6,822 research outputs found
Cloud technologies for flexible 5G radio access networks
The evolution toward 5G mobile networks will be characterized by an increasing number of wireless devices, increasing device and service complexity, and the requirement to access mobile services ubiquitously. Two key enablers will allow the realization of the vision of 5G: very dense deployments and centralized processing. This article discusses the challenges and requirements in the design of 5G mobile networks based on these two key enablers. It discusses how cloud technologies and flexible functionality assignment in radio access networks enable network densification and centralized operation of the radio access network over heterogeneous backhaul networks. The article describes the fundamental concepts, shows how to evolve the 3GPP LTE architecture, and outlines the expected benefits.The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme FP7/2007-2013 under grant agreement no. 317941-project iJOIN, http://www.ict-ijoin.eu.Publicad
CN2F: A Cloud-Native Cellular Network Framework
Upcoming 5G and Beyond 5G (B5G) cellular networks aim to improve the
efficiency and flexibility of mobile networks by incorporating various
technologies, such as Software Defined Networking (SDN), Network Function
Virtualization (NFV), and Network Slicing (NS). In this paper, we share our
findings, accompanied by a comprehensive online codebase, about the best
practice of using different open-source projects in order to realize a flexible
testbed for academia and industrial Research and Development (R&D) activities
on the future generation of cellular networks. In particular, a Cloud-Native
Cellular Network Framework (CN2F) is presented which uses OpenAirInterface's
codebase to generate cellular Virtual Network Functions (VNFs) and deploys
Kubernetes to disperse and manage them among some worker nodes. Moreover, CN2F
leverages ONOS and Mininet to emulate the effect of the IP transport networks
in the fronthaul and backhaul of real cellular networks. In this paper, we also
showcase two use cases of CN2F to demonstrate the importance of Edge Computing
(EC) and the capability of Radio Access Network (RAN) slicing
Will SDN be part of 5G?
For many, this is no longer a valid question and the case is considered
settled with SDN/NFV (Software Defined Networking/Network Function
Virtualization) providing the inevitable innovation enablers solving many
outstanding management issues regarding 5G. However, given the monumental task
of softwarization of radio access network (RAN) while 5G is just around the
corner and some companies have started unveiling their 5G equipment already,
the concern is very realistic that we may only see some point solutions
involving SDN technology instead of a fully SDN-enabled RAN. This survey paper
identifies all important obstacles in the way and looks at the state of the art
of the relevant solutions. This survey is different from the previous surveys
on SDN-based RAN as it focuses on the salient problems and discusses solutions
proposed within and outside SDN literature. Our main focus is on fronthaul,
backward compatibility, supposedly disruptive nature of SDN deployment,
business cases and monetization of SDN related upgrades, latency of general
purpose processors (GPP), and additional security vulnerabilities,
softwarization brings along to the RAN. We have also provided a summary of the
architectural developments in SDN-based RAN landscape as not all work can be
covered under the focused issues. This paper provides a comprehensive survey on
the state of the art of SDN-based RAN and clearly points out the gaps in the
technology.Comment: 33 pages, 10 figure
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