2. Catalog
• Overview
• What is RIC?
• Where is Near-RT RIC?
• Why Near-RT RIC?
• Architecture
• Interfaces
• Components
• Currents xApps
• Traffic Steering Use Case
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3. What is RIC ?
• RAN Intelligent Controller
• Non-Real Time RIC
• Near Real Time RIC
• Goal :
• Based on the information from RAN, use ML or Analyze
information to configure or control RAN.
Non-RT RIC Near-RT RIC
Get information from RAN
Create/Choose training model
A1
Policy
Follow the policy
Adjust RAN parameters 3
5. Why Near-RT RIC ?
Near-RT RIC
Network Intelligence
Resource Assurance
Resource Control
Policy Enforcement
Handover Management
Radio-Link Management
Advanced SON
Load Balancing
RAN Slicing
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6. • xApps
• Messaging infrastructure
• Conflict mitigation
• xApp subscription management
• Management services
• Security
• Share Data Layer
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The architecture of Near-RT RIC
7. The architecture in Near-RT RIC
xApp
• According to different application
scenarios, perform data monitoring and
parameter adjustment of RAN functions.
Image Descriptor
xApp
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8. The architecture in Near-RT RIC
Messaging infrastructure
• Message interaction in Near-RT RIC
• Low-latency, point-to-point
• RMR(RIC Message Router)
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9. The architecture in Near-RT RIC
Conflict mitigation
• overlapping
• conflicting
Direct Conflicts
• Two/more xApps request different
settings to a control target
Indirect Conflicts
• A xApp : antenna angle
• B xApp : measurement deviation
• They all affect the size of the boundary
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10. The architecture in Near-RT RIC
xApp subscription management
• Merge the identical subscriptions from
different xApps into a single subscription
to the E2 Node
A xApp B xApp
E2 Node E2 Node
A xApp B xApp
xApp subscription management
E2 Node
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11. The architecture in Near-RT RIC
Management services
• LCM(Life-Cycle Management) of xApp
• FCAPS Management of Near-RT RIC
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12. The architecture in Near-RT RIC
Security
• Prevent malicious third-party xApps from
abusing radio network information.
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13. The architecture in Near-RT RIC
SDL(Share Data Layer)
• It’s an API
• Related to database
• Stateless application processes
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22. Components – Platform : Interface
Terminations
Report faults and events
Report real-time Performance
Management data
O1 Mediator
Receiving A1 policies issued by Non-RT
RIC(HTTP)
Sending A1 policy feedback to Non-RT
RIC(HTTP)
Communicate the payload to the certain
xApp via RMR messaging.
A1 Mediator
Routing messages from the xApps through
the SCTP connection to the E2 Node
Communicate the payload to the certain
xApp via RMR messaging.
E2 Termination
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23. Components – Platform : Managers
E2M supports and records the states for
each RAN.
Includes : Null, Disconnected, Connected,
Shutting-Down, Shut-Down
E2 Manager
It is responsible for distributing routing
policies among the other platform
components and xApps.
Routing Manager
Manages the subscriptions and message
routing of the subscribed messages
between E2 Termination and xApps.
Subscription Manager
To deploy/undeploy xApps, record xApps
status and support Health check
xApp Manager
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xApp descriptor that contains configuration data for the xApp
The RIC Message Router (RMR) is a thin library which allows applications to send messages to other applications. RMR provides insulation from the actual message transport system, as well as providing endpoint selection based on message type.
Resolves potentially overlapping or conflicting requests from multiple xApps
Manages subscriptions from the xApps to the E2 Nodes
Be used for storing and sharing any data to database
Stateless : Reduce resource consumption
The main message carried on the A1 interface is
In order to realize Near-RT RIC's control of E2 Node,
E2 Node will send some messages through E2 interface, such as: A,
if Near-RT RIC needs to adjust parameters,
it will first suspend the process and then issue related policies
O1 termination communicates with non-rt ric through O1 interface and exposes O1-related management services from Near-RT RIC.
Null : No RAN in DB
Disconnected : connection failed, E2T dies or E2T initialized
Connected : Get a setup request from remote RAN
Shutting-Down/Shut Down : Tear down RAN connection
To maximize the QoE improvement(handover) of the worst-performing priority traffic by intelligently controlling the traffic between multiple cells.
