5G Test Environments on GNS3 with SDN Network

The 5G test environment is crucial for developing each Network Function (NF) component without requiring a real hardware test suite. As a first step, we have developed a 5G test environment that includes gNB, i-UPFs, and PSA-UPFs within an SDN network, focusing on data forwarding. All NFs are integrated with SRv6 forwarding nodes based on SONiC virtual machines. The SRv6 access network, transport network, and all NFs were designed as virtual machines within GNS3. Although each NF is not fully developed yet, all NFs, along with SRv6-based access and transport network nodes, were integrated into a network topology managed by an ONOS SDN controller. In the next step, we plan to implement NFs from the signaling perspective.