A Real-Time Vendor-Neutral Programmable Scheduler Architecture for Cellular Networks

The current Downlink Shared Channel (DLSCH) resource scheduler for cellular networks has the following features: 1) it is integrated with an evolved NodeB (eNB) and 2) uses proprietary interfaces. The first causes a temporary outage whenever the scheduler logic is reprogrammed to accommodate traffic profiles that have different requirements, while the latter prevents multi-vendor interoperability. In this paper, we propose a real-time vendor-neutral programmable DLSCH scheduler architecture. The scheduler and eNB are separated into two binary files that communicate via an agent. The agent uses standard interfaces to interpret information from/to different eNB vendors in real time. The proposed architecture is implemented on two open source 3rd Generation Partnership Project standard-compliant eNB stacks from the OAI and SRS. Experimental results show that the proposed architecture addresses the real time and proprietary challenges mentioned above.