OmniNEF
OmniNEF is the Network Exposure Function (NEF) for the Omnitouch 5G Core. It is the core's northbound gateway: it securely exposes network capabilities and events to external Application Functions (AFs) and translates between the operator-facing northbound API and the internal service-based interfaces (SBI).
The NEF is defined by 3GPP TS 23.501 §6.2.5 and TS 23.502 §5.2.6. Its northbound API toward AFs is the T8 interface in 3GPP TS 29.122 and the Nnef services in 3GPP TS 29.522. Southbound it drives the UDM (TS 29.503), the PCF (TS 29.514) and the UDR (TS 29.519).
OmniNEF provides AF authorization and per-AF request throttling, NRF registration as NFType
NEF, and four northbound capabilities: monitoring-event exposure, parameter provisioning, AF session with required QoS, and traffic influence, all wired to the UDM/PCF/UDR over SBI. Notification relay of monitoring-event reports back to the AF (the NEF registers a per-subscription callback with the producer NF, maps received reports to a T8MonitoringNotification, and forwards them to the AF'snotificationDestination) is provided.
Documentation
- Operations Guide - Architecture, the northbound APIs and their southbound mappings, endpoints, and day-to-day operation
- Configuration Reference - Every configuration key and environment variable, including the nested AF registry
- Metrics and Monitoring - What is observable today through structured logs
- Troubleshooting - Common issues and their resolutions
Architecture Overview
OmniNEF sits between untrusted third-party AFs and the trusted core. Every northbound request is
authorized and throttled per-AF, then translated into the corresponding SBI operation toward the
UDM, PCF or UDR. The core NF that serves the request is resolved from the NRF via Nnrf_NFDiscovery.
Features Overview
Core Functionality
- AF authorization - Each northbound request presents an API key (bearer token or
X-Api-Key). Unknown keys are rejected; each AF is scoped to the subset of APIs it may call (TS 23.501 §6.2.5). - Per-AF throttling - A sliding one-second window enforces a per-AF request-rate ceiling, protecting the core from over-eager or misbehaving AFs.
- Nnef_EventExposure (Monitoring Events) - Reachability, loss-of-connectivity and location-reporting subscriptions, translated to
Nudm_EventExposuretoward the UDM (which drives the AMF). - Nnef_ParameterProvision - AF provisioning of expected-UE-behaviour / service-specific parameters, applied via
Nudm_ParameterProvision(UDM → UDR). - Nnef_AFsessionWithQoS - An AF requests QoS for a data session; the NEF creates an application session at the PCF via
Npcf_PolicyAuthorization. - Nnef_TrafficInfluence - AF influence on traffic routing, routed to the PCF for an individual UE or stored as
influenceDatain the UDR for a group / any-UE. - Resource lifecycle - Each created resource is stored, readable (
GET), and deletable (DELETEtears the resource down in the core NF).
Integration Points
- Application Functions (T8 / Nnef) - External consumers of the northbound API.
- NRF (SBI) - OmniNEF registers as NFType
NEFand heartbeats, and discovers the UDM/PCF/UDR it must reach. - UDM, PCF, UDR (SBI) - The producer NFs the northbound requests are translated onto.
Configuration Summary
All configuration lives under the :omninef application key. A subset of keys can be overridden by
environment variables in the production runtime configuration; the nested af_registry map is set
through the application config file (or the NEF_AF_REGISTRY JSON env var). See the
Configuration Reference for the complete parameter tables.
config :omninef,
sbi_scheme: "http",
sbi_addr: "127.0.0.30",
sbi_port: 7777,
nrf_uri: "http://127.0.0.10:7777",
mcc: "999",
mnc: "70",
heartbeat_interval: 10_000,
af_registry: %{},
default_rate_limit_per_sec: 10
Documentation Structure
By Role
Operators and Administrators:
- Start with the Operations Guide
- Review Metrics and Monitoring
- Keep Troubleshooting to hand
System Integrators:
- Start with the Configuration Reference
- Review the endpoint and mapping sections of the Operations Guide
By Topic
- Onboarding an AF: Configuration Reference - AF Registry
- Northbound APIs: Operations Guide - Northbound APIs
- Southbound mappings: Operations Guide - Southbound Interworking