US-12621682-B2 - System for addressing incompatibilities among a plurality of components of an open radio network (O-RAN)

Abstract

A method of addressing incompatibilities among a plurality of components of an open radio access network (O-RAN) includes receiving, from a provider associated with at least one component of the plurality of components, configuration information associated with the component, transmitting, to one or more computing devices of a plurality of providers associated with corresponding ones of the plurality of components, a list of information elements (IEs) that is (i) generated based on the configuration information and (ii) configured to receive corresponding IEs from the one or more computing devices of the plurality of providers, the corresponding IEs comprising information related to operational parameters or functionalities of the respective components associated with each provider, receiving, in response to the list, responses indicative of support for operational parameters or functionalities, and identifying, based on responses, one or more incompatibilities among the plurality of components of the O-RAN.

Inventors

• Mehdi Alasti
• Sourabh Gupta
• Siddhartha Chenumolu

Assignees

• Boost SubscriberCo L.L.C.

Dates

Publication Date

20260505

Application Date

20231228

Claims (18)

1. 1 . A method of addressing incompatibilities among a plurality of components of an open radio access network (O-RAN), the method comprising: receiving, from a provider associated with at least one component of the plurality of components, configuration information associated with the component; transmitting, to one or more computing devices of a plurality of providers associated with corresponding ones of the plurality of components, a list of information elements (IEs) that is (i) generated based on the configuration information and (ii) configured to receive corresponding IEs from the one or more computing devices of the plurality of providers, the corresponding IEs comprising information related to operational parameters or functionalities of the respective components associated with each provider; receiving, from the one or more computing devices of the plurality of providers, in response to transmitting the list, a plurality of responses indicative of support for operational parameters or functionalities; identifying, based on the plurality of responses, one or more incompatibilities among the plurality of components of the O-RAN; transmitting, to the one or more computing devices of the plurality of providers, information indicative of the one or more incompatibilities; receiving, from the one or more computing devices of the plurality of providers, information indicative of the one or more incompatibilities being addressed; and responsive to receiving the information indicative of the one or more incompatibilities being addressed, performing an interoperability test that evaluates compatibilities between the plurality of components of the O-RAN.
2. 2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the configuration information includes information related to different network conditions and interaction within the O-RAN.
3. 3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the IEs in the list are associated with operational parameters or functionalities based on the configuration information.
4. 4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the IEs in the list include at least one of a configuration parameter, a measurement report, a handover parameter, a control message, identity and synchronization information, security and authentication data, and a quality-of-service parameter.
5. 5 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the corresponding IEs indicate whether (i) the operational parameters or functionalities are supported and (ii) a format of each of the operational parameters or functionalities.
6. 6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein each of the plurality of responses includes the corresponding IEs indicating whether the operational parameters or functionalities are supported and the format of each of the operational parameters or functionalities.
7. 7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein identifying the one or more incompatibilities includes: for each response of the plurality of responses: determining whether (i) the operational parameters or functionalities correspond to predefined one or more parameters associated with the configuration information and (ii) the format of each of the one or more operational parameters or functionalities aligns with a corresponding predefined format associated with the configuration information, based on a determination that either (i) the operational parameters or functionalities or (ii) the format does not align with the corresponding predefined parameters or format, determining that an incompatibility is detected for a current response among the plurality of responses, and identifying a component associated with the current response as a source of incompatibility.
8. 8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of components include a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio unit (RU), a distributed unit (DU), and a centralized unit (CU).
9. 9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein transmitting the information indicative of the one or more incompatibilities comprises transmitting, to the one or more computing devices of the plurality of providers, information regarding the identified one or more incompatibilities and instructions to address the identified one or more incompatibilities.
10. 10 . A system for addressing incompatibilities among a plurality of components of an open radio access network (O-RAN), the system comprising: at least one processor; and memory coupled to the at least one processor and storing instructions that, based on being executed by the at least one processor, perform operations comprising: receiving, from a provider associated with at least one component of the plurality of components, configuration information associated with the component; transmitting, to one or more computing devices of a plurality of providers associated with corresponding ones of the plurality of components, a list of information elements (IEs) that is (i) generated based on the configuration information and (ii) configured to receive corresponding IEs from the one or more computing devices of the plurality of providers, the corresponding IEs comprising information related to operational parameters or functionalities of the respective components associated with each provider; receiving, from the one or more computing devices of the plurality of providers, in response to transmitting the list, a plurality of responses indicative of support for operational parameters or functionalities; identifying, based on the plurality of responses, one or more incompatibilities among the plurality of components of the O-RAN; transmitting, to the one or more computing devices of the plurality of providers, information indicative of the one or more incompatibilities; receiving, from the one or more computing devices of the plurality of providers, information indicative of the one or more incompatibilities being addressed; and responsive to receiving the information indicative of the one or more incompatibilities being addressed, performing an interoperability test that evaluates compatibilities between the plurality of components of the O-RAN.
11. 11 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the configuration information includes information related to different network conditions and interaction within the O-RAN.
12. 12 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the IEs in the list are associated with operational parameters or functionalities based on the configuration information.
13. 13 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the IEs in the list include at least one of a configuration parameter, a measurement report, a handover parameter, a control message, identity and synchronization information, security and authentication data, and a quality-of-service parameter.
14. 14 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the corresponding IEs indicate whether (i) the operational parameters or functionalities are supported and (ii) a format of each of the operational parameters or functionalities.
15. 15 . The system of claim 14 , wherein each of the plurality of responses includes the corresponding IEs indicating whether the operational parameters or functionalities are supported and the format of each of the operational parameters or functionalities.
16. 16 . The system of claim 15 , wherein identifying the one or more incompatibilities includes: for each response of the plurality of responses: determining whether (i) the operational parameters or functionalities correspond to predefined one or more parameters associated with the configuration information and (ii) the format of each of the one or more operational parameters or functionalities aligns with a corresponding predefined format associated with the configuration information, based on a determination that either (i) the operational parameters or functionalities or (ii) the format does not align with the corresponding predefined parameters or format, determining that an incompatibility is detected for a current response among the plurality of responses, and identifying a component associated with the current response as a source of incompatibility.
17. 17 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the plurality of components include a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio unit (RU), a distributed unit (DU), and a centralized unit (CU).
18. 18 . The system of claim 10 , wherein transmitting the information indicative of the one or more incompatibilities comprises transmitting, to the one or more computing devices of the plurality of providers, information regarding the identified one or more incompatibilities and instructions to address the identified one or more incompatibilities.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a system operating in an open radio network (O-RAN), and more particularly, a method of addressing incompatibilities among a plurality of components of the O-RAN. BACKGROUND Interoperability testing for O-RAN (Open Radio Access Network) is a process of evaluating and ensuring the compatibility and seamless communication between different components, elements, or devices within an O-RAN ecosystem. O-RAN is an architecture for designing and implementing open, standardized, and interoperable radio access networks. SUMMARY The present disclosure is directed to addressing incompatibilities among a plurality of components of an open radio access network (O-RAN). According to one aspect of the subject matter described in this application, a method of addressing incompatibilities among a plurality of components of an O-RAN can include receiving, from a provider associated with at least one component of the plurality of components, configuration information associated with the component, transmitting, to one or more computing devices of a plurality of providers associated with corresponding ones of the plurality of components, a list of information elements (IEs) that is (i) generated based on the configuration information and (ii) configured to receive corresponding IEs from the one or more computing devices of the plurality of providers, the corresponding IEs comprising information related to operational parameters or functionalities of the respective components associated with each provider, receiving, from the one or more computing devices of the plurality of providers, in response to transmitting the list, a plurality of responses indicative of support for operational parameters or functionalities, identifying, based on the plurality of responses, one or more incompatibilities among the plurality of components of the O-RAN, transmitting, to the one or more computing devices of the plurality of providers, information indicative of the one or more incompatibilities, receiving, from the one or more computing devices of the plurality of providers, information indicative of the one or more incompatibilities being addressed, and responsive to receiving the information indicative of the one or more incompatibilities being addressed, performing an interoperability test that evaluates compatibilities between the plurality of components of the O-RAN. Implementations according to this aspect can include one or more of the following features. For example, the configuration information can include information related to different network conditions and interaction within the O-RAN. In some implementations, the IEs can be associated with operational parameters or functionalities based on the configuration information. In some examples, the IEs can include at least one of a configuration parameter, a measurement report, a handover parameter, a control message, identity and synchronization information, security and authentication data, and a quality-of-service parameter. In some examples, the corresponding IEs can indicate whether (i) the operational parameters or functionalities are supported and (ii) a format of each of the operational parameters or functionalities. In some examples, each of the plurality of responses can include the corresponding IEs indicating whether the operational parameters or functionalities are supported and the format of each of the operational parameters or functionalities. In some implementations, identifying the one or more incompatibilities can include, for each response of the plurality of responses, determining whether (i) the operational parameters or functionalities correspond to predefined one or more parameters associated with the configuration information and (ii) the format of each of the one or more operational parameters or functionalities aligns with a corresponding predefined format associated with the configuration information, based on a determination that either (i) the operational parameters or functionalities or (ii) the format does not align with the corresponding predefined parameters or format, determining that an incompatibility is detected for a current response among the plurality of responses, and identifying a component associated with the current response as a source of incompatibility. In some examples, the plurality of components can include a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio unit (RU), a distributed unit (DU), and a centralized unit (CU). In some examples, transmitting the information indicative of the one or more incompatibilities can include transmitting information regarding the identified one or more incompatibilities and instructions to address the identified one or more incompatibilities. According to another aspect of the subject matter described in this application, a system for addressing incompatibilities among a plurality of components of an open radio access network (O-RAN) can include at least one process