Open RAN Compliant Fronthaul Solutions

2022/06/10

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The telecom network has vastly evolved for the past two decades. As technologies rapidly develops to accommodate the needs for different types of applications, so does the Telecom ecosystem. In 2018, the O-RAN alliance was founded to promote a more intelligent, open, and interoperable mobile network. With O-RAN, standards were made to foster a larger 5G ecosystem. As a part of the Open RAN ecosystem, Ufispace is bringing several different solutions to enable an open fronthaul for both the private and public 5G networks.

open ran solution topology
UfiSpace’s O-RAN Compliant Solution Topology

UfiSpace 5G Timing Card for DU/CU

Timing is the key in a 5G network, especially when many applications are time-sensitive and require low latency. UfiSpace’s 5G timing card is implemented into the DU and CU, allowing them to serve as a grandmaster for retrieving accurate timing and passing it down to other network elements. Furthermore, with UfiSpace’s 5G timing card, the DU/CU can also be used as a backup timing device for the L3 switch in case the GNSS is ever disrupted. With our timing solutions, we are enabling more flexibility for Open RAN deployment into different scenarios.

For more information and samples of our 5G timing adapter, please contact our sales team.

Solutions for the Open RAN Compliant Private Network

Private networks must be flexible and agile to accommodate all the different deployment scenarios. From the large open space of a stadium to the multi-room floor plan of a factory, UfiSpace offers a variety of open disaggregated L3 switches featuring low to high switching capacities, fan/fanless designs, and port speeds from 1G up to 400G, which can all meet 5G timing standards with Class C accuracy.

Coming soon is our fronthaul multiplexer (FHM), which can extend the reach of the 5G private network. The fronthaul multiplexer can copy and forward the data to the radio unit to increase the number of radio units being managed by a single DU. In addition, the radio units can be grouped via dedicated DUs to maximize bandwidth and utilize resources efficiently. This is extremely beneficial to mid-size enterprises if they want to extend network coverage to different locations in a campus or building.

For more information about our FHM solution, please contact our sales team.

Large Scale Private Network Solution

Our large-scale private network solutions utilize our S9500 models as L3 switches. They all include multiple timing interfaces (GNSS, ToD, 1PPS, and 10MHz) and support IEEE 1588v2 as well as SyncE with Class C timing accuracy. They are built with the Qumran-AX merchant silicon and offers a wide range of form factors and port speeds from 1G RJ45, 1GE, 10GE, 25GE, 40GE, and 100GE for backhaul. This makes our S9500-30XS and S9500-22XST models suitable for aggregation in standalone private networks where the core cloud and edge cloud are completely owned by the enterprises or in a partially-owned private network where multiple enterprises share one core cloud.

For more switching capacity, our next-generation S9510-28DC offers 800Gbps bandwidth with even more features including support for FlexE, OpenZR+, and Time Sensitive Networking (TSN). Its 400G support for FlexE are suitable for private network slicing and virtualization.

For more information click on the products below:

400g L3 switch  100g l3 switch  1G 10G 100G l3 switch

Small Scale Private Network Solution

Our small scale private network solutions include our S9501 and S9502 models. They all come with multiple timing interfaces (ToD, 1PPS, and 10MHz) and support IEEE 1588v2 as well as SyncE with Class C timing accuracy. They are built with the Qumran-UX merchant silicon and Intel Denverton CPU enabling multiple variations of 1GE and 10G port speeds. Furthermore, the S9502 are fanless, offering more power efficiency, less noise, and less maintenance suitable to aggregate radio units for small-size enterprises.

For more information click on the products below:

s9501-28smt L3 switch  s9501-18smt l3 switch  s9502-16smt fanless l3 switch  s9502-12sm fanless l3 switch

UfiSpace Product Solutions for Open Fronthaul

UfiSpace’s O-RAN Compliant fronthaul solution will offer seamless integration of 4G and 5G networks. Our Fronthaul Gateway is designed to be used to integrate 4G’s CPRI (common public radio interface) and 5G’s ethernet-based eCPRI (enhanced common public radio interface) protocol. In transport, the CPRI data will be converted to ethernet packets based on RoE and converted back to CPRI for the 4G BBU. The eCPRI packets from the 5G RU can use the same dedicated path to a converged access switch, which can be sent to ORAN compliant 5G DU and CU for further processing.

As operators transition from 4G to 5G, in case the 4G RU doesn’t support a Low-PHY function, the fronthaul gateway can also support the Low-PHY function from the RU for a 7.2x option split. This will minimize the transport bandwidth as fronthaul gateway is placed close to users.

For more information or to get samples of UfiSpace’s Open RAN Fronthaul Solutions, please contact our sales team.

In this Article: 5G Applications Cell Site DCSG RAN