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Telco core 4.17 reference design overview

The telco core reference design specification (RDS) configures an OKD cluster running on commodity hardware to host telco core workloads.

Telco core cluster service-based architecture and networking topology

The Telco core reference design specification (RDS) describes a platform that supports large-scale telco applications including control plane functions such as signaling and aggregation. It also includes some centralized data plane functions, for example, user plane functions (UPF). These functions generally require scalability, complex networking support, resilient software-defined storage, and support performance requirements that are less stringent and constrained than far-edge deployments like RAN.

5G core cluster showing a service-based architecture with overlaid networking topology
Figure 1. Telco core cluster service-based architecture and networking topology

The telco core cluster service-based architecture consists of the following components:

  • Network data analytics functions (NWDAF)

  • Network slice selection functions (NSFF)

  • Authentication server functions (AUSF)

  • Unified data managements (UDM)

  • Network repository functions (NRF)

  • Network exposure functions (NEF)

  • Application functions (AF)

  • Access and mobility functions (AMF)

  • Session management functions (SMF)

  • Policy control functions (PCF)

  • Charging functions (CHF)

  • User equipment (UE)

  • Radio access network (RAN)

  • User plane functions (UPF)

  • Data plane networking (DN)