Demystifying ORAN: What You Need to Know About This Innovative Tech

​​​​ORAN represents a promising new approach to building mobile networks that offers a number of potential benefits. However, it also poses several challenges that will need to be addressed in order to ensure its success which we’ll take a closer look at later in this article.

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​ORAN stands for Open Radio Access Network. It is a new approach to building mobile networks that is based on the principles of open interfaces, SDN or software defined networking, and virtualisation. The goal of ORAN is to create a more flexible and efficient mobile network architecture that can adapt to changing user needs and traffic patterns.

Open RAN (O-RAN) stakeholders aim to revolutionise radio access networks (RANs) by replacing centralised signal processing units with closed interfaces with flexible, plug-and-play virtual architectures featuring open APIs. If successful, this approach could promote diversity in supply chains and lower costs by enabling the use of multiple vendors and software-defined RAN architectures.
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Despite the potential benefits, service providers remain cautious about O-RAN due to its lack of maturity. There are concerns about the practicality of a distributed, multivendor approach in real-world networks, as well as questions about whether it can deliver the necessary performance and robustness for 5G use cases while avoiding new security risks. Additionally, there is uncertainty around whether a more complex supply chain will actually result in reduced costs.

Overview of ORAN Architecture

​ORAN (Open Radio Access Network) is a network architecture designed to provide greater flexibility, scalability, and interoperability to radio access networks. The ORAN architecture is composed of several components, including Radio Units (RU), Distributed Units (DU), Centralised Units (CU), and Radio Intelligent Controllers (RIC) as shown in the figure below.​

​Logical Architecture of O-RAN

• Radio Units (RU): The RU is the physical hardware that provides the interface between the mobile device and the network. It handles the wireless signal transmission and reception and is typically located close to the mobile device. In ORAN, the RU can be sourced from different vendors, and its interface with the DU is standardised.
• Distributed Units (DU): The DU is responsible for signal processing and provides the necessary processing power to handle wireless communication. It is usually located closer to the RU and can be sourced from different vendors. The interface between the RU and DU is based on standardised protocols defined by the ORAN Alliance.
• Centralised Units (CU): The CU provides a centralised pool of resources that can be used to support multiple DUs. It is responsible for handling control and signaling functions and can be located either on-premise or in a centralised cloud infrastructure. The CU can be sourced from different vendors, and its interface with the DU is standardised.
• Radio Intelligent Controllers (RIC): The RIC provides a centralised control plane function that can be used to optimise network performance and automate network management. It is responsible for managing and configuring the RAN and can be located either on-premise or in a centralised cloud infrastructure. The RIC is an optional component in the ORAN architecture and is not required for basic functionality.

 
In the ORAN architecture, the interfaces between the different components are based on standardised protocols, which enable greater flexibility and interoperability. This allows network operators to mix and match components from different vendors, reducing dependence on a single vendor and promoting innovation and competition. Additionally, the ORAN architecture can be deployed in a variety of deployment scenarios, including on-premise and in the cloud, enabling greater scalability and cost-effectiveness.

​​The Benefits of ORAN

The radio access network (RAN) industry has been dominated by a few large vendors with proprietary interfaces, resulting in a lack of flexibility, interoperability, and innovation. ORAN promises to change that by introducing a multivendor, open architecture with plug-and-play capabilities and open APIs.

​ORAN has the potential to transform the wireless industry by providing a more open, flexible, and cost-effective approach to building and operating mobile networks. The benefits of ORAN include:
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• Vendor diversity: ORAN allows network operators to use hardware and software from multiple vendors, which promotes competition and innovation while reducing dependence on a single vendor.
• Cost savings: By using open and standardised interfaces, ORAN can reduce the cost of deploying and operating mobile networks, since operators can mix and match hardware and software components from different vendors.
• Flexibility: ORAN enables network operators to tailor their networks to their specific needs, rather than being locked into a one-sise-fits-all solution. This means that operators can optimise their networks for different use cases, such as low latency applications for autonomous vehicles or high bandwidth applications for video streaming.
• Interoperability: ORAN promotes interoperability between different network components, which can improve network efficiency and reduce complexity. This is especially important as networks become more complex and diverse, with different generations of wireless technology and a wide variety of devices and applications.
• Innovation: By promoting competition and diversity in the vendor ecosystem, ORAN can encourage innovation in both hardware and software. This can lead to new features and services that enhance the user experience and increase revenue opportunities for network operators.

The Challenges of ORAN

​While ORAN offers numerous benefits, it also faces several challenges that need to be addressed. Some of these challenges include:
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• Immature ecosystem: The ORAN ecosystem is still in its early stages, and there are few vendors and solutions available compared to the traditional closed, proprietary systems. This may limit the choices available to network operators and lead to higher costs for hardware and software.
• Integration complexity: Since ORAN relies on a disaggregated architecture, integrating different hardware and software components from different vendors can be complex and time-consuming. This may require specialised skills and expertise, which may not be available in-house.
• Interoperability issues: While ORAN aims to promote interoperability, ensuring that different components from different vendors work seamlessly together can be challenging. This may require extensive testing and validation before deployment.
• Security concerns: ORAN's open architecture may also pose security risks, as it is more susceptible to attacks from malicious actors. Operators will need to ensure that appropriate security measures are in place to protect their networks and users.
• Performance trade-offs: While ORAN's flexibility can offer significant benefits, there may be trade-offs in terms of performance and efficiency. Network operators will need to carefully consider the trade-offs between performance and flexibility when designing their networks.

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While ORAN offers many potential benefits, addressing these challenges will be critical for its widespread adoption and success. One of the key concerns is cybersecurity so lets take a closer look.

ORAN Security Vulnerabilities

​ORAN is an emerging technology that aims to create more open and interoperable standards for mobile networks. While ORAN has the potential to improve the efficiency and flexibility of mobile networks, it also presents a range of security vulnerabilities that must be addressed to ensure the security and stability of the network.​ Here are some key security vulnerabilities of ORAN:

• Misconfigured access controls: Misconfigured access controls can allow unauthorised access to the network or the installation of rogue software or hardware.
• Malicious attacks on the control plane: ORAN's control plane is vulnerable to a range of malicious attacks, including denial of service (DoS) attacks, man-in-the-middle attacks, and eavesdropping.
• Insecure interfaces: Insecure interfaces between different network elements can create vulnerabilities that can be exploited by cybercriminals.
• Insider threats: The use of ORAN relies on a large number of employees and contractors who have access to sensitive network data and infrastructure. This creates a risk that insiders could intentionally or unintentionally compromise the security of the network.
• Firmware vulnerabilities: ORAN relies on firmware to control hardware devices. However, firmware can be vulnerable to attacks, and a compromised firmware could allow an attacker to take control of a device.
• Vulnerable hardware: The use of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware can create vulnerabilities if the hardware is not properly secured or if it contains known vulnerabilities.

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Securing ORAN requires a comprehensive approach that addresses a range of cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities. This includes implementing strong access controls, regularly monitoring network activity, conducting regular security audits, and staying up-to-date with the latest security threats and best practices. By taking proactive steps to secure ORAN, providers can help to ensure the stability and security of mobile networks and protect against potential cyber threats.

ORAN Testing Requirements

​The testing requirements of ORAN are critical to ensure that different hardware and software components from different vendors work seamlessly together and comply with the specifications defined by ORAN. ​
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Some of the testing requirements of ORAN include:
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• Conformance testing: Conformance testing ensures that different hardware and software components comply with the ORAN specifications. This involves testing individual components, as well as their interactions with other components.
• Interoperability testing: Interoperability testing ensures that different components from different vendors work seamlessly together. This involves testing the end-to-end performance of the network, including radio access, transport, and core network components.
• Performance testing: Performance testing ensures that the network meets the required performance criteria, such as throughput, latency, and reliability. This involves testing under different conditions, such as varying loads, traffic patterns, and network topologies.
• Security testing: Security testing ensures that the network is secure against different types of attacks, such as denial-of-service attacks and data breaches. This involves testing the network's ability to detect and prevent attacks, as well as its resilience to attack.
• Field testing: Field testing involves testing the network in real-world conditions, such as in different geographical locations, weather conditions, and user scenarios. This is important to validate the network's performance and user experience.

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Ensuring that ORAN networks meet the required testing requirements is critical to ensure that they are reliable, secure, and performant. This requires a comprehensive testing strategy that includes both laboratory testing and field testing under different scenarios and conditions.

Automation of ORAN: Build, Test, Delpoy

​CI/CD/CT pipeline automation for ORAN refers to the process of automatically building, testing, and deploying ORAN software updates. ORAN is an open-source software-defined radio access network architecture that aims to provide more flexibility, openness, and innovation in the 5G ecosystem.

​Continuous Integration (CI) refers to the process of continuously integrating code changes into a shared repository, ensuring that the changes do not break the build. This involves building the code and running automated tests to catch any errors as soon as possible.

Continuous Delivery (CD) refers to the process of continuously delivering software changes to production-like environments, ensuring that the software can be released at any time. This involves automating the deployment process, so that releases can be made quickly and reliably.

Continuous Testing (CT) refers to the process of continuously testing software throughout the development lifecycle, from development to production. This involves automated testing of the software to identify defects and vulnerabilities as soon as possible.

To automate the CI/CD/CT pipeline for ORAN, various tools can be used, including:
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• GitLab CI/CD: This tool allows for automated building, testing, and deployment of ORAN software updates.
• Jenkins: This is a popular automation server that can be used to build, test, and deploy ORAN software.
• Docker: This containerization tool can be used to create lightweight and portable environments for testing and deployment.
• Kubernetes: This container orchestration tool can be used to automate the deployment and scaling of ORAN software in production-like environments.

Overall, CI/CD/CT pipeline automation for ORAN is essential for ensuring that software updates are delivered quickly and reliably while maintaining the quality and reliability of the network.​

Challenges of CI/CD/CT Pipeline Automation

​​Continuous Integration - Continuous Deployment - Continuous Testing (CI/CD/CT) automated pipelines are used to automate the software development process in the  ORAN infrastructure. However, there are several challenges that are associated with implementing CI/CD/CT pipelines for ORAN. These include the following:
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• Hardware diversity: ORAN supports a wide range of hardware components from different vendors, which may have different software interfaces and integration requirements. This can make it difficult to automate the integration and testing of hardware components in CI/CD/CT pipelines.
• Software complexity: ORAN software components are often complex and interdependent, which can make it challenging to automate the testing and deployment of software components. This complexity can also lead to longer testing and deployment times, which can impact the overall development cycle.
• Testing requirements: ORAN requires extensive testing to ensure that different hardware and software components work seamlessly together and comply with the ORAN specifications. This requires a comprehensive testing strategy that includes both laboratory testing and field testing under different scenarios and conditions, which can be challenging to automate.
• Skillset requirements: Implementing CI/CD/CT pipelines for ORAN requires specialised skills and expertise, which may not be available in-house. This can make it difficult to implement and maintain CI/CD/CT pipelines for ORAN, especially for smaller organisations.
• Standardisation: ORAN is still in the early stages of development, and there are few standardisation efforts for CI/CD/CT pipelines. This can make it challenging to implement consistent CI/CD/CT pipelines across different ORAN networks and components.

 
Addressing these challenges is critical to ensure that CI/CD/CT pipelines for ORAN are effective and efficient. This requires a comprehensive approach that includes standardisation, testing automation, and the development of specialised skills and expertise.

Addressing the CI/CD/CT Pipeline Challenges

​​​​There are several strategies that can be used to overcome the challenges associated with implementing CI/CD/CT Pipeline Automation for ORAN including:
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• Standardisation: Standardisation is critical to ensure that different ORAN components and networks are interoperable and can be easily integrated and tested. Organisations can contribute to standardisation efforts and adopt standardisation frameworks such as ORAN Alliance, TIP (Telecom Infra Project) to facilitate the automation of CI/CD/CT pipelines.
• Testing automation: Testing automation is crucial to reducing the time and effort required for testing ORAN components. Organisations can invest in testing automation frameworks such as Robot Framework, Jenkins, or OpenTest to automate the testing process.
• Continuous Integration: Continuous Integration helps to ensure that new code changes are integrated into the ORAN network quickly and efficiently. This requires a robust build infrastructure and development environment that can handle multiple code changes simultaneously.
• Continuous Deployment: Continuous Deployment enables the rapid and automated deployment of new code changes to the ORAN network. Organisations can use deployment automation frameworks such as Ansible, Puppet, or Chef to automate the deployment process.
• Collaboration: Collaboration between different stakeholders, such as network operators, hardware vendors, and software vendors, is critical to ensuring the successful implementation of CI/CD/CT pipelines for ORAN. Organisations can create cross-functional teams that include representatives from different stakeholders to facilitate collaboration and coordination.

 
Addressing the challenges associated with implementing CI/CD/CT Pipeline Automation for ORAN requires a comprehensive approach that includes standardisation, testing automation, continuous integration and deployment, and collaboration. By adopting these strategies, organisations can overcome the challenges associated with ORAN development and deployment and achieve the benefits of automated software development and deployment. For more information about CI/CD/CT pipeline automation, check out my previous article on The Power of Automation: Implementing a CI/CD Pipeline.

Conclusion

​​In conclusion, ORAN has the potential to revolutionise the radio access network (RAN) industry with its promise of increased scalability, improved 5G use case performance, and reduced costs. With its distributed, multivendor approach and open APIs, operators anticipate diversified supply chains and lower costs through flexible, software-defined RAN architectures.

However, there are concerns about ORAN's lack of maturity and whether its distributed, multivendor approach will be practical in real networks. Service providers also need to implement test solutions to ensure that ORAN will perform as well as or better than a traditional, monolithic RAN. Interoperability between different vendor units, seamless feature working across different units, and security risks are some of the challenges that need to be addressed.
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Integrated end-to-end testing, automation, and collaboration between different vendors and service providers can help overcome these challenges, ensure the success of ORAN, and provide new opportunities for innovation and growth in the RAN industry. Overall, the benefits of ORAN far outweigh the challenges, making it a promising technology for the future of wireless communications.