How to Measure the Energy Efficiency of an O-RU

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Open RAN Studio Player and Capture Appliance
+ Open RAN Studio Player and Capture Appliance
Open RAN Studio Player and Capture Appliance
+ Open RAN Studio Player and Capture Appliance

Measuring O-RU energy efficiency with an O-DU emulator and DC power supply

RAN energy consumption and efficiency improvement requires minimizing power usage while maximizing performance. European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) has defined specifications for energy measurement of wireless access network equipment, including gNB, radio, and network functions. For radio unit (RU) testing, the ETSI ES 202 706 specifications include measuring power consumption under different load conditions —low, medium, busy, and full load. Measuring the O-RU at different loads enables the test engineer to calculate the total energy consumed.

To measure the energy efficiency of an O-RU, test engineers need an O-RAN distribution unit (O-DU) emulator, a DC power supply, and an RF power sensor. The O-DU emulator generates different static traffic levels defined by the ETSI ES 202 706-1 standard. A DC power supply provides power to the O-RU and measures the accumulated power consumption over time. The RF power sensor measures the output power at the antenna connector port. The ratio of output RF power to input DC power represents the energy efficiency measurement.

O-RU energy efficiency solution

O-RU energy efficiency test solution

Analysis of O-RU energy efficiency requires an O-DU emulator, a power sensor, and a DC power supply and analyzer. The Keysight E-plane test suite for O-RU provides a unified software framework to control the instruments for automated benchmarking and reporting. Keysight's O-DU emulator creates 3rd Generation Partnership Project-compliant (3GPP) 5G New Radio (NR) waveforms. The emulator can generate O-RAN traffic over 10 Gbps / 25 Gbps (fronthaul) Ethernet interfaces. An advanced power system delivers the power to the O-RU and measures the DC power consumption, while the RF power sensor measures the transmission power of the O-RU.
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