Experiences with Disaggregated RAN Integrations

With the availability of open-source RAN projects, and the option to operate private 5G networks, 5G gets accessible for deployment in campus environments across industry and academia, in support of experimental research on new scheduling, allocation, orchestration solutions. This paper details our experience in deploying a 5G Standalone (SA) system at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers (CNAM) campus, integrating some disaggregated RAN features as well. By using Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) our deployments include comprehensive integration tests, and basic connectivity setups. We provide integration details in support of reproducing the testbed in other campuses to help practitioners in reproducing and improve the designs we demonstrate.