Traditional telecommunication network functions often require configuring thousands of parameters, resulting in large configuration files. The built-in capabilities of Kubernetes struggle to manage the vast number of parameters in a single configuration file, leading to workarounds that are not native to Kubernetes. This paper proposes an automated, Kubernetes-native configuration deployment procedure based on GitOps principles and the Kubernetes API aggregation layer. This approach can solve the problems originating from the existence of large configuration files. Furthermore, we show numerical results about the deployment times to illustrate the engineering cost of the new approach.

The next-generation mobile networks are expected to provide advanced services, which require the network to be more scalable and resilient. A possible approach to solve this would be a cloud-native network, upon which containerized network functions could be deployed: this is why Kubernetes is gaining attention among network software vendors and service providers. Kubernetes has become the de-facto industry standard for orchestrating containerized resources at real-life scales. However, Kubernetes ’s abilities might seem to be limited. Currently, it lacks the toolset for advanced L2/L3 level networking, which would be essential, for example, in the case of IPv6-based mobility management. Furthermore, many types of software architectures can be envisioned on the top of Kubernetes which may have different impacts on performance. This paper examines different microservice approaches in the context of Mobile IPv6 and Proxy Mobile IPv6, including their service automation capabilities. We evaluate them from functional and performance perspectives and provide statements about their usability in mobile networks.

Cloud-native approach has touched network management and automation too. Kubernetes as de facto standard for running containerized network functions provide ways for network operation too. With the help of Kubernetes Operators (Operator Pattern) more and more manual network management work can be automatized which fits into the cloud-native ecosystem. In this paper, we present how Kubernetes Operators can be used for Netconf-based configuration management while utilizing GitOps principles. We provide numerical results to show the power of this type of network management.

The methods of ensuring telecommunication network reliability have been changing continuously. Closed-loop orchestration has paved the way for several new procedures to automatize failovers. In this work, we will present an inter-cluster failover capability for a 5G CNF (UPF) using the Open Network Automation Platform (ONAP).

The continuous increase of mobile data traffic volume creates new challenges for telecommunication network operators. As a possible solution, many traffic offloading techniques have been proposed. In parallel, there is a trend to handle all the access techniques under the umbrella of IP, including non-3GPP networks (e.g., Wi-Fi), mainly with the help of IPv6. In this paper we provide a new architectural proposal in Evolved Packet Core (EPC) described as flow-based and operator-centric dynamic mobility management with Proxy Mobile IPv6 (PMIPv6). This new approach is supported by current EPC entities including Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF), Access Network Discovery and Selection Function (ANDSF), and Local Mobility Anchor (LMA) and by defining a novel communication scheme between them. The proposal was evaluated in a virtual testbed environment, and measurements based simulations were carried out where the solution showed significant benefits by enhancing operator flexibility, increasing user experience, and decreasing signaling overhead due to its highly dynamic operation and optimized flow-level behavior.

In the recent years, the research and development of the 5thgeneration mobile networks (5G) has been continuously accelerating. Several new architectures and usability models have emerged from scratch and will influence the way how the 5G and the whole telecommunication industry look like. Some principles come from the “traditional” Information Technology (IT) industry like cloud computing, others internally such as Software Defined Networks (SDN). In this paper I would like to propose a new way of utilizing telecommunication and cloud resources with introduction a so-called Cloud Stock concept which address the usage of cloud resources differently by creating real time prices.