MobileStack

5G Visibility Intelligence Tailored for the Mobile Carrier Evolved Packet Core

Network Challenges

As mobile networks transition from 4G NSA to 5G SA, the amount of traffic to monitor is rapidly increasing, driven by subscriber demands for new services, applications, and devices. The rise in subscriber-driven bandwidth and service demands has led to an exponential increase in user plane traffic, adding to the already overwhelming amount of network traffic that needs to be monitored and managed. Without visibility into this traffic, it's difficult for network operators to identify and address potential issues, optimize network performance, and ensure the security of the network.

The sheer volume of user plane data, combined with new approaches to providing subscribers access to lower latency applications through Control and User Plane Separation (CUPS) and the implementation of Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC), present significant challenges for service provider operations teams. Probes are difficult to scale as they all require data and developing methods for each probe to receive data separately can be tedious and difficult to achieve. As a result, service providers need a comprehensive solution that can efficiently manage network traffic, including the ability to aggregate, process, and forward traffic to probes at scale and within budget constraints.

Keysight's MobileStack solutions provide a comprehensive end-to-end visibility solution for service providers, from data access to data processing to generating subscriber-aware metadata. With centralized control through Keysight Vision Orchestrator, MobileStack enables complete 5G visibility control and can integrate with higher-level orchestration layers to meet the dynamic needs of 5G. By leveraging correlation and subscriber sampling, MobileStack significantly lowers probe costs and provides the flexibility to filter and load balance subscriber traffic flows.

The Mobile Core visibility solution offers operational benefits such as reduced complexity, simplified network architecture, and enhanced troubleshooting capabilities. With improved packet filtering and capture options, network traffic can be more efficiently monitored, leading to more targeted troubleshooting and ultimately improved performance. Moreover, MobileStack supports various methods for accessing 5G data, including encrypted traffic, and provides advanced processing capabilities. By offloading processing from probes to the visibility layer, MobileStack enhances network performance and efficiency.

Keysight MobileStack visibility solutions begin with high-performance network packet brokers (NPB) such as Vision-X. Vision-X is a 3RU NPB that will address the need for massive user plane processing. Its modular design enables different deployment types using either application modules or FPGA-based processing modules based on the specific needs of the network. Whether massive control plane processing or massive user plane processing is required at the edge, or any combination in between, Vision-X provides the flexibility to address these needs.

Additionally, Vision X is capable of terminating 5G SBI traffic from network function vendors while simultaneously correlating, processing, and forwarding traffic to probes, which results in a significant reduction in probe costs. With its ability to produce subscriber and application-aware metadata after correlating traffic, Vision X can easily send this data to big data environments. Overall, Vision X is a flexible device that can help service providers address the challenges associated with providing end-toend visibility in a 5G network.