Develop 5G Modern Connected Applications using Microsoft accelerators

Today, 5G enables new applications for scenarios that were previously out of reach. From smart roads that can notify of obstacles in the road in real time to smart airports that can identify runway issues before they threaten safety, a new breed of real-time and mission-critical applications is emerging.

These Modern Connected Applications run at the edge, requiring a wireless network with high bandwidth, ultra-reliability, low latency, and large range, all provided by 5G. More than just a new network standard, 5G is a technological breakthrough, powering the future of application architecture.

As the first generation of software-defined networks, 5G is creating a new application paradigm and paving the way for innovative network-intelligent applications. 5G will allow you as application developer to “talk to the network” from your applications and services. You will be able to ask for better network quality of service after a particular event, or dynamically switch between available networks by asking the application to automatically select the right network that provides lower latency while using compute that is closer to your edge application.

With 5G enabling low-latency scenarios at the Edge, forward-thinking developers will be at the forefront of change. At Microsoft, we’re opening the door to the power of 5G to help developers take full advantage of the opportunity. We recognize the challenges developers face when building distributed applications and when forced to build on multiple networks or work within walled gardens that restrict data usage across outside platforms. Microsoft is committed to helping developers create on their own terms with a distributed, open-source environment and to build on a consistent development platform across operators or private 5G. And we are at the forefront of an effort to help standardize APIs, coordinating work across technology and communications providers.

Microsoft is helping developers accelerate innovation

Not only have we invested heavily in our 5G platform, we are also continuously releasing new resources to help you get started quickly.

You can start developing your own MEC/Edge application by forking and evolving our open source MEC Application Solution Accelerator. This is an example application that offers a common foundation based on a light microservices architecture designed for the edge. It includes Kubernetes, docker containers, and Dapr framework. It also includes AI model inferencing capabilities with an example deep learning model that analyzes video coming from cameras, as well as MQTT event-driven communication following a publish/subscription pattern to raise events/alerts after detecting issues with the AI models. These are just a few of the best practices and architecture patterns available that target a wide range of Modern Connected Applications.

Below you can see the high-level architecture diagram of this example MEC/EDGE application (MEC Application Solution Accelerator):  

You can start from this open source example code and fork it from its original GitHub site to develop your own application that’s specific to your industry and business—whether you’re trying to create a smart roads, airports, or manufacturing application or another application entirely. For smart roads and airports, we have created business and technical use case guides that explain key considerations and components of the application infrastructure, application architecture, and network architecture for these use cases. (Request to download the technical guides here.)

In addition, to help you accelerate testing and deployment of your modern connected applications with 5G, our partners are creating solutions that help you start deploying Private 5G Networks. The Private 5G Starter Kit includes different options of IoT devices, SIM Cards, and RAN components that fully integrate with the Azure Private 5G Core. It’s easy to set up and manage, making it a good starting point for bringing your applications to life.

Finally, to learn the technical scenarios that 5G enables and skill up on 5G-related technologies, join our 30-day 5G Cloud Skills Challenge, a curated collection of modules where you’ll learn about private 5G networks in Azure and explore an introduction to Azure IoT Edge, cloud-native applications, and Kubernetes (Azure AKS). By completing all modules within this challenge, you will be eligible for a digital completion badge.

It’s time to get started with 5G

We believe now is the ideal time for developers to benefit from the coming 5G transformation. Beyond these valuable developer tools, we offer a wide range of other learning resources and opportunities to connect with Microsoft experts and communities.

Happy coding!