vRAN and Cloud RAN: Navigating the Future of Telecommunications
Dinesh Jakhar
Technical Specialist | Ericsson R&D Engineer | IEEE Member | IIIT | 6G, 5G, LTE, ORAN, RAN, Cloud, and Virtualization
Welcome to the third edition of the “Next-Gen Connect: B5G/6G” newsletter, where we explore the latest trends and technologies driving the transformation of the telecommunications industry. In this edition, we dig into the significant shift of network migration to the cloud and the emergence of cloud-native architecture.
The telecommunications industry is undergoing a remarkable transition, this transformation begins with virtualization i.e. enabling the transition from hardware to software functionality, and now many operators embark on the journey of migrating their networks to the cloud.
Traditionally, RAN infrastructure relied on proprietary hardware and software, making it inflexible, difficult to scale, and expensive to maintain. However, the increasing demand for high-speed mobile data services and the need to support new technologies like 5G and IOT have driven the evolution of RAN towards cloud-based solutions. These solutions leverage the scalability, security, and reliability of cloud infrastructure to meet the growing demands of customers.
Initially introduced in the Core domain through packet core, virtualization is now being targeted in the RAN domain as well. The migration of RAN components to the cloud is crucial to fully leverage the benefits of 5G. A notable development in this area is the emergence of virtualized RAN(#vran), where the digital baseband functions are implemented in software on a cloud platform.
Transitioning to Virtual RAN (vRAN): Virtualizing various components of physical hardware through VMs leads to the creation of a virtual RAN (vRAN) solution. It is important to differentiate between vRAN and Cloud RAN (C-RAN). While vRAN virtualizes the RAN infrastructure using on-premises hardware, Cloud RAN incorporates cloud technology, deploying the RAN infrastructure in public, private, or hybrid cloud environments.
To support the development of #5g , B5G, and future #6g networks, network softwarization, containerization, and cloudification play vital roles. Network softwarization involves virtualizing network functions and deploying them as software, enabling greater flexibility, scalability, and faster deployment of new network functions. Containerization, on the other hand, packages software into lightweight and portable containers, simplifying deployment and management in cloud-based environments. Cloudification refers to the migration of network functions and services to cloud environments, offering scalability, flexibility, and cost efficiency. Adopting a cloud-native architecture becomes crucial to maximize the benefits, as it allows network functions and services to be designed and optimized specifically for deployment in cloud environments. Micro-services, which are small, independent, and loosely coupled components, are key elements of cloud-native architectures, empowering operators to deploy, scale, and manage them independently.
Cloud-native technologies, such as containers, orchestration platforms (e.g., Kubernetes), and service meshes, provide network operators with agility, scalability, and rapid innovation capabilities. By deploying softwarized network functions in a cloud-native environment, operators can dynamically allocate resources, efficiently slice networks, and provision services on demand. These advancements contribute to the evolution of network architectures, making them more flexible, adaptable, and capable of supporting diverse services and use cases.
Ongoing research activities aim to optimize the performance, security, and reliability of network softwarization, containerization, and cloudification within the context of 5G, Beyond 5G, and future 6G networks. This approach offers several advantages, including increased agility, flexibility, scalability, reduced costs, and improved security.
To provide a clearer understanding of the technologies involved, let's dig into each of them:
Network softwarization: This process involves converting network functions into software, enabling greater flexibility, scalability, and faster deployment of new network functions.
Containerization: It allows software to be packaged in lightweight and portable containers, simplifying deployment and management in cloud-based environments.
Cloudification: This process involves deploying software in the cloud, offering enhanced scalability, flexibility, and accessibility from anywhere.
Cloud-native architecture: Designed specifically for deployment in the cloud, this approach leverages the unique features of the cloud, such as scalability, elasticity, and availability.
Cloud-native architecture and technologies provide a scalable application framework for modern, dynamic environments like public, private, and hybrid clouds. Key concepts like containers, pods, service meshes, microservices, immutable infrastructure, and declarative APIs exemplify this methodology.
There are many advantages like Increased agility and flexibility, Improved scalability, Reduced costs, Increased security etc.
This shift enables operators to support emerging technologies and services like edge computing and network slicing, which are essential for meeting the demands of customers seeking high-speed mobile data services and low-latency communication. Moreover, virtualization technology allows operators to deploy and manage RAN solutions in a more flexible and cost-effective manner. By leveraging cloud-based infrastructure and services provided by hyperscalers like AWS, Azure, and GCP, operators can easily scale their RAN infrastructure, ensuring security, reliability, and compliance with regulatory requirements, ensuring faster and more reliable services without the burden of building and maintaining their own infrastructure.
The introduction of OpenRAN (Radio Access Network) has brought new challenges for telco operators in terms of managing and maintaining dedicated physical servers for the DU (Distribution Unit) and CU (Centralized Unit) functions. Without virtualization, RAN infrastructure requires numerous physical devices, leading to increased complexity and costs.
An excellent example of a cloud-native radio access network is the Open virtual Radio Access Network (Open vRAN) defined by the O-RAN Alliance. Its disaggregated architecture and containerized approach, running virtual Centralized Units (vCU) and virtual Distributed Units (vDU) on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware, bring numerous benefits to network carriers, including total cost of ownership (TCO) reduction, automation, and innovation.
领英推荐
Power of Automation and Cloud-Native Technologies in Virtualizing RAN:
The evolution of telecommunication networks has brought forth the need for virtualized Radio Access Network (vRAN) solutions. However, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) have faced challenges in implementing RAN virtualization due to complexity and the high demand for product investments. Nevertheless, there is a promising solution on the horizon: automation magic powered by software (SW) and cloud-native technologies. By building a cloud infrastructure for vRAN, MNOs can make a significant and successful investment in the future of mobile operations.
Unlocking the Potential of Automation: Automation, particularly orchestration, plays a crucial role in the successful development and deployment of virtualized RAN functions. Leveraging the power of software and cloud-native technologies, MNOs can achieve a zero-touch automation approach for vRAN, spanning in three stages like operations, deployments, and configurations.
Stage1 Automation: Controlling Hardware and Remote Installation: Automation focuses on controlling hardware and facilitating remote installations of the necessary software for each specific site. Whether utilizing open stack or Kubernetes (K8s), this approach ensures pre-configured Cloud Native Functions (CNFs) are in place for seamless vRAN deployment.
Stage2 Automation: Readying the Environment for vRAN Components: Automation is dedicated to preparing the environment for vRAN components. It establishes the necessary infrastructure and ensures the seamless integration of the virtualized components into the existing network.
Stage3 Automation: Production-Ready Operations and Predictive Analytics: Automation takes vRAN operations to the next level. It enables MNOs to control the site with Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) for software builds and closed-loop automation based on real-time self-healing capabilities. Additionally, cloud observability and AI/ML-based analytics allow operators to predict and mitigate any potential issues efficiently.
Building a Self-Contained Standalone Structure:
While the concept of virtualizing RAN may sound daunting, creating a self-contained standalone structure is not as challenging as it may seem. To achieve this, MNOs can adopt the following steps:
Hiring More Software Engineers: Increasing the number of skilled software engineers within the organization is crucial for transforming the team's mindset from manual thinking to a more software and AI-driven approach.
Collaboration with Vendors: Collaborating with vendors and encouraging them to adopt common tools and technologies will streamline the integration process, ensuring compatibility and ease of deployment.
Delivery Excellence: Establishing a dedicated delivery excellence team that follows a phased and road-based approach map will help ensure the successful implementation of automation and cloud-native technologies.
Conclusion:
The adoption of cloud-native architecture offers a range of advantages, including increased agility and flexibility, improved scalability, reduced costs, and increased security.
The migration to cloud-native networks represents an exciting and transformative phase for the telecommunications industry. It empowers operators to embrace new possibilities, enhance network performance, and deliver innovative services to their customers.
To stay ahead of the competition, operators must remain updated with the latest developments in RAN and cloud computing. By keeping themselves informed about the latest technologies and trends, operators can make informed decisions that benefit their business and position them to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the ongoing evolution of RAN towards cloud computing.
Thank you for reading the third edition of the “Next-Gen Connect: B5G/6G” Newsletter. I will continue to closely monitor the progress in this area and bring you the latest updates in our upcoming newsletters.
Stay tuned for more exciting updates on the groundbreaking potential of Beyond 5G (B5G) and 6G!