Systems and methods for a multiple-operator distributed antenna system
In one embodiment, a DAS comprises: a master unit configured to receive a signal from a base station, and configured to transmit a signal to the base station; remote antenna units coupled to the master unit and configured to radiate a remote downlink RF signal and receive a remote uplink RF signal; and a controller configured to execute code for a DAS management virtualization system that includes a virtual system controller function configured to establish a plurality of virtual systems and assign physical resources of the DAS to each of the virtual systems. The DAS management virtualization system includes a northbound interface driver that defines a first virtualized DAS operator interface configured to manage a first set of physical resources assigned to a first virtual system, and a second virtualized DAS operator interface configured to manage a second set of physical resources assigned to a second virtual system.
1. A distributed antenna system (DAS), the system comprising:
a master unit configured to receive a base station downlink radio frequency signal from at least one base station, and configured to transmit a base station uplink radio frequency signal to the at least one base station;
a plurality of remote antenna units that are each communicatively coupled to the master unit, the plurality of remote antenna units each configured to radiate a remote downlink radio frequency signal from at least one antenna into a coverage area and to receive a remote uplink radio frequency signal from the coverage area via the at least one antenna; and
a controller configured to execute code for a DAS management virtualization system, wherein the DAS management virtualization system includes a virtual system controller function configured to establish a plurality of virtual systems and assign one or more physical resources of the DAS to each of the plurality of virtual systems;
wherein the DAS management virtualization system includes a northbound interface driver that defines a first virtualized DAS operator interface configured to manage a first set of the one or more physical resources assigned to a first virtual system, and defines a second virtualized DAS operator interface configured to manage a second set of the one or more physical resources assigned to a second virtual system.
2. The system of claim 1 , the DAS management virtualization system further comprising a first network interface coupled to the first virtualized DAS operator interface, and a second network interface coupled to the second virtualized DAS operator interface.
3. The system of claim 1 , wherein at least one physical resource of the DAS includes at least one shared physical resource assigned to both the first virtual system and the second virtual system.
4. The system of claim 1 further comprising:
a data model accessible by the virtual system controller function, wherein the data model includes resource definitions for the one or more physical resources of the DAS.
5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the data model further comprises virtual system definitions that indicate which of the one or more physical resources of the DAS are assigned to each of the plurality of virtual systems.
6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the master unit comprises at least one wide-area integration node (WIN) coupled to a central area node (CAN);
wherein the plurality of remote antenna units each comprise an access point coupled to the central area node.
7. The system of claim 6 , further comprising one or more transport extension nodes (TEN) coupled between the central area node and at least some of the remote antenna units.
8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first virtualized DAS operator interface outputs information for displaying a graphical interface for the first virtual system via a first network interface to a first network operator;
wherein the second virtualized DAS operator interface outputs information for displaying a graphical interface for the second virtual system via a second network interface to a second network operator.
9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the graphical interface for the first virtual system includes a graphical representation of the first virtual system, and the graphical interface for the second virtual system includes a graphical representation of the second virtual system.
10. The system of claim 8 , wherein the DAS management virtualization system is configured to alter a configuration of the first virtual system in response to input from the first network operator received via the first virtualized DAS operator interface;
wherein the virtual system controller function is configured to alter a configuration of the second virtual system in response to input from the second network operator received via the second virtualized DAS operator interface.
11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the DAS management virtualization system is configured so that commands received via the first virtualized DAS operator cannot alter a configuration of the second virtual system, and commands received via the second virtualized DAS operator cannot alter a configuration of the first virtual system.
12. The system of claim 1 , wherein the virtual system controller function, in response to an input from an operator of the first virtual system via the first virtualized DAS operator interface, is configured to define one or more signal sets for the first virtual system and assign the one or more signal sets to one or more of the remote antenna units assigned to the first virtual system.
13. A management system for a distributed antenna system (DAS), wherein the DAS comprises a master unit and a plurality of remote antenna units coupled to the master unit, the system comprising:
a controller;
at least one network interface in communication with the controller; and
a data storage device storing a data model that includes at least resource definitions and virtual system definitions;
wherein the controller is configured to execute a DAS management virtualization system configured to:
execute a virtual system controller function to establish a plurality of virtual systems, wherein information defining of each of the plurality of virtual systems is stored in the virtual system definitions;
assign one or more physical resources of the DAS to each of the plurality of virtual systems, wherein information defining each of the one or more physical resources of the DAS is stored in the resource definitions;
execute a northbound interface driver to establish a plurality of virtualized DAS operator interfaces each associated with one of the virtual systems, wherein the plurality of virtualized DAS operator interfaces are communicatively coupled to the at least one network interface; and
wherein a first virtualized DAS operator interface is configured to manage a first set of the one or more physical resources assigned to a first virtual system in response to commands received from a first user via the at least one network interface;
wherein a second virtualized DAS operator interface is configured to manage a second set of the one or more physical resources assigned to a second virtual system in response to commands received from a second user via the at least one network interface.
14. The system of claim 13 , wherein commands received from the first user are received via a first network interface of the at least one network interface and commands received from the second user are received via an independent second network interface of the at least one network interface.
15. The system of claim 13 , wherein the one or more physical resources of the DAS includes at least one shared physical resource assigned to both the first virtual system and the second virtual system.
16. The system of claim 13 , wherein the master unit comprises at least one wide-area integration node (WIN) coupled to a central area node (CAN); and
wherein the plurality of remote antenna units each comprise an access point coupled to the central area node.
17. The system of claim 16 , further comprising one or more transport extension nodes (TEN) coupled between the central area node and at least some of the remote antenna units.
18. The system of claim 13 , wherein the first virtualized DAS operator interface outputs information for displaying a graphical interface for the first virtual system to the first user;
wherein the second virtualized DAS operator interface outputs information for displaying a graphical interface for the second virtual system to the second user.
19. The system of claim 13 , wherein the DAS management virtualization system is configured so that commands received via the first virtualized DAS operator cannot alter a configuration of the second virtual system, and commands received via the second virtualized DAS operator cannot alter a configuration of the first virtual system.
20. A method for distributed antenna system (DAS) management virtualization for a DAS comprising a master unit and a plurality of remote antenna units coupled to the master unit, the method comprising:
executing a virtual system controller function to establish a plurality of virtual systems, wherein information defining of each of the plurality of virtual systems is stored in a data model;
assigning one or more physical resources of the DAS to each of the plurality of virtual systems, wherein information defining each of the one or more physical resources of the DAS is stored in the data model;
executing a northbound interface driver to establish a plurality of virtualized DAS operator interfaces each associated with one of the virtual systems, wherein the plurality of virtualized DAS operator interfaces are communicatively coupled to at least one network interface; and
wherein a first virtualized DAS operator interface is configured to manage a first set of the one or more physical resources assigned to a first virtual system in response to commands received from a first user via the at least one network interface;
wherein a second virtualized DAS operator interface is configured to manage a second set of the one or more physical resources assigned to a second virtual system in response to commands received from a second user via the at least one network interface.