5G-MANTRA: Multi-Access Network Testbed for Research on ATSSS
Matan Broner, Sang‐Woo Lee, Liuyi Jin, Radu Stoleru · 2023
This paper presents a 5G multi-access core network testbed, which is designed to serve as an essential tool for research on Access Traffic Steering, Switching, and Splitting (ATSSS) in 4G and 5G networks. By integrating Non-3GPP Inter-Working Function (N3IWF) and 5G core from different open-source projects, our testbed enables multi-access sessions in 4G-LTE, 5G NSA, and 5G SA. Furthermore, our testbed incorporates a transport converter into the 5G core network, allowing User Equipment (UE) to utilize multi-access networks, even in the absence of multi-path TCP (MPTCP) support from external servers. We demonstrated the ability of our testbed to measure traffic steering, switching, and splitting across both lab-based and real-world networks.