Network as Code (NaC) fundamentals

Here you will find some more in-depth knowledge of the NaC structure, SDK specific features and more, so we can guide your journey with further details!

What is NaC?

Networks have generally been black boxes and static. Now, Network as Code is making them malleable to the application's requirements. Oftentimes, the customer's applications would be totally unaware of network conditions with limited ability to react to poor quality and network limitations.

Network as Code simplifies network programming and makes it accessible to developers without telecom experience, so they can call APIs with native 5G capabilities in an easier and less time-consuming way. Beyond calling APIs, NaC provides simple SDK code that will abstract network capabilities in intelligent ways under a few minutes. However, an SDK is not a standalone solution for creating an API from scratch. It's important to point out that the Network as Code SDKs work on top of existing APIs to provide a more convenient and user-friendly way to interact with them.

Some of the main benefits include great code abstraction, requesting network capabilities at your own demand, modern code patterns, managing multiple devices, controlling network UL and DL ratios, location awareness, application telemetry and so on. In summary, Network as Code provides greater control of a programmable network, which is natively designed with cloud flexibility.

Use-case examples and interesting experiences

In this section, we tried to briefly describe some possible use-case examples, but every organization has specific needs and objectives to be considered.

Below you will also find some short videos on what programmable networks can do and about the impact that 5G technology already has in the world!

Nokia Programmable Networks enabling Nokia Arena VR concert experience

Impact of 5G Millimeter Wave Technology on Cutting-Edge Display Robots and Immersive VR Experiences

Prioritize specific data flows over the network

Download and upload-intensive phases can vary, so Network as Code allows bandwidth allocation to prioritize whatever is necessary at the moment, for example, download or upload speed. Devices or certain equipment can have different network connectivity needs, which can be prioritized accordingly. The ever-growing industries of IoT devices, Virtual Reality (VR), gaming and live video streaming require guaranteed latency rates, which can also be offered or maintained for specified amounts of time with Quality-of-service on Demand (QoD).

Save bandwidth and power

If devices see idle communication periods in which bandwidth can be lowered. During heavy-network traffic, devices can temporarily choose the bandwidth that will meet each activity requirement.

Query Device's Location

Network as Code allows verifying devices' geolocation data, by specifying certain coordinates, such as latitude, longitude and radius (accuracy). This way, fraud protection measures could be taken, for example, ensuring a user's device is within the expected location where a financial transaction will take place. Or even in the Smart Mobility sector nowadays, it is of utmost importance to guarantee vehicles are in the right place at the right time. Besides, it's not only about a location. It's also about how you can use this information. Network as Code location functionality provides information that could allow an enterprise to compare geographic coordinates of a device at specific times, analyze if certain contents can be delivered or ads triggered according to the region and so on.

Check Device (connectivity or roaming) Status

You can monitor if device is roaming, attached or detached from a mobile data network (online/offline) and post its status updates to a preferred URL (webhook). This way, enterprises and developers can better react, adapt to different situations, save costs, etc.

When creating Specialized Networks

Different customers require differentiated services. That is where Specialized Networks come into place. Parts of the 5G network can be reserved for specialized-use-case scenarios. So, developers like you can customize these specialized networks (or slices) to meet specific requirements at your own or your customer's demand. This way, you can optimize resources and enable new services to be offered with high quality and security standards for a myriad of use-cases, such as Virtual Reality (VR), eXtended Reality (XR), etc.