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5g sa architecture

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The 5G Standalone (SA) architecture represents a fully independent and native 5G network architecture, as opposed to the Non-Standalone (NSA) architecture, which relies on the existing 4G infrastructure. Here's a technical overview of the 5G SA architecture:

  1. Core Network (CN):
    • The core network is a key component of the 5G SA architecture. It is designed to handle both control plane and user plane functions.
    • The key entities in the core network include the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), User Plane Function (UPF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), and the Network Exposure Function (NEF).
  2. Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF):
    • AMF is responsible for mobility management, connection management, and registration of user equipment (UE). It controls the establishment and release of connections and manages the mobility of UEs within the 5G network.
  3. Session Management Function (SMF):
    • SMF is responsible for the session-related control and management functions. It manages the establishment, modification, and release of sessions for data bearers. SMF also interacts with the policy control function for policy enforcement.
  4. User Plane Function (UPF):
    • UPF is responsible for the user data forwarding and is involved in the routing, forwarding, and encapsulation/decapsulation of user plane data. It plays a crucial role in providing the low-latency and high-throughput characteristics of 5G.
  5. Authentication Server Function (AUSF):
    • AUSF is responsible for the authentication of UEs. It interacts with the UE for authentication and provides authentication vectors to the AMF. AUSF also plays a role in key management.
  6. Network Exposure Function (NEF):
    • NEF enables authorized third-party applications to access specific network information. It acts as a mediation point for exposing certain network capabilities to external applications and services.
  7. User Equipment (UE):
    • UE refers to the end-user devices, such as smartphones, tablets, or IoT devices, that connect to the 5G network. The 5G SA architecture is designed to support a diverse range of devices with varying requirements.
  8. Authentication and Key Management (AKF):
    • AKF manages the authentication and key generation functions, ensuring secure communication between the UE and the network.
  9. Policy Control Function (PCF):
    • PCF is responsible for controlling the network policies related to quality of service, data rate enforcement, and flow-based charging. It communicates with the SMF to enforce these policies.
  10. Unified Data Management (UDM):
    • UDM is responsible for managing user-related information, such as subscription data and authentication credentials. It interacts with other functions, like AUSF and AMF, to ensure seamless authentication and authorization processes.
  11. N1 and N2 Interfaces:
    • The N1 interface is used for communication between the UE and the AMF, while the N2 interface is used for communication between the AMF and the SMF. These interfaces play a crucial role in the signaling and data plane communication within the 5G SA architecture.

This architecture is designed to provide a flexible and scalable foundation for a wide range of use cases, including enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC), and massive machine-type communications (mMTC). It enables efficient support for diverse applications and services with varying requirements.