Reproducible Experimentation with Beyond-5G Blueprints in SLICES-RI

Experimental research in Post-5G involves complex interactions between software, hardware, and protocols. Therefore, it is crucial to develop solutions that allow researchers to conduct their experiments in a reproducible manner. To support this need, the EU SLICES Research Infrastructure (RI) provides a scientific instrument that encompasses all the needs for Post-5G experimental research. The facility is currently being built to enable experimentation with state-of-the-art resources in various fields. SLICES-RI is intent-driven and facilitates the entire lifecycle of thought experiments. This is achieved by enabling reproducible deployment of experiments over the infrastructure using blueprints and by systematically collecting and archiving all outputs through a clear and structured methodology for experimentation. For this demonstration, we focus on the Post-5G part of the facility and will showcase how the entire lifecycle of such an experiment is orchestrated using the tools and functionalities developed. We will showcase blueprints for deploying a cloud-native 5G core and a split 7.2 radio network using open-source software in a fully reproducible manner, with the results being automatically archived and published using the SLICES metadata model. The reproducibility, deployment options, experimenter control capabilities, and access to the collected results will be highlighted.