  This article documents one of the world's first standards-compliant
pre-commercial end-to-end 5th generation (5G) systems. Focus is on a
standardized 5G architecture which includes the underlying 3GPP components but
also the ETSI Network Function Virtualization (NFV) management and
orchestration capabilities. The truly innovative character of 5G enabling
fundamental changes to architecture and implementation is discussed, and
details of monitoring and orchestration approaches that are deemed instrumental
in unlocking the full potential of 5G. Finally, it is important to us to share
the lessons learned which we hope are of use to industry and academia alike
when building, deploying and testing emerging 5G systems.
