Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
This FAQ compiles the most common questions about the Plaza6G platform, including experiment management, access, monitoring, troubleshooting, and roadmap features.
General Questions
Q: What is Plaza6G?
A: Plaza6G is an open experimentation platform developed by CTTC that allows users to design, deploy, and monitor experiments involving datacenter, edge, and 5G/6G technologies.
Q: Who can use the Plaza6G platform?
A: Researchers, students, and industry partners interested in next-generation network experimentation.
Q: Is access to Plaza6G free?
A: Yes. During the beta phase, all access and experiments are free of charge.
Q: Do I need to install software?
A: No. The entire workflow, including terminal access, runs inside your web browser.
Q: Are my experiments private?
A: Yes. Every experiment is fully isolated and accessible only to the account owner.
Q: Who operates Plaza6G?
A: The platform is operated by CTTC under Spain’s UNICO I+D 6G programme.
Account and Access
Q: How do I create an account?
A: Visit plaza6g.eu, click Sign Up, and complete the registration form.
Q: Can I use institutional credentials?
A: Not yet. Email/password login is currently used; SSO will be added in future updates.
Q: How do I reset my password?
A: Use the Forgot Password option on the login page.
Q: Can I invite collaborators?
A: Not currently. Multi-user collaboration will be supported in a future release.
Experiments and Resources
Q: How do I start an experiment?
A: Go to Setup Experiment, configure your resources, and click Start Experiment.
Q: What types of experiments are supported?
A: Simulated 5G, In-Lab 5G, and (future) Outdoor 5G experiments.
Q: Which 5G cores can I use?
A: Open5GS, Free5GC, and OAI.
Q: How long does deployment take?
A: VMs: ~2 min, Kubernetes clusters: ~5 min, 5G experiments: 5–10 min.
Q: Can I access resources after completion?
A: Yes. All logs, metrics, and CSV results remain archived indefinitely.
Q: What if an experiment fails?
A: Check logs and Grafana metrics in My Experiments, adjust configuration, and redeploy.
Monitoring and Visualization
Q: How do I monitor performance?
A: Each experiment includes live Grafana dashboards for CPU, memory, disk, and traffic.
Q: Can I add my own metrics?
A: Yes. Upload scripts that produce .csv files with labeled columns.
Q: Where are results stored?
A: Under My Experiments → Results.
Access and Security
Q: How do I connect to my VMs or UE devices?
A: Click Open Terminal (SSH) or Open RDP in the experiment details.
Q: Are sessions secure?
A: Yes. All SSH/RDP sessions use temporary credentials and are sandboxed per experiment.
Q: Can I transfer files?
A: Not yet — this feature is planned for future updates.
Q: Is my data protected?
A: Yes. All experiments and data are stored securely within CTTC infrastructure.
Troubleshooting
Q: My experiment is stuck on “In Progress”.
A: Wait for all resources to turn green. If not resolved, verify parameters or redeploy.
Q: Why are Grafana metrics blank?
A: Monitoring agents may still be initializing. Wait 1–2 minutes or validate script outputs.
Q: SSH/RDP won’t connect.
A: Ensure the resource is running (green icon) and reopen the terminal.
Q: Where are logs stored?
A: Inside the VM under /var/log or your experiment directory.
Q: How do I contact support?
A: Email plaza6g@cttc.es with your experiment ID and a description.
Chatbot Assistant
Q: What is the Chatbot Assistant?
A: A built-in LLM assistant that helps with configuration and general platform questions.
Q: Can the chatbot monitor my experiment?
A: Not yet. It cannot read live experiment data in the current version.
Q: What languages are supported?
A: English for now, with multilingual support planned.
Roadmap and Future Features
Q: What new features are planned?
A: Outdoor 5G, REST API automation, multi-script execution, file transfer support, and multi-user collaboration.
Q: Will there be an API?
A: Yes. A REST API for automation is under development.
Q: Will notifications be available?
A: Yes. Email and in-platform alerts are part of the roadmap.
Q: Can users share experiments?
A: Collaboration features are planned for a future release.
Summary for Users
- Plaza6G supports end-to-end experimentation through a fully web-based interface.
- Registration is free during the beta phase.
- No local installations are required — even SSH/RDP runs in the browser.
- All results are archived indefinitely for future access.
- The Chatbot Assistant helps with setup and general guidance.
