5G-MAP: Demystifying the Performance Implications of Cloud-Based 5G Core Deployments

The Fifth Generation (5G) core network is designed as a set of Virtual Network Functions (VNFs) hosted on Commercial-Off-the-Shelf (COTS) hardware. This creates a growing demand for general-purpose computing resources. Given their elastic infrastructure, cloud services like Amazon Web Services (AWS) are attractive platforms to address this need. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the Quality of Service (QoS) requirements associated with deploying the 5G core in the cloud. We developed the 5G-MAP (5G Measurement and Assessment Platform) to understand the trade-offs between different deployment strategies. Our framework facilitates detailed control and user plane performance assessments in varied deployment scenarios. We integrated 5G-MAP with the OpenAirInterface (OAI) 5G core and utilized it in a series of deployments across seven countries, leveraging eight AWS regions and eighteen edge zones. Our evaluations cover from HTTP transactions to user plane throughput and packet loss. We identify topologies that can considerably lower the 5G core service chain latencies due to a significant reduction in the number of inter-site hops. Such actionable performance improvements illustrate how operators can leverage 5G-MAP to optimize their cloud-based 5G deployments.