The main goal of this WP is to design the cloud-native FUDGE-5G Platform architecture, including all the innovative 5G core technologies and technology components provided by the consortium partners and the corresponding interfaces. The FUDGE-5G Platform will structure the 5G ecosystem into: New Radio (NR) access network infrastructure provider, eSBA platform provider, mobile 5G Core (5GC) provider, vertical application orchestrator and vertical service provider. The main technology innovations of this platform are: unified eSBA architecture for both control plane and user plane, 5G-LAN support to unified fixed and cellular access under one address domain, time-sensitive network (5G-TSN) and multicast transport (5G-Multicast) support, and intelligent vertical service orchestration with advanced policy and cybersecurity requirements and data analytics.
WP1 will also define the scope of the implementation of the vertical use cases and the specific realisation of the FUDGE-5G Platform. E.g., which 5GC(s) will be used and which deployment options will be realised in each use case. For each of the vertical use cases, a technical 5G blueprint will be defined for its implementation into the 5G-VINNI facility, identifying the necessary FUDGE-5G technological components for each use case. WP1 will take into account the individual capabilities of each the facility site, as well as the possibility to exploit cloud and edge computing resources for the implementation of the project’s platform. WP1 will also define a technological validation framework of the core 5G technologies and components in the context of the considered vertical use cases, alongside a set of KPIs. This framework will be used to validate the different 5G technology components individually but also as a whole. It will assess whether the 5G network operation achieved during the trials is sufficient to meet the performance requirements and KPIs specific to each of the vertical use cases.
This WP will develop the technology components of the FUDGE-5G Platform except the NR access as a service component from TNOR that will be developed in WP3. The FUDGE-5G Platform 5G technology components are primarily a set of software components: ATH will provide its 5GC BubbleCloud solution; CMC will provide a mobile 5GC solution; FHG will provide its 5GC Open5GCore solution; UPV and 5CMM will collaborate with FHG in the development of Open5GCore to support 5G-Multicast; O2M will provide the Cell Broadcast Network Function (CBCF), which integrates with other Network Functions (NFs) in the 5GC (i.e., AMF and NRF) and includes a public warning portal for managing public warning messages that may be used to provide multicast multimedia content; UBI will provide its vertical application orchestrator; ONE will provide its situational awareness platform, as well as NF robustness, placement and security frameworks; IDE will provide world’s first service-based 5G architecture platform over which all other components will be integrated; THA will provide a secure slicing orchestrator; and HWDU will provide an eSBA resource controller. The technology components represent the state-of-the-art in their corresponding fields and they will be made available to the project as prior work. Technology components will be upgraded during the project to support some innovative 5G technologies, such as unified eSBA, 5G-LAN, 5G-TSN and 5G-Multicast.
The FUDGE-5G Platform work on the various technology components will focus mainly on interoperability and integration aspects in a sandbox environment, following the architecture and the interfaces defined in WP1. The work in this WP will include laboratory measurement and testing as part of the interoperability aspects.
FUDGE-5G builds on the ICT-17-2018 5G-VINNI facility, using the facility sites of Telenor in Norway. This WP will prepare the 5G-VINNI facility to be ready for trialling and validating the vertical use cases of the project, and hence the project’s 5G technology components. WP3 will integrate the FUDGE-5G Platform with the access network of 5G-VINNI of Telenor, providing the ultimate project’s technology component of NR access as a service from TNOR. WP3 will also on-board and deploy the considered verticals into the facility. It should be pointed out that the access network of 5G-VINNI in Norway is formed by commercial equipment from different major vendors, like Ericsson, Huawei and Nokia. It should be also noted that FUDGE-5G might consider additional vertical use cases from ICT-19 large scale cross-vertical trials projects 5G-Solutions and 5G-HEART, also based in 5G-VINNI Norway, leveraging the work done in these projects for additional validations and demonstrations of the FUDGE-5G technology components.
WP3 will provide the required management, operation, maintenance and update of the 5G infrastructures. In case there is a need during the project lifetime for any other integration with other 5G facilities (e.g., 5G Playground experimentation site of FOKUS in Berlin), such activities will fall under the responsibilities of this WP.
The main goal of WP4 is to validate and demonstrate the 5G core technologies and products developed by the project partners over a premium end-to-end 5G NR facility like 5G-VINNI provided by Telenor, running under real-life operational conditions with prominent vertical stakeholders in order to reach TRL 7 (system prototype demonstration in operational environment) or higher. The trials will help to gather feedback regarding possible faults, corrections and features to be added to the products. At the same time, the trials will allow to assess the 5G-VINNI infrastructure capabilities in terms of management and orchestration of resources in an eSBA context. Measurement and monitoring equipment available at the 5G-VINNI facility will be used for relevant data capture, analyses and results visualisation. Since trials might involve end-users, GDPR and other applicable regulations will be followed and closely monitored by T6.2.
Trials will follow the blueprints from WP1 and will use the technology solutions from WP2 that have been previously integrated and on-boarded in the 5G-VINNI facility in WP3. WP4 will provide the technological validation following the validation framework defined by WP1. The technical validation will be performed from two different angles: from the 5G infrastructure itself, including the different 5G technology components individually, and from the vertical use cases perspective. The project will follow and contribute to the KPI validation methodology defined in 5G PPP. In the event that 5G does not completely address the needs of individual use cases, WP4 will also identify the limitations and bottlenecks of 5G and propose new features or improvements on the existing ones. The execution of the trials for the vertical use case will consist of two phases in order to assess and report potential technology improvements of the 5G-VINNI infrastructure (e.g. upgrade to Rel-16) and of the FUDGE-5G technology components during the lifetime of the project. The trials performed in this WP will also contribute to the dissemination and exploitation strategy of WP5.
This WP interfaces with the external world to promote the results of the project and disseminate them to all interested parties. To maximize the impact of the project, the project communications will particularly target vertical stakeholders, industrial communities and Standards Development Organizations (SDOs), while not dismissing the academic and scientific communities. Particular attention will be paid to promote the adoption of FUDGE-5G technology components for private networks to verticals outside the consortium. In conjunction with the exploitation plans, innovation management will be conducted to ensure that the project identifies the opportunities for commercialisation of its results and takes the necessary steps to realise these opportunities. These individual exploitation plans will be combined to develop a joint exploitation strategy for private networks. Based on this, value propositions will be developed to impact the industry in exploring the project results.
WP6 aims at guaranteeing an efficient and effective overall management of the financial, administrative, technological and operation aspects of the project; covering all the management activities, setting up the management structures and providing a link to the EC officers, as well as to 5G PPP. This WP is responsible for clear definition of the activities, with a coherent assignment of the responsibilities and work distribution with emphasis on project’s milestones and deliverables. Throughout the life of the project, this WP will be monitoring the progress of the technical outcomes of the project, detecting and managing potential risks.
The production of an interim and final progress report will ensure the consistency of the actions to be undertaken with the specific and overall project objectives. This WP will start 2 months before the official project kick-off to prepare in advance all the necessary management tasks such that the technical WPs can start working from day 1. Also, it will end 2 months later than the official project end to ensure the consistency and quality of the final report. The management model proposed for FUDGE-5G can be found in Section 3.2.
