RINGS: Intelligent and Resilient Virtualization of Massive MIMO Physical Layer

NextG网络系统依靠虚拟化从专业化的专用设备转移到云和边缘服务器，以降低成本并加速创新。到目前为止，这种虚拟化努力取得的成功非常有限，主要是在4G/LTE小型蜂窝上取得的进展。这是因为5G及更高版本采用了计算密集型技术，如大规模多输入多输出（MIMO）和低密度奇偶校验（LDPC）码，以提供前所未有的网络性能。大规模MIMO不仅需要大量的计算能力本身，但也成比例地增加LDPC。毫不奇怪，现有的商业大规模MIMO解决方案都依赖于FPGA和专用集成电路等专用硬件。大规模MIMO仍然是虚拟化移动的网络的最大障碍。拟议项目的目标是克服这一技术障碍，并为NextG网络系统虚拟化大规模MIMO物理层。通过这样做，该项目将加快大规模MIMO的采用，从而产生更强大、更高效、更具成本效益的移动的网络。通过我们与行业领导者的持续合作，该项目将及时将技术转化为实践。它还为软件系统和无线通信研究提供了一个会议场所，并为计算机科学专业的无线物理层教学创造了及时的内容。该项目将提供一个平台，吸引本科生和高中生，特别是妇女和代表性不足的少数群体参与计算机研究。(1)设计和实现大规模MIMO物理层，可在众核服务器上高效、智能地扩展。我们将联合收割机的静态和动态任务调度的弹性效率和设计延迟驱动的，自动化的最佳资源供应计划。(2)分布式设计和实施，可以利用通过局域网集成的计算资源，而不是单个服务器。我们将利用可编程交换机来最大限度地减少网络的影响，并利用商用服务器和加速器来实现单台众核服务器无法实现的规模、成本效益和能效。(3)灵活的设计和实施，与移动的网络工作负载的动态相匹配，同时在多租户环境中为网络运营商实现高弹性、低成本和云提供商的高利用率。我们将探索无服务器计算，并进一步开发它，以更好地满足大规模MIMO物理层的严格延迟要求。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

NextG network systems rely on virtualization to move away from specialized, dedicated equipment to cloud and edge datacenters, to reduce cost and accelerate innovation. So far such virtualization efforts have met with very limited success, making inroads largely with 4G/LTE small cells. This is because 5G and beyond employ compute-intensive technologies such as massive multiple-input, multiple output (MIMO) and low-density parity-check (LDPC) code to deliver the unprecedented network performance. Massive MIMO not only demands massive computational power itself, but also proportionally increases that of LDPC. Not surprisingly, existing commercial massive MIMO solutions all rely on specialized, dedicated hardware such as FPGA and application-specific integrated circuits. Massive MIMO remains the largest barrier toward virtualized mobile networks. The goal of the proposed project is to overcome this technical barrier and virtualize the massive MIMO physical layer for NextG network systems. In doing so, the project will expedite the adoption of massive MIMO, resulting in more capable, more efficient, and more cost-effective mobile networks. Through our ongoing collaborations with industry leaders, the project will timely transfer technologies into practice. It also provides a meeting ground for software systems and wireless communication research and creates timely content for teaching Computer Science majors about the wireless physical layer. The project will provide a platform to engage undergraduate students and high-school students in computing research, especially women and underrepresented minorities.The project targets the following scientific contributions. (1) Design and implementation of the massive MIMO physical layer that scales up on a many-core server efficiently and intelligently. We will combine the efficiency of static and elasticity of dynamic task scheduling and devise latency-driven, automated schemes for optimal resource provisioning. (2) Distributed design and implementation that can utilize compute resources integrated over a local-area network, beyond a single server. We will leverage programmable switches to minimize the impact of the network and to utilize commodity servers as well as accelerators to achieve scale, cost effectiveness and energy efficiency beyond the reach of a single many-core server. (3) Elastic design and implementation that match up to dynamics in mobile network workload, simultaneously achieving high resilience, low cost for the network operator, and high utilization for the cloud provider, in a multi-tenant environment. We will explore serverless computing and develop it further to better meet the stringent latency requirement of the massive MIMO physical layer.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.