发表机构
Institute for Intelligent Networked Systems, Northeastern University（东北大学智能网络系统研究所）
机构由 AI 辅助整理，请以论文原文为准。AI 中文总结
本文针对OCUDU缺乏E3路径的问题，设计实现一款开源E3控制器，通过sidecar守护进程方式完成验证，证实其在生产级开放RAN软件上可实现无吞吐量损失的实时dApp/RAN接口。
AI 中文摘要
开放无线接入网（Open RAN）中的实时控制环路日益与gNB共置，其中去中心化应用（dApps）是指能够以亚毫秒级延迟访问物理层（PHY）和媒体接入控制层（MAC）信号的可编程应用，支持频谱共享、信道感知调度、集成感知等对延迟要求严苛的用例。E3接口是使dApps从厂商专属机制转变为新兴AI-RAN生态系统可移植组件的关键：该接口定义了dApp如何订阅无线接入网（RAN）遥测数据、接收指示并向RAN发送控制动作。迄今为止，E3已在OpenAirInterface和NVIDIA Aerial上实现；Linux基金会的开源CU/DU项目OCUDU则缺乏相应的E3路径。我们通过为OCUDU设计一款开源E3控制器填补了这一空白，该控制器以sidecar守护进程形式实现，使E3协议栈、服务模型逻辑及dApp交互完全独立于RAN核心处理，仅通过定义明确的仪器化钩子与核心处理交互。我们采用Spectrum和L1两种参考服务模型对该控制器进行验证，这两种模型通过Foxconn RPQN 4800无线单元向频谱感知dApp传输O-RAN前传I/Q采样。评估结果显示，E3路径未对OCUDU RAN造成可测量的吞吐量损失，证明在生产级开放RAN软件上实现实时dApp/RAN接口是可行的。
英文摘要
Real-time control loops in Open RAN are increasingly colocated with the gNB, where dApps, i.e., programmable applications with sub-millisecond access to PHY- and MAC-layer signals, enable latency-critical use cases such as spectrum sharing, channel-aware scheduling, and integrated sensing. What turns dApps from a per-vendor mechanism into a portable component of the emerging AI-RAN ecosystem is the E3 interface: this interface defines how a dApp subscribes to RAN telemetry, receives indications, and issues control actions back to the RAN. To date, E3 has been implemented on OpenAirInterface and on NVIDIA Aerial; OCUDU, i.e., the Linux Foundation's open-source CU/DU project, has lacked a comparable E3 path. We close that gap with an open-source E3Controller for OCUDU, designed as a sidecar daemon so the E3 protocol stack, service-model logic, and dApp interactions live entirely outside RAN core processing, which is touched only through well-defined instrumentation hooks. We validate the controller with two reference service models, Spectrum and L1, that deliver O-RAN fronthaul I/Q samples to a spectrum-sensing dApp over a Foxconn RPQN 4800 radio unit. Our evaluation shows that the E3 path imposes no measurable throughput penalty on the OCUDU RAN, demonstrating that a real-time dApp/RAN interface is feasible on production-grade open RAN software.
