Tips on seting up a real 5G network

[oliveiraleo]

Hello there,

I’m planning to deploy a private 5G network to enable testing (e.g. to run experiments). I’ve read some topics regarding the deployment of a real network (listed by the end of this message) and the free5GC’s guide hardware page.

However, as they were created a while ago, I’d like to ask if there’s any update on those setups. And if possible, how can I confirm that a given pair of gNB and UE may work?

I guess I need to buy a gNB, a compatible antenna, programmable SIM cards and a 5G-capable UE. The free5GC will run in a virtual environment so I believe that a PC/server would fit. Do I need to buy anything else?

Do you have any suggestions given that the setup would involve the possibility of testing (I’m asking this because AFAIK some commercial devices don’t allow changes and/or don’t have manuals or access to source code, etc)

I’ve experience in setting up wireless (WiFi-based) networks but I’m new to 5G/cellular real deploys. For now, I’ve been using UERANSIM and N3IWUE to experiment.

If any other clarification is required, please, let me know.

Any information, URLs and tips are greatly appreciated. TIA

Is free5GC tested with any commercial RANs?

When we released stage 1 of free5GC (v1.0), we kept the S1AP interface to 4G eNB. We tested free5GC with some commercial eNBs successfully, including: GemTek WLTGFC-101 eNB, 3GPP Rel-9 compliance D-Link DWR-1012, 3GPP Rel-12 compliance WNC OSQ4G-01E2 eNB, 3GPP Rel-13 compliance Our stage 2 (v2.0) and stage 3 (v3.0) implementations of free5GC follow the 3GPP R15 standalone (SA) standards. Because we cannot get any commercial 5G SA gNBs, so far we only tested free5GC with Spirent Landslide whic…

Does free5GC support OAI 5G gNodeB?

As long as OAI 5G gNB follows the standard interfaces, it should work. However, we did not try it and we don’t plan to do it. We will only try commercial products. If you try it, welcome to let us know.

Running free5gc stage3 with Amarisoft gNodeB + UE

Hi all, a short status update on this project. I created a new version of free5gc v3.0.5 which is running with Amarisoft RAN and Huawei P40. The code base can be cloned here: https://github.com/ralfkundel/free5gc In addition I created two pull requests which add missing features to the amf and smf: https://github.com/free5gc/amf/pull/29 https://github.com/free5gc/smf/pull/21 in general I have to say: good job of free5gc team integrating my feedback above! the version 3.0.5 had some minor…

Real UE register failed

Hi @thornton, We think we fixed this issues in v3.0.5. Could you update your free5gc to v3.0.5 and test again? And also share the test results to us. Thanks a lot.

https://free5gc.org/guide/hardware/

[donald2000]

Hi, @oliveiraleo
Here is the information about the devices I am using:
The UE is an APAL 5G Dongle, and the gNB is composed of a USRP B210 with OAI 5G, and free5GC
v3.4.1.

You can refer to the following URL to set up UHD: OAI Reference Architecture for 5G and 6G Research with USRP - Ettus Knowledge Base

Here is the Docker image for OAI gNB: https://hub.docker.com/r/oaisoftwarealliance/oai-gnb/tags?page=&page_size=&ordering=&name=

[oliveiraleo]

Hello @donald2000

Thanks for sharing your hardware setup. I saw online that the APAL Dongle has a dedicated cooling system. Is it suitable for outdoor usage (e.g. using it to simulate a moving 5G device)?

Regards, Leo.

[donald2000]

Hello @oliveiraleo
Currently, I use it only indoors, so I can’t provide information on outdoor usage, but theoretically, it should work.

[blackcat-118]

Hi,
since there haven’t any replies from you, we decide to close this topic.
If you have any further questions about this topic, please message the admin or create another topic.
Thanks!

Best regards,