Service-Oriented Wireless Network Architecture and Edge Network Convergence Design

Abstract

With the widespread use of smart devices and the emergence of novel scenarios and services, the future wireless network architecture is urged to innovate to fulfill various application requirements. However, the current architecture of the Radio Access Network (RAN) divides and evolves functions in units of the Centralized Unit Control Plane (CU-CP), Central Unit User Plane (CU-UP), and Distributed Unit (DU), which lacks adequate flexibility and openness. Besides, it proves difficult for the network to adapt to new features such as intelligence, security, and computing capabilities. This paper presents a service-based RAN architecture, and reconstructs and defines the corresponding functions. Combined with the evolution trend of the future distributed Core Network (CN), the service-oriented RAN functions and the sinking CN functions are integrated at the edge node. Then the handover procedure is taken as an example, and the process design under the converged architecture is considered to reduce the overhead of redundant functions and promote transmission efficiency.