The METIS 5G Architecture: A Summary of METIS Work on 5G Architectures

During the last two years, the METIS project ("Mobile and wireless communications Enablers for the Twenty-twenty Information Society") has been conducting research on 5G-enabling technology components. This paper provides a summary of METIS work on 5G architectures. The architecture description is presented from different viewpoints. First, a functional architecture is presented that may lay a foundation for development of first novel 5G network functions. It is based on functional decomposition of most relevant 5G technology components provided by METIS. The logical orchestration & control architecture depicts the realization of flexibility, scalability and service orientation needed to fulfil diverse 5G requirements. Finally, a third viewpoint reveals deployment aspects and function placement options for 5G.