Mark Doll

Quantitative analysis of split base station processing and determination of advantageous architectures for LTE

Centralization of the baseband processing in radio access networks may reduce radio site operations costs, reduce capital costs, and ease implementation of multi-site coordination mechanisms such as coordinated multipoint transmission and reception (CoMP). However, the initial architecture proposals for a centralized Long Term Evolution (LTE) deployment using transport of radio samples require a high-bandwidth, low-latency interconnection network. This may be uneconomical, or it may only be cost effective for a limited number of sites. To mitigate that deficiency without sacrificing the benefits of centralized processing, we identified alternative interfacing options between central and remote units. To do so we analyzed possible splits of the Long Term Evolution (LTE) baseband processing chain for their bandwidth and latency requirements. Next, we analyzed the operational impacts of potential splits based on a number of criteria including ease of CoMP introduction, the possibility of realizing pooling gains, and the ability to update the system and introduce new features. Based on our results, we propose architectures that can leverage the benefits of centralization at a much-reduced cost.

An adaptive 5G multiservice and multitenant radio access network architecture

This article provides an overview on objectives and first results of the Horizon 2020 project 5G NOvel Radio Multiservice adaptive network Architecture 5GNORMA. With 5G NORMA, leading players in the mobile ecosystem aim to underpin Europes leadership position in 5G. The key objective of 5G NORMA is to develop a conceptually novel, adaptive and future-proof 5G mobile network architecture. This architecture will allow for adapting the network to a wide range of service specific requirements, resulting in novel service-aware and context-aware end-to-end function chaining. The technical approach is based on an innovative concept of adaptive decomposition and allocation of mobile network functions based on end-user requirements and infrastructure capabilities. At the same time, cost savings and faster time to market are to be expected by joint deployment of logically separated multiservice and multitenant networks on common hardware and other physical resources making use of traffic multiplexing gains. In this context architectural enablers such as network function virtualization and software-defined mobile networking will play a key role for introducing the needed flexible resource assignment to logical networks and specific virtual network functions. Copyright

5G NORMA: System architecture for programmable & multi-tenant 5G mobile networks

This paper describes the status of the 5G NORMA architecture after the second design iteration. It integrates the control and data layer functions developed in the project into a harmonized mobile network architecture, applying the paradigms of adaptive (de-) composition and allocation of network functions (NFs), programmable network control, and end-to-end network slicing. The paper depicts the design of a multi-service management & orchestration layer with dedicated interfaces for mobile network tenants. The security threats arising in virtualized multi-tenant networks are discussed and novel security solutions are presented. The architecture verification applies a methodology with three evaluation cases and the generic 5G services (eMBB, mMTC, and URLLC) to analyze to what extent the current architecture design meets the different requirements as defined in 5G NORMA and the overall ecosystem, including the 5G-PPP initiative and 3GPP.