Heavy Networking 632: How Juniper’s RAN Intelligent Controller Enables 5G Automation (Sponsored)

Today’s Heavy Networking dives into the automation and orchestration of 5G networks with sponsor Juniper Networks. The transition to 5G  represents a significant opportunity to implement new infrastructure that uses software operations. In practice, every part of a 5G network from tower base stations and nodes are roughly similar to data centers. Workloads have been moved from physical appliances to software instances, and these instances are not restricted to a single location. Network slicing allows for multi-tenant 5G infrastructure, but this means many instances of services, which in turn leads to many instances of virtual appliances that operate in non-real time and near-real time. The near-real-time requirement puts specific needs on the infrastructure known as a RAN Intelligence Controller, or RIC. The RIC is part of Open RAN to schedule workloads according to need. We also discuss Juniper’s Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) functionalities. Our guest and guide to 5G automation is Constantine Polychronopoulos, Vice President of 5G and Telco Cloud at Juniper Networks. We discuss: * What a RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) does * The role of a RIC in Open RAN * 5G automation and orchestration * Challenges in delivering end-to-end slicing and orchestration across RAN, core, and transport domains * Key apps on Juniper’s RIC * Juniper Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) * How Juniper works with the broader Open RAN ecosystem * More Show Links: Open RAN – Juniper Networks RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) – Unlocking the True Potential of O-RAN (1:57) – YouTube The Road to Open RAN Success – Mastering Open Ecosystems – Juniper Networks Blogs Unlocking Innovation and Value in the Radio Access Network (PDF) – Juniper Networks Juniper Networks Collaborates with Vodafone and Parallel Wireless on Groundbreaking Open RAN Use Case Trial, February 16, 2022 – Juniper Networks