Rakuten Symphony’s new Symware 2.0 next-generation distributed unit achieves 3x RAN capacity

• Symware 2.0 server is the company’s latest next-generation distributed unit server designed with commercial off the shelf (COTS) components.
• The platform offers three times the capacity of previous generation platform in smaller form factor and power envelope resulting in a new level of energy efficiency.
• Integrated Multi-Service Cell Site Routing capabilities, with Class C precision timing and syncE support.
• Performance comes from new 4^th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors with Intel vRAN Boost, an integrated vRAN L1 accelerator.
• Symware 2.0 models include an outdoor server with an IP67 enclosure, and a telco cloud version designed for datacentre environments.
• Symware 2.0 is offered by Rakuten Symphony RAN Business Division.

Barcelona – Rakuten Symphony today announced the 2.0 version of its Symware^TM next-generation distributed unit platform for Open RAN. Symware 2.0 platform is based on 4^th Gen Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors with Intel® vRAN Boost enabling three times the capacity of Symware 1.0 platform while maintaining a smaller form factor and power budget.

The new platform is being launched at MWC Barcelona 2023 where Symware 2.0 demos will take place in the Rakuten Symphony booth (#2D46) and the Intel booth (#3E31).

The Symware platform is designed for high-performance and high-capacity cell sites in a distributed or centralised deployment scenario where it has the performance to help manage spectrum complexity and carrier aggregation that is a roadblock facing some MNOs in their adoption of Open RAN technology.

“One challenge facing the adoption of Open RAN is minimising the cost and complexity of the DU – and the Symware 2.0 product is an ideal solution to that obstacle,” said Tareq Amin, CEO of Rakuten Symphony. “I am delighted to work with Intel to deliver an incredibly disruptive design for the Symware 2.0 platform. This would not have been possible without the integrated accelerator design of the 4^th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors.”

In 2021, Rakuten Symphony launched the first Symware product which was designed to simplify Open RAN deployments at scale and greatly reduce the total cost of ownership of the network. The company has started deployment of more than 30,000 Symware units to build out the Rakuten Mobile 4G and 5G network in Japan.

“We worked closely with Rakuten Symphony as they pioneered Open RAN, and learned a lot about how to reduce the complexity to help enable Symware 2.0 server,” said Dan Rodriguez, CVP and GM of the Network and Edge Solutions Group at Intel. “Rakuten was a key collaborator as we designed the 4^th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processor with Intel vRAN Boost so that it would meet what operators need to deliver Open RAN.”  

The two Symware models include an outdoor server and telco cloud version. The outdoor server is environmentally hardened with an IP67 enclosure and a fan-free design. The telco cloud version is designed for datacentre installation in 19” rack and, due to its short depth, it also fits into outdoor cabinets that have short-depth racks.

Availability

Both outdoor and telco cloud Symware 2.0 servers will be available by the end of 2023.