IPAM Integration in SMF
The SMF comprises of loosely coupled microservices that enables the SMF to perform session management (session establishment, modification, and release) and other associated functions. The decomposition of these microservices is based on the following three-layered architecture:
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Layer 1: Protocol and Load Balancer Services (Stateless)
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Layer 2: Application services (Stateless)
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Layer 3: Database Services (Stateful)
The IPAM and SMF integration happens in the Application Services layer.
The following describes the SMF and IPAM integration architecture in the Application Services layer.
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SMF Node-Manager Application – The SMF Node-Manager application takes care of the UPF, ID resource, and IP address management. Therefore, the SMF Node-Manager application integrates IPAM Cache and IPAM client modules. The UPF Manager uses the IPAM Client module for address-range-reservation per UPF.
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SMF Service Application – The SMF Service application provides PDU session services. During session establishment and termination, the IP addresses are requested and released back. The SMF Service application invokes the IPC to RMGR in Node Manager, which receives (free) the IP from the IPAM module.
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IPAM Server Application – Based on the deployment model, the IPAM Server application can run as an independent microservice, as a part of the same cluster, or in a remote-cluster. For standalone deployments, the IPAM Servers are an integral part of the IPAM cache.