GL Strengthens 5G Testing with Advanced SBI Emulation, Testing, and Monitoring

GL Communications Inc., a global leader in telecom testing solutions, addressed the press regarding their 5G Service-Based Interface (SBI) testing solutions, supporting interfaces like N8, N10, N12, N13, N17, N20, N21, N22, N29, and N51 in line with 3GPP Release 17. This scalable solution enables robust emulation and testing of core network functions, whether validating standalone nodes or complete 5G call flows.

[For illustration, refer to 5g-network-testing-architecture.jpg]

Vijay Kulkarni, CEO of GL Communications, states, “GL’s Message Automation and Protocol Simulation (MAPS™) 5G system, based on a service-based architecture, includes a set of Network Functions (NFs) that provide services as defined in 3GPP Release 17 standards. The service-based interfaces use the HTTP protocol with JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) as the application-layer serialization format, enabling comprehensive testing of network infrastructure, applications, and User Equipment (UE).”

The MAPS™ 5G SBI test suite is an all-in-one solution for emulating, testing, and validating 5G core network functions in compliance with 3GPP. It supports key network functions including the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Short Message Service Function (SMSF), Network Exposure Function (NEF), Equipment Identity Register (EIR), Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF), and User Plane Function (UPF). This support enables comprehensive validation of control and user plane procedures, ensuring network reliability, performance, and interoperability.

The Test Suite supports both functional and load testing, generating high volumes of control-plane traffic to assess network performance, scalability, and reliability. It also enables wrap-around testing by substituting any network function with the device under test and supports large-scale emulations involving multiple base stations and tens of thousands of UEs, ensuring comprehensive end-to-end validation.

The latest MAPS™ 5G SBI release introduces a YAML editor that streamlines the creation of JSON-structured messages for REST-based HTTP APIs. With its clear, human-readable format, the editor simplifies the design and management of JSON templates, reducing complexity, accelerating test configuration, and improving workflow efficiency.

Fully compliant with 3GPP standards, the suite supports critical 5G core network procedures such as registration, authentication, session setup and release, policy control, subscriber data management, slice selection, and secure communication.

In addition, GL’s 5G Protocol Analyzer monitors 5G networks effectively, capturing, decoding, and gathering statistics across the N1N2, N4, N8, N10, N11, N12, and N13 interfaces. This provides valuable insights to support efficient 5G network operation.

Key Features

• Supports interfaces N8, N10, N12, N13, N17, N20, N21, N22, N29, and N51 per 3GPP Release 17
• YAML editor for easier JSON message creation in REST APIs
• Functional and load testing with high-volume control-plane traffic generation
• Wrap-around testing by replacing any network function with the device under test
• Python API automation for remote control and integration
• 24/7 testing with scheduling, call statistics, and event monitoring
• MAPS™ 5G Lab enables end-to-end testing using real and emulated UE's

  About GL Communications Inc.,

  GL Communications is a global provider of telecom test and measurement solutions. GL’s solutions verify the quality and reliability of Wireless, Fiber Optic, TDM and Analog networks.

  Warm Regards,

  Vikram Kulkarni, PhD

  Phone: 301-670-4784 x114

  Email: [email protected]