论文标题
DAPP：O-RAN实时推理和控制的分布式应用程序
dApps: Distributed Applications for Real-time Inference and Control in O-RAN
论文作者
论文摘要
O-Ran Alliance（O-Ran Alliance）的打开无线电访问网络（OPEN RAN）正在标准化，这是通过分解和RAN智能控制器（RICS）的概念为蜂窝生态系统带来根本性转换的。后者通过自定义逻辑应用程序，即XAPP和RAPPS启用闭环控制，支持不同时间尺度的控制决策。但是，当前的O-RAN规格缺乏执行在10ms以下的时标的实时控制循环的实用方法。在本文中，我们提出了DAPP的概念，即通过允许操作员在中央单元（CUS）/分布式单位（DUS）实时实施细粒度数据驱动的管理和控制，以补充现有XAPP/RAPP的分布式应用程序。 DAPP从RAN接收实时数据，以及从近实时RIC中获得的丰富信息，并执行和控制低层功能，从而使比RICS（例如Beam Management和用户计划和用户计划）更严格的定时要求实现了用例。我们提出了可行的方法，通过利用和扩展已经存在的界面和组件，将DAPP集成在O-Ran架构中。最后，我们讨论了特定于DAPP的挑战，并提供了初步结果，以表明通过DAPP执行网络智能的好处。
The Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN)-which is being standardized, among others, by the O-RAN Alliance-is bringing a radical transformation to the cellular ecosystem through the notions of disaggregation and RAN Intelligent Controllers (RICs). The latter enable closed-loop control through custom logic applications, namely xApps and rApps, supporting control decisions at different timescales. However, the current O-RAN specifications lack of a practical approach to execute real-time control loops operating at timescales below 10ms. In this paper, we propose the notion of dApps, distributed applications that complement existing xApps/rApps by allowing operators to implement fine-grained data-driven management and control in real-time at the Central Units (CUs)/Distributed Units (DUs). dApps receive real-time data from the RAN, as well as enrichment information from the near-real-time RIC, and execute inference and control of lower-layer functionalities, thus enabling use cases with stricter timing requirements than those considered by the RICs, such as beam management and user scheduling. We propose feasible ways to integrate dApps in the O-RAN architecture by leveraging and extending interfaces and components already present therein. Finally, we discuss challenges specific to dApps, and provide preliminary results that show the benefits of executing network intelligence through dApps.
