Prerequisites

This page details the system configuration and software installation required for the 5G NR lab environment.

Operating System

Ubuntu 22.04 LTS is recommended as it's the officially tested version for Open5GS and srsRAN.

System Update

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Kernel Configuration

For optimal real-time performance, install the low-latency kernel:

sudo apt install linux-lowlatency

Verify after reboot:

uname -r
# Should show something like 5.15.0-xx-lowlatency

Network Configuration

Configure TUN Interface

Open5GS UPF requires a TUN interface for user data:

sudo ip tuntap add name ogstun mode tun
sudo ip addr add 10.45.0.1/16 dev ogstun
sudo ip link set ogstun up

Configure NAT

Allow UE to access the internet:

sudo iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -s 10.45.0.0/16 ! -o ogstun -j MASQUERADE

Enable IP Forwarding

sudo sysctl -w net.ipv4.ip_forward=1

Make it permanent:

echo "net.ipv4.ip_forward=1" | sudo tee -a /etc/sysctl.conf

Dependency Installation

Basic Tools

sudo apt install -y \
    build-essential \
    cmake \
    git \
    pkg-config \
    python3 \
    python3-pip

Open5GS Dependencies

sudo apt install -y \
    mongodb \
    libsctp-dev \
    libyaml-dev \
    libmicrohttpd-dev \
    libcurl4-gnutls-dev \
    libtalloc-dev \
    libgnutls28-dev \
    libgcrypt20-dev \
    libidn11-dev \
    libmongoc-dev \
    libbson-dev \
    flex \
    bison

srsRAN Dependencies

sudo apt install -y \
    libfftw3-dev \
    libmbedtls-dev \
    libsctp-dev \
    libyaml-cpp-dev \
    libgtest-dev \
    libzmq3-dev \
    libuhd-dev \    # For USRP users
    uhd-host

SDR Driver Configuration

USRP (UHD)

# Install UHD
sudo apt install -y libuhd-dev uhd-host

# Download FPGA images
sudo uhd_images_downloader

# Configure USB permissions
sudo cp /usr/lib/uhd/utils/uhd-usrp.rules /etc/udev/rules.d/
sudo udevadm control --reload-rules
sudo udevadm trigger

Verify connection:

uhd_find_devices

BladeRF

# Add repository
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nuandllc/bladerf
sudo apt update

# Install driver
sudo apt install -y bladerf libbladerf-dev bladerf-fpga-hostedx40

Performance Optimization

CPU Governor

Set to performance mode:

sudo apt install -y cpufrequtils
echo 'GOVERNOR="performance"' | sudo tee /etc/default/cpufrequtils
sudo systemctl restart cpufrequtils

Real-time Priority

Edit /etc/security/limits.conf:

*    soft    rtprio    99
*    hard    rtprio    99

Verify Environment

Run the following commands to verify your setup:

# Check MongoDB
sudo systemctl status mongod

# Check TUN interface
ip addr show ogstun

# Check SDR connection
uhd_find_devices  # USRP
bladeRF-cli -p    # BladeRF

Next Steps

After completing environment setup, proceed to:

• Hardware Requirements - Detailed hardware selection guide
• Open5GS Installation - Core network installation