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A programmable optical network testbed in support of C-RAN: a reliability study

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Abstract

With both mobile network services and related data traffic volume on the rise, reliability of the radio access network is of the essence. A number of radio functional splits are defined by 3GPP to offer increased flexibility of implementation and feasibility of new mobile network services. For example, it is possible to implement certain radio functions in the Cloud, an architectural solution referred to as C-RAN. C-RAN solutions require highly reliable backhaul and fronthaul network designs. This paper describes PROnet, a programmable optical software-defined network testbed, which has been upgraded to offer backhaul and fronthaul transport capabilities in support of C-RAN functionalities with increased reliability. The testbed is upgraded with a specially designed 1 + 1 protection mechanism at the Ethernet layer in order to meet the stringent network round-trip requirements imposed by one of the C-RAN functional split options on the fronthaul.

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Notes

  1. While the correct notation is 5G Core, in the reminder of the paper we use the notation EPC to remain consistent with the documentation provided by OAI, the software implementation that was used in this work.

  2. Notice that at the time of this paper submission, the 1 + 1 protection mechanism is fully functional; however, integration with the restoration mechanism at the optical layer is still in progress.

  3. The module assumes that a packet can only be duplicated and no packet will be received more than twice.

  4. The connected status of the UE was verified by checking the logs at the MME server.

  5. When using IF4.5 in OAI, the interface between DU and CU transfers OFDM symbols with frame, subframe, and symbol count for both the uplink and downlink, as well as PRACH packets [6].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Open Networking Advanced Research (OpNeAR) Lab, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, USA

    Shunmugapriya Ramanathan, Marco Tacca, Miguel Razo, Behzad Mirkhanzadeh & Andrea Fumagalli

  2. Scuola Superiore S. Anna, Pisa, Italy

    Koteswararao Kondepu, Francesco Giannone & Luca Valcarenghi

Authors
  1. Shunmugapriya Ramanathan
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  2. Marco Tacca
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  3. Miguel Razo
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  4. Behzad Mirkhanzadeh
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  5. Koteswararao Kondepu
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  6. Francesco Giannone
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  7. Luca Valcarenghi
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  8. Andrea Fumagalli
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marco Tacca.

Additional information

This research was supported by NSF Grant Nos. CNS-1405405, CNS-1409849, ACI-1541461, and CNS-1531039.

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Ramanathan, S., Tacca, M., Razo, M. et al. A programmable optical network testbed in support of C-RAN: a reliability study. Photon Netw Commun 37, 311–321 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11107-018-00825-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11107-018-00825-9

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