Mini5GC Helps Core Production in OT Domain Through Scenario-Based Application of 5G Private Networks

With the large-scale deployment of 5G networks and the commercial use of new 5G technologies, 5G plays an increasingly important role in enabling digital transformation of industries, and the development trend of private 5G networks is becoming clear. 5G has become a core driving force for industrial digital transformation and "digital and intelligent" social transformation in the industrial, government and enterprise, and intelligent production fields. The implementation of private network products has cleared the barriers for digital transformation of operators and enterprise customers, and has become the core means of empowering the production field with 5G.

ZTE's private network and core network continue to evolve. With the combination of technological innovation and commercial implementation, ZTE has launched a series of private network and core network products. It has rolled out general iCube to meet the needs of integrated cloud, network, and service and maintenance, and has developed standard i5GC for private 5GC networks. The entire 5GC network can be deployed on a single 2U server. In October 2022, ZTE launched Mini5GC—an ultra-light CN product for extreme scenarios such as oil and gas exploration, emergency rescue, and explosion isolation in mines. Mini5GC features ultra-small and ultra-light design, ultra-simple networking, and ultra-high integration.

Mini5GC has two attractions. First, it has a highly streamlined architecture and is easy to build. Through the integration of general network functions, network communication and resource occupation are optimized, so that a lightweight 5G core network can be deployed on one 1U server. The size of the server is reduced to that of A3 paper, the weight is reduced to 5 KG, and the power consumption is 100 W. There is no special requirement for power supply of the equipment room, so the server can adapt to any rack in the equipment room. Mini5GC is highly integrated and has the highest performance of the same size in the industry. It supports 2000 users and has a forwarding capability of 5 Gbps, which can be regarded as small in size but high in performance. Therefore, Mini5GC can be flexibly adapted to the needs of explosion-proof mining, flexible workstations and on-board deployment.

Second, Mini5GC can achieve integrated delivery of software and hardware, and rapid service provisioning within hours. It allows enterprises to customize functions on demand and enhance their determinism. The 5G LAN can be deployed on demand to support L2 Ethernet communication between industrial terminals. Mini5GC implements deterministic network forwarding and high-precision clock synchronization based on TSN, and achieves ultra-low-latency communication and ultra-high-reliability network transmission through URLLC and FRER. In addition, Mini5GC also provides more than 100 business templates for enterprises to choose and configure on demand. Through solidified configuration, the software and hardware are pre-integrated and installed before delivery. The first call is connected, and the whole system is delivered from the factory. After arriving at the site, Mini5GC provides one-click configuration modification and automatic dialing test to realize rapid service provisioning within hours. Finally, Mini5GC provides local O&M and centralized O&M for enterprises to select according to their needs, freeing them from service operation and maintenance. Remote O&M can also be provided to monitor the status of the private network. Mini5GC can be deployed on the operator side or ZTE OpenLab to facilitate the professional O&M of private network and core network.

In addition to flexible networking of production lines in industrial shopfloors, ZTE Mini5GC can also provide core technologies for intelligent development of coal mines. It is applicable to the scenarios in mining areas such as high-definition video, unmanned driving, intelligent sensors, integrated voice, and inspection robots, meeting the requirements of network bandwidth, latency and reliability, as well as edge computing capabilities. Derived from ZTE's public network and core network products, Mini5GC has mature 4G/5G access functions and provides operators and industry users with deterministic network capabilities such as 5G LAN, TSN and URLLC to continuously empower the industry.

A coal mine in Shaanxi takes the lead in its intelligent transformation. Adhering to the concept of network-cloud synergy with the network as the basis and the cloud as the core, the coal mine works with ZTE to create an innovative intelligent solution for underground comprehensive mining work. They explore an effective development path for deep integration of 5G and smart mines.

The coal production process includes well construction, excavation, comprehensive mining, transportation and cleaning, and the working environment covers the upper and lower wells. The main difficulties are:

l The working environment is complex, dusty and watery. With limited underground space and frequent movement of large equipment, optical and copper cables are often scratched or damaged, which causes hidden dangers in production safety and affects work efficiency and transfer efficiency.

l Underground terminal devices are complex, including cameras, sensors, controllers, robots, wearable devices, and mobile phones. Their interface protocols are quite different, and there is no unified standard or platform for centralized access and monitoring.

l There are high security requirements. The production data shall not be out of the industrial park, and relevant underground devices have explosion-proof requirements.

ZTE uses Mini5GC to meet the special underground deployment environments and security and explosion-proof requirements. In this way, underground production data can be unloaded locally, video collection and personnel management data can be uploaded to the data center of the park, and the data can be connected to the underground voice system. All the networks in the park are managed in a unified manner and deliver the same service experience.

5G wireless transmission is an innovation in modern coal mining technologies. It helps to change workers' operating habits and improve their working environments. It is of great significance to improve the efficiency of comprehensive mining, reduce the number of workers and their labor intensity, and improve the intelligent mining capability.

Coal mine intelligence is the core technical support for high-quality development of the coal industry. This coal mine is super-large state-owned coal mine with a capacity of 10 million tons, and it is also one of the first batch of 71 smart demonstration mines in China. A set of Mini5GC is deployed under the mine to achieve full 5G coverage of the mining area, setting a benchmark for intelligent construction of coal mines and playing an demonstration role in the reconstruction coal mines across the country. This is a successful practice of 5G moving from supporting system to core operation, and it is also a solid step in the application of 5G private networks in industrial scenarios.