Publikation
Transport Network Management and Orchestration in 6G O-RAN: Standards, Frameworks, and Proposals
Khurshid Alam; Mohammad Asif Habibi; Xavier Costa-P´erez; M´erouane Debbah; Ashutosh Dutta; Hans Dieter Schotten
In: IEEE Open Journal of the Communications Society (OJCOMS), Vol. 0, Pages 1-38, IEEE, 9/2026.
Zusammenfassung
The evolution toward disaggregated, cloud-native, and multi-vendor architectures, as demonstrated by the open radio access network (O-RAN), together with the stringent performance requirements of sixth-generation (6G) networks, necessitates advanced transport network (TN) management and orchestration (M\&O). Such capabilities are critical to ensure deterministic performance, flexible service provisioning, and scalable automation across fronthaul (FH), midhaul (MH), and backhaul (BH). In this context, the study of end-to-end (E2E) TN M\&O requires a comprehensive examination of the contributions and perspectives of diverse standards development organizations (SDOs). Despite substantial standardization efforts, E2E TN M\&O remains insufficiently addressed in the research literature. To bridge this gap, this paper presents a systematic and in-depth analysis of TN M\&O. Specifically, we review and critically assess the contributions of major SDOs, with emphasis on TN M\&O frameworks, control abstractions, and interface specifications. We then examine TN M\&O in O-RAN, focusing on the role of the service management and orchestration (SMO) framework. Furthermore, we analyze its capabilities and current limitations in achieving a unified E2E orchestration across the RAN, TN, and core network (CN) domains. Moreover, we conduct a comparative assessment of major SDOs, open-source initiatives, and commercial solutions regarding their contributions to TN M\&O. Building on this analysis, the paper proposes a unified architectural framework that explicitly integrates TN M\&O within the SMO, leveraging key principles from a set of standard-compliant frameworks. The proposed architecture enables coordinated M\&O of compute, storage, and TN resources. It supports multi-layer and multi-domain orchestration, as well as closed-loop service assurance, establishing a unified control plane for E2E network operation. Finally, this paper synthesizes the lessons learned from standards activities, open-source initiatives, commercial solutions, and architectural proposals. It identifies critical research challenges that must be addressed to realize fully integrated, scalable, and adaptive TN M\&O in 6G. Together, these contributions establish a structured foundation for advancing TN M\&O as a core enabler of 6G O-RAN.