xRAN Forum OKs management and control, user and synchronization specifications for fronthaul
Network virtualization is a long-term movement in the telecom industry; the long-term goal is to create fully programmable, automated networks built with commercial off the shelf hardware rather than more expensive proprietary solutions. To achieve that goal, interoperability is a key consideration being addressed in the radio access network by the xRAN Forum.
Comprised of major operator and vendor members like AT&T, Verizon, SK Telecom, Mavenir, Nokia and Cisco among others, xRAN Forum this week approved two specifications for fronthaul, the link between centralized baseband units and remote radio heads. These new specifications are part of the group’s larger mission to develop and standardize a software-based RAN.
Specifically, xRAN Forum approved Fronthaul Control, User and Synchronization (CUS) Plane Specification Version 2.0 and Fronthaul Management Plane (MP) Specification Version 1.0, described by the group as “designed to allow a wide range of vendors to develop innovative, best-of-breed RRUS and BBUs for a wide range of deployment scenarios, which can be easily integrated with virtualized infrastructure and management systems using standardized data models.”
Mark Grayson, Distinguished Consulting Engineer in Cisco’s Mobile Internet Technology Group CTO’s Office, also highlight the work xRAN Forum in defining how a 5G radio unit will use the YANG (Yet Another Next Generation) data modeling language. Citing work between Cisco and Mavenir through the industry association, Gray wrote in a July 31 blog, “Not only will the use of native YANG models ensure the easiest route to full multi-vendor interoperability in the future disaggregated RAN, but it should also ease the integration of the management for the lower layer split deployment into existing systems.”
