Designing an ARM-based Cloud RAN cellular/wireless base station

Barak Ullman, Chief Architect, ASOCS Ltd.
embedded.com (December 7, 2013)

Cellular service providers are looking for cost-effective, scalable ways to manage their networks profitably. Cloud radio access network (Cloud RAN) technology is gaining traction with service providers as an efficient means of processing wireless network signals by virtualizing baseband processing onto large server farms and ultimately reducing costs.

This article describes a novel architecture for baseband processing using ARM’s Cortex A57 processors for use in mobile wireless base stations in conjunction with our modem processing unit (MPU), a real-time, reconfigurable platform that allows for the implementation of a wide variety of communication standards in Cloud RAN as a tightly integrated co-processor to general-purpose computers. This approach reduces power consumption, increases overall network throughput, and decreases CAPEX and OPEX by offloading tasks from older base stations that are expensive to operate.

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