Open RAN Global Forum

Brought to you by RCR Wireless News

This dynamic forum will discuss the progress of Open RAN and the crucial role of the RIC. It will examine the continually evolving ecosystem of vendors from hardware and software players, down to the silicon level. It will also discuss the latest on commercial deployments, security, and the continuing debate regarding interoperability and parity of performance.

Spirent will be participating in two key sessions during the day-long virtual event:

Panel discussion: 11:05 AM - 11:55 AM EDT
Tackling key integration and interoperability hurdles - how do we reduce cost and complexity? Spirent participant: James Kimery
This panel will discuss operational performance requirements, interoperability hurdles, the increasingly important role of system integrators, testing evolution, the role of CI/CD, real world performance testing and validation, and many other topics.

Presentation: 12:00 PM - 12:20 PM EDT
The critical role of orchestration and automation in piecing Open RAN together. Speaker: Anil Kollipara
Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) is a transformative approach to building mobile networks that promotes vendor interoperability, innovation, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness. As the deployment of Open RAN gains momentum, ensuring seamless integration, rapid deployment, and robust performance becomes crucial. Open RAN changes what used to be a single-vendor, completely integrated and tested RAN into a highly heterogenous network built on microservices-based architecture that requires frequent upgrades, updates, and changes. The multi-vendor permutations and combinations across the O-RU, O-DU, O-CU, RIC, SMO, O-Cloud, security fabric, and various hardware accelerators create an additional layer of complexity.

To manage this complexity, reduce costs, and realize the full potential of Open RAN, automating the lifecycle management of Open RAN CNFs through Continuous Integration, Continuous Deployment, and Continuous Testing (CI/CD/CT) software development practice is extremely important. It is a fundamental enabler for successful deployments. By automating integration, deployment, and testing processes, CI/CD/CT accelerates time-to-market, enhances network agility, ensures compatibility and interoperability, and facilitates collaboration among stakeholders, while improving operational efficiencies. Embracing CI/CD/CT practices within the Open RAN ecosystem is essential to realize the full potential of this innovative network architecture and unlock its benefits for operators, vendors, and end-users alike.

This presentation will detail why CI/CD/CT is critical for successful Open RAN deployments across all three areas:

1. Continuous Integration of diverse vendor components by automating the process of merging, validating, and deploying changes across the network significantly reduces integration complexities and accelerates the time-to-market for new features and enhancements.
2. Continuous Deployment allows for rapid and automated software deployments to facilitate the rollout of network updates, bug fixes, and performance optimizations in a controlled manner, minimizing service disruptions and ensuring the network remains agile and responsive.
3. Continuous Testing ensures the interoperability of components, detects and prevents regressions, and provides early feedback on the performance, reliability, and security of the network.
4. Example of how Spirent is collaborating with a customer to build a complete O-RAN CI/CT/DT solution.