Open5GS + UERANSIM Docker Deployment

Fully automated deployment of a 5G network using Open5GS (core network) and UERANSIM (gNB + UE simulator), orchestrated with Docker Compose.

No manual configuration file editing required — entrypoints handle IP assignment and service startup automatically.

Prerequisites

• Docker
• Docker Compose
• Python 3
• Node.js + npm (for the Web UI only)

Deployment

1. Generate the compose file

python3 deployment/generate_docker_compose.py <num_ue>

Replace <num_ue> with the number of UEs you want to simulate.

2. Start the core network

sudo docker-compose up --build --force-recreate -d

3. Start the RAN (gNB + UEs)

sudo docker-compose --profile ran up --build -d

Verify

Redirect container logs to files for easy inspection:

docker logs deployment_gnb_1 &> log_gnb.txt
docker logs deployment_ue_1 &> log_ue.txt

Look for:

• NG Setup procedure is successful in the gNB log
• PDU Session establishment is successful in the UE log

Web UI

The Open5GS Web UI lets you manage subscribers (add/edit/delete UEs).

cd deployment/webui
npm install
npm run build
npm start

Then open http://127.0.0.1:9999 in Firefox (Chrome may not work) and log in with admin / 1423.

Distributed core (UPF separation)

The deployment supports splitting the UPF into a separate container — useful for edge computing scenarios where you want user-plane traffic processed close to the UE rather than routed through the full core.

All core functions run in the main core container; the UPF runs in its own independent container. The gNB and UEs connect to the same core.

Project structure

deployment/
├── Dockerfile.open5gs       # 5G core network functions
├── Dockerfile.gnb           # gNB (UERANSIM)
├── Dockerfile.ue            # UE simulator (UERANSIM)
├── Dockerfile.ueransim      # Base UERANSIM image
├── Dockerfile.webui         # Open5GS Web UI
├── docker-compose.yml       # Generated by generate_docker_compose.py
├── generate_docker_compose.py
├── entrypoint-core.sh
├── entrypoint-gnb.sh
├── entrypoint-ue.sh
├── mongo-init.js
└── webui/                   # Open5GS subscriber management UI