Open5GCore – 5G Core Network for Research, Testbeds and Trials
The Fraunhofer FOKUS Open5GCore toolkit is the first global practical implementation of the 3GPP 5G core network, supporting the functionalities of 3GPP Releases 17 and 18. Tailored for R&D activities, Open5GCore ensures compatibility with both 5G base stations and user equipment.
Designed to accelerate research and facilitate the transfer of expertise from Fraunhofer FOKUS to users, Open5GCore provides a robust foundation for 5G testbed deployments, trials, pilots, and the advancement of functionalities for future-beyond 5G and 6G standards. It comes with customization to the use case needs, enabling to run a testbed from day one.
Open5GCore implements the new 5G components as standalone, independent of the previous 4G EPC functionality. This approach allows for rapid, focused innovation in 5G technology, enabling practical, hands-on implementation and realistic evaluation and demonstration of novel concepts and applications.
Open5GCore Rel. 9: An Extensive and Reliable End-to-End 5G System
Open5GCore represents a first 5G core network implementation addressing the needs of 5G testbeds for FOKUS and partner activities. Open5GCore Rel. 9 main features are:
- Fundamental 5G core network functionality (AMF, SMF, AUSF, UDM, NRF, UPF)
- Implementation of service-based Architecture (HTTP/2 OpenAPI, REST)
- Integration with standard 5G NR using the 5G interfaces (N1, N2, N3), 5G NAS and NG-AP
- Implementing control-user plane split with PFCP (N4)
- Advanced QoS and session management
- Network slice support
- Comprehensive non-3GPP access convergence
- Location Service Support
- Benchmarking tools
Open5GCore Rel. 9 seamlessly integrates with 5G New Radio Stand-Alone (SA) base stations and user equipment, enabling immediate demonstration of various features and applications. It supports the evolving requirements for a flexible 5G Core Network, making it ideal for dynamic testing and development scenarios.
This version of Open5GCore is compatible with public cloud infrastructures and common hardware platforms, allowing deployment in containers, pods, or virtual machines across a diverse range of virtualization environments. The hardware requirements for setting up a testbed can vary greatly, ranging from a simple Raspberry Pi to an entire server rack, depending on the desired capacity.
Open5GCore offers high customization options, facilitating the creation of tailored instances to meet specific use case demands. Additionally, a source code license option is available, providing unparalleled flexibility for customization and enabling rapid prototyping and development. Open5GCore represents an ideal environment for the development of new pre-standardization features in a comprehensive standard-based environment.
Contact
For licensing, research activities, and any requests please contact us via e-mail. 5G research activities and Open5GCore toolkit developments are supported by Fraunhofer FOKUS NGNI and by the Technische Universität Berlin (TUB) – AV research group.
