(updated: 2017, June 7th)

This document explains how to install and configure OAI EPC+eNB on one single Ubuntu 17.04 64 bits machine connected with a regular UE (a Huawei E3272), routing the UE traffic to internet.

We use EPC after a major contribution in May 2017: a lot of code has been modified, all directories names were changes, configuration parameters names/values changed.

The description uses a USRP B210 board, a Lime SDR page is provided separately.

We also explain how to simplify, fix existing issues, to make a single computer as a full LTE network: EPC+eNB.

Known limitations fixed in the hereafter description

• OAI EPC require kernel >= 4.7, so we have to use Ubuntu 17.04
  • We already pushed some enhancements in OAI, nevertheless some more are required
• GTP UDP ports are in conflict for eNB and SGW
• Useless link between OAI and the Ubuntu/Linux hostname removed
• Several simplifications and precisions to make easier and reliable installations

Install Ubuntu

• Prepare a machine: a 4 actual cores, no hyper-threading.
  All other configuration in OAI Wiki (C1 states, …) describes is about useless.
• Download Ubuntu 17.04 64 bits version iso file
• create a usb key to boot on it
• install Ubuntu: choose to install Third party SW, and to upgrade all packages while installing
• do: apt update; apt upgrade until the machine is up-to-date
• install git and configure your identification in git:
  sudo apt install git 
  git config –global user.name “Laurent”
  git config –global user.email “laurent.thomas@open-cells.com”
• Add the OAI repository as authorized remote system
  echo -n | openssl s_client -showcerts -connect gitlab.eurecom.fr:443 2>/dev/null | sed -ne ‘/-BEGIN CERTIFICATE-/,/-END CERTIFICATE-/p’ | sudo tee -a /etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt
• if you are upset with sudo password, add this line in /etc/sudoers
  • xxxxxx ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL (xxxxxx is your login name)
  • sudo will not ask anymore for a password

Install USRP drivers

Ettus has not yet released their driver for Ubuntu 17.04, we take it from source:

• sudo apt-get install libboost-all-dev libusb-1.0-0-dev python-mako doxygen python-docutils python-requests cmake build-essential
• git clone git://github.com/EttusResearch/uhd.git
• cd uhd; mkdir host/build; cd host/build
• cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr ..
• make -j4
• sudo make install
• sudo ldconfig
• sudo /usr/lib/uhd/utils/uhd_images_downloader.py

Download our modifications

download: patches

extract the data: tar xf opencells-mods.tgz

Download & Compile the eNB on 17.04

• git clone https://gitlab.eurecom.fr/oai/openairinterface5g.git
• cd openairinterface5g
• git checkout develop
• We tested with commit 7580d021d387cc63fcf6ecbb97a87b816676a06f  Tue Jun 6 17:59:32 2017 +0200
• As we already tested and merged in develop updates for Ubuntu 17.04
• A few more updates are required for Ubuntu 17.04
  replace the file cmake_targets/tools/build_helper by the file in our archive:
  • cp opencells-mods/cmake_targets/tools/build_helper cmake_targets/tools/build_helper
• Now, you should be able to build as usual the eNB
  • source oaienv                                    # configure the shell
  • ./cmake_targets/build_oai -I       # install SW packages from internet
  • ./cmake_targets/build_oai  -w USRP –eNB –UE # compile eNB

Download and patch EPC

First, clone OAI EPC:

• git clone https://gitlab.eurecom.fr/oai/openair-cn.git
• cd openair-cn
• git checkout develop

(we used: commit 67180ca07c3f543fb6efde13bfdd88ec153185c7 Date: Tue May 30 10:16:31 2017 +0200)

Add Ubuntu 17.04 for compilation and fix some bugs

• cp opencells-mods/build/tools/build_helper  build/tools/build_helper
• 备注：原文上一条命令有误，笔者按照作者意图进行了修改
• patch -i opencells-mods/src/common/common_defs.h.patch src/common/common_defs.h
• patch -i opencells-mods/src/oai_mme/oai_mme.c.patch src/oai_mme/oai_mme.c
• patch -i opencells-mods/src/oai_hss/utils/hss_config.c.patch src/oai_hss/utils/hss_config.c

Remove link between Linux host name and LTE diameter protocol configuration

• patch -i opencells-mods/src/s6a/s6a_peer.c.patch src/s6a/s6a_peer.c

Add usage of the input address for the SGW input socket

• patch -i opencells-mods/src/gtpv1-u/gtp_mod_kernel.c.patch src/gtpv1-u/gtp_mod_kernel.c
• patch -i opencells-mods/src/gtpv1-u/gtp_mod_kernel.h.patch src/gtpv1-u/gtp_mod_kernel.h
• patch -i opencells-mods/src/gtpv1-u/gtpv1u_task.c.patch src/gtpv1-u/gtpv1u_task.c

No kernel module patch is required anymore: generic Ubuntu kernel 17.04 works fine with OAI

Install third party SW for EPC

• cd openair-cn; source oaienv; cd scripts
• ./build_hss -i
  • Do you want to install freeDiameter 1.2.0 ?: yes
  • set your MySQL password and remember it!
  • Answer yes to install: freeDiameter 1.2.0
  • phpmyadmin:
    • choose light or apache as you prefer
    • Configure database for phpmyadmin with dbconfig-common: yes
    • password: same as MySQL for simplicity
    • We don’t use phpmyadmin later in this procedure, nevertheless we tested successfully also with it
• Install 3PP SW for mme and spgw
• ./build_mme -i
  • Do you want to install freeDiameter 1.2.0: no
  • Do you want to install asn1c rev 1516 patched? <y/N>: no
  • Do you want to install libgtpnl ? <y/N>: yes
  • wireshark permissions: as you prefer
• ./build_spgw -i
  • Do you want to install libgtpnl ? <y/N>: no

Compile the EPC nodes

No difficulty found in this phase.

• cd openair-cn; source oaienv; cd scripts
• ./build_hss
• ./build_mme
• ./build_spgw

Our Network setup description

I’ve made a simple configuration for this all-in-one setup.

Each node is on a separate IP address, this address is used for all it’s interfaces. In our case of all-in-one, we take addresses on the loopback: this will be fine on all your machines.

• HSS is on localhost: 127.0.0.1
• eNB is on 127.0.0.10
• MME is on 127.0.0.20
• SPGW is on 127.0.0.30

The LTE diameter configuration is now isolated from Linux hostname.

realm for our EPC: “OpenAir5G.Alliance”, so, full distinguish names (FQDN) are: hss.OpenAir5G.Alliance, mme.OpenAir5G.Alliance

Install this configuration for eNB

In your eNB configuration file, the network is now fixed, as lo interface always exists and our computer internal addresses also:

// MME parameters:mme_ip_address = ( { ipv4 = "127.0.0.20";ipv6 = "192:168:30::17";active = "yes";preference = "ipv4";});NETWORK_INTERFACES : {ENB_INTERFACE_NAME_FOR_S1_MME = "lo";ENB_IPV4_ADDRESS_FOR_S1_MME = "127.0.0.10/8";ENB_INTERFACE_NAME_FOR_S1U = "lo";ENB_IPV4_ADDRESS_FOR_S1U = "127.0.0.10/8";ENB_PORT_FOR_S1U = 2152; # Spec 2152};

In the eNB config file, you need also to set the MCC and MNC as per your SIM card:

tracking_area_code = “1”;
mobile_country_code = “208”;
mobile_network_code = “92”;

And obviously, your radio parameters.

Wwe tested with USRP B210 and two parameter files: 10MHz band, 20MHz band, Huawei E3272 UE, a cavity duplexer a simple antenna, about 1 meter distance UE/eNB antenna.

• openairinterface5g/targets/PROJECTS/GENERIC-LTE-EPC/CONF/enb.band7.tm1.50PRB.usrpb210.conf
• openairinterface5g/targets/PROJECTS/GENERIC-LTE-EPC/CONF/enb.band7.tm1.100PRB.usrpb210.conf

Install this configuration for EPC

For the EPC, we install in OAI default directory: /usr/local/etc/oai

• sudo mkdir -p /usr/local/etc/oai
• sudo cp -rp opencells-mods/config_epc/* /usr/local/etc/oai

Then, you should generate the cyphering certificates:

• cd openair-cn; source oaienv; cd scripts
• ./check_hss_s6a_certificate /usr/local/etc/oai/freeDiameter hss.OpenAir5G.Alliance
• ./check_mme_s6a_certificate /usr/local/etc/oai/freeDiameter mme.OpenAir5G.Alliance

Only the SGi output to internet need to be configured.
In /usr/local/etc/oai/spgw.conf,
your should set the Ethernet interface that is connected to Internet, and,
to tell to the PGW to implement NAPT for the UE traffic

 PGW_INTERFACE_NAME_FOR_SGI = "enp3s0"; PGW_MASQUERADE_SGI = "yes";

For the SIM card, you’ll have more to do:

• SIM MCC/MNC should be duplicated
  • eNB: See above in eNB configuration chapter
  • MME
    • file: /usr/local/etc/oai/mme.conf to update
      • GUMMEI_LIST = ( MCC=”208″ ; MNC=”92″; MME_GID=”4″ ; MME_CODE=”1″; } );
      • TAI_LIST = ({MCC=”208″ ; MNC=”92″; TAC = “1”; } );
  • HSS
    • Configure the password for MySQL
      • in /usr/local/etc/oai/hss.conf, set password as the password you created during MySQL installation
    • A HSS database in text is in: opencells-mods/opencells_db.sql
      • It is pre-configured with the mme id
      • A SIM user in network 001/01 (the test network defined by 3GGP) is already created.
      • 10 users is network 208/92 (a French test network) are also created
      • Each time you import this db, it erases the entire database
        (example: you set mysql password to “linux”)
        • ./hss_db_import 127.0.0.1 root linux oai_db opencells-mods/opencells_db.sql
      • We use to modify the db by updating this file with regular text editor,
        then we re-load the entire database,
        but, if you prefer, usage of http://localhost/phpmyadmin is fine
      • The important values to set are:
        • table pdn:
          • all IMSI are listed, with the APN: these values are in UE/USIM
        • table users:
          • all IMSI, key (Ki) and OPc must be the same in USIM card
          • Sqn increments automatically  when the UE authenticate in both USIM and HSS DB: it should be set as per USIM internal incrementation
    • SIM card update
      • Open cells UICC and card reader will  be supported

Final test and verification

open 4 terminal windows

1. in first window
   • cd openair-cn; source oaienv; cd SCRIPTS; ./run_hss
2. in second window
   • cd openair-cn; source oaienv; cd SCRIPTS; ./run_mme
3. in third window
   • cd openair-cn; source oaienv; cd SCRIPTS; sudo -E ./run_spgw
4. in last windows
   • sudo bash
   • cd openairinterface5g; source oaienv
   • ./cmake_targets/lte_build_oai/build/lte-softmodem -d -O <your config file>
5. Connect the UE, it should attach to network and be able to reach internet through OAI network

We re-built this procedure from scratch and tested two machines: i5-4570 and i5-6600K.

On the i5-4570, at maximum traffic, the eNB is stable on 10MHz band at full user data speed.

On the i5-6600K, we obtain stable performance at maximum traffic over 20MHz, transmission mode 1 (SISO), one single UE over-the-air 1 meter distance: