Category: Trends

In this post, we focus on the implementation of a simple xApp tailored for the traffic steering use case. The goal of this xApp is to support the network providers to reassign the traffic from one gNB to the other in order to meet some predefined criteria. We will see some results of the great opportunity offered by Open RAN that the operator can easily install, modify or remove the xApp when needed.

In this post, we briefly present, how the concept of open RAN meets immediately one of the key approaches in distributed software design, mainly CI/CD. Clearly, these two domains cannot be compared directly, but as we will see, the O-RAN concept modifies significantly the whole software design process.

Open RAN is the separation of software functionality from the underlying hardware. This is called “disaggregation.” It is also the process of defining functional blocks in the network and clearly and precisely specifying the interfaces between those functional blocks. Most who study such things believe it to be true. But before we break out the Champaign, we should be a bit more circumspect and evaluate the threats to Open RAN. What might prevent Open RAN from reaching its potential?

Open RAN, as a new approach to building mobile networks, offers faster innovation and the possibility of lowering costs. This whitepaper provides an overview of Open RAN in general, and O-RAN specifically. The O-RAN concept, relevant standardization, and ecosystem players are introduced. The architecture as defined by the O-RAN Alliance is described. Near-Real-Time RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) along with the idea of xApps is discussed. The use cases for O-RAN are overviewed with a particular focus on Traffic Steering.

Like almost everything in Telecom's, Open RAN is complicated. It's not a single idea. It's not a single product or service. It's not an optimization technique or path towards improved efficiency. It’s hardly even an agreed term. Open RAN is essentially 2 foundational ideas: 1) The disaggregation of network functionality from the underlying hardware. 2) The specification of discrete functional blocks having well-defined interfaces. In other words, modularity.

The O-RAN Alliance specifies certain use cases with requirements that provide a landscape for the development of xApps. This post provides an overview of the use cases and discusses in more details one of them, namely Traffic Steering. This use case is being developed in various open source implementations as one of the initial practical applications within O-RAN framework.