Optimizing 5G Network Availability: Comparison Between Reliability Block Diagrams and Markov Chains Approaches

As essential services increasingly rely on digital platforms, ensuring high availability has become a critical priority. The virtualized architecture of 5G networks provides enhanced flexibility and scalability, but it also introduces challenges in maintaining system availability, particularly for sectors such as industrial IoT, where even brief service interruptions can lead to significant costs. This paper addresses the challenge of designing 5G network architectures that meet stringent availability requirements while adhering to budget constraints. We introduce a model based on Markov Chains to assess system availability, noting that although Markov Chains are rigorous in probabilistic modeling, they can become computationally complex in large, interconnected systems. To address this limitation, we introduce Reliability Block Diagrams (RBDs) as an alternative approach.
Our study evaluates both models, highlighting that RBDs offer a more scalable, easier-to-use approach for virtualized networks. The analysis reveal that strategic redundancy placement significantly enhances system resilience in 5G networks and beyond.

Keywords: 5G networks, Network resilience, Virtualization, Availability, Reliability Block Diagrams (RBDs), Markov chains, Redundancy, Service chains, Availability optimization.