Tag: Open RAN

Time synchronization has recently emerged as an important requirement in telecom networks for several reasons. It ensures that devices and systems across networks operate cohesively, which is crucial for data integrity and maintaining the quality of the service. Additionally, accurate timekeeping is vital for security protocols, as many encryption methods rely on precise timestamps.

O-RAN ALLIANCE prioritizes security, with WG11 leading the development of security-focused specifications for a secure-by-design O-RAN architecture. This includes identifying threats, risks, requirements, and protocols for O-RAN components, along with test specifications. The O-RAN Security Threat Modeling and Risk Assessment report defines critical assets, threat models, and security principles. Technical reports address specific security requirements and protocols. O-RAN's ZTA ensures continuous monitoring, risk assessment, and dynamic security operations through control loops and RICs. It also supports context-aware security management for a high Quality of Security. In this blog post, we discuss the interplay between the level of cybersecurity provided by O-RAN applications and the energy cost of such security.

The concept of the Digital Twin (DT) has been around for years, but it has recently gained increased recognition. A Digital Twin is a software-based representation of a real-world system, device, or invention, designed to mimic its real-life counterpart as closely as possible. In this blog post, we explore the concept of DT and its potential impact on future networks. We highlight the benefits of using Network Digital Twins (NDTs) and demonstrate how integrating AI and ML with DT can enhance overall network performance. Additionally, we present the O-RAN ALLIANCE's perspective on DT and discuss potential future developments in this area.

This blog details our work on extending Traffic Steering within the O-RAN framework through Hierarchical Traffic Management. We evaluate it in a challenging scenario involving a heterogeneous network with high mobility, where the behavior and service usage of UEs change significantly over time. The use case addresses dynamic network changes, including the appearance of high-priority emergency services like Emergency Special Services and First Responders and a complex denial of service cyberattack during high-demand situations.

In the current heterogeneous mobile networks, traffic management is considered one of the key features to efficiently handle non-uniform user data. To realize this, the traffic steering function is employed, whose main task is to allocate users' traffic flows to network nodes or cells. O-RAN ALLIANCE provides means to support traffic steering through the utilization of Non- and Near-RT RIC frameworks and the accompanied rApps and xApps. This whitepaper provides an overview of the traffic steering topic in 5G mobile networks and how it fits into the O-RAN area. This is followed up by example implementations of the Traffic Steering xApp and its utilization for various use cases working in tandems with the corresponding rApps for energy saving and V2X scenarios.

This blog post discusses in detail two options for notification of the TS-xApp on the ES actions from the O-RAN specifications perspective. The first option is to utilize the A1 interface to send policies with a “FORBID” clause for cells that will be switched off, to indicate TS-xApp that users should be removed from this cell. The second approach is to utilize the E2SM-CCC, where the TS-xApp listens to the changes in O-CES Management Function.