Computing and Communication Architectures for C-RAN Base Station Virtualization

随着多媒体移动设备的激增，信息和通信技术(ICT)行业面临着对无处不在的无线和互联网服务的日益增长的需求。为了应对这一巨大挑战，ICT行业正在开发新一代无线接入网络(RAN)技术，能够满足不断增加的容量密度的需求，同时降低资本支出(CAPEX)和运营支出(OPEX)，并减少该行业产生的碳足迹和环境影响。在实现这一目标的可行解决方案中，中国移动研究提出的基于云的无线电接入网络(C-RANS)的概念因其利用云计算和数据中心技术的快速增长的潜力而引起了许多人的关注。作为全球领先的ICT解决方案提供商，拟议项目的行业合作伙伴华为技术公司正在投资开发旨在为下一代(5G)移动网络铺平道路的C-RAN相关技术。根据这一设想，拟议的项目涉及在开放平台上实施C-RAN虚拟基站的计算和通信架构。我们将投资于如何将商用现成(COTS)刀片式服务器和交换机转变为确定性且可预测的计算平台，以实现LTE虚拟化。拟议项目的主要目标是在C-RAN的背景下为数据中心的计算、存储和网络资源(3D资源分配)的管理开发高能效和高成本效益的解决方案，包括动态计算和网络资源分配和管理、LTE空中接口的建模和虚拟化、动态资源分配和实时调度算法的基于现场可编程门阵列的实现，以及能够支持C-RAN的实时平台的确定性和性能的表征和增强。

The Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry is facing an increasing demand for ubiquitous wireless and Internet services introduced by an explosion of multimedia-rich mobile devices. To respond to this tremendous challenge, the ICT industry is developing a new generation of Radio Access Network (RAN) technologies capable of meeting the need for ever-increasing capacity-density, while lowering capital expenditures (CAPEX) and operating expenditures (OPEX) and reducing the carbon footprint and the environmental impact generated by this industry sector. Among the viable solutions towards this goal, the concept of Cloud-based Radio Access Networks (C-RANs), introduced by China Mobile Research, has drawn many attentions due to its potential of leveraging the rapid growing of cloud computing and data center technologies. As a leading global ICT solutions provider, the industry partner of the proposed project, Huawei Technologies, is investing in the development of C-RAN related technologies aimed at paving the way toward the next generation (5G) mobile networks. In line with this vision, the proposed project addresses computing and communication architectures for implementing C-RAN virtualized base stations on open platforms. We will invest in how to turn Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) server blades and switches into a deterministic and predictable computing platform to enable LTE virtualization. The primary objective of the proposed project is to develop energy-efficient and cost-effective solutions for the management of computing, storage and networking resources (3D resource allocation) at the data centers in the context of C-RAN, including dynamic computing and network resource allocation and management, modeling and virtualization of LTE air-interface, FPGA-based implementation of dynamic resource allocation and real-time scheduling algorithms, as well as the characterization and the enhancement of determinism and performance of a real-time platform that can support C-RAN.