04/15/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 04/15/2024 21:08
Key takeaways:
The phrase "wireless fiber" is often used to describe 5G's high data speeds. Many crucial use cases like global connectivity and autonomous driving rely on 5G technology's latency and reliability promises.
To ensure those promises, effective 5G network testing is crucial. This article explores various aspects of 5G network testing and the equipment and software used for it.
5G testing is performed with the goal of:
In the sections below, we explain the two 5G deployments that must be checked during 5G network testing.
Non-standalone (NSA) 5G architectures enable established network operators to set up 5G alongside their existing 4G infrastructure and provide both services simultaneously to their subscribers. A user can gradually transition their devices and subscription plans from 4G to 5G services without disruption, falling back on 4G in areas where 5G is not yet available.
The infrastructure can comply with either the 5G new radio (NR) or the latest 5G-advanced specifications (release 18 and later). The 4G infrastructure can comply with long-term evolution (LTE) or LTE-advanced (LTE-A) specifications.
The mix of standards complicates all aspects of the 5G network testing - functionality, performance, reliability, conformance, and regulatory compliance. For example:
Standalone (SA) 5G is suitable for a network operator that is newly stepping into a market to provide 5G services either to the public or to businesses that want private 5G networks (like oil and gas, logistics, or airports).
From a testing perspective, operators must comply with the relevant 5G NR conformance standards based on the nature of their services.
The 5G NR specifications enable network operators to deploy the 5G portions of their radio access networks (RANs) in different ways according to their business, expansion, and financial plans.
Fig 1. Distributed RAN architecture
In a traditional distributed RAN (D-RAN) deployment, a 5G base station - called a gNodeB (gNB) - is a logical subsystem consisting of these components colocated on each cell tower:
Fig 2. Centralized RAN
In cloud or centralized RAN (C-RAN) architecture, BBUs are moved away from the cell sites to hubs so that each BBU can serve multiple RRUs. This brings both technical benefits (such as better channel allocation between RRUs) and cost savings due to the reduced number of BBUs.
Fronthaul interfaces and technologies become more important in C-RAN due to the distances. New technologies like enhanced CPRI (eCPRI) and next-generation fronthaul interface (NGFI) are used instead of plain CPRI.
An alternate preferred configuration further splits a BBU's functions into a distributed unit (DU) and a centralized unit (CU), as shown below. This adds more flexibility, allowing the 5G network to satisfy its latency and real-time processing KPIs cost-effectively.
Fig 3. Centralized RAN with DU and CU
The DU is located close to the cell sites and does time-sensitive processing of lower protocols like the radio link control (RLC) layer, the media access control (MAC) layer, and the physical (PHY) layer. It manages aspects like error correction, scheduling, modulation, and demodulation.
The CU manages less time-sensitive control-plane functions like session management, radio resource control, mobility control, and talking to the 5G core. A CU can serve multiple DUs, which again yields technical and financial benefits. The DUs are connected to CUs over high-bandwidth, low-latency fiber networks that form the midhaul. The CUs are connected to the 5G core again over high-bandwidth fiber networks that form the backhaul.
The vRAN is conceptually the same as C-RAN. Its main difference is that the DU and CU functions are deployed using techniques like network function virtualization (NFV) and containers to achieve more flexible deployments on off-the-shelf hardware and software that can be scaled easily and inexpensively - for example, on public or private cloud services.
The open RAN specifications allow network operators to mix network elements from different vendors in a vRAN architecture. For example, the open radio units (O-RUs) can be from one vendor, the open distributed units (O-DUs) from another, and the open centralized units (O-CUs) from a third vendor.
Beamforming concentrates radio transmissions in the direction of a receiver to boost their signal strengths and ranges. It does this by manipulating the elements of a phased array antenna such that all the transmissions constructively interfere with each other in the direction of the receiver.
But why is this needed? The 5G NR standards allow communications over new frequencies in the millimeter wave (mmWave) band, especially in the 24-100 gigahertz (GHz) range. However, these high frequencies are easily blocked in dense urban environments by buildings, trees, vehicles, and other objects. Latency as well as mobility will suffer severely.
Beamforming alleviates this by enabling both the RAN and the user equipment to focus their transmissions carefully toward each other.
Testing beamforming in the network or user equipment calls for these prerequisites:
Massive MIMO (mMIMO) and multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) use a large number of antennas to simultaneously transmit many data streams over the same frequency channel through spatial multiplexing. These multiple data streams greatly bolster the effective throughputs of 5G channels.
Just like beamforming, MIMO requires OTA testing because the number of antennas and transmissions is too high.
A major aspect of 5G is the use of satellites and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) - like balloons, airplanes, and drones - to expand the RAN high up into space for ubiquitous connectivity. However, these new mobile base station platforms introduce Doppler shifts in frequencies due to high orbital speeds and higher latencies due to greater distances between network components.
For NTN and device testing, network operators and 5G device manufacturers need:
Another major feature of 5G is massive machine-type communications (mMTC) that allows a large number of IoT devices to send data over 5G networks efficiently.
Plus, the 5G reduced capability (RedCap) or NR-Lite is a reduced version of the 5G standard specifically designed for IoT use cases.
The 5G core communicates with base station components (i.e., BBUs, CUs, or O-CUs) of the RAN over fiber networks. To test the core, the functions of the 5G base stations must be emulated.
Network slicing is the dynamic allocation of 5G core functions and resources to suit specific applications. For example, autonomous driving requires ultra-low latency, while data browsing does not. Network slicing dynamically configures and deploys its functions to suit these different applications using NFV.
To test network slicing, the ability to configure and simulate different use cases is necessary. For example:
Some of the key metrics and KPIs measured in 5G network testing include:
Some of the bigger challenges of 5G network testing are listed below:
Given the complexities of 5G networks, all stakeholders - mobile network operators, device manufacturers, satellite service providers, IoT providers, and various ancillary service providers - have to use several purpose-built equipment and software to effectively test them. In the sections that follow, we look at some of the test equipment and software that are used.
Fig 4. Keysight E7515B UXM 5G wireless test solution
A signaling platform that's aware of the latest Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) specifications is essential. The Keysight E7515B UXM 5G wirelesstest solution is one such specialized platform with multi-format stack support, rich processing power, and abundant RF resources.
Fig 5. 5G RAN testing software
The 5GRANtesting software can simulate stateful UE traffic at scale for end-to-end 5G RAN validation. It can simulate real-world user activities like voice over NR, voice over LTE, video on demand, and more - scaling up from a few UEs to thousands of UEs.
Fig 6. OTA test chamber
The 5G OTA test chambers enable antenna measurements and RF conformance tests. These chambers are configurable with different numbers and positions of probe antennas to support different use cases. For example, they can do performance testing of MIMO and radio resource management under faded conditions.
Fig 7. P8900S 5G core validation software
The P8900S LoadCore software simulates user equipment behavior for network slicing, multi-access edge computing (MEC), low latency, offloading, video optimization, and similar use cases.
A core simulator allows the emulation of 5G core functions to help test RAN solutions. For example, the P8850S CoreSIM can simulate 4G, NSA 5G, and SA 5G core functions.
Fig 8. P8800S UeSIM
A user equipment simulator creates realistic network traffic over the radio as well as fronthaul interfaces. For example, the P8800S UeSIM can generate realistic traffic loads, simulating applications running on thousands of concurrent devices operating real voice and data sessions.
Several advanced simulators and measurement software are available for validating non-terrestrial network components.
Fig 9. Keysight 5G signal analysis solution with UXA and PXA signal analyzers
The UXA and PXA signal analyzers (spectrum analyzers) with the PathWave X-Series family of multi-touch applications and PathWave Vector Signal Analysis (89600 VSA) software enable the 5G signal analysis.
The increase in the number and complexity of 5G capabilities exponentially increases their attack surface. For example:
To simulate vulnerabilities and attacks, some of the notable security testing tools include:
In this article, we explored the capabilities of 5G that must be tested and the equipment and tools for doing so.
Contact us for insights into testing your 5G network equipment or devices.