CNF based Appliance for User Plane

The evolution of network technologies has paved the way for innovative solutions that enhance efficiency and flexibility. The introduction of 2G/3G/4G/5G and WiFi packet core’s virtualized “Appliances” was a first step towards capacity and performance increase, while optimizing the solution footprint. Evolving Appliance’s software to cloud-native is a further testament to this progress, offering a transformative approach to User Plane Function (UPF) deployment at the edge. This document explores the context, the current challenges, and then the required capabilities, benefits, and strategic advancements of the packet core’s CNF-based appliance solution.