QoS-Aware Dynamic CU Selection in O-RAN with Graph-Based Reinforcement Learning

TL;DR

This paper introduces a graph neural network-assisted deep reinforcement learning approach for dynamic O-CU selection in O-RAN, optimizing energy efficiency and QoS through adaptive service function chain provisioning based on real-time network conditions.

Contribution

It proposes a novel DRL method with GNN encoding for dynamic O-CU selection in O-RAN, addressing static mapping limitations and improving energy efficiency.

Findings

Significant energy savings over static baseline

Effective QoS maintenance during dynamic provisioning

GNN-enhanced DRL outperforms traditional methods

Abstract

Open Radio Access Network (O RAN) disaggregates conventional RAN into interoperable components, enabling flexible resource allocation, energy savings, and agile architectural design. In legacy deployments, the binding between logical functions and physical locations is static, which leads to inefficiencies under time varying traffic and resource conditions. We address this limitation by relaxing the fixed mapping and performing dynamic service function chain (SFC) provisioning with on the fly O CU selection. We formulate the problem as a Markov decision process and solve it using GRLDyP, i.e., a graph neural network (GNN) assisted deep reinforcement learning (DRL). The proposed agent jointly selects routes and the O-CU location (from candidate sites) for each incoming service flow to minimize network energy consumption while satisfying quality of service (QoS) constraints. The GNN encodes the instantaneous network topology and resource utilization (e.g., CPU and bandwidth), and the DRL policy learns to balance grade of service, latency, and energy. We perform the evaluation of GRLDyP on a data set with 24-hour traffic traces from the city of Montreal, showing that dynamic O CU selection and routing significantly reduce energy consumption compared to a static mapping baseline, without violating QoS. The results highlight DRL based SFC provisioning as a practical control primitive for energy-aware, resource-adaptive O-RAN deployments.