Flexibility
One DU can support multiple RUs with multiple access technologies including 5G NR and 4G LTE in different bands. The DU/CU resources can also be leveraged with MEC resources.
CHALLENGES
Multiple Service Criteria and Base Station Densities Required
- To accommodate new applications, such as cloud gaming, AR/VR and smart factories, operators will need to evolve their mobile networks with flexible architectures to handle vast amounts of data, massive IoT devices and ultra-low latency demand. Legacy proprietary solutions are not enough and result in high operational costs.
- The spectrums used for 5G network, both sub-6G and mmWave, are higher than existing 4G LTE network. This requires much more base stations than it used to be in 4G era to reach the same signal coverage.
- Centralizing multiple access technologies such as millimeter wave (mmWave) radios, LTE and WiFi in one location will also be necessary.
Introducing a flexible and agile 5G network with a cost effective solution is an imperative topic for each operator.
BENEFITS
vRAN with Cots Servers Enable A Flexible, Agile and Cost Effective 5g Network
One way that operators are looking to modernize the network is to adopt the virtualized radio access network (vRAN) which transforms the notion of proprietary hardware-based base stations into software-based that are more flexible, agile, and cost-effective.
The base stations in 5G era can be divided into three parts: radio unit (RU), distributed unit (DU) and centralized unit (CU). DU and CU and be deployed with commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) servers and virtualized network functions to bring benefits including:
Agility
The network can implement dynamic applications and scale out agilely by deploying different virtualized network functions (VNF) and not be constrained by proprietary hardware and software bundle.
Openness
The adoption of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) servers could greatly reduce the infrastructure costs compared with the proprietary ones and spare operators from vendor lock-in.
ARCHITECTURE
5G vRAN Stacks Based on NFV Infrastructure
3GPP R15 has standardized the separation of the upper from the lower parts of the RAN. The base stations in 5G era can be divided into three parts: radio unit (RU), distributed unit (DU) and centralized unit (CU). DU and CU and be deployed with COTS servers and virtualized network functions. Operators can simplify the deployment of new features and algorithms for streamlining resource usage.
One DU can support multiple RUs with multiple access technologies including 5G NR and 4G LTE in different bands. Power x86 servers with FPGA or GPU based accelerators can process large amounts of digital signals processing in real-time to perform the CPRI-to-eCPRI conversion.
EP100G2
The Best All-in-one Platform for 5G CU/DU/5GC/MEC and Private 5G Environment
- 3U Short-Depth Chassis and Front Service for Edge Computing Environment
- ONF Aether Project
- Flexible Sled Design for Various Sled Options
- Pooled Power Supply for Energy Efficiency
- OpenRMC Based System Management
