The Hexa-X-II project, Europe’s flagship 6G research initiative, has published Deliverable D3.5, “Final architectural framework and analysis.” This document addresses key design principles and technological enablers and lays the foundation for a flexible and scalable 6G system.
Deliverable D3.5 analyses the enablers from the main areas: the novel 6G services, flexible networks, and transformed architecture. The novel services AIaaS, Sensing and Compute all put different requirements on the 6G architecture compared to traditional user communication services such as voice and MBB. The deliverable describes and analyses the necessary enablers for these novel services and outlines the architecture frameworks for the AIaaS, Sensing and Compute offloading, respectively.
There is also a need to improve the flexibility of the network to be able to enhance the coverage, reliability and resource usage. The deliverable outlines several important enablers here, such as enablers to handle subnetworks, NTN-TN integration, multi-connectivity and context-aware management and transport.
In addition to this, the deliverable also analyses methods to improve the modularity and cloud friendliness of the architecture, aiming to improve the control plane signalling and user plane efficiency. The modularity and cloudification of the network also enable optimal placement of functions and the deliverable analyses methods to improve latency and energy efficiency.
Further, the deliverable investigates the means for a multi-cloud federation, aiming for higher resource availability and flexibility, as well as how to orchestrate the so-called cloud continuum beyond traditional centralized models to include highly distributed environments.
The deliverable also discusses the 5G to 6G migration, proposes using spectrum sharing for the 5G and 6G integration, and states that the core network should be based on an evolved 5GC.
To bridge theory with real-world applications, D3.5 also presents two proof-of-concept (PoC) implementations developed within Work Package 3, demonstrating the practical application of these architectural principles.