An analysis of 5G orchestration : Defining the role of software orchestrators in 5G networks, and building a method to compare implementations of 5G orchestrators

Abstract: Software orchestrators like Kubernetes are growing in popularity with computer engineers for deploying and running complex software systems. Interestingly, there are now new technical standards being proposed for the telecom industry to begin utilizing software orchestration for the software that runs inside cellular networks. The telecom industry is currently transitioning from 4G to 5G technology. One of the central pieces of this development work is implementing a software orchestrator for 5G networks. This raises some questions about how and why the telecom industry will use software orchestration in their cellular networks. Software orchestration is a complex technology and it is challenging to develop an implementation of a software orchestrator. Some important questions that this thesis addresses are: What do network operators need from this technology? Furthermore, telecom vendors, like Ericsson and Huawei, have developed their own versions of a 5G software orchestrator, which orchestrator should the network operators choose? Furthermore, we investigate what 5G is, why the telecom industry is developing software orchestrators for the 5G roll-out, and importantly, we determine the design requirements that the telecom industry has for these "5G orchestration systems". We interpret and break down technical whitepapers from the industry, and we build a picture of the IT stack of upcoming 5G networks. In our research, we find that software orchestration is being used to deploy and maintain complex software stacks such as software-defined networking (SDN) system that is central to 5G networks. We uncover some of the specializations needed in a software orchestrator for the telecom industry, such as modularity, high-availability, and specialized system integration. With this information, we make feature and design recommendations for 5G orchestrators, and we compile a list of criteria that network operators can use to assess and compare different 5G orchestrators.