Nov 12, 2025

Public workspaceToward Experimentation-as-a-Service in 5G/6G: The Plaza6G Prototype for AI-Assisted Trials

DOI
https://dx.doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.dm6gpm6pjgzp/v1
  • Barrachina-Muñoz ergio1,
  • Carrascosa-Zamacois Marc1,
  • Bleda Horacio1,
  • Riaz Umair1,
  • Maqsood Yaisr1,
  • Calle-Heredia Xavier1,
  • Mangues Josep1,
  • Payaró iquel1
  • 1Centre Tecnològic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya (CTTC)
  • sas_cttc
extreme.cttc.sas
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DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.dm6gpm6pjgzp/v1
Protocol Citation: Barrachina-Muñoz ergio, Carrascosa-Zamacois Marc, Bleda Horacio, Riaz Umair, Maqsood Yaisr, Calle-Heredia Xavier, Mangues Josep, Payaró iquel 2025. Toward Experimentation-as-a-Service in 5G/6G: The Plaza6G Prototype for AI-Assisted Trials. protocols.io https://dx.doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.dm6gpm6pjgzp/v1
License: This is an open access protocol distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License,  which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
Protocol status: Working
We use this protocol and it's working
Created: November 11, 2025
Last Modified: November 12, 2025
Protocol Integer ID: 232061
Keywords: Plaza6G, iPerf3, Open5GS, Free5GC, OpenAirInterface, Throughput, Testbed Performance Evaluation, groundwork for 6g, network experimentation, wireless testbed federation, 6g, automated network experimentation, tcp, virtualised network template, open5g, throughput under tcp, data network node, downlink communication, virtual machine, core vm, gnb vm, throughput, vm, testbed federation, iperf3 server, service platform, iperf3 server while the ue, udp condition, iperf3 client, testbed framework, protocol, minimum number of vm, free5gc
Funders Acknowledgements:
MINECO
Grant ID: TSI-064100-2022-16/-2023-26
Spanish MCIN & I-CERCA
Grant ID: I-CERCA CERCA GINYS
Generalitat de Catalunya
Grant ID: 2021 SGR 00770
Abstract
This protocol outlines a reproducible experiment that was evaluated using the Plaza6G testbed framework. The experiment involves comparing the performance of three simulated open-source 5G core networks: Open5GS, Free5GC, and OpenAirInterface. These networks are deployed as virtualised network templates through Plaza6G’s Experimentation-as-a-Service platform. Each simulated template is configured with the virtual machines (VMs) required to support a basic 5G core network, including a Core VM, a gNB VM and a User Equipment (UE) VM. The experiment uses the open-source tool iPerf3 to measure throughput under TCP and UDP conditions, considering uplink and downlink communications. Apart from the minimum number of VMs, a Data Network Node (DNN) VM has been provided to act as the iPerf3 server while the UE is the iPerf3 client. The procedure outlines every step, from selecting templates and launching virtual environments, to retrieving assigned 5G IP addresses and executing iPerf3 commands for different configurations. This experimental workflow enables the comparative analysis of virtualised 5G systems, supports automated network experimentation, CI/CD integration, and reproducible performance evaluation laying the groundwork for 6G-oriented research and open wireless testbed federation.
Troubleshooting
Select the 5G Core template (flavor)
First of all, in Plaza6G official web site you need to select one of our 5G templates including: Open5GS (https://open5gs.org/open5gs/docs/guide/01-quickstart), Free5GC (https://free5gc.org/guide/#free5gc-installation-guide) and OpenAirInterface (https://gitlab.eurecom.fr/oai/cn5g/oai-cn5g-fed/-/blob/master/docs/DEPLOY_SA5G_BASIC_DEPLOYMENT.md).

Note: Our simulated templates include the default configuration for each project.


Select 5G simulated templates


Set up the 5G template

Open terminal access for both UE and DNN machines
Once the 5G environment has been successfully set, you can access to the UE and DNN machines

Open the terminal in UE and DNN VMs.

Start iperf tests
The iperf test uses the linux package "iperf3". An iperf test allows you to determine the bandwidth (Mbps/Gbps), latency (ms), jitter (for UDP tests), Percentage of packet loss (for UDP tests), among others. The DNN will be the iperf server, while UE will be the iperf client.

Configuration set up:

ABCDE
Open5G ProjectUE_5G_IP_addressDNN_IP_addressWindow Time (s)Max Theoretical Bandwidth (Mbps)
Oepn5GS10.45.0.2192.168.140.5120 400
Free5GC10.70.0.1192.168.141.4120250
OAI12.1.1.100192.168.142.3120300
The experiment has been repeated for the 3 5G projects.
Download iperf3 in both machines:
Command
Installs iperf3 in ubuntu OS (Ubuntu 22.04)
Install iperf3
sudo apt update
sudo apt install iperf3 -y

Set up the iperf server (DNN):
Command
Launches iperf3 in server mode with default port
Iperf3 server
iperf3 -s

Verify the 5G ip address in UE

Command
Retrieves the IP address assigned by the 5G core (SMF) to the UE. (Ubuntu 22.04)
5G IP address
ip -4 addr show uesimtun0 | awk /inet / {print $2} | cut -d/ -f1

Launch the iperf in client (UE) mode attached to the 5G interfaz
Command
Launches iperf client: TCP, UpLink, directed to DNN server, attached to the 5G IP address. (Ubuntu 22.04)
Launch iperf client TCP UL
iperf3 -c <DNN_IP_address> -B <UE_5G_IP_address> -t <window_time>


Command
Launches iperf client: TCP, DownLink, directed to DNN server, attached to the 5G IP address. (Ubuntu 22.04)
Launch iperf client TCP DL
iperf3 -c <DNN_IP_address> -B <UE_5G_IP_address> -t <window_time> -R

Command
Launches iperf client: UDP, UpLink, directed to DNN server, attached to the 5G IP address. (Ubuntu 22.04)
Launch iperf client UDP UL
iperf3 -c <DNN_IP_address> -B <UE_5G_IP_address> -u -t <window_time> -b <Max_theroetical_bandwidth>Mbps

Command
Launches iperf client: UDP, DownLink, directed to DNN server, attached to the 5G IP address. (Ubuntu 22.04)
Launch iperf client UDP DL
iperf3 -c <DNN_IP_address> -B <UE_5G_IP_address> -t <window_time> -b <Max_theoretical_bandwidth>Mbps -R

Example of expected outputs
This section briefs depicts the expected outputs for iperf tests using a 10 s. window.
Examples:
Open5GS, TCP, Up Link, 10 seconds, client.

Open5GS, TCP, Up Link, 10 seconds, server.

Open5GS, TCP, Down Link, 10 seconds, client.

Open5GS, TCP, Down Link, 10 seconds, server.

Open5GS, UDP, Up Link, 10 seconds, client.

Open5GS, UDP, Up Link, 10 seconds, server.

Open5GS, UDP, Down Link, 10 seconds, client.

Open5GS, UDP, Down Link, 10 seconds, server.

Protocol references
Open5GS, Quickstart Guide, [Online]. Available: https://open5gs.org/open5gs/docs/guide/01-quickstart
Free5GC, Installation Guide, [Online]. Available: https://free5gc.org/guide/#free5gc-installation-guide
OpenAirInterface, 5G Core Network (CN5G) Basic Deployment Guide, [Online]. Available: https://gitlab.eurecom.fr/oai/cn5g/oai-cn5g-fed/-/blob/master/docs/DEPLOY_SA5G_BASIC_DEPLOYMENT.md
Acknowledgements
This work was partially funded by Spanish MINECO grants TSI-064100-2022-16/-2023-26 (Plaza6G/Plaza6G+), Spanish MCIN I-CERCA CERCAGINYS, and Generalitat de Catalunya 2021 SGR 00770.