5G Architecture, Design, Protocols, Evolution, & Deployment

Visualize the traditional 5G network by tracing data from user devices through the radio access network, transport network, and core network, via fiber or microwave links to the data center.

Explore the radio access network architecture, including cell sites, baseband units, radio units, CPRI interfaces, and the transport path to the core network in 5G deployments.

Explore the 5G radio access architecture with DU/CU separation and gNode B, enabling edge computing, resource pooling, low-latency user plane function, and networking through slicing, SDN, massive MIMO, and beamforming.

Compare 4g traditional architecture with 5g, noting proprietary radio and core hardware, backhaul transport, and the move to virtualization and cloudification, including midhaul to deliver low latency and gigabit broadband.

Explore 5g nr architecture with DU and CU split, virtualization, cloudification, and open radio access network, while RU handles analog to digital conversions and time to frequency domain conversion.

Compare 4G and 5G transport network architectures, focusing on fronthaul evolution from CPRI to eCPRI with up to 50 Gbps and latency under 0.1 ms. Highlight mid-haul connectivity between distributed unit and central unit, and backhaul up to 100 Gbps with latency under 10 ms.

Explore 5g transport network architecture at service-level, focusing on ultra reliable low latency, enhanced mobile broadband, and machine to machine type communication, with edge-based du/ru disaggregation and upf at edge.

Examine the 5G core network architecture, differentiating standalone and non-standalone deployments, and explain desegregated control and user planes (CUPS) for mobility, QoS, and slicing.

Understand how the 5G spectrum, including FR1 and FR2 bands, drives telco costs and performance, balancing lower frequency coverage with higher frequency capacity and throughput.

Explain how 5G NR uses a ten millisecond frame with ten one millisecond subframes, 14 OFDM symbols, and 15 kHz subcarriers, while numerology defines flexible subcarrier spacing.

Explore the 5g nr frame structure, downlink channels, and resource elements and blocks, with numerology, showing how synchronization, broadcast, control, and pdsch data enable initial access and efficient spectrum use.

this lecture explains the 5g nr time-frequency grid with 14 ofdm symbols per slot, varying numerology and subcarrier spacing, covering pss, sss, pbch, and ssb for cell search and synchronization.

Explore the synchronization signal block in 5G architecture, detailing the fixed PSS and SSS allocations, their role in initial access, and how PBCH carries system information across three OFDM symbols.

Explore bandwidth parts in 5G, showing how a carrier is divided into subbands with numerology, PRBs, and DCI to save power and reduce interference.

Analyze how 5g resource blocks of 12 subcarriers and varying numerology from 15kHz to 240kHz adjust subcarrier spacing and OFDM symbol duration to enable flexible bandwidth parts.

Learn how ofdm eliminates interference by zeroing adjacent subcarriers to remove guard bands, and how ofdma shares resource elements across users in time and frequency for efficient spectrum use.

Explore modulation in 5g architecture, converting baseband to carrier signals by adjusting amplitude, phase, or frequency to boost data rate from qpsk to 256 qam while reducing interference.

Explore 5G NR duplex schemes, including time division duplex and frequency division duplex, and how uplink and downlink share or separate carrier resources, with half duplex FDD options.

Explain how tdd uses a single carrier with time-domain resource allocation and synchronization to avoid interference, while 5g nr provides flexible slot formats and sfi signaling.

Learn how the MAC layer scheduler allocates radio resources across users, balancing QoS, channel conditions, and fairness to improve throughput while protecting cell-edge users.

Explore 5g nr spectrum basics across fr1 and fr2, detailing subcarrier spacings of 15, 30, and 60 khz and bandwidths up to 200 mhz and 400 mhz, with duplex schemes.

5g spectrum spans lower and mid bands (fr1 and fr2), balancing coverage and capacity with carrier aggregation to achieve multi-gbps throughput from 45 to 100 MHz bands.

Select the subcarrier spacing in 5G NR to balance cell size and latency, using numerology 0 (15 kHz), 1 (30 kHz), and 2 (60 kHz) for deployments.

Explore how 5g NR subcarrier spacing shapes coverage, latency, and capacity across FR1 and FR2, and compare 5g efficiency with 4g's resource usage.

Explore supplementary uplink in 5g nr, using lower frequency bands to match downlink coverage and optimize deployment scenarios for uplink-capacity balance.

Compute 5G downlink coverage with a link budget at 3.5 GHz, determining MAPL from EIRP, margins, and receive sensitivity. Explore how antenna count, frequency, and reliability reshape cell radius.

Explore uplink link budget calculations for 5g coverage planning, showing how user equipment transmit power, two antenna elements, and beamforming shape mapl and cell radius at 3.5 ghz.

Compute peak downlink throughput from inputs like subcarriers, 8*8 MIMO, 8 bits per symbol, code rate 0.93, PRB allocations, 15kHz numerology, 50MHz bandwidth, and 10% overhead.

Analyze 5G NR user plane latency by examining downlink transfer steps—base-station processing, TDD frame alignment, and transmission time defined by OFDM symbols and subcarrier spacing—plus the impact of HARQ retries.

Explore 5G NR evolution from legacy networks toward virtualization and cloud native. Examine CU/DU splits, layer two and layer three, and open RAN deployment paths for brownfield networks.

Explore the stages of RAN evolution from hardware-based, purpose-built systems to virtualization, cloud, and finally cloud-native networks with automation, self-healing, and auto-scaling.

Analyze 3GPP split options and ORAN's 7.2, and examine how moving higher vs lower physical layers between RU and DU affects weight and connectivity at cell sites.

Explore deployment scenarios in 5g evolution, from distributed ran to virtualized and cloud ran, highlighting central and distributed units, software upgrades, and midhaul cost considerations, including wireless midhaul.

Open RAN and 5G NR rely on a cloud platform to pool resources from central and distributed units, enabling on-demand scaling, edge or regional deployment, and automated orchestration.

Open RAN uses virtualization to decouple software and hardware, enabling virtualized open distributed units and open central units at edge or regional clouds, with RIC.

Understand 5g physical layer dimensioning and downlink resource allocation in time and frequency, including synchronization signals, broadcast channels, common control channels, and pdcch/pdsch mapping.

Explore how the 5G NR downlink control channel (PDCCH) allocates resources in time and frequency using CCEs, resource element groups, and coresets, with five aggregation levels and simulation.

Explore how PDSCH is allocated in time and frequency after coreset, PDCCH, and SSB, covering DMRS and PTRS reference signals and flexible symbol and slot selections.

Simulate uplink signals in 5G, focusing on PUSCH and PUCCH resources, DMRS and SRS for channel estimation, phase tracking, and scheduling to enable beamforming in uplink.

Examine layer two data flow in 5g architecture, detailing how IP packets from layer three are encapsulated in radio bearers using PDCP and SDAP, then become MAC transport blocks.

the mac layer handles scheduling, harq management, and uplink/downlink resource allocation based on service qos; it processes channels, encodes transport blocks, and manages ue context and channel state information.

Discover how the PDCP in layer 2 provides services for control and user planes, performing header compression, integrity protection, ciphering, duplicate removal, and reordering in dual connectivity with radio bearers.

This lecture explains SDAP, a 5G layer two protocol that maps upper-layer packets to radio bearers with a flow ID and QFI, enabling QoS via the UPF and RRC configuration.

explores layer 3 radio resource control in 5g, covering setup, connection establishment, system information broadcasts, cell selection, bearer setup, power control, and rrc states idle, inactive, and connected.

Explore RRC states in 5G, idle, inactive, and connected, and explain registration management and connection management with RM-registered, CM-connected, AMF NAS signaling for core-network interactions.

Explore the 5G core architecture and the desegregation of control and user planes, detailing AMF, AUSF, UDM, PCF, SMF, and UPF roles, authentication, policy, and PDU sessions.

Explain the service based architecture in the 5G core network, where network functions exchange via a common interface using Rest API, enabling registration, service discovery, and policy-driven requests.

Explore how service-based architecture uses http to enable communication between network functions, with an http server and client handling connection initiation, using get, post, put, and delete.

Explore AMF in 5G core, handling access and mobility management, signaling with PCF, authentication with AUSF and UDM, encryption of signaling, and N1 and N2 keys for NAS and RRC.

Explore the amf hierarchy and deployment, detailing regions, sets, and pointers that map users by guti. Use the global unique temporary id to identify and authenticate subscribers within an area.

Explore NWDAF, the network data analytics function that collects data from the PCF and NSSF, uses machine learning and AI to allocate resources for network slicing and provide actionable insights.

Understand how the network slice selection function (NSSF) provides NSSAI guidance to allocate network slices in the core network, directing AMF choices and service types for each UE.

Discover how the NRF, a network repository function, manages services, controls access, automates configuration, and discovers candidates for specific network function types in the core network's control plane.

Explore 5G core network protocols, including GTP for control and GTPv1 for user plane and PDU sessions, plus NGAP, PFCP, NAS signaling, QoS with QFI.

Understand virtualization decoupling of compute, storage, and network with a hypervisor to create virtual ODU, OCU, and near real time RIC, guided by NFV and orchestration for 5G and openran.

Explore virtualization as a core block of openran in 5G with hypervisors and a virtualized infrastructure manager, and see how OSS, the VNF manager, and orchestrator instantiate core network functions.

Explore how software defined networking uses OpenFlow to desegregate control and data planes in a virtualized environment, replacing proprietary hardware with virtual machines and network OS as the control plane.

Explore the 5G call flow from the user equipment to the radio access network and core network, detailing registration and de-registration procedures and the identities involved.

Explore the general procedures in 5G networks, including registration management, connection management, and mobility management, and how idle and connected modes affect data transfer and core network control.

Register on power to access network, update as user moves between tracking areas, and perform AMF–device updates within predefined intervals, with emergency registration available when out of the network.

Trace the UE to RAN to core network call flow during initial access and registration, covering downlink synchronization, SIBs, cell selection thresholds, RACH, and the RRC setup.

Explain 5g initial access and registration as the UE moves from RM deregistered to RM registered via NAS signaling with AMF, AUSF, UDM and PCF policy enabling SMF/UPF.

Trigger de-registration when either the user or the network refuses access to the 5G core. AMF releases PDU sessions with SMF and UPF; UDM unsubscribes and signals to the UE.

Explore 5G identities: SUPI as the globally unique subscription permanent identifier provisioned in the UDM/UDR, SUCI as a protected concealed identifier, and NAI as the network access identity.

Understand GUTI, a globally unique temporary identifier allocated by the AMF to the UE, used across 3GPP and non-3GPP access, combining GUAMI with PLMN and AMF region and set identifiers.

Explore the 5g registration procedure, detailing the ue to gNodeB request, authentication with AMF, AUSF, UDM, UDR, and policy checks by PCF, followed by activation of PDU sessions for services.

Explore how the UE initiates a PDU session, establishing user plane connectivity from the device to the core network via AMF, SMF, and UPF, with IP allocation and QoS control.

Identify the CGI formed by the plmn id and nr cell id, how gNodeB relates to a cell id, and how PCI yields 1008 area-specific identities to avoid interference.

Explore 5g deployment scenarios, including greenfield and brownfield approaches, and distinguish standalone and non standalone architectures, with radio and core network roles and evolving core networks from 4g to 5g.

Explore 5g deployment options, including standalone deployments and those that interwork with 4g networks, EPC, desegregated user planes, and core network migrations for brownfield and greenfield networks.

Explore 5g deployment options 3 and 7, detailing 4g upgrade to release 15, 5g user data routing via epc or direct to epc with 3a/3x, and transition to ng core.

Understand option four in non-standalone deployment, where the control plane shifts from 4g to 5g and 5g base stations connect to the 5g core, preserving 4g until standalone deployment completes.

Explore multi radio dual connectivity options for 5g deployment, including en-dc with 4g core and nr-dc with 5g core, with master and secondary node choices across e-utran and nr.

Adds a secondary gNodeB to a 4G core system using EN-DC, detailing RRC reconfiguration, uplink random access, data forwarding by the SGW, and ERAB path updates.

The lecture explains how a master 5g anchor node adds a 4g secondary node, enabling dual connectivity and split bearer managed by pdcp, nr pdcp, nr rlc.

Explore multi-access edge computing and how moving resources closer to users enables low-latency, video content delivery optimization, AR/VR, and smart city applications, with three deployment options.

Explore how nfvi, virtualization, and vnfs enable software-defined networking, management and orchestration, and edge to core cloud deployments for broadband and low-latency 5g services.