5G RAN Testing

CHALLENGE: CAPTURING THE PROMISES OF 5G-RAN

As 5G standards evolve, it is important to perform continuous standards conformance testing to accelerate innovation. Testing 5G devices, equipment, and networks with complete confidence requires careful planning, well thought-out test plans, a performance benchmarking strategy, test automation, and reporting. This will eliminate any surprises when accelerating the deployment of 5G-related products and services.

5G New Radio (NR) is the new technology specification for an OFDM-based physical air interface. 5G NR is not an evolution of 4G (LTE). It is required to achieve the extreme bandwidth, low latency, and massive scalability requirements of 5G. 5G NR is expected to make wireless broadband performance the same as wired – “Wireless Fiber” to deliver lower cost per bit.

Based on these drivers, here are a few key expectations placed on the next-generation of wireless networks:

1. Drastic decreases in latency (1ms on radio, <5ms end to end) and massive improvements in throughput (gigabit speeds per subscriber)

2. Drastic increases in density – one million devices per square kilometer

3. Support for higher-speed mobility – up to 500Km/h

4. Drastic decreases of energy consumption for terminals (for IoT devices, surviving up to 10 years on a couple of AA batteries)

5. Improvements to geolocation accuracy – less than 1 meter

6. Increases in network flexibility with more automation and programmability

7. Reducing OPEX costs to one-fifth of today's numbers

MORE AND FASTER

Unlike some prior, more incremental advances in wireless, 5G is not just about more and faster, but more and faster is part of the story. Enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) captures much of the more and faster story, but it is here that the quantity of the more and faster bring about a completion of what started with earlier 4G deployments like WiMAX – wireless as a replacement for wired connections.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Validate 5G RAN functionality by assessing full protocol stack from Layer 1 to Layer 7

• Functional testing – layer by layer testing – up to 10 UEs

• Load testing of 5G-RAN – NSA and SA modes

• Compact footprint with potential to grow up to 4,000 UEs 

• Test complex mobility scenarios

• Perform service quality validation with subscriber modeling, and multiplay voice, video, and data traffic generation

• 3GPP R15, FR1 (Sub6 GHz), up to 4xCC, up to 4x4 MIMO

• Flexible, modular, and scalable to support different split architecture of 5G-RAN

SOLUTION: 5G NR UE EMULATION FOR FUNCTIONAL LAYER-BYLAYER TESTING AND LOAD/SCALE/PERFORMANCE TESTING

Keysight’s XAir3 fixed chassis (appliance) provides 5G NR user equipment (UE) emulation that enables a powerful Layer 1 to 7 test solution. With complex UE modeling, it offers realistic and easily-configured traffic models and call patterns. Using IxLoad’s real-world subscriber modeling, testers do not need to be protocol experts to develop test realism. From a single tool, users can perform capacity tests, detail a cell throughput, measure voice and video quality, and model a wide variety of mobility scenarios.