Virtualized 5G network demo shows reliable throughput using OpenAirInterface
Virtualized 5G Tesbed using OpenAirInterface: Tutorial and Benchmarking Tests
Networking and Internet Architecture
Summary
Building and testing 5G networks usually requires expensive hardware and complex software. This paper explains how a free software platform called OpenAirInterface, combined with accessible radio hardware, can create a virtual 5G network. The authors provide step-by-step instructions and show that this setup delivers consistent and repeatable performance. This approach helps developers experiment with 5G technologies without relying on proprietary equipment.
What this means in practice
- •For telecom network engineers: Set up and test virtualized 5G base stations using OAI and USRP to evaluate network performance with commercial mobile phones.
- •For wireless system developers: Develop and benchmark 5G radio access and core network functions with accessible hardware and open-source software configurations.
- •For industrial wireless integrators: Build private 5G networks leveraging virtualized software and modular hardware for industrial IoT deployments.$Commercial implications: Allows creating customizable private 5G solutions with adaptable software and hardware, enabling new product offerings for industrial clients.
Authors
M. Dória, V. Sousa, A. Campos, N. Oliveira, P. Eduardo, P. Filho, C. Lima, J. Guilherme, D. Luna, I. Rego, M. Fernandes, A. Neto
Abstract
The development of 5G and its evolutionary path to 6G brings virtualization as close as possible to the antennas. Native 3GPP systems are now software running at servers boosted by accelerator cards to cope with computationally intense signal processing. Meanwhile, the Radio Frequency (RF) front-end is still proprietary hardware, sheltering specific PHY-layer procedures like passband amplification/modulation. This approach takes advantage of the software's flexibility while keeping the complex microsecond signal processing performance from modern telecommunication systems. This paper provides tutorial material on the Core Network and Radio Access Network of OpenAirInterface (OAI) 5G stack on top of Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP) platforms. A set of blueprints showcases OAI's ability to provide a virtualized 5G network with different transmission capabilities and the possibility to use it with commercial mobile phones. Configuration discussions and throughput benchmark analyses follow installation and deployment instructions. Our results show that 5G prototyping using OAI and USRP frontends can lead to good reproducibility and consistent throughput.