NetFPGA-Based Firewall Solution for 5G Multi-Tenant Architectures

Future fifth-generation (5G) mobile networks entails architectural and network changes, mainly motivated by the idea of sharing resources between different network operators, which implies a reduction of the costs, thanks to the deployment of virtualised scenarios in shared infrastructures, and an improvement of the network usability. These architectural changes should guarantee that security and 5G Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are achieved in 5G multi-tenant scenarios. The deployment of advanced architectures and network scenarios for the emerging 5G networks involves a renovation of the elements that compose them. Nowadays, there is no hardware solution which ensures the protection in 5G edge to core multi-tenant scenarios, therefore this paper proposes a fully functional 5G firewall based on a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) that allows effective detention of cyber-attacks in 5G multi-tenant scenarios with user mobility support. The prototyped 5G firewall has been empirically evaluated to validate new capabilities in a 5G edge-to-core scenario. Moreover, an extensive performance and scalability test of the prototyped system has been carried out in a realistic testbed.