VIAVI at the Spring 2024 O-RAN PlugFest

Participating in its eighth consecutive O-RAN Alliance Global PlugFest, VIAVI once again contributed its comprehensive Open RAN testing suite and expertise to validate new products, specifications and use cases at nine labs across six countries.

These PlugFests represent important, practical steps in developing the building blocks that will transform the network’s future. Radio testing is more significant than ever – as demonstrated by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund (PWSCIF) Second Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO 2) – and VIAVI plays a key role in O-RU testing with solutions that cover the entire product lifecycle. Security also takes center stage as threats to networks and bad actors continue to grow.

This year, VIAVI helps operators, OTICs and academic and research institutions deliver achievements across five themes, which we have outlined in this blog.

O-RAN Energy Consumption, Efficiency and Savings Testing

VIAVI participated in testing at four labs which successfully completed O-RAN energy savings use cases in different network conditions, helping to optimize RAN Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and contributing to sustainability goals.

Because O-RAN Radio Units (O-RU) consume the majority of power in 5G RAN, NEMs and service providers are prioritizing O-RU energy efficiency without sacrificing performance. VIAVI’s joint O-RU conformance test solutions with Rohde and Schwarz tested energy efficiency use cases for ActionTec and LiteON O-RUs at the Auray OTIC and Security Lab in Taiwan using PRB 273/180/90 traffic scenarios.

At Nakao Lab in Tokyo University, VIAVI’s TeraVM RIC Test was used to validate the conformance, interoperability and energy savings of Rakuten Mobile and Rakuten Symphony’s Near-RT RIC, Non-RT RIC, xApp, rApp and AI/ML Platform. VIAVI also validated the successful integration of the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) rApp with VMWare RIC, which demonstrated that intelligent traffic steering could help reduce energy consumption without compromising user experience. In addition, VIAVI validated a non-RT RIC which demonstrated energy savings use case via O1 interface at a PlugFest hosted by LGU+.

Open Fronthaul Transport Testing with Multiple O-RUs

The O-RU test solution, a collaborative effort between VIAVI and Rohde and Schwarz, showcased uniform testing outcomes across multiple independent laboratories, guaranteeing the reliability of tests across various labs and geographical areas. We have effectively increased the count of interoperable configurations from multiple vendors under diverse setups and circumstances, expanding the range of O-RAN solutions available to mobile operators.

Consistent and Repeatable Open Fronthaul Testing in Multiple Labs

End-to-end (E2E) testing of Open Air Interface O-DU and O-CU using the VIAVI TM500 demonstrated repeatable results across two OTIC labs: the University of New Hampshire Interoperability Lab (UNH-IOL) and Iowa State University North American OTIC in Central Iowa (ISU-ARA). Integrated DU / CU software was successfully installed and configured in both labs.

O-RAN System Testing with Layer 1 Acceleration

At CableLabs, VIAVI’s TM500 delivered E2E testing that verified its readiness to automatically deploy and configure Layer 1 accelerators. Participants gained valuable experience on system integration of multi-vendor vDUs with look-aside L1 acceleration, as well as vCU and 5G Core integration on 1U edge servers based on AMD EPYC CPUs, AMD T2 Telco accelerator card and Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform.

O-RAN E2E Deployment Templates, DevOps and Test Automation

Numerous use cases were tested at Digital Catapult’s SONIC Labs: 7 E2E functional and performance testing, 6 E2E testing with emulated delay and 22 cybersecurity manual and automated testing. Automated cybersecurity is a new sub-scenario that was not tested in the previous PlugFest. Numerous VIAVI solutions including TM500, TeraVM Core Emulator, XhaulAdvisor and Open RAN Security Test server were used.

Additional security test was done at CableLabs, which demonstrated:

• High SCAS Automation Coverage: The PlugFest test automation achieved 78% coverage of gNB SCAS test cases related to 3GPP functions, showcasing a significant advancement in automating gNB security testing.
• Efficient Automation Execution: With 14 out of 18 gNB SCAS 3GPP functional test cases successfully automated, execution demonstrated a 100% PASS rate, indicating a reliable and effective testing framework.
• Optimized Execution Time: The automation process streamlined testing procedures with an approximate execution time of ~15 minutes, highlighting the efficiency gains and potential for expedited testing cycles in future implementations.
• Test Infrastructure Stability: The test infrastructure exhibited robustness with zero unplanned downtime, underscoring the reliability and resilience of the automated testing environment.

In addition, VIAVI participated in several other PlugFests with tests ranging from RIC conformance and interoperability, O-RU conformance, Near-RT RIC conflict mitigation and O-CU testing. For a full list of VIAVI’s participation, visit our website.

Since 2019, VIAVI has participated in more than 100 Global O-RAN PlugFest demos in 16 locations with 60 O-RAN vendors.