Radisys contributed its evolved packet core (EPC) framework to the open source CORD project to create a virtual EPC (vEPC).

Radisys, which is a systems integrator in the service provider space, contributed its EPC specifically for the Mobile Central Office Re-architected as a Data Center (M-CORD), which is one part of the bigger CORD projects. M-CORD aims to pave the way for 5G through disaggregated vEPC, a programmable radio access network (RAN), mobile edge computing, and mobile network slicing.

“Most solutions up until now were tightly integrated with proprietary systems,” says Joseph Sulistyo, the senior director of open source networking at Radisys.

The company is known for its EPC through its Trillium product line.

Radisys’ contribution to M-CORD will allow the community to explore and demonstrate innovative architectures that can take advantage of the modularity of the EPC.

To make the vEPC suitable for CORD, open source coders will change it to work with open management and network orchestration (MANO), white box hardware, and open applications at the edge, such as caching, testing, and monitoring.

“Without all this, the 3GPP would create 5G standards over the next five years,” says Bill Snow, VP of engineering with On.Lab. “Incumbent vendors would take their time to provide adjustments for radios and IoT connectionless. This is a way to change that process and democratize it. A lot of vendors would like to say, 'you can’t push the radio to the edge', and we’re going to show that is wrong and indeed you can.”

“5G is about making SDN, NFV, and cloud a reality for mobility,” says Sulistyo. “Open source is a fundamental, key enablement.”

Roadmap for M-CORD

The roadmap for M-CORD starts with the network core, then the edge, then applications, “essentially moving further to where the user is,” says Sulistyo.

The open source group will follow the same pattern it’s used for residential-CORD (R-CORD), first testing it in a simulated environment, then doing proofs-of-concept (PoCs) and field trials.

“At On.Lab, all initiatives are driven by operators who are partners, including Verizon, AT&T, and SK Telecom,” says Snow.