Note: NextEPC the Open Source project rebranded as Open5Gs in 2019 due to a naming issue. The remaining software called NextEPC is a branch of an old version of Open5Gs. This post was written before the rebranding.

I’ve been working for some time on Private LTE networks, the packet core I’m using is NextEPC, it’s well written, flexible and well supported.

I joined the Open5Gs group and I’ve contributed a few bits and pieces to the project, including a Python wrapper for adding / managing subscribers in the built in Home Subscriber Server (HSS).

You can get it from the support/ directory in Open5Gs.

NextEPC Python Library

Basic Python library to interface with MongoDB subscriber DB in NextEPC HSS / PCRF. Requires Python 3+, mongo, pymongo and bson. (All available through PIP)

If you are planning to run this on a different machine other than localhost (the machine hosting the MongoDB service) you will need to enable remote access to MongoDB by binding it’s IP to 0.0.0.0:

This is done by editing /etc/mongodb.conf and changing the bind IP to: bind_ip = 0.0.0.0

Restart MongoDB for changes to take effect.

$ /etc/init.d/mongodb restart

Basic Example:

import NextEPC
NextEPC_1 = NextEPC("10.0.1.118", 27017)

pdn = [{'apn': 'internet', 'pcc_rule': [], 'ambr': {'downlink': 1234, 'uplink': 1234}, 'qos': {'qci': 9, 'arp': {'priority_level': 8, 'pre_emption_vulnerability': 1, 'pre_emption_capability': 1}}, 'type': 2}]
sub_data = {'imsi': '891012222222300', \
             'pdn': pdn, \
             'ambr': {'downlink': 1024000, 'uplink': 1024001}, \
             'subscribed_rau_tau_timer': 12, \
             'network_access_mode': 2, \
             'subscriber_status': 0, \
             'access_restriction_data': 32, \
             'security': {'k': '465B5CE8 B199B49F AA5F0A2E E238A6BC', 'amf': '8000', 'op': None, 'opc': 'E8ED289D EBA952E4 283B54E8 8E6183CA'}, '__v': 0}

print(NextEPC_1.AddSubscriber(sub_data))                        #Add Subscriber using dict of sub_data

print(NextEPC_1.GetSubscriber('891012222222300'))               #Get added Subscriber's details

print(NextEPC_1.DeleteSubscriber('891012222222300'))            #Delete Subscriber

Subscriber_List = NextEPC_1.GetSubscribers()
for subscribers in Subscriber_List:
  print(subscribers['imsi'])