Performance benchmarking of private 5G networks

This paper presents a detailed performance evaluation of two private 5G standalone (SA) packet core implementations Nokia and Raemis within a smart manufacturing context. Six representative test scenarios were designed to assess core network behaviour under varying traffic loads and operational conditions. These include subscriber-to-subscriber and subscriber-to–data centre communications, with both uplink and downlink throughput and latency as key metrics. Experimental results reveal that while both packet cores deliver sufficient baseline performance, they exhibit contrasting strengths, the Raemis core consistently achieved higher throughput, particularly in subscriber-to- subscriber scenarios, whereas the Nokia core demonstrated more stable performance under high device density and concurrent traffic. Latency analysis shows that both cores satisfy 3GPP Service performance requirements for mobile robots specifically use case C. Importantly, this study demonstrates the feasibility of deploying both packet cores concurrently using dual Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) configurations. This architectural flexibility allows network operators to dynamically assign traffic to the core that best meets specific performance requirements, for instance, selecting Raemis for high-throughput applications and Nokia for latency-sensitive workloads. The findings contribute actionable insights into the deployment of private 5G networks for Industry 4.0, emphasizing the need to tailor core selection to application-specific QoS demands in industrial environments.