Xilinx introduces multi-function telecom accelerator cards for the 5G O-RAN virtual baseband unit market

     Xilinx announced the introduction of T1 telecom accelerator cards for O-RAN distributed units (O-DU) and virtual Baseband units (VBBUS) in 5G networks. Developed using field-proven Xilinx chips and IP that is being widely deployed in 5G networks, the Accelerometer is the industry's only "2-in-1" board that can run the O-RAN forward protocol and provide L1 offloading in a versatile PCIe size specification. With its advanced offloading capabilities, the T1 card dramatically reduces the number of CPU cores required by previous systems. Compared to other competing solutions, the T1 card not only reduces total system power consumption and cost, but also supports O-DU to provide better 5G performance and service.

     O-DU and vBBU solutions provide an open and standard platform for a wide range of 5G virtualization services, enabling rapid growth in demand in their markets. The T1 card is a compact, single-slot board that can be plugged into standard x86 or non-x86 servers to achieve the real-time protocol processing performance required by the 5G virtualized O-DU platform. In addition, the card offloads line-speed and compute-intensive features such as channel encoding/decoding using hardened LDPC and Turbo codecs, rate matching/de-matching, and HARQ cache management, which help free up the processor core to focus on other services and truly virtualize it. T1's ecosystem partners provide "turnkey solutions" that include O-RAN prequel reference designs and 5G NR L1 reference designs, as well as pre-proven software that simplifies 5G deployment and helps operators, system integrators and Oems get to market quickly.

     Offloading critical channel encoding functions from the CPU to the T1 card can increase codec throughput by 45 and 23 times, respectively, compared to the pre-acceleration server implementation. At the same time, the T1 card can significantly reduce system cost and total power consumption by helping to occupy fewer CPU cores. In addition, for the O-RAN front-end termination, the board can handle multiple sectors of 5G NR 4TRX with 100MHz of bandwidth (OBW) through its 50Gbps optical port. The forward bandwidth and L1 bandwidth are matched for optimal scalability; If more towers are needed, more boards can be inserted through the server.

     Dan Mansur, vice President of marketing for Xilinx's Wireline and Wireless Business Group (WWG), said: "The trend towards network virtualization and O-RAN presents us with the opportunity to further disintegrate standard networks driven by the Xilinx T1 Telecom Accelerator card, helping us expand into every segment of the 5G market." Working closely with our ecosystem partners, Xilinx hardware, IP and software are leading the innovation and implementation of 5G O-RAN networks."

     Daryl Schoolar, head of fixed and mobile infrastructure practice at OMDIA, said: "As investment in 5G infrastructure continues to grow to support new services and those requiring greater bandwidth, it is critical to provide a solution that accelerates system acceleration to meet growing scale and bandwidth demands. As operators' interest in O-RAN and virtualization grows, the Xilinx T1 Telecom Accelerator card will be an attractive solution. Not only does it fulfill that need, but it also implements software, services and other important aspects on the edge."