Designed specifically for all cellular IoT (CIoT) technologies, including the 5G RedCap specification, the E7515R is Keysight Technologies’ wireless test platform for chipset, device and module makers. The network emulation platform supports the development workflow from early design and development to deployment, said Keysight.
The E7515R is based on the company’s 5G Network Emulation Solutions platform, a streamlined network emulator specifically designed for protocol, radio frequency (RF), and functional testing of all CIoT technologies.
The E7515R features streamlined capabilities for RedCap without the additional features needed to test a full-spec 5G device. The integrated platform combines RF, protocol, functional, and performance testing in a compact footprint.
The 5G RedCap specification introduces support for wireless devices with reduced 5G capabilities. These devices are less complex, and consume less power, allowing them to address new CIoT use cases such as industrial sensors and wearables such as smartwatches. Like other cellular devices, RedCap devices require time-consuming and expensive certification from accredited labs before they can be released to the market. By performing lab validation early, to identify and correct design issues, device and module manufacturers can shorten the certification process for RedCap and other CIoT devices, said Keysight.
The E7515R supports 5G Release 17 RedCap and legacy CIoT technologies, including Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), LTE Category M, and LTE Cat-1bis.
The E7515R is built on the same architecture as Keysight’s 5G Network Emulation Solutions platform. The E7515R also uses the same software, providing workflow consistency and reduced learning curves.
The E7515R is shipping now and Keysight will demonstrate the solution’s 5G RedCap network emulation capabilities at MWC 2023 in Barcelona (27 February to 02 March): Hall 5 Stand 5E12.
Keysight delivers design and validation products across the development lifecycle, in design simulation, prototype validation, automated software testing, manufacturing analysis, and network performance optimisation and visibility in enterprise, service provider and cloud environments. Customers span the worldwide communications and industrial ecosystems, aerospace and defence, automotive, energy, semiconductor and general electronics markets.
Test & Measurement
Rohde & Schwarz implements AI and ML with Nvidia at MWC
At MWC 2023 next week (27 to 02 March 2023) in Barcelona, Rohde & Shwarz will showcase the possibilities of an AI-native air interface for 6G. Working with Nvidia, it will present the industry’s first hardware-in-the-loop demonstration of a neural receiver, showing the achievable performance gains when using trained machine learning (ML) models compared to traditional signal processing.
There will be a demonstration of how a neural receiver approach performs in a 5G NR uplink multi-user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) scenario, which is a blueprint for a possible 6G physical layer. The setup combines test solutions for signal generation and analysis from Rohde & Schwarz and the Nvidia Sionna GPU-accelerated open-source library for link-level simulations.
A neural receiver constitutes the concept of replacing signal processing blocks for the physical layer of a wireless communications system with trained ML models. Academia, leading research institutes and industry experts across the globe anticipate that a future 6G standard will use AI/ML for signal processing tasks, such as channel estimation, channel equalisation, and demapping. Today’s simulations suggest that a neural receiver will increase link-quality and will impact throughput compared to the current high-performance deterministic software algorithms used in 5G NR.
To train machine learning models, data sets are an absolute prerequisite. Often, the required access to data sets is limited or simply not available. In the current state of early 6G research, test and measurement equipment provides a viable alternative when generating various data sets with different signal configurations to train ML models for signal processing tasks.
In the showcased AI/ML-based neural receiver setup, the R&S SMW200A vector signal generator emulates two individual users transmitting an 80MHz wide signal in the uplink direction with a MIMO 2×2 signal configuration. Each user is independently faded, and noise is applied to simulate realistic radio channel conditions. The R&S MSR4 multi-purpose satellite receiver acts as the receiver, capturing the signal transmitted at a carrier frequency of 3GHz by using its four phase-coherent receive channels. The data is then provided via the real-time streaming interface to a server. There, the signal is pre-processed using the R&S Server-Based Testing (SBT) framework including R&S VSE vector signal explorer (VSE) micro-services. The VSE signal analysis software synchronises the signal and performs fast Fourier transforms (FFT). This post-FFT data set serves as input for a neural receiver implemented using Sionna.
Nvidia’s Sionna is a GPU-accelerated open-source library for link-level simulation. It enables rapid prototyping of complex communications system architectures and provides native support to the integration of machine learning in 6G signal processing.
As part of the demonstration, the trained neural receiver is compared to the classical concept of a linear minimum mean squared error (LMMSE) receiver architecture, which applies traditional signal processing techniques based on deterministically developed software algorithms. These already high-performance algorithms are widely adopted in current 4G and 5G cellular networks.
Rohde & Schwarz will present the AI/ML based trained neural receiver demonstration at Fira Gran Via in Barcelona, Hall 5-5A80.
400GE network cybersecurity test is a first, says Keysight
Data centre network equipment manufacturers (NEM) and operators can use Keysight Technologies’ eight-port 400GE quad small form factor pluggable double density (QSFP-DD) network cybersecurity test platform to validate products and services support hyperscale data volumes, encryption demands and security challenges.
The APS-M8400 modular network cybersecurity test platform delivers 400GE density with an 8 x 400GE QSFP-DD test interface.
It has been introduced for data centre operators and service providers which are facing exponential growth in encrypted traffic volumes and security threats driven by increases in video streaming, cloud computing, AI, machine learning (ML) and IoT devices. The introduction of 400GE places critical infrastructure under even greater demand as growing volumes of encrypted traffic are being delivered at unprecedented speed, said Keysight. To meet these requirements, data centre NEMs and operators need tools that can validate that their products and services support hyperscale loads, without compromising security and usability.
The APS-M8400 delivers a modular, 400GE network security test platform that aggregates compute and FPGA resources to deliver hyperscale application and cybersecurity test and validation.
The ability to test 8 x 400GE QSFP-DD supports industry moves from 100GE to 400GE without the need for additional switches or infrastructure. It also offers a centralised management of up to 16 compute nodes to reduce the management learning curve and simplify system upgrades and maintenance.
It also offers flexible aggregation of compute and FPGA resources to optimise the performance and scalability requirements for any simulated workload, using one or multiple 400GE test interfaces.
The APS-M8400 can drive hyperscale application and cybersecurity test performance, including encrypted traffic loads, to effectively emulate the rigorous demands put upon data centre and service provider infrastructure. It can generate up to 3Tbit per second of Layer 4 to Layer 7 traffic, more than five billion concurrent connections, 2.4Tbits per second of transport layer security (TLS) traffic, and 2.4 million TLS connections per second.
It is designed to be scalable with a “pay-as-you-grow” structure, allowing users the flexibility to add capacity as requirements change and budgets allow.
Keysight introduces automated assessment for 5G smartphones
Enhancements to Keysight Technologies’ Nemo Device application test suite include automation and AI. The result enables wireless service providers and application developers to accelerate the assessment of smartphone users’ real-world interactions with native applications.
The use of mobile applications is fuelling growth in native mobile apps on smart phones to access digital content, engage on social media platforms and to participate in online games. They are gaining in popularity because they offer an optimal and customised experience compared to mobile web browsers, said Keysight Technologies.
“Service providers and mobile app developers need a reliable way to verify the real end-user experience of accessing over-the-top (OTT) applications from a smartphone connected to the cellular network,” explained Matti Passoja, head of Nemo Wireless Solutions at Keysight. The company has combined in-house software technology to create an automated app test method that uses real applications to provide accurate insights into the network performance, even under the most complex and dynamic circumstances, he added.
Keysight leveraged AI, machine learning (ML) and automation, using data captured by a native mobile app (i.e., not simulated data traffic), to create the device test app method. According to the company, this delivers a more accurate assessment of an end-user’s interaction with the same mobile app. The application test automation method enables wireless service providers to rapidly optimise 5G network performance to improve quality of experience (QoE) for smartphone users accessing OTT services and social media applications, including Facebook Messenger, Microsoft Teams, Snapchat, TikTok and Zoom.
The automated test app method is one of three complementary test methods available within Keysight’s Nemo Device Application Testing Suite. Depending on the type of the mobile application and the key performance indicators, a specific test method is used in combination with a companion Nemo field test. Nemo testing suite users receive a comprehensive, realistic and flexible 5G network performance validation and end-user QoE assessment.
Keysight’s Nemo test tools capture real measurement data in the field for real-time or post-process analysis. These test tools include Nemo Outdoor 5G NR Drive test, Nemo Backpack Pro 5G In-Building Benchmarking and Nemo Network Benchmarking.
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