Intel Corporation, Juniper Networks, and Rakuten Symphony have collaborated to develop Symware, a product which is aimed at enabling easier O-RAN deployment and 4G and 5G densification, with less hardware needed per site.
Symware combines containerised cell site routing functionality from Juniper and a containerised distributed unit using Altiostar software on a single general purpose server platform with Intel technology.
Along with reducing hardware, and capital and operating spending, the product can accommodate different network setups while supporting new levels of automation. Further, the solution is based on the Kubernetes ecosystem for orchestration and networking. It supports zero-touch provisioning, rolling updates, and telemetry and analytics across components.
Juniper is bringing a carrier-grade routing stack offered across both the physical and virtual RAN. This will enables Symware to support 5G slicing in both the RAN and transport “including slice isolation, slice monitoring and dynamic traffic steering through segment routing.”
The product will be offered through Rakuten Symphony, with expected availability in the first half of 2022.