The 5G Core
Racora ships a complete, attachable network on a fresh install because a 5G core comes with it: Open5GS, the reference core provider. The core is nonetheless one part of the network layer, not its center, and it is pluggable: another core provider slots in behind the same selector, the same network identity and the same subscriber surface, and the operator's day-to-day does not change. Why it is built this way is How Core Providers Work; selecting a provider, declaring the network identity and bringing your own AMF is Configure the 5G Core; adding a SIM is Add Subscribers.
open5gs (default) | external | |
|---|---|---|
| What it ships | Open5GS in one hostNetwork pod in 5g-core (the 5G core network functions, MongoDB and the WebUI), its subscriber database on a PersistentVolumeClaim | nothing: the CU-CP dials the AMF you name |
| Selected by | the default; INSTALL_RACORA_CORE=open5gs, global.core.provider: open5gs | INSTALL_RACORA_CORE=external with INSTALL_RACORA_AMF_ADDR; global.core.provider: external with global.core.amfAddr |
| NGAP endpoint | Service amf in 5g-core: NGAP over SCTP on 38412, GTP-U on 2152 | global.core.amfAddr: a DNS name or IP every CU-CP pod reaches over SCTP on 38412 |
| Network identity | consumes global.network: the PLMN becomes its MCC and MNC; the tracking areas and slice are fixed in its image (Open5GS), and an identity outside them fails the render | your core must serve exactly global.network; Racora cannot check it and the AMF rejects NG Setup otherwise |
| UE pool and egress | the UPF hands UEs addresses in ueIpBase.0/24 (default 10.45.0); egress through the control node by the egress-nat host unit, masquerading RACORA_UE_CIDR (default 10.45.0.0/16) | your core's |
| Subscribers | a Subscriber is provisioned into its database through the exec adapter; the database survives rolls and upgrades | a Subscriber is Unmanaged: provision the SIM in your core |
| Placement | with the CU planes on the control node | not applicable |
| Host requirements | hostNetwork and privileged in 5g-core, plus three host units on the control node (Open5GS) | none |
| Uninstall | ran removes the pod, the Service, the provider declaration and, unless --keep-data, the 5g-core namespace with the subscriber claim; host removes the units and clears what the core left on the host | ran leaves your core alone |
What a Provider Brings
Every provider answers the same seven questions, The Core Contract: its NGAP endpoint, the identity it serves, its UE pool and egress, how subscribers reach it, its placement, its host requirements, and what an uninstall removes. The table above is those answers for the two providers Racora ships.