Invited Talk by Prof. Raymond Knopp from Eurecom on The emergence of open-source 4G/5G ecosystems

Title: The emergence of open-source 4G/5G ecosystems
Speaker: Prof. Raymond Knopp from Eurecom
Host Faculty: Dr. BheemArjuna Reddy Tamma
Room No: LH2 (A-block)
Time: 11:00 am

Abstract:
One of the interesting aspects of the 4G/5G era is confluence between the open-source software-defined networking technologies used in mainstream fixed networks and the closed-source technologies used the access and core components of cellular networks. This poses significant challenges from a legal standpoint because of the required mix of the two software technologies in common data centers. This conflictual relationship is aggravated further with the emergence of mobile edge computing. Once the legal issues are ultimately resolved, as it seems to be the case, the main issue will be that of satisfying real-time processing constraints for the radio-access network functions. These stem from the latency requirements of cellular systems when the radio-access procedures are executed on commodity servers. Moreover, when network function virtualization is put into the picture to allow for techniques such as network slicing to descend down in the radio-access network, the situation becomes even more challenging from a real-time perspective.

This talk will provide an overview of the evolution of 4G networks towards 5G and some of he new applications and industries that will be enabled by it. We also cover the role of the OpenAirInterface Software Alliance and how it is trying to soften the blow of clash between open and closed-source communities in radio-access and core networks along with its relationship with some of the other related open-source communities. The talk will also cover some technical aspects related to the difficulties in virtualizing radio-access network functions on commodity servers when it comes to real-time requirements, orchestration and management.

Speaker’s Bio:

Raymond Knopp is professor in the Communication Systems Department at EURECOM. He received the B.Eng. (Honours) and the M.Eng. degrees in Electrical Engineering from McGill University, Montreal, Canada, in 1992 and 1993, respectively. From 1993-1997 he was with the Mobile Communications Department at EURECOM and obtained the PhD degree in Communication Systems from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne. From 1997-2000 he was a research associate in the Mobile Communications Laboratory (LCM) of the Communication Systems Department of EPFL. His current research and teaching interests are in the area of digital communications, software radio architectures, and implementation aspects of signal processing systems and real-time wireless networking protocols. He has a proven track record in managing both fundamental and experimental research projects at an international level and is also General Secretary of the OpenAirInterface Software Alliance for 5G. The Alliance aims to bridge the gap between cutting-edge theoretical advances in wireless communications and practical designs as well as provide a common framework between industry and academia for prototyping 5G radio-access networks.

Dates:
Tuesday, February 28, 2017 - 11:00