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2022 Trends to Watch: Distributed Security Offload and More

2022 Trends to Watch: Distributed Security Offload and More Image Credit: Askhat Gilyakhov/Bigstockphoto.com

Last year, as we attempted to remain ahead of the curve, we anticipated the shift to open, disaggregated networking, especially by offloading networking and security functionality to programmable hardware, which is more efficient and higher performance than CPUs and more flexible and long-run cost-effective than ASICs.

Heading into 2022, the curve that lies ahead of us still relies heavily on offloading. But programmable hardware, specifically the FPGA, has other applications that will emerge as especially valuable in the coming year.

The following are three trends that we foresee gaining in market importance over the next 12 months.

#1: Distributed Security Offload and DU Routing

In 5G networks, data travels from the radio tower to the Radio Unit (RU), via the Distributed Unit (DU), onward to the Central Unit (CU), before reaching the User Plane Functionality (UPF), which then forwards it to the core network. The same path occurs in reverse, as well.

The vast majority of security functions are handled within the CU. This includes the application of IPSec, header compression, PDCP header encapsulation/decapsulation, ciphering and deciphering, and integrity protection, verification, and reordering.

Wireline access networks run through a DSLAM, which is Layer 2 network equipment that requires no routing, as all traffic is forwarded within a single network. However, in mobile networks for 3G, 4G, or 5G, a cell site router becomes a necessary component to handle connectivity over the overlay network, as well as for DU connectivity toward the many CUs distributed throughout a cloud-based Radio Access Network (RAN). This is generally expected to be handled by external, standalone cell site router devices.

Moreover, when so many CUs are connected to DUs, there can be as much as 100Gbps of throughput. The CPUs that are being relied on in Open RAN 5G deployments are inefficient at handling security functions even under the best of circumstances, let alone at 100G. Performing all these security functions, especially IPSec, on 100G of traffic is a cumbersome, onerous task which will cause a serious bottleneck at the CU unless those functions can be offloaded and distributed better throughout the RAN.

We have therefore proposed using FPGAs as the de facto platform for Open RAN security. By offloading the heavy tasks of data encryption/decryption and IPSec from the sequential processing of CPU cores to the much more efficient parallel processing of FPGAs, the CU IPSec bottleneck can be distributed more evenly across multiple DUs. In other words, it makes sense to handle the encryption offload when it is small.

For example, the IPSec protocols can be applied to data via an FPGA-based SmartNIC as it passes through a white-box DU server, before it ever is routed to the CU. If the same SmartNIC were to incorporate a complete router on the on-board FPGA, it would eliminate the need for an external cell site router between the DU and CU. In fact, by installing such a SmartNIC, it is possible to co-locate both the DU and CU functionalities into a single server, saving space, power, and latency in the Open RAN 5G network.

#2: Fiber-to-the-Room

Many telecom service providers and cable operators have been offering Fiber-to-the-Curb, Fiber-to-the-Building, and Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) for many years, using optical networks to enable many of the past decade’s incumbent in-home features. For example, triple play service in which an operator could offer television, internet, and phone service in a single bundle was the result of FTTH infrastructure.

The latest trend is to extend that optical network even further by offering Fiber-to-the-Room (FTTR). Today’s digital smart homes and greater usage of video conferencing for telecommuting and distance education have led to changes in domestic data usage patterns, necessitating more reliable connectivity and higher bandwidth (of as much as 1-5 Gb) reaching more users into more individual rooms of the house.

A ready-made solution for FTTR deployments, offering a cost-effective, low port-count Passive Optical Network (PON) chip for Optical Line Termination with either Gigabit PON or XGS-PON capability will be critical for this trend to win the market.

#3: Fixed Wireless Access via WISPs

Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISPs) are small and medium-sized local businesses that build fixed wireless access (FWA) networks to deliver reliable, affordable broadband to customers in fixed locations such as residences, businesses, and schools.

FWA is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the broadband industry because it offers the WISPs cost-effective deployment, faster innovation implementation, and multiple transmission models, including fiber. FWA networks can be built and upgraded at a fraction of the cost of wired or satellite-based networks, and in significantly less time.

WISPs often serve hard-to-reach areas of rural America that otherwise lack service, and they can provide an affordable alternative in urban regions. In North America, there are nearly 3,000 WISPs, reaching almost 8 million customers in all 50 United States and Canada. A typical WISP serves an average of between 1,200-1,500 customers, although some are much larger.

One of the primary requirements of a WISP is a sturdy wireless backhaul network, with both point-to-point and point-to-multi-point connectivity. It is important for the wireless backhaul solution to offer the ability to load balance a single flow’s traffic over multiple ports as a means to connect multiple point-to-point wireless radio devices and supports reordering to compensate for differentiated delay. It is therefore necessary to seek a wireless bonding technology that ensures optimum performance and improves the transmitted throughput by dynamically distributing data along multiple wireless links of different speeds and technologies. This allows WISPs to increase the maximum transmission distance and overcome interruptions or slow wireless transmission due to inclement weather.

Author

Brian Klaff is the VP Marketing at Ethernity Networks. He has over 20 years of high-tech marketing experience and has concentrated on B2B product marketing for the networking hardware industry since 2013, with special emphasis on the telecommunications sector. Prior to Ethernity, Brian held senior marketing and technical communications positions at Mellanox, Amdocs, and Versaware Technologies.

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