  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.
