Introduction to Magma: Cloud Native Wireless Networking (edX)

Magma leverages open source software and commodity hardware to help operators manage their networks efficiently. It provides a high level of automation, high reliability, and the ability to deliver new network services quickly. It is agnostic to the radio access network technology, supporting any cellular “generation” from 2G to 5G, as well as WiFi and CBRS for unlicensed spectrum. Magma can be federated with existing cellular networks to allow networks to be cost-effectively extended into remote areas.

This course is designed for technology strategists or decision makers at telcos looking to understand the applicability of Magma to their environment. This course is also aimed at rural ISP operators, systems integrators, and anyone looking to set up a lab environment to experiment with Magma or deploy it in production.

This course will help you gain an understanding of the overall Magma architecture and how it fits into the bigger picture of cellular network architectures, particularly 4G/LTE and 5G. You will learn to recognize and understand the main functions of a mobile wireless network, understand the key use cases and value proposition of Magma, the overall architecture of Magma at a functional block level, and the functions performed by each of the main Magma components (Access Gateway, Federation Gateway, and Orchestrator). The course will also provide resources to learn more to deploy Magma on standard hardware.

This course prepares you to fully explore the Magma project. It provides the necessary background to help you determine if Magma is appropriate for your setting, and equips you to start installing and experimenting with the system.

What you'll learn

- Recognize and understand the main functions of a mobile wireless network

- Understand the key use cases and value proposition of Magma

- Describe the overall architecture of Magma at a functional block level

- Understand the functions performed by each of the following main components: Access Gateway, Federation Gateway, Orchestrator

- Know how to learn more to deploy Magma on standard hardware

Syllabus

Welcome!

Ch 1. Introduction to Mobile Cellular Networking

Ch 2. Introduction to the Magma Architecture

Ch 3. The Orchestrator

Ch 4. The Access Gateway (AGW)

Ch 5. The Federation Gateway

Ch 6. The Network Management System (NMS)

Ch 7. Summary

Final Exam (verified track only)