The steady evolution of the Open RAN concept sheds light on xApps and their potential use cases in O-RANcompliant deployments. There are several areas where xApps can be used that are being widely investigated, but the issue of mitigating conflicts between xApp decisions requires further in-depth investigation. This article defines a conflict mitigation framework (CMF) built into the existing O-RAN architecture; it enables the Conflict Mitigation component in O-RAN's Near- Real-Time RAN Intelligent Controller (Near-RT RIC) to detect and resolve all conflict types defined in the O-RAN Alliance's technical specifications. Methods for detecting each type of conflict are defined, including message flows between Near-RT RIC components. The suitability of the proposed CMF is proven with a simulation of an O-RAN network. Results of the simulation show that enabling the CMF allows balancing the network control capabilities of conflicting xApps to significantly improve network performance, with a small negative impact on its reliability. It is concluded that defining a unified CMF in Near-RT RIC is the first step towards providing a standardized method of conflict detection and resolution in O-RAN environments.

翻译：Open RAN概念的稳步发展凸显了xApps及其在符合O-RAN标准部署中的潜在应用场景。xApps可应用的多个领域正被广泛研究，但xApp决策间的冲突缓解问题仍需深入探究。本文定义了一种内置于现有O-RAN架构中的冲突缓解框架（CMF）；该框架使O-RAN近实时无线接入网络智能控制器（Near-RT RIC）中的冲突缓解组件能够检测并解决O-RAN联盟技术规范中定义的所有冲突类型。本文详细定义了各类冲突的检测方法，包括Near-RT RIC组件间的消息流。通过O-RAN网络仿真验证了所提CMF的适用性。仿真结果表明，启用CMF能够平衡冲突xApps的网络控制能力，显著提升网络性能，同时仅对网络可靠性产生微小负面影响。结论指出，在Near-RT RIC中定义统一的CMF是迈向标准化O-RAN环境冲突检测与解决机制的第一步。