Management and Optimization of xApp and Near-Real-Time RIC Deployment in the Edge

Abstract

O-RAN enables shared RAN Intelligent Controllers (RICs) hosting multiple xApps from different vendors, reducing operational costs. However, growing open-source RIC ecosystems face significant compatibility challenges, necessitating effective management of RIC deployment, xApp orchestration, and automated resource allocation strategies in the edge cloud continuum. We introduce MARRAS (Management and Allocation of Resources, RICs, and xAppS), a framework automating management and resource allocation in O-RAN environments. We formally define the underlying optimization problem and present a Mixed-Integer Linear Programming (MILP)-based solver. Results demonstrate MARRAS’s efficacy in enhancing O-RAN deployment operability and efficiency.