Viavi Solutions announced advanced and additional capabilities of a joint Testbed as a Service (TBaaS) with VMware, recently acquired by Broadcom, which combines the VIAVI TeraVM RIC Test with the VMware RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) to create a Digital Twin for the evaluation and performance benchmarking of applications.

TBaaS has been validated with multiple app vendors and consortiums, including at the i14y Lab, underscoring expanding industry demand due to its ability to speed deployment and agility, both of which are increasingly urgent in today’s network environments. The capabilities will be showcased at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, February 26-29.

Digital Twin modeling, based on AI and enabling new predictive capabilities, is fast emerging as a vital solution to fortify increasingly complex networks. By creating a virtual model of a network in the lab, service providers can more quickly and effectively model network behaviors and disruptions. TBaaS provides a cloud-based Digital Twin via a set of tools that enable communication service providers (CSPs) to streamline evaluation of rApps and xApps prior to selection of partners, continuous CI/CD efforts, deployment, and secure operations in the network.

With TBaaS from VIAVI and VMware, RIC applications address the need for simulations using realistic data. VIAVI provides geolocation intelligence and xApps/rApps, with real RAN data over the VMware RIC platform. This allows a CSP to capture information once and emulate it with multiple other applications, reducing the overhead of repeatedly capturing, processing and transmitting data. In addition, the RAN Scenario Generator within the TeraVM RIC Test allows developers and operators to model scenarios in the lab, either prior to launch or in environments where large volumes of real data are unavailable. Data captured can also be used for training AI/ML models.

“We’re collaborating with VIAVI to make sure that CSPs can benefit in many ways from the power of test automation and enablement,” said Lakshmi Mandyam, Vice President, Product Management and Partner Ecosystems, Software-Defined Edge Division, Broadcom. “By integrating the VMware RIC with VIAVI’s TeraVM RIC Test solution and making it available as a service, we are enabling an entirely new approach in RIC App development, CI/CD test automation and benchmarking. Our combined efforts help to speed CSPs network modernization and monetization initiatives.”

Ian Langley, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Wireless Business, VIAVI, said, “Our complementary portfolios are focused on demystifying the complex environments associated with Digital Twin, and together they provide a vast array of benefits that will help transform and accelerate new network capabilities.”

VMware is focused on attracting and collaborating with a vibrant ecosystem of partners to help its operator customers adopt Open RAN with complete confidence with its VMware Telco Cloud Platform and VMware Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) framework for network programmability and optimization. VIAVI has the most comprehensive portfolio of Open RAN test solutions in the industry and plays a leading role in defining test processes in the O-RAN ALLIANCE and Telecom Infra Project (TIP).