The radio access network (RAN) is central to a wireless network deployment. It’s the physical pieces of equipment we all see out in the wild, sometimes standing proudly and showing off its various antennas, sometimes being shy and trying to hide as a pine tree.
But as these RAN networks continue to evolve based on the latest 5G standards, they are being pruned by virtualized (vRAN) and open RAN platforms designed to provide easier management and control. The next step in this process is the use of a RAN intelligent controller (RIC) to provide operators with a way to manage these vRAN and open RAN systems on a per-bit and per-sector basis.
The RIC operates in the middle of a RAN deployment as a kind of linkage to the wider network. It allows operators to deploy xApps and rApps that then allow operators to design and control RAN functions, providing administrative RAN sovereignty over functions that are typically implemented as proprietary features on base stations. These “apps” are microservices-based applications operating in near-real time (xApps) and non-real time (rApps) that provide an operator with more control over their open RAN environments.
RIC development has steadily gained attention from vendors looking to help operators manage their growing RAN infrastructure. VMware, for instance, recently added Viavi Solutions to its RIC ecosystem, bringing standardized framework and metric testing to its platform.
Juniper Networks has also been making progress in the RIC space. Japan’s Rakuten Symphony late last year selected the vendor’s RIC platform as the sole selection as part of the Rakuten Symworld Platform. The vendor has also conducted a multivendor RIC trial with European telecom giant Vodafone and open RAN provider Parallel Wireless.
Jai Thattil, senior director and head of service provider strategic marketing at Juniper Networks, joined us on the latest SDxCentral 7 Layers podcast to provide more details into the vendor’s RIC work, what has gone into developing a RIC platform to work across vendors and operators, and challenges still facing the still maturing ecosystem.
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