Introduction
==============

Aether is an open source 5G edge cloud platform that supports
enterprise deployments of Private 5G. Information about the Aether
project can be found on the ONF website, and an introduction to the
Aether architecture can be found in a companion book:

.. _reading_private5g:
.. admonition:: Further Reading

   `Aether: An ONF Project <https://opennetworking.org/aether/>`_.

   L. Peterson, O. Sunay, and B. Davie. `Private 5G: A Systems
   Approach <https://5g.systemsapproach.org>`__. 2023


Getting Started with Aether
---------------------------

:doc:`Aether OnRamp </onramp/overview>` is now the recommended way to
get started with Aether. It defines a step-by-step procedure for
deploying and operating Aether on your own hardware, including support
for `5G small cell
<https://opennetworking.org/products/moso-canopy-5g-indoor-small-cell/>`__
radios.

Other Aether guides available on this site include:

* :doc:`Developing for Aether </developer/roc>`: Learn how to
  contribute back to Aether.

* :doc:`Runtime Operations </operations/gui>`: Learn how
  to operate Aether's 5G connectivity service.

* :doc:`Test Automation </testing/about_system_tests>`: Learn how Aether
  components are tested.

Note that Aether was originally deployed as a centrally-managed,
ONF-operated cloud service, with the expectation that organizations
would participate in Aether by connecting their edge site to this
operational deployment.\ [#]_ That service has now been deprecated in
favor of users bringing up their own Aether sites using :doc:`OnRamp
</onramp/overview>`.

.. [#] The original Aether service supported the Pronto research
       project, with edge clusters built on top of an SDN-controlled
       and fully programmable switching fabric.  That fabric is no
       longer included in Aether OnRamp.


Aether Components
------------------------

Aether builds on two main subsystems: SD-Core (a cloud native Mobile
Core) and SD-RAN (an O-RAN compliant, software-based RAN).
Additional documentation for each is available at:

* :doc:`SD-Core Documentation <sdcore:index>`
* :doc:`SD-RAN Documentation <sdran:index>`

More information about 5G and Aether's architecture can be found in
the :doc:`Private 5G: A Systems Approach <sysapproach5g:index>` book.

Community
---------

Information about participating in the Aether community and
development process can be found on the `ONF Wiki
<https://wiki.opennetworking.org/display/COM/Aether>`_.  Join the
discussion about Aether on Slack in the `ONF Community Workspace
<https://onf-community.slack.com/>`__.