Software Radio

1
Software Radio

• July 2001
• Danvers, MA.

François Xavier Lebas THALES Communications (33)
1 46 13 25 71 Francois-Xavier.Lebas_at_fr.thalesgroup
.com
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RADIO EVOLUTION
Digitization CODEC 001001110101010011101001110
Data Voice Coding
Voice / Data ciphering COMSEC Transmission
ciphering TRANSEC
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RADIO is a SYSTEM
Today a radio stack is about 500 K SLOCTomorrow
UMTS stack will be 5000 K SLOC
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RADIO USERS DRIVERS

• Multi-band, multi-mode, multi-waveform
• GSM, GPRS, UMTS, Tetra, BlueTooth (more to
  come)
• Interoperability
• Worldwide seamless roaming
• Choose of provider/protocol depending on
  location/cost/service
• Moving from voice services to digital services
• Seamless wireless communication networks
• Ubiquitous services
• Lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)

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RADIO TECHNOLOGY DRIVERS

• Full digitization
• Interconnection with data networks
• Increase of transmission rate
• Available CPU power increase
• HW and SW design able to process several
  waveforms
• Cyclical HW improvements reduce
  cost/volume/consumption
• SW trend to become independent from HW
• Open systems Open standard, Low cost HW and
  SW, plug play, Versatility, Scalability,
  Upgradability
• HW pattern architectural invariant
• A common hardware architecture can be defined
• Waveform and protocol will be specialized by
  software

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Radio Configurations
Handheld
Base Station
Mobile
Base Station
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Software RadioRequirements

• Open platform HW SW
• Support various Configurations
• Handheld, mobile,
• Wireless Network Router
• IP / Wireless Services provider / Common open
  interface
• Waveform/Protocol versatility is required
• at least static reconfigurability for Handheld
• dynamic reconfigurability for Base Station
• Standardization
• Ensure interoperability
• Lower costs

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What is a Software Radio ?

• A radio that realizes in software a variety of
  waveforms and applications in support of current
  and evolving standards, including but not limited
  to
• modulation techniques (wide band or narrow band)
  supporting broad frequency ranges
• user and network interfaces
• deployment and configuration of applications
• privacy and security functions

A software radio is a radio whose waveform
modulation/demodulation functions are defined in
software. The term "software radio" was coined
in 1991 to signal the shift from the
hardware-intensive digital radios of the 1980's
to the multi-band multi-mode software-based
radios planned for the year 2000 and beyond
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What is a Software Radio ?

• Some figures
• User data Rate up to 5 Mb/s
• Band Width up to 2 MHz
• Frequency Hopping up to 10 000 slots/s
• Latency time from input (user I/F) to output
  (antenna)
• less than 5 ms
• Part of protocol remain implemented using
  FPGA/DSP
• FPGA correlation
• DSP modulation / demodulation

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S/W Radios QoA

• Re-programmability
• download onto a radio the information required to
  deploy or update software functionality
• deploying, executing, or terminating installed
  software functionality
• Re-configurability
• the ability to dynamically modify the
  characteristics of executing software
• Scalability
• The ability to increase the capacity of a radio
  without impacting existing software
• Portability
• reuse of software across radio platforms using
  open, well defined interfaces

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Software Radiotechnology breakthrough
Software Radio Product Lines
Legacy Radio Sets
Transmit, Receive, Bridge, and Gateway Between
Similar and Diverse Waveforms Over Multiple
Communications Media and Networks

• Single Frequency
• Single Waveform
• Not Capable of Simultaneous Voice, Data, Video
• Low to Medium Data Rates
• Limited Routing, Networking, Network Management
• Can Not Automatically Adjust Performance
• Not Capable of Simultaneous Operation With Other
  Systems in Same or Other Domains
• Lacks Adequate Frequency Flexibility to Operate
  Globally
• Proprietary standards

• Software (Re-)Programmable
• Multi-band (UHF,VHF,HF) Multi-mode (Voice,
  Video Data)
• Backwards Compatible With Legacy Systems
• Modular design
• Scalable BaseStation, Handheld
• Flexible form factor
• Dynamic Bandwidth Management
• Retransmit/Cross band between frequency bands and
  Waveforms
• Networked
• Secure
• Open System Architecture

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Software RadioRelated Standards
OSPF
Voice Over IP
RIP2
IP
IETF
GPRS
GLOMO
EDGE
SUO
US DoD
SWR
JTRS
UMTS
ETSI
HDR
Trust
MEFS
OMG
MExE
CORBA
TMN
SDO
TAM
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Software Radio Context
SCA
Legend
MSRC Modular Software-Programmable Radio
Consortium (Raytheon Consortium)
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Historic SCA Information

• The Software Communications Architecture (SCA)
  specification sponsored by the Joint Tactical
  Radio System (JTRS) program under contract with
  members of the Modular Software-programmable
  Radio Consortium (MSRC)
• SCA has been submitted to and reviewed by the
  Software Defined Radio Forum (SDRF)
• Focus of the SCA
• Specifies a common distributed deployment
  framework to build-up, configure, connect and
  tear-down, embedded Radio Applications
• Specifies Software Interfaces to support the
  installation and use of distributed Applications
  to support flexible, re-programmable
  communication capabilities.
• Accessible at
• SCA http//www.jtrs.sarda.army.mil/docs/

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SCA Architecture Model
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SCA Architecture

• SCA defines embedded component-oriented
  architecture with services
• Base Application Interfaces
• Provides basic interfaces that models Resources,
  Ports ...
• Can be used by all software applications
• Implemented by application developers
• Framework Control Interfaces
• Provide interfaces for the start-up, control and
  tear-down of SW application components and the
  allocation and control of hardware assets
• Use domain profile
• set of XML files describing HW devices and SW
  components of a system
• Framework Services Interfaces
• Provide interfaces for distributed file access
  services, time and event logging services to a SW
  application component

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OMG Rationale

• Pro s
• MDA, UML, CORBA and more
• CORBA Maturity
• Openness
• Interoperability (manages heterogeneity)
• Components Model
• portability
• Comprehensive Security standards
• Security Services
• and numerous other potentially useful standards
• ORBOS services,
• MOF.

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OMG Rationale

• Cont s
• Implementations
• Implementations Qualities
• Portability,
• Performances for stringent realtime
• Implementations Availability
• CCM
• Missing
• see later in presentation

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SCA Achievements

• Valuable framework model
• produced through an engineering process
  (tracability),
• documented, consistent, extensible
• Portability provisions
• Installation Management (Domain)
• Diagnostic provisions
• Performances provisions
• Security framework
• Available implementations (not shelfware)

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SCA Future Directions

• OMG/CORBA conformance
• Testing and Conformance process
• Components standardisation
• Waveforms
• Radio and Network services
• Crossbanding, bridging
• Internet support (routing, QoS )
• Deployment Management
• Domain Management
• Downloading
• System Management Control
• HCI (Human Computer I/F)
• UML profile

On-Going