Open source 5G core network
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Open source 5G core network
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Re: Open source 5G core network
#2So will this let me run a 5G baseband? I've read about Osmocom but I've never tried it out.
Re: Open source 5G core network
#3For those interested, this project seems to be a rewrite of https://nextepc.org/ into Go. Alternative projects include https://github.com/facebookincubator/magma and https://github.com/openairinterface.
You can start your own telenetwork with these projects (but of course doing such would be highly illegal without a spectrum license), but first, you need a gNB or eNodeB which is lingo for a base station. It is possible to buy an SDR and use software like https://github.com/srsLTE/srsLTE to make the SDR receive and broadcast LTE/5G connections. After this, you need to have blank SIM cards to code. For example, this post instructs how to do so: https://cyberloginit.com/2018/05/03/build-a-lte-network-with.... You might also consider writing eSIMs https://github.com/bagyenda/njiwa.
After this, you should be able to use a commercial phone to connect to the network.
In general, these networks function quite well even on commodity hardware. Some tests I worked on produced end-to-end latency of around 20ms on LTE, and throughput of around 7MB/s. This was using NextEPC on a 400 euro computer with a 50 euro router and a Nokia base station. Further, it was possible to make the system to work in a Heroku like manner by exposing PaaS endpoints and running Kubernetes in the access network: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Open-source-RANs-in-Pr...
I think it's quite likely that sooner or later we will have 5G networks with intra-services running as edge-services, providing us low-latency. It's worth noting that with the latest LTE versions 5G and LTE access latency is virtually the same. The real latency-optimization would be, at least to my perspective, to allow software to be deployed _into_ these cellular networks to minimize network hops.
Re: Open source 5G core network
#4For those interested, this project seems to be a rewrite of https://nextepc.org/ into Go. Alternative projects include https://github.com/facebookincubator/magma and https://github.com/openairinterface . You can start your own telenetwork with these projects (but of course doing such would be highly illegal without a spectrum license), but first, you need a gNB or eNodeB which is lingo for a base station. It is possi…
I'm not an expert, but there are variants of LTE and 5G (LTE-U and 5G NR-U) that support operating in the unlicensed 5Ghz band.
That said, I'm not sure a commercial handset would connect to anything in that range. You could probably get an SDR-based UE (UE is telecom-speak for "thing that connects to a cell network") to work.
Re: Open source 5G core network
#5So will this let me run a 5G baseband? I've read about Osmocom but I've never tried it out.
Not quite, this is the "core network" which handles things like handset authz/authn, billing, base station attachement etc.
A 5G basestation is called a gNB, and a handset is called a UE. This project doesn't involve the radio interface of 5G, so neither of those are included. There's another comment on the post outlining how you might go about standing up an actual network using this.
Re: Open source 5G core network
#6For those interested, this project seems to be a rewrite of https://nextepc.org/ into Go. Alternative projects include https://github.com/facebookincubator/magma and https://github.com/openairinterface . You can start your own telenetwork with these projects (but of course doing such would be highly illegal without a spectrum license), but first, you need a gNB or eNodeB which is lingo for a base station. It is possi…
I'm not an expert, but there are variants of LTE and 5G (LTE-U and 5G NR-U) that support operating in the unlicensed 5Ghz band. That said, I'm not sure a commercial handset would connect to anything in that range. You could probably get an SDR-based UE (UE is telecom-speak for "thing that connects to a cell network") to work.
Yeah, I'm not an expert either, but there are initiatives to this as well. One such initiative is Nokia Kuha: https://www.kuha.io/
The problem is exactly what you described: there are currently no commercial UE or base stations. So yeah, I suppose one is supposed to use SDR for the 5Ghz band.
Re: Open source 5G core network
#7For those interested, this project seems to be a rewrite of https://nextepc.org/ into Go. Alternative projects include https://github.com/facebookincubator/magma and https://github.com/openairinterface . You can start your own telenetwork with these projects (but of course doing such would be highly illegal without a spectrum license), but first, you need a gNB or eNodeB which is lingo for a base station. It is possi…
> I think it's quite likely that sooner or later we will have 5G networks with intra-services running as edge-services, providing us low-latency.
Noob question, sorry, but: Why not Wifi?
Re: Open source 5G core network
#8For those interested, this project seems to be a rewrite of https://nextepc.org/ into Go. Alternative projects include https://github.com/facebookincubator/magma and https://github.com/openairinterface . You can start your own telenetwork with these projects (but of course doing such would be highly illegal without a spectrum license), but first, you need a gNB or eNodeB which is lingo for a base station. It is possi…
> I think it's quite likely that sooner or later we will have 5G networks with intra-services running as edge-services, providing us low-latency. Noob question, sorry, but: Why not Wifi?
LTE (and 5G on 3.6Ghz, I guess) signal can cover many kilometers. The protocols are built to be more reliable (a phone keeps a tab of access points to which it can quickly hop if access to one base station is lost) and the licensing ensures that there cannot be spectrum suffocation at any time, which is quite common in bigger cities with WiFi.
Re: Open source 5G core network
#9For those interested, this project seems to be a rewrite of https://nextepc.org/ into Go. Alternative projects include https://github.com/facebookincubator/magma and https://github.com/openairinterface . You can start your own telenetwork with these projects (but of course doing such would be highly illegal without a spectrum license), but first, you need a gNB or eNodeB which is lingo for a base station. It is possi…
I'm not an expert, but there are variants of LTE and 5G (LTE-U and 5G NR-U) that support operating in the unlicensed 5Ghz band. That said, I'm not sure a commercial handset would connect to anything in that range. You could probably get an SDR-based UE (UE is telecom-speak for "thing that connects to a cell network") to work.
https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&u=https...
Apparently, there are overlaps between common LTE bands and both ham radio bands and unlicensed (... low-power) ones... the above page states that any device with the right bands will work (... and they even got them working presumably?)
Re: Open source 5G core network
#10For those interested, this project seems to be a rewrite of https://nextepc.org/ into Go. Alternative projects include https://github.com/facebookincubator/magma and https://github.com/openairinterface . You can start your own telenetwork with these projects (but of course doing such would be highly illegal without a spectrum license), but first, you need a gNB or eNodeB which is lingo for a base station. It is possi…
> I think it's quite likely that sooner or later we will have 5G networks with intra-services running as edge-services, providing us low-latency. Noob question, sorry, but: Why not Wifi?
Mobile networks allow seamless switching of cells. If you're on a call while in the car, your connections won't drop and ideally you wouldn't loose a single packet.
Network and smartphone monitor nearby cells. If you're just about to switch the cell because the quality becomes too bad, everything is already being prepared in the next cell.