PWS Virtual 5G SA Core and gNB-UE Emulator.pdf

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

TITLE: Virtual 5G SA Cores and gNB/UE Emulators

LAB REQUESTING SERVICE: Communications Technology Laboratory, Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) Group

I. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

PSCR laboratories provide research, development, testing, and evaluation to foster nationwide communications interoperability. This procurement will build upon PSCR’s existing 4G network to promote interoperability and compatibility as the network evolves to support 5G and all that it has to offer the public safety community.

Upgrades for 5G will require major changes to the RAN (Radio Access Network) existing and new licensed/unlicensed bands, NR (New Radio), Next Generation Core Network (including network function virtualization and network slicing), Edge Computing, Sensors, and test equipment.

This network will be used to explore, research and test some functionality enabled by 5G.

1. Massive Machine to Machine Communications (connecting billions of devices without human intervention).

2. Ultra-reliable low latency communications (mission critical including real-time control of devices, vehicle to vehicle communications and safety systems).

3. Enhanced mobile broadband (providing significantly faster data speeds and greater capacity).

II. SCOPE OF WORK

PSCR has a requirement for commercial 5G SA Cores and gNB/UE Emulators. The tools will be installed inside a PSCR laboratory on PSCR owned hardware (e.g., server) and connected to commercial gNBs/UEs for performance testing purposes. PSCR requires two (2) instances of each that can be configured to work with one another or as separate instances.

III. SPECIFICATIONS

The Contractor shall provide two (2) Virtual 5G SA Cores and two (2) gNB/UE Emulators that meets the following minimum technical requirements as described below.

1. The Virtual 5G SA Core (v5GC) software shall have the following technical characteristics:

1.1. Support Access and Mobility Management function (AWF), Session Management Function (SMF), User Plane Function (UPF). Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Network Exposure Function (NEF), NF repository function (NRF), Policy Control Function (PCF), Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Unified Data Repository (UDR), and Application Function (AF) for 5G NR.

1.2. Support release 15 of 3GPP specifications (or newer) for v5GC and roadmap to support future specifications.

1.3. Support for new 5G features such as Network Slicing, different Service and Session Continuity modes, and different types of PDU Sessions.

1.4. Support gNBs from major manufacturers (e.g., Nokia, Ericsson, etc.)

1.5. Support inter and intra cells Hand Overs (HO).

1.6. Support SA (standalone) NR (new radio 5G).

1.7. Support up to 10,000 Virtual and Real UEs.

1.8. Support the provisioning and connection of UEs from major manufacturers (e.g., Apple, Samsung, Sony, etc.)

1.9. Support UEs with VOLTE capability to attach to v5GC.

1.10. Support for MCPTT application server connection for MCPTT, MCData and

MCVideo.

1.11. Support ability to connect the UEs to internet and other application servers (e.g., Iperf).

1.12. Support multiple Access Point Name (APN)s.

1.13. Support multiple Quality of Service Flows (QoS Flows) for each of the UEs.

1.14. The software shall be capable of collecting system logs for debugging purposes.

1.15. Web-based Console for configuration and control of the network functions.

1.16. The software tool shall be compatible with the Windows 10 or Linux operating system. NIST will install the software on a computer or server. The license must be portable to other NIST owned computers or servers.

1.17. The system shall be compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) operating system.

1.18. The system shall be able to run as a virtual machine running on VMware.

1.19. The provided software shall be the most current stable release available from the manufacturer.

1.20. The contractor shall install and configure the software to work with at least one NIST owned gNB, one UE, and the gNB/UE emulator relevant to this procurement. This installation may be performed on-site, or remotely.

2. The gNB/UE Emulator shall have the following technical characteristics:

2.1. Support for testing 5G NR base stations (gNBs) and 5G Core Network Functions for release 15 of 3GPP specifications (or newer) for v5GC and roadmap to support future specifications.

2.2. Support for new 5G features such as Network Slicing, different Service and Session Continuity modes, and different types of PDU Sessions.

2.3. Support for the following signaling operations and services of the 5G cellular network.

2.3.1. 5G Registration

2.3.2. Connection Management

2.3.3. PDU Session Establishment

2.3.4. QoS Flow Management, UE Mobility Paging

2.3.5. Roaming

2.3.6. Emergency Sessions

2.3.7. Location Services

2.3.8. Congestion and Overload Control

2.4. Support gNBs from major manufacturers (e.g., Nokia, Ericsson, etc.)

2.5. Support for 1,000 gNBs with 10,000 Virtual UEs.

2.6. Support SA (standalone) NR (new radio 5G).

2.7. Support multiple Access Point Name (APN)s.

2.8. Support multiple Quality of Service Flows (QoS Flows) for each of the UEs.

2.9. Ability to generate SIP calls for testing Voice and Video with IMS.

2.10. Support ability to connect the UEs to internet and other application servers (e.g., Iperf).

2.11. Support for MCPTT application server connection for MCPTT, MCData and MCVideo.

2.12. Ability to use gNB/UE emulator to generate load along with real gNBs and UEs at the same time.

2.13. Ability to simulate different types of devices on the network for priority and emergency services.

2.14. The software shall provide a graphical editor to create test scripts, run tests and view test results.

2.15. The software tool shall be compatible with the Windows 10 or Linux operating system. NIST will install the software on a computer or server. The license must be portable to other NIST owned computers or servers.

2.16. The system shall be compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) or Ubuntu LTS operating systems.

2.17. The system shall be able to run as a virtual machine running on VMware.

2.18. The provided software shall be the most current stable release available from the manufacturer.

2.19. The contractor shall install and configure the software to work with at least one PSCR owned gNB and one UE. This installation may be performed on-site, or remotely.

3. The Contractor shall provide a license for the software with the following characteristics:

3.1. The license for this tool must be provided on a USB dongle (or similar). The computer using this software tool shall not be required to connect to the internet to activate or “check-out” a license. The license (or license dongle) must be capable of being transported for use in another machine. Support for simultaneous use on multiple machines is not required (i.e., only a single dongle is required).

3.2. The license for this software tool shall be perpetual in nature and have no required annual (or otherwise recurring) licensing expenses. Future software updates and technical support are excluded from this requirement.

4. Software technical support shall be provided as part of the system for three (3) years. This support shall be available during normal business hours. No after-hours support is required.

5. To the extent that software updates become available, they shall be provided to NIST for period of three (3) years.

6. The Contractor shall include the cost of shipping to the NIST site in Boulder, CO.

IV. WARRANTY

The Contractor shall provide, at a minimum, a three-year warranty and support agreement for software provided. The agreement shall cover all parts, labor and travel (if required). The warranty shall commence upon successful completion of delivery, installation, deployment and demonstration of all required specifications.

IV. DELIVERIES

The delivery shall be no later than thirty (30) days after receipt of order (ARO).

V. DELIVERABLES

Del.

No.

PWS

Ref.

Description Qty Due Date Deliver to Format

1 1,3,4,5,6 Software-based v5GC with license dongle or similar

Two (2) Systems

30 days

ARO

TPOC Two (2) Systems shall be shipped.

Shipping shall be coordinated with the TPOC

2 2,3,4,5,6 Software-based gNB/UE emulators with license dongle or similar

Two (2) Systems

30 days

ARO

TPOC Two (2) Systems shall be shipped.

Shipping shall be coordinated with the TPOC

VI. PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENT SUMMARY

Upon receipt of the software, NIST will perform basic measurements and experiments to ensure that the requirements have been met prior to acceptance and final payment.

VII. FINAL ACCEPTANCE/INSPECTION

Upon receipt and prior to final acceptance and payment, PSCR will test the four (4) systems for functionality and capabilities to ensure the conformance to specifications listed above. PSCR shall have thirty (30) days to perform this inspection.

The Virtual 5G SA Core (v5GC) software will be tested to verify specifications listed in section 1, and the gNB/UE Emulator will be tested to verify specifications listed in section 2.