5G network monitoring solution based on network slicing technology
The 5G era has come, and the proposal of "new infrastructure" is driving the rapid development of 5G. 5G is the most fundamental communication infrastructure in the new infrastructure. It is the first of the new infrastructure. It can provide important network support for big data centers, artificial intelligence and industrial Internet and other infrastructures. It can also integrate big data, cloud computing and other digital Technology quickly empowers all walks of life. Therefore, in order to meet the differentiated needs of different industries, the implementation of 5G requires network slicing technology. At present, relevant people believe that network slicing technology is the key to the commercialization of 5G networks and is the foundation for major operators to serve various vertical industries.
The concept of network slicing
Compared with 2G to 4G networks, which have relatively single Internet and communication requirements, 5G networks are more application-oriented. For different application scenarios, different networking methods need to be used. If a single networking method is used to deploy different scenarios, It is very likely that the network architecture is complicated or conflicts occur within the network, and the deployment cannot even be completed. In the 5G era, application scenarios are changeable and network structures are more complex. Therefore, more flexible network deployment methods and networking methods are required. Network slicing is just such an on-demand networking method.
Network slicing, in simple terms, is to divide the physical network into logically independent end-to-end virtual networks, and each virtual network has corresponding equipment and core networks. Each virtual network has different functional characteristics and is suitable for different application scenarios and requirements. Because the virtual networks are logically independent, when one virtual network fails, other virtual networks can operate normally.
Advantages of network slicing
Network slicing is an important network function innovation with the advent of 5G, and it has many advantages.
- Choose your own characteristics freely according to your needs, such as low latency, high speed, high throughput, traffic capacity, etc. In this way, operators using this technology can better provide services to customers, and customers can also choose their own products according to their needs.
- It facilitates the removal of redundant functions and the addition of new technologies.
- Combined with the underlying infrastructure facilities that can share and optimize resources, it increases the use of resources and reduces costs.
- High-quality network communication is guaranteed. After the network is sliced, the end-to-end communication between the sub-slicing networks is independent of each other, instead of blindly improving the network quality by increasing the bandwidth, thereby ensuring the communication quality of the network.
The core of network slicing technology
The core of network slicing technology is NFV (Network Function Virtualization) and SDN (Software Defined Networking). NFV separates the hardware and software parts from the traditional network. The hardware is deployed by a unified server, and the software is undertaken by different network functions (NF), thereby realizing the needs of flexible assembly services. And SDN can build and change the network centrally, instead of manually migrating the network manager from device to device. In the network core, SDN and NFV virtualize the network components of each slice to meet specific needs.
Challenges faced by complex SDN/NFV environmental monitoring
With the continuous development of 5G technology and the application of network slicing technology, the SDN/NFV environment is constantly changing and more complex. Telecom operators are facing the increasingly complex problems of various technologies, various interfaces, protocols, and the combination of bare metal, virtualization and cloudization in the network. The network itself can span remote sites to multiple edge computing, which makes it increasingly difficult to understand the network itself.
Cubro solution-monitoring system in SDN/NFV environment
Cubro's software-defined (SDV) visibility solution can discover network resources, map and store network resources in a database. The SDV solution can detect network configuration changes in real time and notify network operators who can implement alternate SD visibility configurations by triggering a workflow process that automatically performs necessary changes, so that network monitoring and security tools or functions can continuously obtain relevant networks flow. Using this information, the CSP can implement alternative configurations to facilitate network reconfiguration or resolve service degradation. The same information is used to create the service flow, which makes the management and configuration of the visibility layer easier.
- Virtual and physical distribution:
Virtual and physical offloading provide access to the original data packet; this is important for any visibility application. Depending on the monitoring application, some or all data packets are required.
Cubro believes that network visibility tools include the use of virtual taps, smart network cards, and physical taps, depending on the environment and cloud implementation. Due to the expected large number of tap points, network visibility needs to be coordinated (in some networks, 100 tap points are standard, and virtualization even further increases the number of tap points).
- Aggregation, flow control and packet processing:
Network monitoring tools need to be entered in a specified way. Aggregation, filtering, and packet processing are essential to provide data to any monitoring tool in the correct format. The current challenge is to provide the correct data in the correct format when the network may have the following conditions:
封装在多个网络堆栈（overlay网络）中
工具的流量过多
非对称流量（上下行隔离）
加密流量
虚拟网络中传输的流量
动态传输层，例如使用SDN
Aggregation and filtering are not enough, because the network is more automated and agile. Likewise, network visibility must follow this dynamic approach.
- Metadata extraction:
Metadata is important because it provides an understanding of the network and its behavior.
Extracting metadata from the network from different sources (including non-Cubro devices*) can model the network topology and adjust it dynamically. Metadata is generated for the visibility structure itself to support network changes (naturally there are monitoring tools that can also use this data). Cubro uses the following metadata:
在可视化设备外的sflow（物理和虚拟）探
针的Nflow（如果需要）
DPI信息（如果需要）
VDS中的IPFIX（来自虚拟域的信息）
来自OpenStack的Neutron接口（OpenStack的行为）
来自实时网络的BGP，以通过切片关联服务
生产交换机和其他网络元素之外的配置
关联数据后，Cubro会生成网络的端到端动态视图。
- Automation—ASTERIA Orchestration:
Asteria is the controller that makes automation work. It uses workflow and extracted data as modeling information and feedback methods to control the entire cycle.
Benefits of Cubro's solution
Cubro's SDV solution can ensure the continuous optimization of required network service performance and security through the dynamic and constantly changing SDN and NFV environment, thereby providing low-latency, high-performance and agile services through the following methods:
to sum up
5G is developing in full swing. Nowadays, networking standards have been set. As one of the important enabling technologies, network slicing technology will play a key role in 5G bearer networks. At the same time, SDN/NFV is also developing rapidly as the core technology of network slicing. For how to monitor the network in a more complex SDN/NFV environment, Cubro provides a complete solution to help the application of network slicing technology and promote the development of 5G networks.