Feature Description

IP Address Management (IPAM) is a method of tracking and managing IP addresses of a network. IPAM is one of the core components of the subscriber management system. Traditional IPAM functionalities are insufficient in Cloud-Native network deployments. Hence, IPAM requires additional functionalities to work with the Cloud-Native subscriber management system. The Cloud-Native IPAM system is used in various network functions, such as SMF and PCF.

The IPAM system includes the following functionalities to serve the Cloud Native and Control and User Plane Separation (CUPS) architecture:

  • Centralized IP Resource Management—Based on the needs of the Internet Service Provider (ISP), the Control Plane (CP) is deployed either on a single (centralized) cluster or multiple (distributed) clusters. For multiple cluster deployments, the IPAM automatically manages the single IP address space across the multiple CPs that are deployed in the distributed environment.

  • IP Address-Range Reservation per User Plane—For subscribers connecting to the Internet core, the User Plane (UP) provides the physical connectivity. The UP uses the summary-routes to advertise subscriber routes to the Internet core. For CPs that are managing multiple UPs, the CP reserves a converged IP subnet to the UPs. In such a scenario, the IPAM splits the available address space into smaller address-ranges and assigns it to different UPs.

  • IP Address Assignment from Pre-Reserved Address-Ranges—When subscribers request for an IP address, the IPAM assigns addresses from the pre-reserved address range of their respective UP.