Open RAN Studio O-RAN Radio Unit (O-RU) Testing and Validation

Complete O-RAN Radio Unit Test and Validation

Keysight 5G Open RAN Studio tests O-RAN Radio Units (O-RU) and chipsets with O-RAN (ORAN-WG4.CUS.0-v02.00) split option 7.2x compliant CU-plane stimulus generation and analysis. Open RAN Studio emulates a Distributed Unit (O-DU), enabling users to generate test vectors against a DUT, captures O-RAN uplink communications, and perform the measurements necessary to validate an O-RU’s functional operation and performance.

Keysight Open RAN Studio – Solution Overview

Designed for LTE and 5G O-RAN Radio Unit (O-RU) testing, Keysight Open RAN Studio provides powerful, yet easy to use, capabilities to:

• Build O-RAN compliant CUS-plane test vectors.

• Emulate an O-RAN Distributed Unit (O-DU) – to generate the test vectors against a Device Under Test (DUT).

• Capture and accurately timestamp the DUT’s responses.

• Perform measurements needed to validate if the O-RU meets standard compliant operation and radio performance.

Open RAN Studio includes powerful O-RAN focused tools to construct, play, capture, and measure O-RAN traffic over 10 Gbps / 25 Gbps (fronthaul) Ethernet interfaces. Out of the box integration with Keysight’s industry leading PathWave Signal Studio and 89600 VSA software enables sophisticated 5G signal creation and easy capture, extraction, and export of IQ vectors – for advanced modulation analysis of received RF / mmWave signals and radio performance. Additionally, when combined with Keysight spectrum analyzers and signal sources, the integrated Open RAN Studio solution delivers the most comprehensive cross domain, multi-channel RF / mmWave and O-RAN protocol measurements available in the industry, for both FR1 and FR2 radios, downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) paths.

Keysight Open RAN Studio – Solution Components

Figure 1 (page 3) illustrates a simplified architecture for the Open RAN Studio suite of integrated tools and optional elements, which include:

1. Signal Studio Pro for 5G NR creates 3GPP compliant 5G NR waveforms for emulation through Open RAN Studio to an O-RU / DUT and subsequent transmission to a downstream signal analyzer, DUT, or compliant UE.

2. Open RAN Studio integrates five powerful O-RAN development tools to construct, play, capture, measure, and extract IQ vectors for split option 7.2x O-RAN traffic over a 10 or 25 Gbps fronthaul Interface.

a. Open RAN Studio Builder helps you easily construct diverse O-RAN test vectors. The PCAPNG formatted output file includes the complete Ethernet / VLAN / eCPRI / O-RAN stack.

b. Open RAN Studio Player is a hardware-based exerciser that emulates a DU and generates test vectors to an O-RU / DUT through the O-RAN interface – honoring O-RAN CUS-planetiming windows.

c. Open RAN Studio Capture is a hardware-based analyzer that captures the bidirectional Tx and Rx information flows between the DU and O-RU over the O-RAN interface.

d. Open RAN Studio Explorer decodes and visualizes the O-RAN protocol information and enables measurement in both protocol and RF / mmWave domains.

e. Open RAN Studio IQ Extractor is an optional application thatreconstructs a time domain IQ file from an O-RAN trace capture for further modulation measurements with 89600 VSA software.

f. 89600 VSA for 5G NR may optionally receive captured IQ vectors from Open RAN Studio IQ Extractor to perform 5G NR modulation and radio performance measurements.

Open RAN Studio for O-RAN Radio Unit (O-RU) Testing

Open RAN Studio provides a test environment that includes and integrates with Keysight tools, in both RF and Protocol Domains, to help you completely exercise an O-RAN CUS compliant Radio Unit (O-RU).

To ensure measurement consistency between both RF and Baseband sides of the O-RU, Open RAN Studio software leverages the same industry leading 5G signal generation and measurement science used in Keysight spectrum analyzers and signal sources. This tight coupling ensures CU-plane messages and baseband information match exactly with the signals captured on the RF side of the Radio Unit.

Signal Studio Pro for 5G NR 2020, ORAN (N7631ORNC)

Keysight Signal Studio Pro for 5G NR software is a flexible signal creation tool that helps significantly reduce the time spent on signal simulation. Quickly and easily generate 5G NR signals for component, transmitter and receiver test. Its user-friendly interface lets you configure signal parameters, calculate the resulting waveforms, and download .SCP files – for generation with Open RAN Studio Builder or for analysis using Keysight 89600 Vector Signal Analysis software.

N7631C PathWave Signal Studio Pro for 5G NR enables you to generate various 5G NR signals necessary to characterize the power and modulation performance of your components and transmitters. Easily manipulate a variety of signal parameters to simplify signal creation.

• Quickly configure and generate 5G NR test models for FDD and TDD.

• Create spectrally-correct signals for channel power, spectral mask, and spurious testing.

• View CCDF, spectrum, time domain, and power envelope graphs to investigate the effects of power ramps, modulation formats, power changes, clipping, and other effects on device performance.

• Adjust Peak-To-Average-Ratio (PAPR) with Crest Factor Reduction.

• Baseband filter and windowing for spectrum control to improve the out-of-band performance.

• Support test model presets for FR1 and FR2.