5G Core — Service-Based Architecture
The actual wiring of the network — curated from 3GPP TS 23.501, baseline Rel-18.
Network Topology — shows the actual wiring of the network functions (interfaces, protocols, data flow), verified against the specification. For conceptual relationships between terms, switch to the Knowledge Map. Nodes marked ⊕ expand into a more detailed map.
Control PlaneUser PlaneShared Data LayerNetwork functions are grouped into functional groups. Click a node for its glossary definition.
Interfaces and reference points
| Interface | Between | Type | Protocol | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uu | UE ↔ 5G (R)AN | logical-association | — | TS 23.501 · Figure 4.2.3-1 |
| N3 | 5G (R)AN ↔ UPF | reference-point | gtp-u | TS 23.501 · Figure 4.2.3-1 |
| N6 | UPF ↔ DN | reference-point | — | TS 23.501 · Figure 4.2.3-1 |
| N2 | AMF ↔ 5G (R)AN | reference-point | ngap | TS 23.501 · Figure 4.2.3-1 |
| N4 | SMF ↔ UPF | reference-point | pfcp | TS 23.501 · Figure 4.2.3-1 |
| N1 | UE ↔ AMF | reference-point | nas | TS 23.501 · Figure 4.2.3-1 |