Identity management for frameworks managing northbound APIs of future networks

Abstract

Future networks will deliver unprecedented performance, versatility, and efficiency, driven by advancements in automated monitoring and control. As networks evolve into interconnected platforms capable of enabling advanced features, allocating assets, and configuring them via northbound Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), dynamic control over multiple actors and stakeholders becomes essential. At this point, identity management plays a crucial role in overseeing onboarding, administering access, and registering activity to log and account for all operations. This paper compares the Open Common API Framework (CAPIF), based on the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) standard, with a novel distributed identity-based approach using Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT). To assess the viability of these solutions, various tests are conducted to evaluate the frameworks’ latency and processing workloads.