5G RAN: Functional Split Orchestration Optimization

5G RAN aims to evolve new technologies spanning the Cloud infrastructure, virtualization techniques and Software Defined Network capabilities. Advanced solutions are introduced to split the functions of the Radio Access Network (RAN) between centralized and distributed locations. Such paradigms improve RAN flexibility and reduce the infrastructure deployment cost without impacting the user quality of service. We propose a novel functional split orchestration scheme that aims at minimizing the RAN deployment cost, while considering the requirements of its processing network functions and the capabilities of the Cloud infrastructure. With a fine grained approach on user basis, we show that the proposed solution optimizes both processing and bandwidth resource usage, while minimizing the overall energy consumption compared to i) cell-centric, ii) distributed and iii) centralized Cloud-RAN approaches. Moreover, we evaluate the effectiveness of our proposal in a 5G experimental prototype, based on Open Air Interface (OAI). We show that our solution achieves good performance in terms of total deployment cost and resolution time.