NTIA Energy Efficiency Test R&D Project

People: ​Ivan Seskar, N. K. Shankaranarayanan, Sarat Puthenpura, Alex Stancu, Zhuohuan Li

WINLAB has ​received funding for a research project on "5G Energy Efficiency – Metrics, Models, and System Tests" to develop testing methods that assess the energy consumption and efficiency of individual 5G network components and end-to-end Open RAN architectures.

The proposed project will research, develop, and validate accurate and effective test methods to measure the energy efficiency of 5G network components as well as effectiveness of end-to-end Open RAN energy optimization strategies. The focus will be on finding a minimal set of parameters and scenarios need to achieve effective results, in the context of Open RAN networks using a multi-vendor, disaggregated architecture using physical, virtual, and cloud-native network functions. Experimental research will be conducted in established test labs leveraging synergy with other multi-vendor Open RAN projects. The expected outcome is to develop and validate: (a) innovative effective measurements for energy consumption of various RAN and core components, (b) energy consumption metrics, KPIs, APIs to be supported by RAN and core equipment, (c) energy consumption models which can be used in simulation and analytics studies, and (d) methods to assess end-to-end energy efficiency of different algorithms and dedicated applications.

The objectives of the research project are:

1. Develop test methods to measure power consumption of various RAN and Core components. This includes experimental measurements of power for various scenarios and parameters and identifying a minimal set of test scenarios to provide an accurate and efficient method.
2. Develop energy efficiency/consumption metrics and KPIs to enable energy consumption tracking and assessment of the effectiveness of various energy saving strategies. This will build on standards available in 3GPP, and provide more granular detail as needed for disaggregated components.
3. Develop energy consumption models which would provide an estimate of energy consumption of various RAN/Core components as a function of load (number of users/sessions, traffic load etc.). This would build on the state of the art, with calibration of models enabled by tests of real equipment.
4. Develop methods to assess the effectiveness of various energy strategies and rApp/xApp applications. This would be done efficiently by leveraging the energy consumption model, and the use of simulated networks as needed.

Project meeting notes see EeMtgNotes