Infrastructure as a Code (IaC) – 5G component
Project Name
Infrastructure as a Code (IaC) – 5G component
Client
TATA Communications Limited
Our Role
Infrastructure Provisioning
The Challenge
Security: Secure communication between user equipment (UE) and the core network is vital to thwart potential threats and unauthorized access, achieved through encryption, authentication, secure protocols, firewalls, and regular audits.
Scalability: The increasing number of 5G devices and subscribers demands a flexible and scalable SEPP infrastructure.
Efficiency: The manual provisioning and configuring of SEPP instances proved to be a time-consuming and error-prone process. These inefficiencies resulted in delays and service disruptions, impacting the overall system’s performance. The labor-intensive nature of the tasks contributed to human errors, leading to further complications.
Consistency: The absence of standardized configurations in SEPP instances increased the likelihood of misconfigurations, leaving the network vulnerable to errors and security breaches. Inconsistent setups posed a threat to network integrity, potentially causing service disruptions and compromising overall system performance. Establishing uniform configurations would be crucial to mitigate risks, ensuring a secure and stable environment for SEPP instances and safeguarding the network’s overall effectiveness.
The Solution
To address these challenges, Tata communications decided to implement SEPP in their 5G network. It needs data centric connectivity across other regions. For the existing AWS servers globally, Tata Communications maintains a LAN for its WAN operations as a security layer for the server. Cloudtern is one of the support systems for maintaining one of those AWS servers using SEPP with Infrastructure as a Code (IaC).
To overcome high-end Security challenges:
- Implementing robust encryption ensures all UE-core network communications are securely encrypted, preventing unauthorized access and safeguarding user data.
- Enforce Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) to verify user/device identity through passwords, biometrics, or smart cards, enhancing network security.
- Employing industry-standard secure protocols like Transport Layer Security (TLS) for data transmission enhances data integrity and confidentiality.
To overcome Scalability challenges:
- Virtualization and Orchestration: Utilize virtualized network functions (VNFs) and network function virtualization (NFV) to create a more flexible and scalable SEPP infrastructure. Orchestration tools can dynamically allocate resources based on traffic demands.
- Load Balancing: Implement load balancing mechanisms to evenly distribute traffic across multiple SEPP instances, preventing overload on specific nodes and ensuring optimal resource utilization.
- Edge Computing: Employ edge computing capabilities to offload traffic from the core network, reducing latency and enhancing scalability.
To overcome Efficiency challenges:
- Implement automated provisioning and configuration of SEPP instances using configuration management tools and scripts, streamlining deployment and minimizing manual intervention.
- Introduce self-healing mechanisms that automatically detect and resolve issues within SEPP instances, reducing downtime and service disruptions.
- Utilize machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms to analyze network performance, predict potential issues, and enable proactive maintenance and optimization.
To overcome Consistency challenges:
- Develop and enforce standardized configurations for SEPP instances across the network, facilitated by centralized management systems and configuration templates.
- Utilize version control mechanisms to track and manage configuration changes, maintaining consistency and allowing easy rollback to previous configurations when required.
- Implement policies and compliance checks to ensure SEPP instances strictly adhere to established standards and configurations.
Key Benefits
Decentralization of Security: With SEPP, some security functions can be handled closer to the edge of the network, reducing the need to route all signaling messages to the core network for processing. This decentralized approach can improve network efficiency and reduce latency.
Regulatory Compliance: AWS cloud services comply with various industry standards and certifications. By leveraging Terraform to create SEPP infra in conjunction with AWS can align regulatory requirements related to data protection and privacy.
Privacy Protection: SEPP can handle user identity-related information, helping to maintain user privacy and anonymity by controlling the exposure of sensitive data to external entities.
Load Balancing: SEPP can distribute the signaling load across different SEPP instances, helping to balance the network load and ensure efficient utilization of resources.
Scalability: SEPP’s distributed architecture allows for better scalability, making it easier to accommodate a growing number of connected devices and subscribers in the 5G network.
Faster Service Deployment: SEPP can help facilitate faster service deployments by enabling quicker authentication and authorization processes for new connections.
Support for IoT Devices: As the number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices increases in 5G networks, SEPP can help manage the security and communication requirements of these devices efficiently.
Interoperability: SEPP is designed to work within the mobile network architecture, ensuring compatibility and interoperability with other network elements and technologies.
Network Resilience: SEPP can contribute to network resilience by allowing the network to continue functioning even if the core network faces disruptions or congestion.
