Promises of Open RAN (O-RAN) for network flexibility, cost-efficiency, and market diversity hinge on its ability to perform at scale.
A key component of this modern infrastructure is the O-RAN Distributed Unit (O-DU). It is the foundation for delivering high-quality, real-time network services. This has made properly testing its capabilities and functionality a top priority for service providers.
Our ”Open RAN DU Testing Considerations for Accelerated Deployments” white paper explores what it takes to deliver seamless, Open RAN-powered services. Based on Spirent’s close work with infrastructure vendors, service providers and standards bodies, we detail testing’s role in mitigating deployment risks and accelerating time to market to gain a competitive edge.
Early activity reveals new testing requirements
Testing and validating the O-DU means navigating O-RAN’s new complexities. The methodologies and strategies covered in our white paper are based on our experience supporting early trials and deployments.
Given the O-DU’s role in real-time scheduling and baseband processing, unique challenges have emerged. Service providers need to be confident that this foundational O-RAN architecture component can stand up to real-world conditions, maintain low latency, and deliver high reliability.
This confidence can be achieved through rigorous testing approaches that include:
Interoperability. Ensures O-RAN components seamlessly interoperate in multi-vendor environments—this is especially important given O-DUs may need to interface with O-RUs from different vendors.
Real-time performance. Tests low latency and high reliability capabilities necessary for mission-critical 5G environments.
End-to-end network. Emulates the entire network environment via comprehensive wraparound testing to understand performance in real-world conditions.
CI/CD/CT integration. Supports rapid deployment cycles by integrating testing processes into CI/CD/CT (continuous integration, continuous deployment, and continuous testing) pipelines, with automation for efficiency in high-volume scenarios.
Layer-specific considerations. Tests specific needs across Layer 1 hardware accelerators, Layer 2 protocol stacks and Layer 3 functionalities to fully validate capabilities.
Stress and capacity testing. Evaluates the ability to handle heavy traffic loads and thousands of user equipment connections with confirmation that high data rates can be supported.
Real-world scenarios. Emulation of anticipated live network traffic conditions, patterns and scenarios across web browsing, video streaming, and more to ensure performance in dynamic situations.
By using these approaches to systematically test the O-DU’s capabilities, service providers can improve network performance and reliability and speed time-to-market.
As O-RAN faces pressure to perform at parity with traditional RAN, there are also reduced deployment risks with the added benefit of cost-efficiency. When scalability and flexibility can be proven in advance, the path to benefiting from O-RAN’s promises becomes smoother.
Our white paper includes case studies that illustrate how implementing automated testing methodologies has made this possible in actual deployment scenarios.
Spotlight on the role of automation
It is important to note that O-DU testing at scale cannot be achieved without automation, which has emerged as a cornerstone of effective testing.
Yes, automation delivers efficiency and speed. But it also critically reduces human error to ensure more reliable and consistent test results. Given the frequency of updates typical in multi-vendor O-RAN environments, automation should take center stage in any testing approach.
In our experience, customers have found automation substantially simplifies traditional testing processes. That’s because inefficiencies and redundancies associated with using multiple manual test tools and interfaces—and troubleshooting issues that arise—are virtually eliminated via integration of the testing processes with any CI/CD/CT pipelines.
In the end, automation is all about making it easier to handle O-RAN flexibility, complexity and scale. For many stakeholders, this will be the first time automating such critical testing processes and so our experienced hands-on teams have provided close guidance in our continued collaborations.
What to expect on the path ahead
From tackling technical challenges like synchronization and timing to protocol conformance, and experimenting with innovative testing strategies, our white paper highlights what to expect along the O-RAN and O-DU testing journey. The principles and benefits covered also apply to Open virtual RAN (open vRAN) for stakeholders exploring diverse approaches to open architecture rollouts.
Download the “Open RAN DU Testing Considerations for Accelerated Deployments” white paper today to go behind the scenes of the latest testing engagements and understand what lies ahead on the road to Open RAN testing.