The 6G trend in 2023: the architecture drives key technologies from vastness to depth

At present, the global 6G network development is still in its early stages, and the industry is still exploring the development direction and technical path of 6G networks. In the development process of 6G network technology, the network architecture is very important. It will define the development form of the network, determine the technology trend and affect the industrial foundation. It is overall, systematic, inheritable and forward-looking. In the past year, through the research on the 6G network architecture, several candidate network support technologies have been initially selected and some technical explorations have been carried out. In 2023, the research on 6G network architecture will still be the top priority. On this basis, the research on various key technologies will be gradually focused and deepened.

Trend 1: 6G network architecture will move from outline design to detailed design

The mobile communication network is a complex system, and the network architecture is the base of this complex system, which determines the efficiency and capability of the entire system. The development of network architecture is one of the core symbols of the intergenerational development of mobile communication networks, and is the "skeleton" and "central" of each generation of communication networks.

In September 2021, the IMT-2030 (6G) Promotion Group released the "White Paper on 6G Network Architecture Vision and Key Technology Outlook" (hereinafter referred to as the White Paper), which for the first time proposed development guidance for 6G network architecture and key technical fields. The white paper points out that network technology innovation will play a more critical role in the 6G stage, and expounds the driving forces for the evolution of 6G network architecture from three aspects: new business scenarios, DOICT integration technology, and IP networking. The 6G network architecture design principles of "adhering to network compatibility and insisting on simple design" and "transforming from centralized to distributed, from incremental to integrated, from plug-in to endogenous, and from ground to ubiquitous" are proposed. The white paper expounds the vision of a distributed and autonomous 6G network architecture, and introduces twelve potential key technologies of the 6G network, laying the foundation for promoting the formation of a consensus on the key technologies of the 6G network by all parties involved in industry, academia and research.

In June 2022, through a systematic analysis of driving forces, research and judgment, and concepts, China Mobile proposed the overall architecture design of the "three-body, four-layer, and five-face" 6G network, presented from three perspectives: spatial view, layered view, and functional view A full view of the cross-domain, cross-layer, and multi-dimensional 6G network architecture. Among them, the "three bodies" are network ontology, management and orchestration body, and digital twin body; the "four layers" are resource and computing power layer, routing and connection layer, service function layer, and open enabling layer; plane, user plane, data plane, intelligence plane, and security plane.

The overall architecture of "three bodies, four layers and five sides" is the industry's first systematic 6G network architecture design, which will effectively promote the industry's consensus on 6G architecture design and key technology selection.

On the basis of the overall architecture design, China Mobile further provides the twin design, system design and networking design of the architecture implementation. Create a virtual twin through digital means to realize a digital twin network architecture (DTN) with network closed-loop control and full lifecycle management. The end-to-end system is defined by the service, and the full service system architecture (HSBA) is realized. On the networking, realize distributed, autonomous, self-contained features, support on-demand customization, plug-and-play, and flexible deployment of distributed autonomous network (DAN).

In 2023, the research on 6G network architecture will still be the top priority. The logical architecture of the 6G network has taken shape, but the local architecture needs to be further improved and refined, and gradually move from the outline design to the detailed design.

Trend 2: The key technologies of 6G networks are gradually converging, moving towards in-depth topics

System architecture plays a crucial role in network design. With the continuous exploration of 6G network technology in the industry, under the traction of network architecture, the key technologies of 6G network will be gradually focused in 2023, and from the broad directional exploration to the in-depth research of thematic technology. This article lists eight key 6G network technologies that may be focused, and analyzes the potential in-depth research directions of each technology point in 2023.

Full Service Architecture

The service-oriented architecture has continued to develop in depth since the introduction of 5G. From SBA to eSBA to 6G HSBA, its fields will be expanded to wireless access networks and user planes in the 6G era to achieve thorough service-oriented and lay the foundation for architecture design. . Full-service architecture HSBA is the core and cornerstone of the overall architecture of 6G, and is the basic design of each function in the service-oriented functional layer. In a 5G network, services still need to be attached to a certain network element. This mode limits the flexible upgrade and free combination of services to a certain extent. In the future network, there will be a trend of increasing network scale and increasing individualized demand for industry networks, and 6G networks will gradually develop to a combined deployment mode of "centralization + distribution". In the design of 6G network structure, whether it can truly break the limitation of network elements, eliminate the coupling between different atomic services, and thoroughly implement the service-oriented design concept is an urgent problem to be solved. HSBA should be enhanced in terms of service framework, service interface, and atomized services to adapt to the distributed organization of the network, the intelligent scheduling of services, and the flexible deployment of industry-specific networks.

In 2023, the full-service architecture will evolve from the following three aspects: First, the service framework will evolve towards a more distributed direction, optimize the decoupling design of services, and further realize communication through the decoupling of network business processing and general communication functions Independent functions, so as to establish a stable communication mechanism in massive services, complex architectures and networks; second, the service interface is developing in a more flexible, open, efficient and reliable direction. In the process of 6G network evolution, it is necessary to actively absorb emerging IT protocols and control The design of plane and user plane protocols is evolving towards the next-generation Internet protocol; third, atomic services are further decoupled and reconstructed to support more flexible combinations and lightweight calls. By further decoupling and reconstructing atomic services, we can truly achieve There is no need to consider infrastructure construction when deploying applications, and realize automatic construction, one-click deployment and service startup.

distributed autonomy

Distributed autonomy has become an important trend of the 6G core network. 6G will be oriented to more industries, and its business scenarios will be more diversified, dynamic, and complex. There will be more localized requirements for signaling and data processing, and it will be necessary to quickly and adaptively implement network Organization and adjustment of functions and services. Based on the distributed autonomous network framework, new networks can be established conveniently and quickly, automatically connected to the running 6G overall network, operate autonomously without human intervention and management, automatically sense environmental changes and make real-time network adjustments . In 2023, distributed autonomy will evolve from the following aspects.

One is the homogeneous composition and on-demand expansion of distributed network functions. The distributed network unit of the 6G core network includes basic functions such as control plane, user plane, and data plane, and has basic capabilities such as user control and data forwarding, thus forming a homogeneous distributed and isomorphic micro-cloud basic unit. The micro-cloud unit can be personalized and expanded according to specific business scenarios, user scale, geographical environment and other requirements, adding customized network capabilities, quickly generating personalized networks, and providing network services in a targeted manner.

The second is mobility management and business continuity in distributed networks. Based on user context data in distributed storage, users can realize "zero interoperability" cross-domain mobility and lossless service connection. Based on the coordination between distributed units or the coordination between distributed units and centralized units, complex services and cross-regional roaming can be realized.

The third is the reliability management of the distributed network. When a distributed unit fails, other units take over the users under the unit without damage through the user context data stored in the distribution.

The fourth is the automated governance of distributed networks. Through the dynamic perception and cognitive learning of the network environment, intelligent generation of network architecture, system functions, etc., as well as self-maintenance and self-management are realized.

digital twin

The 6G network will build parallel physical and digital networks to form virtual and real fusion management methods. On the one hand, it supports real-time modeling of different networks and business forms, and on the other hand, it supports flexible and real-time integrated policy control from virtual to physical entities. The digital system realizes the prediction and iteration of the physical system, realizes low-cost trial and error, intelligent decision-making, and high-efficiency innovation of the network. For multi-dimensional resources such as data, storage, forwarding, and computing, through the twinning mechanism, reusable, easy-to-manage, light-customized, self-adaptive, and predictable "physical + digital" mapping, feedback, and closed-loop are realized, and the overall , Local multi-form resources for dynamic, automatic deployment and optimization.

In 2023, the digital twin network will be studied in depth from the following two aspects.

One is how to perform partial or complete twin mirroring of the network ontology. Building a network twin requires four key elements: data, model, mapping and interaction. All network functions in the 6G network architecture can build corresponding network function twins on demand. The twins and the real physical network can exchange data in real time, restore the operating status and environment of the real physical network through modeling and mapping, and carry out network pre-deployment pre-deployment. Verification, and then provide the optimal solution of network strategy, improve the reliability of network decision-making and deployment.

The second is how to help the 6G network realize the intelligent plane through internal and external closed loops, and achieve the goals of flexible network and endogenous intelligence. Network operation and maintenance and optimization, network intelligent application, intent-driven network intelligent autonomy, new network technologies, and new business innovations can all input requirements to the twin through the northbound interface, and conduct business through the modeled instance of the network twin Deploy and validate. The network capability is verified through the endogenous closed-loop of the twin. After verification, the twin sends control updates to the physical entity network through the southbound interface.

endogenous wisdom

The 6G network is embedded with AI capabilities to realize endogenous architecture-level intelligence. Internally, it can use intelligence to optimize network performance, enhance user experience, and automate network operations, that is, AI builds a network; externally, it can extract and encapsulate network intelligence, and provide users from all walks of life with communication and computing services that combine network and AI, that is, network empowerment AI. By embedding AI capabilities, it realizes the intelligent perception, intelligent connection, intelligent discovery, intelligent service, intelligent management and intelligent arrangement of DOICT integration, laying the foundation for the intelligent connection of all things.

In 2023, Wisdom Endogenous will focus on the following key points. One is the transition from cloudification to distributed network intelligence. Due to the distribution characteristics of data and computing power in the network, 6G is required to build an open and integrated new network architecture to realize the transformation from the traditional "Cloud AI" to "Network AI". The second is the change of paying more attention to uplink transmission performance. Different from the previous network with downlink transmission as the core, smart services will bring more frequent data transmission between base stations and users. It is necessary to focus on the scenario requirements of uplink communication to more effectively support the application of distributed machine learning. The third is the transformation of data processing from core to edge. In the future, data localization, extreme latency performance, and low-carbon energy saving will require computing to be brought to the data to support "where the data is, where the data processing is."

In order to cope with these changes, the new network architecture needs to be able to use intelligence to optimize network performance internally, enhance user experience, and automate network operations, that is, AI4Net, to achieve intelligent connection and intelligent management; at the same time, it must be able to provide real-time AI services for users in various industries, real-time Computing new business, namely Net4AI.

Air-Space-Ground Integrated Networking

With the rapid development of aerospace technology, in order to meet the needs of Internet access and broadband data transmission in remote areas, sea and airspace, disaster rescue and other scenarios, more and more attention has been paid to the solution of providing Internet services using space-space-ground networking. . In the 6G network, space-based, space-based, and ground-based networks will be deeply integrated to form a network with integrated air-space-ground coverage that provides users with extreme, reliable, and continuous communication services.

In 2023, the research on the air-space-ground integrated network will be further developed around the following aspects: First, the integrated network architecture of distributed and on-demand deployment. The space-ground integrated information network will provide full-scenario services, and the network should be able to provide matching network service capabilities according to different business needs. The 6G network needs to build an on-demand, flexible and efficient network capability resource pool to realize on-demand customization, dynamic deployment and elastic scaling of network capabilities, and adapt to the reliability and robustness requirements of the space-ground integrated information network. The second is mobility/session management and dynamic routing technology. Because satellite constellations have problems such as fast dynamic network topology changes, large transmission delays, and poor robustness of inter-satellite links, the mobility management and session management of air-space-ground integrated networking are problems that need to be solved urgently. At the same time, large-scale dynamic routing technology and efficient network resource management strategies help to improve indicators such as bandwidth and delay, and improve user service quality.

Mobile Computing Network

In the 6G era, the network is no longer a pure communication network, but an information system integrating communication, computing, and storage. Realize endogenous computing internally, provide computing services externally, and reshape the communication network pattern. In order to meet the requirements of new network services and lightweight and dynamic computing in the future, the integration of network and computing has become a new development trend. Under the general trend of deep integration and development of network and computing, the core requirement of network evolution is mutual awareness and high coordination between network and computing. The computing power network will realize ubiquitous computing interconnection and efficient collaboration among clouds, networks, and edges, improve the utilization efficiency of network resources and computing resources, and then realize real-time and accurate computing power discovery functions, flexible and dynamic service scheduling functions, computing power service functions, computing network Orchestration management functions, computing power routing functions, and improve user experience consistency.

In 2023, the mobile computing power network will focus on in-depth research on computing power measurement and modeling technology, computing power routing technology based on computing power resource perception, and online computing technology.

Deterministic network

The mobile communication network is gradually transforming from serving the consumer Internet to serving the industrial Internet, and will gradually become the technical foundation of the Industrial Internet, the Energy Internet of Things, and the Internet of Vehicles and the driving force for industrial upgrading and development. The further integration of ICT and OT in the future will make the mobile communication network evolve from providing "best effort" services to providing "deterministic" services. The 6G era is an era of extensive development of deterministic networks, which will transform from a model of independent development of mobile and fixed networks to a model of cross-domain integrated development. The 6G-oriented deterministic network will be a deterministic network with endogenous determination, cross-layer determination, and cross-domain integration.

In 2023, the deterministic network will focus on how to integrate the mobile network with the fixed network deterministic mechanism, how to break through the traditional IP layer forwarding mechanism, and how to ensure precise cross-domain time synchronization. In addition, the realization of a cross-domain end-to-end deterministic network will involve multiple network segments and technologies at multiple levels. It is a combination of multiple technologies and can be improved in terms of reducing complexity, dynamic self-adaptation, and combining specific services. .

data service

In the future, the 6G ecosystem itself will generate, process, and consume massive amounts of data. These data will enable more comprehensive intelligent services and provide operators with value-added channels. requirements. An independent data plane may be introduced into the 6G network architecture to build a unified and trusted data service framework at the architecture level to provide trusted data services.

In 2023, on the one hand, data services must focus on heterogeneous and multi-source data collection, processing, and massive storage, and also need to focus on how to integrate existing data service single-point technologies, based on "decentralized" trusted mechanisms and Intelligent analysis driven by both data and knowledge realizes data service and trusted service from the system architecture level.

Entering the "window period" of 6G network development in the next 3 to 5 years

The innovation of network architecture is related to the overall development of the network. The emergence of new requirements, new scenarios and new technologies endows the 6G network architecture with multi-dimensional capability requirements such as computing, perception, intelligence, and security in addition to traditional connection and forwarding, and also brings new driving forces to the innovation of 6G network architecture. , will significantly improve network capabilities and provide users with a more extreme and richer business experience.

Aiming to realize 6G commercial use around 2030, the next 3 to 5 years will enter the strategic window period of 6G network development. The integration and innovation of new DOI2CT elements and mobile networks will inject strong impetus into the design of a new generation of mobile network architecture, which is expected to solve air interface bottlenecks, greatly improve network performance, and promote the leapfrog development of 6G networks. Therefore, related supporting technologies such as full-service architecture, distributed autonomy, digital twins, intelligent endogenous generation, air-space-ground integrated networking, mobile computing power network, deterministic network, and data services require continuous investment from the industry and in-depth research to provide The development of 6G network lays the technical foundation.