Simplified multi-cloud open RAN orchestration and management

In this post: 

• Learn how a cloud-native application platform provides the necessary scalability and flexibility needed for open RAN
• Read how open RAN deployment and operations can be simplified using open source orchestration and lifecycle management
• Understand how close collaboration allows service providers to accelerate and effectively scale their access networks
• See how Red Hat and Aarna Networks have built a proof-of-concept to showcase orchestration and management of open RAN cloud-native network functions (CNFs) across a hybrid cloud

Open source is the driver for network innovation

Digital transformation and technology modernization in today’s highly competitive landscape means empowering organizations to create innovation, increase operational efficiency and quickly build, deploy and scale applications. And as open source software proliferates across global networking environments, an area seen as ripe for innovation with tremendous potential for market disruption is the radio access network (RAN). An open RAN is often considered the final frontier for full end-to-end cloudification and automation of telecommunication service provider networks. 

Service providers and enterprise customers are realizing the rich market opportunities for open RAN technologies across a broad range of use cases, including 5G and the network edge.

Most Fortune 1000 organizations are leveraging cloud computing, using or at least exploring multicloud deployments where they utilize more than one cloud service from more than one cloud vendor. Many reasons for this include shadowing IT capabilities, increased flexibility, closer proximity, enhanced failover and more. 

Red Hat and Aarna Networks are collaborating to bring open RAN and multicloud capabilities together in an easy-to-use manner. Our proof of concept integrates Red Hat OpenShift—used to manage hybrid cloud, multi-cloud and edge deployments—with Aarna Networks’ Multi-Cluster Orchestration Platform (AMCOP) for orchestration and management. Together they create simplified multi-cloud open RAN implementations.

Collaboration and strong partnerships create value

An ecosystem of industry-leading partners is crucial in solving customers’ challenges with innovative technologies and in building the infrastructure needed to take advantage of new services and applications. Red Hat provides the platform for partners to deploy their products and solutions that allow service providers to create value from open, programmable and cloud-native networks and operations.

Red Hat OpenShift provides a cloud-native platform that supports multiple RAN functions and spans a service provider’s network from the core datacenter to the network edge. Red Hat OpenShift gives service providers the necessary flexibility and scalability to support distributed and open RAN architectures so they can capitalize on trends offered by these new technologies.

AMCOP is an open source orchestration, lifecycle management and real-time policy, closed-loop automation platform for 5G services and the network edge. AMCOP solves complexity at the management layer—simplifying edge infrastructure, network service and application orchestration. AMCOP also functions as a Service Management Orchestrator (SMO)—the most critical element for supporting and managing a multivendor open RAN environment.  

Running on Red Hat OpenShift, AMCOP orchestrates and manages open RAN cloud-native network functions that can be deployed in various environments such as on-premises and public clouds, including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, IBM and more. 

Deploy with confidence across hybrid cloud environments

Red Hat and Aarna Networks have collaborated and developed a proof-of-concept (PoC) to deploy AMCOP on Red Hat OpenShift Service on Amazon Web Services (ROSA) using the operator framework. AMCOP can onboard and orchestrate network services such as RAN Centralized Unit (CU) and Distributed Unit (DU) CNFs onto edge clusters. The PoC showcases the ability to orchestrate, configure and monitor the life cycle management of the different RAN elements and perform configuration tests on radio interfaces using an ABot test bench from Rebaca. The PoC demonstrates how easily service providers can deploy cloud native network services and edge computing applications on-premises and with various managed cloud options.

Sources: Aarna SMO hybrid cloud w/ RH

Closing remarks

An enterprise-ready Kubernetes application platform that spans the service provider’s network—from the core datacenter to the network edge—can offer a reliable foundation for different network functions. Red Hat OpenShift gives service providers the necessary deployment options to scale their open RAN footprint aligned to scale, cost and environmental requirements. Along with the agility and efficiency needed to quickly introduce new services and forms of revenue while remaining adaptable to changing dynamics.

An orchestration, life cycle management, and closed-loop automation solution for open RAN will unlock market opportunities for service providers. AMCOP 3.1 allows service providers to deploy and operationalize cloud-native and multicloud open RAN architectures in a unified manner.

Together, Red Hat and Aarna Networks give service providers an orchestration and management solution for their cloud-native, hybrid, and multi-cloud open RAN deployments. Red Hat’s and Aarna Networks’ innovative technology allows service providers to accelerate and effectively scale their access network and collaborate across teams to drive differentiated business outcomes that maximize technology investments. 

To learn more, read the Aarna and Red Hat announcement from Fyuz 2022, see Red Hat OpenShift and Red Hat’s telco solutions.

At MWC Barcelona 2023, Aarna and Red Hat will showcase our joint solution using Aarna Networks’ O-RAN SMO on Red Hat OpenShift with Rebaca’s ABot O-RAN test suite. Come and visit us at Red Hat, Hall 2 Stand 2F30, to learn more.