5G Protocol R&D Toolset

5G Protocol R&D Toolset

Technical Overviews

Keysight 5G Protocol R&D Toolset

Features and Capabilities

Introduction

Background

It’s an exciting time to be in the wireless industry. The race is on to deploy 5G and new capabilities released with Release 16. New chipsets and devices need to be rolled out at the right cost and time as 5G services are leading the customer experience with eMBB coming to forefront. Latest technologies are being enabled with R16 NR positioning and URLLC features. 5G introduces new challenges related to extended mmWave frequencies, beam management and the need for validating complex, integrated next generation devices in Over-the-Air (OTA) test environments. Use cases for 5G are continuously evolving which means 5G devices need to be characterized and validated to comply with evolving 3GPP NR specifications and mobile operator acceptance plans. Keysight is helping solve 5G design challenges ahead of each technology wave. We do this by delivering an ongoing stream of timely solutions that span the device ecosystem. The foundation is peaked expertise in 5G technologies, solutions and services—a combination that enables you to accelerate innovation in new-generation devices. Whether your team is developing the protocol stack for a chipset, or evaluating performance under real-world network conditions, Protocol R&D Toolset provides a solution that has already been proven to the market leaders in 5G. It allows you to test the latest 5G functionality including latest Release 16 features with easy-to-use tools and efficient debugging, leading to reduced time-to-market.

What is Protocol R&D Toolset?

Keysight’s Protocol R&D Toolset (PRT) is a comprehensive suite of tools for protocol and application testing of chipsets and devices. Protocol R&D Toolset covers the whole chipset and device development workflow from early prototype testing through to integration and verification. Protocol R&D toolset enables you to test the latest available 5G Release 16 features, including power saving, URLLC, beamforming, NR Positioning, conditional handovers, and other mobility scenarios. You can efficiently test Layer 2 before the entire stack is completely implemented by using L2 Mode to carry out protocol testing for Layer 2 separately, which means issues can be found and resolved earlier in the design lifecycle leading to reduced R&D costs. Currently, Protocol R&D Toolset supports two types of application testing: high data rate performance (e.g. eMBB use cases) and Audio Quality. Recently added “Audio Quality testing” capability enables verification of protocol compliance and its quality measured using MOS scores. Protocol R&D Toolset allows you to simulate a real network and then write and execute tests to verify how the chipset and device interacts with the network. Once the tests are executed, detailed logs are automatically generated, thereby facilitating troubleshooting of issues. With recent addition of “PRT Modules”, script development and maintenance had become significantly easier. Keysight continues to focus on “Ease-of-use” with these application enhancements.

Who benefits from using Protocol R&D Toolset?

  • Chipset and device manufacturers for early development testing of specific layers or the full protocol stack as well as for running functional and regression tests 
  • Test houses for regression testing 
  • Universities and research institutes for research activities

Automated, Flexible Test and Reporting Tools

Protocol R&D Toolset offers the flexibility to perform testing in a number of different ways. For example, you can:

  • Create and edit tests according to your test requirements and run the tests manually or in automation. 
  • Develop reusable modules. Use them over and over in various scripts. When a new capability is added or modules are enhanced, a quick refresh will update all these mdules. 
  • Develop a test in a way that gives you access to the protocol state machine, and when in that state, you can modify Layer 1 and Layer 2 parameters during test execution. This will enable you to test the interaction between Layer 1 on the network and Layer 1 on the device as well as between Layer 2 on the network and Layer 2 on the device. For complete testing of Layer 1, there is a separate application that can be used called Test Application. 
  • Develop a test using L2 Mode, which is useful when Layer 3 has not yet been implemented in your chipset or device.

This chapter provides an overview of how to use the Protocol R&D Toolset to create, edit and run tests as well as how to modify Layer 1 and Layer 2 parameters during test execution. This chapter also describes L2 Mode and logging. You will also find descriptions of the system set-up for testing with sub6GHz and mmWave frequencies.