In order to offer a suite of test solutions for the comprehensive testing of Open RAN products spanning the protocol, signal, and timing domains, VIAVI Solutions has teamed up with network synchronization and emulation expert Calnex Solutions. These testbeds can be set up instantly without the need for debugging, and they simplify and lower the cost of creating internal Open RAN testing for pre-certification validation.
More companies, including startups and university spinouts, are able to enter the telecom infrastructure sector because of the transition to Open RAN and AI-RAN in 5G and 6G systems.
Multivendor ecosystems demand rigorous adherence to performance, security, interoperability, and reliability standards, even while this could spur innovation. Pre-testing is crucial for ensuring success and prevent the costs of failing, even though official labs handle final O-RAN ALLIANCE and 3GPP certification.
Through the VIAVI and Calnex partnership, manufacturers of O-RU, O-DU and O-CU equipment can access three testbeds immediately:
- an end-to-end and cybersecurity test solution for fronthaul and midhaul;
- an O-RU and O-DU test solution with S-plane testing; and
- core network emulation test bundles for the backhaul.
Additional testbeds are in development.
The joint solutions make use of VIAVI’s TeraVM network traffic generator and TM500 and XEdge test platforms for simulated and actual user equipment scenarios.
Calnex’s specialized hardware, specifically the Paragon-neo for O-RU and O-DU synchronization, SNE-Ignite for fronthaul and midhaul impairment emulation, and SNE-X for core network emulation, completes the extensive testing capabilities.
In addition to simulating realistic network impairments like jitter and delay, the integrated solutions from VIAVI and Calnex enable complete O-RAN and 3GPP conformity testing, including important WG4, WG5, and TIFG specifications.
This is complemented by strong root-cause debugging and cybersecurity vulnerability testing across all O-RAN components, allowing for the thorough testing of critical features like S-plane resilience and complex scenarios like multi-cell handovers.
Leadership Comments
“During the development phase, many O-RUs are only tested with a single O-DU/O-CU vendor, which results in failure under real-world network conditions. This issue is compounded as the industry lacks tools to emulate realistic fronthaul conditions,” said Ian Langley, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Wireless Business Unit, VIAVI. “Our partnership with Calnex puts these tools directly into the developers’ hands to vastly speed and simplify Open RAN test lab setup.”
“Companies urgently need in-house labs to validate their Open RAN systems, but establishing them has traditionally required equipment from multiple vendors and can take several months of debugging to ensure interoperability,” said Tommy Cook, CEO, Calnex. “VIAVI and Calnex’s offerings are highly complementary, and we’ve undertaken the complex integration work to create these first-of-their-kind comprehensive testing systems and eliminate the issues that have plagued many developers.”
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