  The next generation of cellular networks will exploit mmWave frequencies to
dramatically increase the network capacity. The communication at such high
frequencies, however, requires directionality to compensate the increase in
propagation loss. Users and base stations need to align their beams during both
initial access and data transmissions, to ensure the maximum gain is reached.
The accuracy of the beam selection, and the delay in updating the beam pair or
performing initial access, impact the end-to-end performance and the quality of
service. In this paper we will present the beam management procedures that 3GPP
has included in the NR specifications, focusing on the different operations
that can be performed in Standalone (SA) and in Non-Standalone (NSA)
deployments. We will also provide a performance comparison among different
schemes, along with design insights on the most important parameters related to
beam management frameworks.
