Performance Analysis of Evolved RAN Architectures with Open Interfaces

The paper presents a short overview of the evolution of the Radio Access Network (RAN) towards virtualized, open and intelligent RAN architectures. Major KPIs used for performance analysis in the process of the evolution of the RAN are identified. KPIs that are considered of primary importance for ensuring high-quality multimedia communications (MMC) in a scenario of wireless Radio Access Networks based on 4G/5G Open-RAN architectures are measured and analyzed. Different split scenarios according to the O-RAN specifications are considered, as well as relevant to MMC KPIs, such as round trip time, delay jitter and packet loss. Although the variation in the results from the evaluation of these parameters in different RAN architecture scenarios is not drastic, in the context of MMC and future near to-real time services, the results show advantages of these scenarios over legacy RAN architectures. In addition, we propose a network slicing model for optimizing the network performance and enhancing the quality of MMC, by implementing optimal utilization of network resources.

• Atanas Vlahov
• Georgios Kougioumtzidis
• Albena Mihovska
• Vladimir Poulkov

Journal of Mobile Multimedia, Volume 19, Issue 1, Pages 239 – 262, 2023

https://doi.org/10.13052/jmm1550-4646.19112