At the recently held Mobile World Congress (MWC), Artesyn Embedded Technologies unveiled a powerful new network edge server that will enable service providers to cut the capital and operating cost of deploying a complete virtualized radio access network (vRAN). The MC1600 Series Extreme Edge Server uses Intel® Xeon® Processor D family devices to provide a flexible compute engine that operators can reallocate to any required load such as multi-access edge computing (MEC), when not required for vRAN processing. An on-board Ethernet switch eliminates the need for external switching and enables a standard Ethernet remote radio head connection, while a PCI Express slot can be used to add functionality such as a CPRI remote radio head connection or offload media acceleration.
The MC1600 Series Extreme Edge Server is designed to be deployed in remote installations with a wide environmental temperature range and side-to-side cooling found in many outdoor cabinets. While initially targeted at vRAN applications, the MC1600 Series Extreme Edge Server is ideal for industrial site monitoring, Internet of Things (IoT) gateways, and smart cities applications as well as private cloud installations both on-premise and remote.
Artesyn vRAN innovation
Artesyn has provided innovative computing platforms for virtualized and cloud RAN applications to some of the largest telecom operators, system integrators and equipment providers in the world. With public demonstrations supporting mini-cRAN, vRAN, multi-access edge computing, augmented and virtual reality, and autonomous vehicle control, Artesyn’s computing platforms are the foundation for emerging smart city infrastructure, 4G and 5G networks, and the monetization of new consumer services by operators.
