5G LAN Setup: How to Deploy a Private 5G Network

What Is a 5G LAN Setup?

A 5G LAN is a private cellular network solution for enterprises that integrates into an organization’s existing IT infrastructure. One that enterprise IT teams can install, configure and manage on an ongoing basis - or consume as a managed service - at their own will. One that gives them full control and data ownership. 

Before we dive in, be sure to check out the resources below to help you with your 5G LAN setup:

• Celona Live Demo at Mobility Field Day 7 - From start to finish, Celona experts deploy a Celona network integrated with critical applications in a warehouse environment. 

• Celona Hands-on Training Class at Wireless LAN Professionals Conference 2022 - In this six-hour / two-day training class, Celona experts walk students through the step-by-step process of preparing, designing and implementing a private cellular network. 

• Celona’s Definitive Guide to 5G LANs - A highly detailed look at Celona’s 5G LAN solution architecture and its unique capabilities.

• Celona Getting Started Guide - Starting point for all Celona 5G LAN customers 

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What Exactly Is A 5G LAN?

A 5G LAN is a private mobile network solution for enterprises that provides high-performance wireless connectivity and deterministic service levels for vital applications and low-latency communications. This design gives enterprises full control over their cellular resources, coverage, service levels, and budget by integrating directly into existing IT infrastructure.

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5G LAN Setup

The 5G LAN solution provides enterprises with a fast and easy way to build their private mobile network in just a few hours. Below we’ll touch on the main steps needed for your 5G LAN setup.

Network Planning

Every 5G LAN setup starts with network planning. This crucial step ensures your network has the infrastructure and performance required to meet your desired outcomes.

While estimating the size of your private cellular network may seem daunting at first, the Celona Network Planner makes this step quite simple. This free web-based tool allows you to quickly get started based on your device density and application requirements, indoor and outdoor coverage needs, and private spectrum availability based on your geographical area.

Through simulated heatmaps and satellite imagery, you can get an accurate look at how your network will perform and how different hardware configurations impact your coverage and performance. 

Before any 5G LAN setup can begin, a private cellular spectrum option must be secured for your area (e.g., CBRS (Citizens Broadband Radio Service) spectrum in the US) must be secured for your area. For instance, the Celona Network Planner takes your address and submits a live query to the Federal Communications Commission's Spectrum Access Service, giving you a live look at spectrum availability in your area.

Infrastructure

With a spectrum secured and a good estimate for your hardware requirements, you can begin setting up your network infrastructure.

Celona 5G LANs integrate the following components in a single package:

• Celona Access Points - Similar to Wi-Fi access points, cellular access points can be easily mounted on walls and ceilings to provide necessary coverage. Outdoor access points allow for coverage with the added benefit of weather protection and higher power outputs. In general, they provide up to 10x greater coverage compared to a Wi-Fi access point, also summarized here in Celona’s technical documentation. 

• Celona Edge - The Celona Edge is at the heart of your 5G LAN setup, providing unified 4G LTE and 5G service for your access points. It integrates traditional mobile core functions and enterprise networking functions within the same platform, and makes the deployment of unique features such as Celona’s patented MicroSlicing technology possible within a Celona 5G LAN. 

• Celona Orchestrator - Face of the Celona platform, it enables configuration, SIM provisioning, policy automation, subscriber management, network / application analytics, KPI based monitoring, API access and more for a Celona 5G LAN. It provides both a network operations configuration and management portal - as well as a customer facing network status portal that includes real-time and historical information on the operation of the network and performance KPIs. The portal includes capabilities to manage and monitor all network elements, including Celona Edge clusters, software versions and instances, APs, SIMs, quality of service policies, and hierarchical element management and reporting through organizations, sites, and individual network elements.

• Accessories - External antennas for outdoor APs, timing master for indoor deployments, among a few other options. 

Celona hardware and software were designed to work together as an out-of-the-box solution. Celona’s 5G LAN solution allows you to install your private cellular network similar to how you would with any other enterprise networking solution, e.g. a Wi-Fi LAN. 

Devices

Your 5G LAN can support a wide range of devices including laptops, tablets, IoT sensors, and edge devices. Each device must be compatible with private cellular wireless, meaning it’s configured to operate over the CBRS band between 3.55–3.7GHz.

We’ve compiled a complete list of CBRS-capable devices to help narrow your search and ensure your pick of compatible devices - including a step-by-step guide to help filter down from the full list of devices based on your use cases, device type and brand requirements.

 Administrators can provision private cellular capable devices through either eSIM or physical SIM cards as they onboard them on a Celona network. If using embedded SIM (eSIM), users can simply scan a QR code to provision their device on the network. Many devices can hold multiple eSIMs for access to different mobile networks. This process only takes a few seconds, you can see it in action in the provisioning section of the Celona hands-on class.

Network Policies and QoS

On the management side, administrators can create service levels across their cellular network through MicroSlicing. Celona MicroSlicing improves upon network slicing by allowing enterprise IT administrators to configure application-level thresholds for latency, error rate and throughput, going beyond traditional QoS, and enforcing service level objectives.

Creating a MicroSlicing Policy is a simple process that can be done through the Celona Orchestrator dashboard. If you’ve ever configured a NAT policy or used an object-based user interface, you’ll find managing your QoS policy across your private cellular network just as simple.

The rules you set for your 5G LAN can sync across your entire enterprise network allowing for enhanced predictability and unified management. Through DSCP mapping and application tagging, administrators can uniformly apply service level objectives across their 5G LAN and wired networks.

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Celona’s 5G LAN Solution

With Celona, 5G LAN planning and setup are simple and designed specifically for enterprise use. Celona uses cloud networking principles to make implementing 5G LANs an out-of-box experience. Onboarding can be done alongside existing wireless and IT infrastructure, without interrupting business operations.

If you’re looking to set up a 5G LAN in your organization, Celona can help. Test out the Celona platform for yourself with our free trial. You can also continue the discussion with our community members by joining our Frequency Community where “Freqs” - folks who are obsessed about the future of enterprise wireless - talk private cellular, 5G LANs and CBRS.