Periodic Reporting for period 1 - 6G-BRICKS (6G-BRICKS: Building Reusable testbed Infrastructures for validating Cloud-to-device breaKthrough technologieS)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2023-01-01 al 2024-06-30
6G-BRICKS aims to deliverer an experimentation facility which a breakthrough 6G architecture, along with a set of reusable enablers (“bricks”) and experimentation tools. The 6G-BRICKS facility will showcase many architecture innovations, such as a disaggregated Management Plane and Operations Support System, to support extendibility, evolvability, and multi-tenancy. The aforementioned innovations are going well beyond centralized Cross-Domain Service Orchestrators (CDSOs) and Operations Support System/Business Support System (OSS/BSS) systems typically supported in 5G-PPP experimentation platforms. More specifically, the 6G-BRICKS architecture will include the following architectural tiers:
• The Experimentation Plane, which, acts as the entry point to the Facility. Mature frontend elements as part of the System Portal, a Service Catalogue and intent engine will be leveraged and extended as part of the Experimentation Plane, delivering intent driven, human-in-the-loop experimentation functionality. A unique testing tool based on Near-RT RIC is scheduled for the first time, giving experimenters access to low-level Radio Resource Management (RRM) and RAN slicing capabilities via standardized xApps. Moreover, the Experimentation Plane will offer BSS services to the 6G-BRICKS facility, allowing vertical application owners to upload their applications and Business Intents.
• The Management & Orchestration plane is deployed at each facility site as a unified controllability framework, via the groundbreaking Domain Management and Orchestration (DMO) framework. Explainable AI mechanisms are leveraged for policy translation and unification. This breakthrough architecture design supports provides explainable feedback to experimenters for potential SLA breaches and facilitates a loose coupling with the Experimentation Plane, avoiding bottlenecks. The 6G-BRICKS design also envisions close integration of computation and communication, deploying cognitive services must be adopted conducting complex placement and scaling operations, and delivering intelligence on demand for (extreme) edge to cloud continuum resource orchestration.
• 6G RAN infrastructure domain, where breakthrough 6G RAN technologies are integrated in reusable, self-contained modules with O-RAN interfaces to ensure the openness and reusability of the developed components. At the KUL site, a Distributed Cell-Free RAN is delivered, while the EUR site builds on the EUR OpenAirInterface O-RAN stack, which will be integrated with a RIS platform.
The 6G-BRICKS architecture adopts the Intent Driven Autonomous Networks (IDAN) paradigm, which builds on a three-layer design featuring intelligence at the Business, Service, and infrastructure domains. This is achieved via the concept of intent, which defines and communicates knowledge about requirements, goals and constraints to a system in a way that allows automated processes to reason about it and derive suitable decisions and actions. Intents are supplied by experimenters via the Experimentation Plane, which are automatically translated to service objectives. Moreover, automated intent activation and conflict resolution mechanisms are explored for the first time in the context of 6G networks.
• The Experimentation Plane, which, acts as the entry point to the Facility. Mature frontend elements as part of the System Portal, a Service Catalogue and intent engine will be leveraged and extended as part of the Experimentation Plane, delivering intent driven, human-in-the-loop experimentation functionality. A unique testing tool based on Near-RT RIC is scheduled for the first time, giving experimenters access to low-level Radio Resource Management (RRM) and RAN slicing capabilities via standardized xApps. Moreover, the Experimentation Plane will offer BSS services to the 6G-BRICKS facility, allowing vertical application owners to upload their applications and Business Intents.
• The Management & Orchestration plane is deployed at each facility site as a unified controllability framework, via the groundbreaking Domain Management and Orchestration (DMO) framework. Explainable AI mechanisms are leveraged for policy translation and unification. This breakthrough architecture design supports provides explainable feedback to experimenters for potential SLA breaches and facilitates a loose coupling with the Experimentation Plane, avoiding bottlenecks. The 6G-BRICKS design also envisions close integration of computation and communication, deploying cognitive services must be adopted conducting complex placement and scaling operations, and delivering intelligence on demand for (extreme) edge to cloud continuum resource orchestration.
• 6G RAN infrastructure domain, where breakthrough 6G RAN technologies are integrated in reusable, self-contained modules with O-RAN interfaces to ensure the openness and reusability of the developed components. At the KUL site, a Distributed Cell-Free RAN is delivered, while the EUR site builds on the EUR OpenAirInterface O-RAN stack, which will be integrated with a RIS platform.
The 6G-BRICKS architecture adopts the Intent Driven Autonomous Networks (IDAN) paradigm, which builds on a three-layer design featuring intelligence at the Business, Service, and infrastructure domains. This is achieved via the concept of intent, which defines and communicates knowledge about requirements, goals and constraints to a system in a way that allows automated processes to reason about it and derive suitable decisions and actions. Intents are supplied by experimenters via the Experimentation Plane, which are automatically translated to service objectives. Moreover, automated intent activation and conflict resolution mechanisms are explored for the first time in the context of 6G networks.
The work in 6G-BRICKS is split in WP1-WP7. In what follows, a summary of the work done and main results is included:
WP2 - Architecture design and Requirements analysis
The most important results from WP2 are:
• Project-wide architecture defined, with the definition of interfaces that link testbeds and main architecture components
• Definition of the functional architectures of the main Experimentation Tools, Engines, and RAN Components
• Definition of functional and non-functional requirements which have been mapped onto 6G-BRICKS components.
• Use-case scenarios defined, along with the 6G-BRICKS components involved and target KPIs
WP3 - 6G Breakthrough Enablers/Bricks
The most important results from WP3 are:
• Achieve the M3 (i.e. Initial version of the components to be integrated and tested on the platforms) and initial solutions are showcased is provided in EuCNC 2024 event
• Several key enablers (e.g. RIS integration, RIS control, localization, clustering for Cell-free mMIMO, cognitive cloud continuum, Open RU, Data set collection API, Design for Open API for scheduler) are available at the platform with relevant interfaces
• 2 O-RAN stacks are deployed and available for testing in the experimentation platforms
• Experimental xApps based on CF mMIMO emulator is available in the platform to test currently available xApps and the experimenters can further use the emulator to test their own solutions
WP4 - Experimentation facility management, Domain and Security Orchestration
The most important results from WP4 are:
• Portal for experimenter registration and authentication
• Intent Engine for intent translation and conflict resolution
• Optimization Algorithm to automatically deploy microservices at the Compute Continuum
• Multitude of explainable AD and RCA algorithms and frameworks available for the DMO
• Available xApps for O-RAN KPM collection and E2 Node control at the 6G-Bricks experimental platforms
• Contribute the requirements, architecture, internal components’ design, end-to-end workflows and interfaces for components in both ZTSF and ZTSM
WP5 - Deployment and Interfacing of enablers and 6G testbeds
The most important results from WP5 are:
• Configuration of the testbed at KU Leuven
• Data collection API is deployed at KU Leuven
• The Abnormal Traffic Detector (ATD) is deployed at Eurecom
• LLM-enabled Trial Fault explanator is deployed at Eurecom
• RIS control framework is deployed at Eurecom
• The 6G Bricks portal and Private Docker registry has been deployed at the ISI Facility
• Dry-run tests completed for many major WP3 and WP4 components
WP2 - Architecture design and Requirements analysis
The most important results from WP2 are:
• Project-wide architecture defined, with the definition of interfaces that link testbeds and main architecture components
• Definition of the functional architectures of the main Experimentation Tools, Engines, and RAN Components
• Definition of functional and non-functional requirements which have been mapped onto 6G-BRICKS components.
• Use-case scenarios defined, along with the 6G-BRICKS components involved and target KPIs
WP3 - 6G Breakthrough Enablers/Bricks
The most important results from WP3 are:
• Achieve the M3 (i.e. Initial version of the components to be integrated and tested on the platforms) and initial solutions are showcased is provided in EuCNC 2024 event
• Several key enablers (e.g. RIS integration, RIS control, localization, clustering for Cell-free mMIMO, cognitive cloud continuum, Open RU, Data set collection API, Design for Open API for scheduler) are available at the platform with relevant interfaces
• 2 O-RAN stacks are deployed and available for testing in the experimentation platforms
• Experimental xApps based on CF mMIMO emulator is available in the platform to test currently available xApps and the experimenters can further use the emulator to test their own solutions
WP4 - Experimentation facility management, Domain and Security Orchestration
The most important results from WP4 are:
• Portal for experimenter registration and authentication
• Intent Engine for intent translation and conflict resolution
• Optimization Algorithm to automatically deploy microservices at the Compute Continuum
• Multitude of explainable AD and RCA algorithms and frameworks available for the DMO
• Available xApps for O-RAN KPM collection and E2 Node control at the 6G-Bricks experimental platforms
• Contribute the requirements, architecture, internal components’ design, end-to-end workflows and interfaces for components in both ZTSF and ZTSM
WP5 - Deployment and Interfacing of enablers and 6G testbeds
The most important results from WP5 are:
• Configuration of the testbed at KU Leuven
• Data collection API is deployed at KU Leuven
• The Abnormal Traffic Detector (ATD) is deployed at Eurecom
• LLM-enabled Trial Fault explanator is deployed at Eurecom
• RIS control framework is deployed at Eurecom
• The 6G Bricks portal and Private Docker registry has been deployed at the ISI Facility
• Dry-run tests completed for many major WP3 and WP4 components
The following provides a brief summary of the progress made on the innovation streams where the project aims to create impact that is beyond state-of-the-art (SoTA):
IS1: Network-controlled open RIS platform
o This innovation stream relates to the integration -for the first time- of a RIS patform with an OAI gNB, for on-demand user localization and tracking, aiming to alleviate blocking at the mmWave spectrum.
IS2: Distributed CFmMIMO processing and synchronization
o 6G-BRICKS is actively working towards making advanced theoretical concepts (scalable CF, distributed computing, synchronisation and channel estimation.) available as 6G building blocks (e.g. OpenRU)
IS3: Multi-band and mmWave CFmMIMO
o The project has delivered algorithms on cluster formation, which is the basis of the cell-free architecture
IS4: Communication and sensing: RIS and cell-free based approaches
o 6G-BRICKS has delivered user localization algorithms, based on the CEA RIS.
IS5: Explainable AI and Machine Reasoning for Unified, Zero Touch Orchestration
o 6G-BRICKS has Introduced an eXplainable Anomaly Detection (XAD) framework for jointly addressing anomaly detection and root-cause analysis
IS6: Platform as a Service Abstraction for a self-synthesized compute continuum
o 6G-BRICKS is working on cognitive services conducting complex placement and scaling operations, and delivering intelligence on demand for (extreme) edge to cloud continuum resource orchestration
IS1: Network-controlled open RIS platform
o This innovation stream relates to the integration -for the first time- of a RIS patform with an OAI gNB, for on-demand user localization and tracking, aiming to alleviate blocking at the mmWave spectrum.
IS2: Distributed CFmMIMO processing and synchronization
o 6G-BRICKS is actively working towards making advanced theoretical concepts (scalable CF, distributed computing, synchronisation and channel estimation.) available as 6G building blocks (e.g. OpenRU)
IS3: Multi-band and mmWave CFmMIMO
o The project has delivered algorithms on cluster formation, which is the basis of the cell-free architecture
IS4: Communication and sensing: RIS and cell-free based approaches
o 6G-BRICKS has delivered user localization algorithms, based on the CEA RIS.
IS5: Explainable AI and Machine Reasoning for Unified, Zero Touch Orchestration
o 6G-BRICKS has Introduced an eXplainable Anomaly Detection (XAD) framework for jointly addressing anomaly detection and root-cause analysis
IS6: Platform as a Service Abstraction for a self-synthesized compute continuum
o 6G-BRICKS is working on cognitive services conducting complex placement and scaling operations, and delivering intelligence on demand for (extreme) edge to cloud continuum resource orchestration