Real-world network emulation is essential for successful 5G deployments, writes Cade Nelson, systems engineer at Apposite Technologies. It helps operators test performance under variable conditions, and this way reduces risk and ensures reliable production rollouts.
Adoption of 5G has now surpassed 2.25 billion connections worldwide, putting it on pace for four-times faster adoption than its predecessor.
Initially a cellular standard, 5G has become a viable solution for businesses looking to support the rollout of always-connected devices and edge computing deployments. To ensure reliable rollouts, stronger performance, and better user experiences, however, wireless professionals need a way to test 5G networks against realistic conditions.
Network emulation makes this possible. Here’s how.
Next generation – what sets 5G apart
5G offers several advantages over 4G, including:
– Higher speeds: 5G networks offer speeds up to 10 Gbps.
– Lower latency: Latency in 5G networks is 4-5x less than 4G deployments.
– Improved connectivity: 5G allows the connection of 100x more devices than 4G.
– Increased data capacity: Data capacity is also increased on 5G networks, up to 1000x that of 4G.
– Multiple frequency bands: 5G uses four frequency bands – a low band just under 1 GHz, two mid bands at 1-2.6 GHz and 3.5-6 GHz, and a high-frequency band at 24-40 GHz.
In practice, this enables users to stream data-heavy applications, such as videos in 4K/8K directly from the cloud. It also allows businesses to connect 100-times more endpoints, such as industrial IoT sensors and edge computing devices.
The results are bigger, faster, and lower-latency networks that provide a larger-scale alternative to Wi-Fi. For example, a large manufacturer with operations across multiple sites spanning several square miles might use 5G networks to extend the reach of local connections beyond that of internal Wi-Fi.
Common pitfalls in 5G deployments
While 5G offers the promise of improved performance, deployments also come with potential pitfalls, such as:
– More latency-dependent use cases: As noted above, 5G networks are often used to stream high-quality video or audio thanks to higher data throughput and lower latency. This can create challenges, however, since even minor variations in latency may impact the end-user experience.
– Problems with previous generation infrastructure: Traditional infrastructure may not be able to handle the backhaul needed by 5G networks. Fiber optic connections and 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) may be required to ensure networks operate efficiently.
– Disconnects between planning and production: Before 5G rollouts move into production, companies typically carry out limited-scale tests. These tests, however, are often conducted under ideal conditions; connections aren’t dropped due to real-world interference, and throughput isn’t limited by existing infrastructure. In production, however, conditions can deteriorate rapidly, leading to unexpected QoS issues.
Unlike traditional wired networks, 5G environments are highly dynamic. Signal quality can fluctuate based on factors such as interference, device density, physical obstructions, spectrum utilization, and even atmospheric conditions in some frequency bands. While terrestrial network performance is generally more predictable, wireless conditions can change rapidly, causing significant variations in throughput, latency, and overall application performance.
Addressing these problems means finding them in pre-production environments and letting them reach their natural conclusion. In other words, wireless professionals need to let networks fail safely.
This is the role of network emulation and simulation.
The advantages of combined testing
The more companies know about 5G network performance before moving to production, the better. Simulation and emulation make this possible.
What is network simulation? Network simulation uses software to create a theoretical network model that enables testing across all 7 OSI layers. Simulators are software-based, allowing teams to customize testing models as needed.
The efficacy of simulation, however, is limited by structure. While simulators excel at testing basic functionality and verifying network throughput, the structured nature of mathematical models hampers their ability to replicate real-world traffic.
What is network emulation? Network emulation creates a virtual environment that mimics real-life network conditions. This is accomplished using a network emulator device capable of producing WAN-like traffic and performance, and then adding impairments to simulated traffic such as jitter, packet loss, and latency. Teams can record how 5G networks handle these impairments and create strategies to solve any shortcomings.
Emulators also allow the connection of actual devices and software as part of the testing process. This allows the evaluation of application performance, the development of targeted troubleshooting strategies, and the demonstration of proof-of-concept functions or features in a controlled setting.
Benefits of network emulation include:
– Accurate testing under real-world conditions
– Rapid identification of inefficiencies
– Proactive troubleshooting before networks move into production
– Improved cost control by ensuring networks can handle expected traffic volumes, in turn preventing resource over-spending
Ideally, network simulation and emulation should be used in tandem to evaluate 5G performance. Simulation provides a baseline. By creating and testing curated conditions, teams can ensure that 5G networks deliver baseline performance for speed, latency, and reliability.
Emulation introduces irregularities found in real network traffic. These irregularities aren’t consistent or predictable, forcing the network to perform under pressure rather than simply responding to planned inputs.
Network emulation also enables organizations to test conditions that approach failure without causing actual outages. This allows teams to evaluate whether monitoring tools can detect deteriorating performance before users are impacted and whether mitigation strategies are triggered as intended. By creating “near-failure” scenarios, organizations can validate both their technical infrastructure and their operational response processes before networks move into production.
Consider an organization deploying 5G to help take the pressure off internal Wi-Fi networks. If teams only use simulation testing to evaluate bandwidth and throughput, the 5G network will almost certainly pass with flying colors, since staff is responsible for setting the parameters, and know where network limitations lie.
If the network is subsequently pushed into production without emulation testing, IT professionals may find themselves spending more time troubleshooting than enjoying the fruits of their 5G labors.
By deploying emulators to verify simulated results, teams can pinpoint where reported performance doesn’t match reality and take targeted action to address issues while networks remain in pre-production.
Network emulation – the value of variability
5G networks offer reduced latency, improved speed, and enhanced throughput as long as they can handle the variability of real-world traffic.
This is the role of advanced network emulation. By replicating the inherent irregularities of real-life traffic, teams can stress-test 5G networks before they’re deployed alongside existing wired and Wi-Fi connections.
Put simply? Variability has value. Network emulation lets companies proactively address rather than reactively respond to real-world network challenges.
Cade Nelson is a Systems Engineer at Apposite Technologies, a company that provides network emulation and testing solutions to help organizations validate and optimize application performance. With experience in the networking industry dating back to the early days of Earthlink, Nelson brings deep technical expertise across network engineering, systems integration, and product development. He focuses on helping organizations test and improve network performance through practical, real-world solutions.
