onramp/overview.rst - aether-docs - Gitiles

 Overview
 ----------------

 Aether is an open source 5G edge cloud connectivity service that
 supports enterprise deployments of Private 5G. Aether's architecture
 is described in a companion book; this guide references sections of
 that book to fill in details about Aether's design.

 .. _reading_private5g:
 .. admonition:: Further Reading

    L. Peterson, O. Sunay, and B. Davie. `Private 5G: A Systems
    Approach <https://5g.systemsapproach.org>`__. 2023.

 Source code for all the individual components that comprise Aether
 (e.g., AMP, SD-Core, SD-RAN, SD-Fabric) can be downloaded, and
 deployment artifacts built from that source code (e.g., Docker Images,
 Helm Charts, Fleet Bundles, Terraform Templates, Ansible Playbooks)
 can be used to bring up a running instance of Aether on local
 hardware. (See the *Source Directory* section of this guide for
 information about where to find the relevant repositories.)

 A multi-site deployment of Aether has been running since 2020 in
 support of the *Pronto Project*, but that deployment depends on an ops
 team with significant insider knowledge about Aether's engineering
 details. It is difficult for others to reproduce that know-how and
 bring up their own Aether clusters.  Aether is also available as two
 self-contained software packages that were originally designed to
 support developers working on individual components.  These packages
 are straightforward to install and run, even in a VM on your laptop,
 so they also provide an easy way to get started:

 * `Aether-in-a-Box (AiaB)
   <https://docs.aetherproject.org/master/developer/aiab.html>`__:
   Includes SD-Core and the online aspects of AMP (Service
   Orchestrator and the Monitoring Subsystem). AiaB can be configured
   to work with either an emulated RAN or physical small cell radios
   (both 4G and 5G).

 * `SDRAN-in-a-Box (RiaB)
   <https://docs.sd-ran.org/master/sdran-in-a-box/README.html>`__:
   Includes the ONOS-based nRT-RIC, the O-RAN defined E2SM-KPI and
   E2SM-RC Service Models, and example xApps. RiaB can be configured to
   work with either an emulated RAN (5G) or with OAI's open source RAN stack
   running on USRP devices (4G).

 Note that these two packages do not include SD-Fabric, which depends
 on programmable switching hardware. Readers interested in learning
 more about that capability (including a P4-based UPF) should see the
 Hands-on Programming appendix of our companion SDN book.

 .. _reading_pronto:
 .. admonition:: Further Reading

    `Pronto Project: Building Secure Networks Through Verifiable
    Closed-Loop Control <https://prontoproject.org/>`__.

    `Hands-on Programming (Appendix). Software-Defined Networks: A
    Systems Approach
    <https://sdn.systemsapproach.org/exercises.html>`__. November 2021.

 As a tool targeted at developers, AiaB and RiaB support a streamlined
 modify-build-test loop, but a significant gap remains between these
 self-contained versions of Aether and an operational 5G-enabled edge
 cloud deployed into a particular target environment. `Aether OnRamp
 <https://github.com/opennetworkinglab/aether-onramp>`__ is a
 re-packaging of Aether to address that gap. It provides an incremental
 path for users to:

 * Learn about all the moving parts in Aether.
 * Customize Aether for different target environments.
 * Deploy and operate Aether with live traffic.

 Aether OnRamp begins with a *Quick Start* deployment similar to AiaB,
 but then goes on to prescribe a sequence of steps a user can follow to
 deploy increasingly complex configurations. This culminates in an
 operational Aether cluster capable of running 24/7 and supporting live
 5G workloads.

 Note that OnRamp includes support for bringing up a 4G version of
 Aether connected to one or more physical eNBs, but we postpone a
 discussion of that capability until the final section. Everything up
 to that point assumes 5G.

 Aether OnRamp is still a work in progress, but anyone
 interested in participating in that effort is encouraged to join the
 discussion on Slack in the `ONF Community Workspace
 <https://onf-community.slack.com/>`__. A roadmap for the work that
 needs to be done can be found in the `Aether OnRamp Wiki
 <https://github.com/opennetworkinglab/aether-onramp/wiki>`__.
	Overview
	----------------

	Aether is an open source 5G edge cloud connectivity service that
	supports enterprise deployments of Private 5G. Aether's architecture
	is described in a companion book; this guide references sections of
	that book to fill in details about Aether's design.

	.. _reading_private5g:
	.. admonition:: Further Reading

	L. Peterson, O. Sunay, and B. Davie. `Private 5G: A Systems
	Approach <https://5g.systemsapproach.org>`__. 2023.

	Source code for all the individual components that comprise Aether
	(e.g., AMP, SD-Core, SD-RAN, SD-Fabric) can be downloaded, and
	deployment artifacts built from that source code (e.g., Docker Images,
	Helm Charts, Fleet Bundles, Terraform Templates, Ansible Playbooks)
	can be used to bring up a running instance of Aether on local
	hardware. (See the Source Directory section of this guide for
	information about where to find the relevant repositories.)

	A multi-site deployment of Aether has been running since 2020 in
	support of the Pronto Project, but that deployment depends on an ops
	team with significant insider knowledge about Aether's engineering
	details. It is difficult for others to reproduce that know-how and
	bring up their own Aether clusters. Aether is also available as two
	self-contained software packages that were originally designed to
	support developers working on individual components. These packages
	are straightforward to install and run, even in a VM on your laptop,
	so they also provide an easy way to get started:

	* `Aether-in-a-Box (AiaB)
	<https://docs.aetherproject.org/master/developer/aiab.html>`__:
	Includes SD-Core and the online aspects of AMP (Service
	Orchestrator and the Monitoring Subsystem). AiaB can be configured
	to work with either an emulated RAN or physical small cell radios
	(both 4G and 5G).

	* `SDRAN-in-a-Box (RiaB)
	<https://docs.sd-ran.org/master/sdran-in-a-box/README.html>`__:
	Includes the ONOS-based nRT-RIC, the O-RAN defined E2SM-KPI and
	E2SM-RC Service Models, and example xApps. RiaB can be configured to
	work with either an emulated RAN (5G) or with OAI's open source RAN stack
	running on USRP devices (4G).

	Note that these two packages do not include SD-Fabric, which depends
	on programmable switching hardware. Readers interested in learning
	more about that capability (including a P4-based UPF) should see the
	Hands-on Programming appendix of our companion SDN book.

	.. _reading_pronto:
	.. admonition:: Further Reading

	`Pronto Project: Building Secure Networks Through Verifiable
	Closed-Loop Control <https://prontoproject.org/>`__.

	`Hands-on Programming (Appendix). Software-Defined Networks: A
	Systems Approach
	<https://sdn.systemsapproach.org/exercises.html>`__. November 2021.

	As a tool targeted at developers, AiaB and RiaB support a streamlined
	modify-build-test loop, but a significant gap remains between these
	self-contained versions of Aether and an operational 5G-enabled edge
	cloud deployed into a particular target environment. `Aether OnRamp
	<https://github.com/opennetworkinglab/aether-onramp>`__ is a
	re-packaging of Aether to address that gap. It provides an incremental
	path for users to:

	* Learn about all the moving parts in Aether.
	* Customize Aether for different target environments.
	* Deploy and operate Aether with live traffic.

	Aether OnRamp begins with a Quick Start deployment similar to AiaB,
	but then goes on to prescribe a sequence of steps a user can follow to
	deploy increasingly complex configurations. This culminates in an
	operational Aether cluster capable of running 24/7 and supporting live
	5G workloads.

	Note that OnRamp includes support for bringing up a 4G version of
	Aether connected to one or more physical eNBs, but we postpone a
	discussion of that capability until the final section. Everything up
	to that point assumes 5G.

	Aether OnRamp is still a work in progress, but anyone
	interested in participating in that effort is encouraged to join the
	discussion on Slack in the `ONF Community Workspace
	<https://onf-community.slack.com/>`__. A roadmap for the work that
	needs to be done can be found in the `Aether OnRamp Wiki
	<https://github.com/opennetworkinglab/aether-onramp/wiki>`__.