Characterizing the Performance Limits of OAI-Based O-RAN Digital Twin

Md Fahad Monir, Nishith D. Tripathi, Jeffrey H. Reed, Md. Zoheb Hassan, Imtiaz Ahmed, Tarem Ahmed

Abstract: Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) architectures are driving a shift towards modular, software-defined RANs, where virtualization is key for flexible component development. OpenAirInterface (OAI) provide software-based RAN functionalities, complemented by Near-Real-Time RAN Intelligent Controllers (Near-RT RICs) like FlexRIC. However, the performance of these virtualized environments is fundamentally limited by the underlying compute infrastructure. This study establishes a crucial performance baseline by isolating the impact of raw computational constraints within a virtualized O-RAN testbed composed of OAI simulators and the FlexRIC controller. To achieve this, our setup deliberately excludes radio virtualization middleware, ensuring all signal processing and channel emulation to be offloaded to the CPU. We assess the impact of these constraints on the end-user’s Quality of Experience (QoE) by streaming video and audio files to a client within the simulated UE’s network namespace. Our findings reveal that video quality degrades significantly, as reflected in low VMAF, while audio quality holds steady under the same constraints.

External IDs:dblp:conf/ccnc/MonirTRHAA26