ORANSlice: An Open-Source 5G Network Slicing Platform for O-RAN

TL;DR

ORANSlice is an open-source 5G network slicing platform integrated with Open RAN, enabling customizable, programmable RAN slicing and management through xApps, demonstrated on various testbeds.

Contribution

It introduces the first open-source end-to-end 5G network slicing solution for Open RAN with programmable, 3GPP-compliant features and RAN control via the RIC.

Findings

Successful deployment on multiple O-RAN testbeds

Demonstrated slice prioritization capabilities

Showcased radio resource guarantees

Abstract

Network slicing allows Telecom Operators (TOs) to support service provisioning with diverse Service Level Agreements (SLAs). The combination of network slicing and Open Radio Access Network (RAN) enables TOs to provide more customized network services and higher commercial benefits. However, in the current Open RAN community, an open-source end-to-end slicing solution for 5G is still missing. To bridge this gap, we developed ORANSlice, an open-source network slicing-enabled Open RAN system integrated with popular open-source RAN frameworks. ORANSlice features programmable, 3GPP-compliant RAN slicing and scheduling functionalities. It supports RAN slicing control and optimization via xApps on the near-real-time RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) thanks to an extension of the E2 interface between RIC and RAN, and service models for slicing. We deploy and test ORANSlice on different O-RAN testbeds and demonstrate its capabilities on different use cases, including slice prioritization and minimum radio resource guarantee.