The rise of 5G networks requires cloud infrastructure that can handle high-performance, low-latency workloads at the edge. Traditional cloud provisioning often overlooks the specialized hardware features that 5G applications demand. OpenNebula addresses this challenge with a Sylva-compliant edge stack, enabling automated, carrier-grade deployments with full Enhanced Platform Awareness (EPA).

Our recent screencast demonstrates how OpenNebula validates 5G-ready edge nodes, showing EPA in action and proving that carrier-grade workloads like vRAN and UPF can run reliably on virtualized infrastructure.

Carrier-Grade Hardware for 5G Workloads

5G workloads, such as virtual Radio Access Network (vRAN) and User Plane Functions (UPF), require specific hardware capabilities, including SR-IOV, PTP, CPU Pinning, and HugePages.

To validate readiness, we deployed a carrier-grade CNF—the 6WIND Virtual Service Router—which explicitly requires these EPA capabilities.

The OpenNebula Cloud-Edge Stack

The demonstration stack is built in three layers. 

• At the Infrastructure Layer, OpenNebula manages the virtual infrastructure, enabling hardware acceleration through SR-IOV, HugePages, and CPU pinning. 
• On top of that, the Platform Layer consists of two Kubernetes clusters: the Far Edge Cluster, representing a Remote Cell Site, and the Regional Core Cluster, representing a Security Gateway. 
• Finally, the Network Function Layer runs the 6WIND Virtual Service Router instances, including a Virtual Cell Site Router at the edge site and a Virtual Security Gateway at the core location. 

This layered approach ensures that 5G workloads have direct access to the specialized hardware features they require.

A Key Step in Sylva Validation 

This demonstration is more than just a functional test; it serves as a definitive acceptance test within the Sylva framework. As a compliant Infrastructure Provider, OpenNebula is responsible for translating Sylva’s declarative requirements (managed via Cluster API) into concrete hypervisor configurations.

In the Sylva evaluation process, the provisioning of a Workload Cluster is only the first step. The critical validation lies in proving that the provisioned infrastructure actually delivers the specialized hardware contracts promised to the orchestration layer. By successfully deploying the 6WIND VSR—a CNF that would fail without strict hardware acceleration—we confirm that the entire Sylva automation pipeline is functioning correctly: from the high-level GitOps intent, through the OpenNebula IaaS layer, down to the physical hardware execution.

Why 6WIND?

The 6WIND Virtual Service Router is a high-performance, carrier-grade router, making it an ideal validator for EPA. To support fast packet processing, it relies on SR-IOV, CPU pinning, and HugePages. In our demo setup, two 6WIND instances communicate via an IPsec tunnel, providing a realistic 5G traffic scenario.

Validating the 5G Edge Node

During the demo, we trace hardware capabilities through the three layers: OpenNebula, Kubernetes, and the 6WIND router. Key validation steps include:

• CPU Pinning and HugePages: Verified on the VM hosting the 6WIND router. The VM is allocated 20GB of memory, fully backed by 2MB HugePages.
• PCI Passthrough: Confirmed that dedicated network devices are correctly assigned from the hypervisor to the VM.
• NUMA Topology: Ensures pinned CPUs and memory are optimally allocated.
• Kubernetes Integration: The VM’s capabilities are exposed to Kubernetes nodes, including pinned CPUs, reserved HugePages, and a consumable SR-IOV Virtual Function.
• Container Validation: Hardware control passes through Kubernetes into the container running the 6WIND Virtual Service Router, ensuring EPA is fully leveraged.

Finally, traffic is generated across the IPsec tunnel between the Cell Site Router and the Security Gateway. The throughput monitor shows active packet transmission, confirming that EPA acceleration is working.

Watch the Full Demo

Our screencast walks through the full validation process—from inspecting the OpenNebula VM, confirming EPA features in Kubernetes, to generating traffic through the 6WIND routers. It’s a practical guide for seeing 5G-ready edge nodes in action.

This validation demonstrates how OpenNebula bridges the gap between cloud automation and the specialized requirements of 5G workloads, making edge deployments more reliable and predictable.

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