What is a Cloud Native Network Function (CNF)?

A cloud-native network function, also known as a CNF, is a software service that performs network functions following cloud-native design principles without needing any special hardware or appliances to host it.

A cloud-native network function is a software component of a network function typically carried out on a physical device. CNF is a new approach for building complex networking systems based on the concepts of cloud-native computing and microservices. Basically, a CNF is a network service or application that utilizes the cloud. No particular computer or operating system is preferred for cloud-native network operations. They operate on a more abstract level. The only exception is when a microservice needs features that might only be present on a fraction of workstations, such as solid-state disks (SSDs) or graphic processing units (GPUs).

The basics of a cloud native network function (CNF)

Cloud-native network operations do not favor any particular operating system or computer. They operate on a more abstract level. The only exception is when a microservice needs features that might only be present on a fraction of workstations, such as solid-state disks (SSDs) or graphic processing units (GPUs).

The CNFs follow the governance model outlined by a set of policies. They abide by policies that allocate resources to services, such as CPUs, as well as storage quotas, and network policies. For instance, the central IT department may establish guidelines for allocating resources to other departments in a corporate setting.

An agile DevOps methodology governs the individual life cycles of each service in a CNF solution. Several continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) workflows may work together to deploy and manage a cloud-native service.

The structure that persistent and resilient CNF services follow guarantees higher availability and resilience. Services that are not provided by a state exist as well. Storage utilization and the use of containers are related. When discussing persistence, it is increasingly important to consider state, statelessness, and micro-storage situations.

The application programming interfaces (APIs) used by CNFs are lightweight and based on protocols like representational state transfer (REST), Google's open-source remote procedure call (gRPC), etc. REST is the lowest common denominator to provide HTTP APIs. gRPC is widely used for internal communication between services to increase performance.

Lightweight containers and automation

CNFs are lightweight containers that hold a variety of independent, autonomous services. Containers, unlike virtual machines, can swiftly grow and shrink. Infrastructure consumption has improved since scaling units have switched to containers.

CNF services from the same application can find one another through the application runtime. They are independent of other services. Elastic infrastructure and application architectures can be scaled efficiently and better when properly integrated.

Elastic, virtual, and shared infrastructure are used to implement CNFs. They cooperate with system infrastructure to dynamically expand and contract in response to changing demand. Furthermore, automating it is fairly simple. They work well with the idea of infrastructures as software. These complex network management systems require some level of automation.

CNFs and 5G

The 3GPP 5G Core Network standard uses a Service Based Architecture (SBA). This cloud-native approach to the centralized network eventually forces network software and hardware dispersion. This dispersion is necessary to meet the scalability, performance, and various service needs of 5G enterprises and customers.

A cloud-native 5G network provides the fully digitalized infrastructure required for deploying new cloud services and fully utilizing cloud-native 5G features like network slicing, edge computing, and extensive IoT deployments.

Cloud Native Network Functions will help operators switch from non-freestanding (NSA) 5G architecture, which relies on a 4G core network to operate, to standalone (SA) 5G. 5G radios and a local 5G core network connected to the cloud make standalone 5G.

A cloud-native design based on microservices offers additional benefits for 5G in addition to stateless and stateful services, a single & shared data tier, abstracted infrastructure, and streaming telemetry data. However, a cloud-native system with service discovery cannot be supported by standard data center networking similar to IP routing. Therefore, communications providers must comprehend the core design principles to construct cloud-native architecture.

Our world is quickly transitioning to a cloud-native one regarding IT infrastructure and services. This architecture offers agility as the application develops and encourages portability and resilience. The same rules also apply to network operations. You may increase network flexibility and minimize hardware footprint by using cloud-native network functions, or CNFs.