Architecture (SBA) demands new high

performance, scalable databases, and distributed synchronized
storage. The new 5G Shared Data Environment (SDE) integrated via
service-based interfaces (SBIs) is becoming a critical requirement for
implementation of cloud-native 5G Network Functions (NFs) and
Service Functions (SFs) as lightweight high-performance
microservices.
In this white paper, we describe an SDE architecture that not only
allows for smooth migration from legacy networks and databases
without compromising the true 5G high-performance SDE solution
but also allows smooth interworking with 3G/4G HLR/HSS systems.
New 5G services will depend on the availability of high-performance
SDE.

Prepared for HPE and Intel by March 2019

Sue Rudd, Director Networks & Service Platforms
email: srudd@strategyanalytics.com

www.strategyanalytics.com
 Networks & Service Platforms

Table of Contents

New data environment is required for 5G services 3

Evolution of Subscriber Data Management (SDM) to Shared Data Environment (SDE) 3

5G Service Based Architecture (SBA) changes everything 4

5G SBA represented differently 4
1. Reference Point representation 4
2. Service-based representation and service-based interfaces 4
SBA demands high-performance SDE 5
Implementation of SDE 6
Migrating from legacy to 5G SDE 6
SDE meets SBA requirements—Deutsche Telekom use case 7
Deploying SDE in today’s networks—Legacy HSS interworking 8

Benefits of SDE with network data layer 9

About Hewlett Packard Enterprise 10
About Intel 10
About Strategy Analytics 10

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 Networks & Service Platforms

New data environment is required for 5G services

In the new world of 5G, service providers will require a common or shared database (DB) layer that provides every
subscriber, service, and network function with database as a service within a Service Based Architecture (SBA). In 5G,
data access and storage mechanisms will need to be optimized for a wide range of data types from streaming message
flows stored in NoSQL RAM to live subscriber location information stored in cache memory arrays, and even static
subscriber data stored in standard SQL, NewSQL, or scale-out SQL, as well network topology and service resource
information in new geospatial and graphical databases. Typical services that demand these diverse data capabilities
include:
 Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) everywhere
 Services at the Edge for Multi-Access Edge (MEC)
 Edge compute for ultra-reliable low latency (URLLC)
 vEPC /vMME core services
 VoLTE processing in IMS core
 Fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) services
All these services require authentication, location information, shared synchronized data, external state information to
recover session flows, real-time Big Data analytics, and APIs for third-party apps. Distributed database access anywhere
across the network is essential for all these services. Today subscriber data management (SDM) provides a foundation
for this evolution, but new database capabilities are required.
Figure 1. Evolution of SDE

Source: Strategy Analytics Networks and Service Platforms

Evolution of Subscriber Data Management (SDM) to Shared Data Environment (SDE)

As the Figure 1 shows, SDM has evolved beyond its original role as a centralized, mostly static storage repository—that
mirrored the 3G HLR/HSS—to a role of federating multiple data base sources including third-party data. SDM further
evolved to become the Unified Data Repository (UDR), a data store for static, transient, and real-time subscriber and
device information that can be centralized or distributed.
Today, for 4G/LTE, several of the major vendors offer ways to evolve access to traditional legacy SDM databases and
other network and event data stores via a Common or Shared Data Layer. See ‘Subscriber Data Management (SDM)
Evolves to Leverage Real Time CloudDB Data Management solutions’ for additional details.
Now to get ready for 5G SBA a fully SDE is required that is independent of—but instantly accessible—both user data
and the control plane.

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 Networks & Service Platforms

5G Service Based Architecture (SBA) changes everything

5G SBA shifts from the node- or virtual machine (VM)-based point-to-point architecture that the industry currently
uses—see reference diagrams—to an SBA defined in terms of interfaces and service flows to support loosely coupled
services and functions. The new streamlined architecture is ideal for implementing lightweight network functions as
cloud-native microservices.
In SBA, each network function (NF) offers its services via interfaces to other NFs that are authorized to make use of
those services. Note: Network repository functions (NRF) allow every NF to discover the services offered by other NFs.

5G SBA represented differently

In 5G, SBA interactions between network functions are represented in two ways.
1. Reference Point representation
In 3G and 4G networks, the network elements communicate with each other through well-defined reference points on
specific network nodes with unique flows between them. 5G Reference Point Architecture similarly describes the
interactions between pairs of network functions (NFs) defined as numbered point-to-point references between core
network functions. In Figure 2, N11 is a numbered reference point between the AMF and the SMF. Figure 2 shows the
standard interactions between network functions.
Figure 2. 5G Reference Point Architecture

Source: 3GPP TS 23.501: System Architecture for the 5G System (Figure 4.2.3-2)

2. Service-based representation and service-based interfaces

The other representation is service based. In this representation, a service is a set of capabilities offered to other
network functions via an interface. All the interactions between services are implemented by service invocation.
Services are separated into User Plane and Control Plane services.
User Plane Services (UPS) support functionalities such as packet routing and forwarding, traffic handling—including
QoS enforcement or firewalls—anchor point for intra/inter-RAT mobility, packet inspection, and packet duplication, for
example, for lawful intercept. The UP services are under the control of Control Plane services, including the path
establishment between access network (AN) and UPS as well as UP service chaining and billing information collection.
Control Plane Services (CPS) provide control of the network including services such as access, mobility, policy,
exposure, legal intercept, and charging related control. The access control includes security and roaming support.
Network functions within the 5GC control plane only use service-based interfaces for their interactions as shown in the
Figure 3.

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 Networks & Service Platforms

In the 5G service based representation, a network function within the control plane allows other authorized network
functions to access its services.
Figure 3. 5G Service Representation

Source: 3GPP TS 23.501: System Architecture for the 5G System (Figure 4.2.3-1)
In the 5G Service Based Architecture (SBA), since functionality is abstracted from any specific node or dedicated point-
to-point connection, any function can request services from any other function to form a dynamic service function
chain (SFC) to complete a service.
Theoretically, all functions can request any network resource from a common pool of virtual physical resources to fulfill
the vision of SDN/NFV. 5G SBA demands a cloud-native implementation of lightweight VNFs as SDN/NFV microservices.
Achieving flexibility, scalability and performance requires data be removed from singular VNF instances and placed into
a shared data environment. The Unstructured Data Storage Function (UDSF) provides such a shared environment
accessible to multiple VNF instances. SBA in practice supports two storage facilities: one for structured data such as
subscriber information stored within the traditional UDR and one for unstructured information such as state and
context data stored within the UDSF. Ultimately, all data will be accessed via UDSF; see related paper on 5G Design
Principles with Unstructured Data Storage Function (UDSF).
5G SBA therefore not only changes how service functions interface to one another and to the network resources they
require but also to the VNF independent data stores.

SBA demands high-performance SDE

There are demanding performance requirements for an SDE to support the new architecture including:
 Real time: Event/transaction processing at over one Million TPS
 5G low-latency responses in under 1 to 3 milliseconds (ms)
 Massive linear scalability from hundreds of entries at the edge to billions of entries in the core.
 Unified management of static and transient data types on any data storage medium or DB design:
 Disk, RAM, or cache stores
 SQL DB, NoSQL DB, or Direct Memory Access
 Virtual schemas: For common data across apps, VNFs, and others
 Policy rules, embedded policies, and policy enforcement across diverse service domains
 Seamless authentication that enforces secure access for subscribers, network operations, and third-party apps
via APIs: using only REST JSON
 Five 9s service-level reliability and availability, that is, 99.999% on COTS hardware
 Dynamic distribution and synchronization of data across the network to optimize traffic and processor load

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Implementation of SDE
SDE must therefore meet not only 5G and SBA interface requirements but also carrier requirements for extreme
volume variation, extreme agility, secure access, low latency and high performance all at low cost. To achieve this we
adopt key architectural criteria that demand:
 Truly cloud-native virtual and distributed environment
 Scalable performance to handle a vast range of workloads
 Openness to support multivendor multigenerational infrastructure
Migrating from legacy to 5G SDE
Figure 4 shows how SDE architecture enables smooth migration from UDR to 5G.
Figure 4. Migrating from structured UDR to 5G unstructured database

Source: Lee Hines HPE CMS in Fierce Webinar ‘5G Shared Data Environment: The Critical Enabler for a Service-based
Architecture (SBA)’ January 2019

While offering a fully compliant 5G solution, the SDE allows for parallel operation of pre-5G and 5G network functions.
The message bus or SBI that links all the control plane functions at the top of Figure 4 provides seamless access to
either UDR or UDSF as network functions require.
This architecture can even be extended to support all the legacy database approaches for 3G and even 2G with
appropriate handling of common services across all technologies using SDE as shown in Figure 5 below.

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Figure 5. Legacy and Next-Gen interface support with SDE (Note: 5G functions stay 5G)

Source: Lee Hines HPE CMS in Fierce Webinar ‘5G Shared Data Environment: The Critical Enabler for a Service-based
Architecture (SBA)’ January 2019
The architecture shown in Figure 5 enables seamless migration of subscribers as spectrum is refarmed, for example,
from 3G to 5G while allowing legacy interfaces to be terminated to legacy databases and 5G to be terminated as 5G at
the UDM.
SDE meets SBA requirements—Deutsche Telekom use case
It is critical to determine if the SBA database requirements identified earlier can be met in practice by SDE in a live
environment.
HPE demonstrated SDE in June 2018 for Deutsche Telekom (DT) to show the feasibility of SDE as an external store for
VNF state information that meets 5G sub-millisecond retrieval requirements. See HPE and Deutsche Telekom
Demonstrate Network Data Layer for 5G Service-based Architecture.
DT’s goal was to simplify the creation of end-user services by exposing network capabilities in real time to both its
operator services and third-party applications. Multiple virtual instances of the SDE solution were created to
demonstrate diverse traffic patterns to different databases to ensure redundancy, failure recovery, scalability, and
operability, as well as to meet the stringent performance requirements for data access by multiple stateless VNFs. DT
was able to see how SDE could streamline performance of its heterogeneous network environments to achieve savings
in both network resources and operational efficiency.
With the new SDE lightweight VNFs for real time, service flows can be fully implemented as high-performance
microservices.

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Deploying SDE in today’s networks—Legacy HSS interworking

As subscribers migrate to 5G, it will be necessary to support legacy HSS interworking for subscriber access. Six
deployment options have been proposed as shown in the Figure 6.
Figure 6. Six HSS Interworking proposals under consideration by 3GPP: separate and common repositories

Source: Lee Hines HPE CMS in Fierce Webinar ‘5G Shared Data Environment: The Critical Enabler for a Service-based
Architecture (SBA)’ January 2019

The approaches range from a gateway approach at the top left to a variety of combined HSS UDM approaches where
legacy and 5G terminations are mixed together as hybrids in the top row and the bottom right. In the bottom left and
center, there are two data access layer approaches: one with a common repository and one with a separate repository.
Several of these proposals are in fact thinly veiled proprietary approaches that could lead to vendor lock-in.
Solution approach #2—see upper middle in Figure 6—shows a complete definition of the open standard interfaces,
currently identified as Nxx between UDM and HSS components. Subsequent releases of study item TR 23.732 will show
that the HSS and UDM may be considered separate as well as combined.

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Benefits of SDE with network data layer

Service providers who adopt SDE in advance of 5G deployment are likely to see significant benefits. These include new
service capabilities and enhanced operations performance, for example:
 Faster access for all data types
 Dynamic storage resource allocation to reduce cost
 Seamless secure authentication for subscribers, network operations, and all third-party apps.
 Single IoT device registry and repository for multiple vertical IoT markets
Eventually as service providers launch pre-5G and true 5G services, SBA will enable high-value functionality to be
activated on demand for any user or entity including:
 Multi-access edge computing (MEC) service instantiation on demand
 Dynamic network slicing for every slice type with all parameters and dependencies automatically triggered
 On-demand access to multicloud web services wherever they are hosted
 “Mix and match” service components configured and instantiated from stored parameters and software on
demand to create new service options
 Global access to personalized services stored anywhere
Service providers who install future proof 5G-ready platforms with a high-performance SDE are likely to dominate in
the marketplace. Conventional UDR solutions will be challenged to match those that are purpose built to support the
challenging data access requirements of 5G Service Based Architecture.

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About Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Accelerating your success in the digital and 5G era
HPE’s focus on 5G continues a 25 year heritage of working with communications service providers to evolve their core
systems through 2G, 3G, 4G and now 5G. Bringing together telecom expertise with IT practices allows HPE to lead with
a true telco cloud approach. HPE solutions for the telecom industry include core to edge systems, with specific products
for subscriber data management, end user applications and services, operations and business support
systems, platforms and infrastructures. Coupling telco-specific solutions with advisory services and industry expertise,
HPE helps enable communication service providers to generate revenue, automate their operations, and help retain
subscribers while reducing costs to become agile, competitive and 5G-ready digital service providers.
Learn more about how HPE is accelerating digital service provider transformation at hpe.com/dsp/services.

About Intel
Intel Inside®. Network transformation outside.
The era of 5G-powered experiences starts today with Intel® technologies.
Transitioning to “cloud-optimized” networks is foundational for handling the growing network traffic of today and the
diverse, data-intensive workloads and performance demands of the 5G future. That is why Intel is unique in the
industry for its ability to provide platforms suitable to meet the multi-faceted challenges, performance and
programmability demands for each of these areas and across a myriad of form factors to suit almost any need. All of
this builds upon the foundation of Intel’s decades of investments in fostering the essential hardware, software and
security ecosystems to maximize application performance and reduce the complexity of customer deployments.
With proven leadership, massive footprint across cloud and data center, and a rich technology portfolio spanning
wireless, wireline, computing and cloud, Intel is the right strategic partner to help communications service providers
drive powerful infrastructure-wide transformation to increase velocity and adaptability in the face of change.
Learn more about how Intel is helping enterprises and communication service providers with cloud-optimized and 5G-
ready platforms at www.intel.com/networktransformation

About Strategy Analytics

Strategy Analytics provides strategic and tactical support to global clients across the market and product lifecycle
including consulting projects and whitepapers. Feel free to contact the author srudd@strategyanalytics.com with any
questions on this report or for further details on how we can assist you.

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