Page 24 - 5G Basics - Core Network Aspects

1 Core network aspects

8.11 Identification

FNs are recommended to provide a new identification structure that can effectively support mobility and
data access in a scalable manner.
Rationale: Mobility and data access are design goals of FNs. Both features require a provision for efficient
and scalable identification (and naming) [ITU-T F.851] of a great number of network communication objects
(hosts and data). Current IP networks use IP addresses for host identification. These are in fact host locators
that depend on the points of attachment with the network. As the host moves, its identifier (ID)
[ITU-T Y.2091] changes, resulting in broken communication sessions. Cell phones conceal this problem by
managing the mobility issues in lower layers, but when the lower layer fails to handle this, e.g., because of
the access networks' heterogeneity, this problem re-emerges. Similarly, there are no widely used IDs that
can be used in the identification of data. FNs therefore should solve these issues by defining a new
identification structure for efficiently networking among hosts and data. They should provide dynamic
mapping between data and host IDs, as well as dynamic mapping of these IDs with host locators.

8.12 Reliability and security

FNs are recommended to be designed, operated, and evolved with reliability and resilience, considering
challenging conditions. FNs are recommended to be designed for safety and privacy of their users.

Rationale: Since FNs should serve as essential infrastructures supporting human social activity, they should
also support any type of mission critical services, such as intelligent traffic management (road-, rail-, air-,
marine- and space traffic), smart-grids, e-health, e-security, and emergency telecommunications (ET)
[ITU-T Y.2205] with integrity and reliability. Communication devices are used to ensure human safety and
support automation of human activities (driving, flying, office-home control, medical inspection and
supervision, etc.). This becomes extremely important in disaster situations (natural disasters, e.g.,
earthquake, tsunamis, hurricanes, military or other confrontations, large traffic accidents, etc.). Certain
emergency response services (e.g., individual-to-authority) may also require priority access to authorized
users, priority treatment to emergency traffic, network device identification, and time and location stamping
including the associated accuracy information which would dramatically improve the quality of service.
All users have to place justifiable trust onto FNs to provide an acceptable level of service, even in the face of
various faults and challenges to normal operation. This ability of a FN is called resilience, which is
characterized by its two features: trustworthiness (how readily trust can be placed on a system) and challenge
tolerance. Trust can be gained from the assurance that the FNs will perform as expected with respect to
dependability and security. The trustworthiness of a system is threatened by a large set of challenges,
including natural faults (e.g., aging of hardware), large-scale disasters (natural or man-made), attacks
(real-world or cyber-based), mis-configurations, unusual but legitimate traffic, and environmental challenges
(especially in wireless networks). Challenge tolerance disciplines deal with the design and engineering of FNs
so that they can continue to provide service in the face of challenges. Its sub-disciplines are survivability,
disruption tolerance and traffic tolerance, which enact the capability of a system to fulfil its mission, in a
timely manner, in the presence of these challenges.

FNs are characterized by virtualization and mobility, and also by extensive data and services. Security for
networks with these characteristics requires multi-level access control (assurance of user identification,
authentication and authorization). This is an addition to existing security requirements, such as
[ITU-T Y.2701]. This includes protecting the online identity and reputation, as well as providing users with the
ability to control unsolicited communications. FNs should provide a safe online environment for everyone, in
particular for children, disabled people, and minority groups.

9 Target date and migration
In this Recommendation, description of FNs is to meet the assumption that trial services and phased
deployment of future networks supporting the above objectives and design goals falls approximately
between 2015 and 2020. This estimation is based on two factors: the first is the status of current and evolving

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