Tag: Open RAN

Recently, security has been pointed out as one of the critical aspects moving forward within the O-RAN domain. Expanded threat surface, as well as specific security challenges and opportunities, have been identified. This whitepaper provides an overview of security topics in O-RAN, specifically in 5G/6G mobile radio networks. We also consider artificial intelligence embedded in the network edge as a great tool to support security. We present some xApps applied to detect and mitigate example attacks. Conclusions and a discussion on the directions of future developments follow this.

Signaling Storm is a specific case of DoS or DDoS attack identified by the O-RAN ALLIANCE to be addressed by xApps. When firing this kind of attack, devices authorized (or not) to access the network make repeated attempts to connect to the network, "clogging up" the RACH. In addition, due to the multi-stage nature of the hand-shaking procedure, a whole range of redundant control information is generated in the access and core network. It is, therefore, essential to quickly locate the source of this threat and decide to reject the connection request at an early stage of registration. In this blog, we present a signaling storm detection approach and a proposed algorithm to be implemented as an xApp for O-RAN RIC.

The operating patterns of adversaries attacking the open radio interface are complicated and not obvious, e.g., an adversary carrying out a jamming attack may change the attacked band or periodically interrupt jamming. The prospective defense algorithms should be able to not only detect anomalies but also adapt to a variety of attack mechanisms. This can be done by AI/ML methods, which have been researched over the last years. In this post, we present an AI/ML-based jamming attack detection and analysis mechanism for Near-RT RIC.

Energy consumption is a critical aspect of any service in these modern times. In telecommunications, a flexible approach to network planning, control, and management is extremely beneficial in this aspect. The concept of O-RAN enables the creation of algorithms that allow energy saving in a manner independent of the equipment or RAN software solution used. In this blog post, we present an innovative approach to energy saving using the RIC, which is based on the direct cooperation of Traffic Steering xApp and Energy Saving rApp.

Deployment scenarios that the O-RAN ALLIANCE specifies, define how to compose the elements of O-RAN architecture in the actual deployment in the network within the cloud and physical locations. One of the key aspects is that the general split from the deployment perspective is the open Fronthaul, with the the separation between O-Cloud deployed entities, and the PNF, for O-RU component. In this blog post, we are providing an overview of different scenarios and deployment options as presented in the O-RAN resources.

Rimedo Labs integrated a Traffic Steering xApp into the VMware dRIC. Rimedo’s Policy-Controlled Traffic Steering xApp running on the VMware Distributed RIC incorporates both service and mobility load balancing to avoid congestion, improve user experience and make the network more energy efficient. Rimedo’s xApp was the winner of the inaugural rAppathon RIC application developer competition hosted by VMware and Intel at MWC 2023.