RAN Slicing using OpenAirInterface and FlexRAN in a Virtualized Scenario

Network Slicing is considered a key mechanism to serve all network clients in a flexible and cost-efficient manner. This concept defines a real network into virtual and independent logical networks allocated according to services and requirements. The software-defined RAN (Radio Access Network) platforms allow the control and administration of RAN, thus providing functionalities such as network slicing and RAN programmability. This paper presents an implementation of a software-defined RAN platform in a Centralized RAN architecture using FlexRAN and OpenAirInterface platform. Furthermore, the network elements were containerized using Docker in an orchestrated scenario using Kubernetes.