OAI's Core Network Based on Containers  
Tags: docker
Published: 2018-12-16 14:34:46

---
title: OAI's Core Network Based on Containers  
published: true
description: OaiSim on containers
tags: docker

---

About __OAISIM__:
    OpenAirInterface  (OAI)  is  an  open-source  platform  for  wireless communication  systems, developed at Eurecom’s Mobile Communications Department. It allows one to prototype and experiment with LTE and LTE-Advanced (Rel-10)systems, so as to perform  evaluation,  validation  and  pre-deployment  tests  of  protocol  and  algorithmic solutions. OAI allows one to experiment with link-level simulation, system emulation and  real-time  radio  frequency  experimentation.  As  such,  it  is  widely  used  to  setup Cloud-RAN and Virtual-RAN prototypes. It includes a 3GPP-compliant LTE protocol 
stack,  namely  the  entire  access  stratum  for  both  eNB  and  UE  and  a  subset  of  the 3GPP LTE Evolved Packet Core protocols.   
  OAI can be used in __two modes__: the first one is a real-time mode, where it provides an  open  implementation  of  a  4G  system  interoperable with  commercial  terminals,  so as  to  allow  experimentation.  This  requires  using  a software-defined  radio  frontend (e.g. USRP210 external boards) for airtime transmission.The second mode is an emulation mode, where software modules emulating eNBs and UEs communicate through an emulated physical channel. In the emulation mode, scenarios  are  completely  repeatable  since  channel  emulation  is  based  on  pseudo-random  number  generation.  In  emulation  mode,  OAI  can  emulate  a  complete  LTE network,  using  the  oaisim  package.  Several  eNBs and  UEs  can  be  virtualized  on the  same  machine  or  in  different  machines  communicating  over  an  Ethernet-based LAN.  The  PHY  and  the  radio  channels  are  either  fully  emulated  (which  is  time-consuming) or approximated in a PHY abstraction mode, which is considerably faster. In  both  cases,  emulation  mode  runs  the  entire  protocol  stack,  using  the  same  MAC code  as  the  real-time  mode.  This  way, the  oaisim  package  can  be  used  to  alpha-test and  validate  new  implementations  or  sample  scenarios,  dispensing  with  all  the  problems  that  airtime  transmission  on  a  SDR  frontend  may  bring  about.  Since  the  same code  is  used  in  the  emulation  and  the  real-time  mode,  a  developer  can  then  switch seamlessly to the real-time environment. 

__The Idea:__   
When we are setting the Core Network, usually we are configuring it at a Virtual Machine. The core components of the EPC(Core Network) is the HSS,the MME and the SPGW and they are the one's that must be configured as we said so the simulation can be executed with S1 interface support.

![image][logo]

But this way of setting up the CN is not as flexible and ideal i would say.
It requires a lot of steps and network configurations into the configs of the HSS/MME/SPGW directories.   

Docker Time:
The main idea is inspired by splitting the 3 components into 3 different VMs,so right now we are trying to split each one of those at a different containers and make the configurations configure themselves based on the host system which will host the eNB (ANTENNA) and the UE (User Equipment). That way the whole execution of the EPC(Core network) will be faster,easier and the user will not have to get involved into the networking process.  








[logo]: https://thepracticaldev.s3.amazonaws.com/i/mmmge3p5uanp0m2i4v76.png