The white paper provides an in-depth overview of the process and significance of 5G device testing to ensure performance, reliability, safety, and compliance of 5G-enabled devices. It covers the scope of 5G technology test, including RF validation, mmWave Over-the-Air (OTA) validation, and the importance of meeting consumer expectations and regulatory standards. We share information on different 5G technologies—5G LTE, 5G TF, and 5G NR—and their roles in the telecommunications ecosystem. Additionally, it outlines specific types of device tests and the specialized equipment and software used in testing, such as network and channel emulators. Learn about NI's role in simplifying the test and validation process.
5G device test is a process of verifying the performance, functionality, and safety of 5G-enabled devices such as smartphones, tablets, and IoT devices. It involves testing the devices under different network conditions to ensure that they meet the required standards and specifications. 5G technology significantly impacts various industries, including network management in telecommunications, real-time data transmission for autonomous driving in automotive, increased automation and efficiency within manufacturing, and many others. Therefore, test is pivotal when developing new connected products because it ensures that the products are safe, reliable, and in compliance with rules and regulations.
Test provides a meticulous verification of the functionality, performance, and reliability of 5G devices and networks. 5G test encompasses a variety of tests including feature bring-up, functional testing, negative testing, regression testing, KPI testing, data throughput test, and overall device performance assessment.
5G device testing hinges on several key factors:
NI offers comprehensive solutions for 5G device test, focusing on various aspects such as RF validation and characterization, wideband RF design validation, and mmWave Over-the-Air (OTA) validation. Our measurement-oriented software is adept at controlling multichannel DC, digital, analog, and wideband RF test instruments, which simplifies both interactive and automated design validation sequences for 5G devices. Solutions are especially tailored for engineers working on wideband 5G device designs, enabling them to validate performance across a broad spectrum of frequency bands. This includes both traditional cellular frequency ranges below 6 GHz (frequency range 1, FR1) and the more challenging millimeter-wave conditions above 24 GHz (frequency range 2, FR2).
5G LTE, 5G TF, and 5G NR are different technologies that make up the 5G ecosystem.
Test is key in the device development lifecycle, from early chipset development, device integration, and optimization through to conformance, regulatory, and carrier acceptance testing. The different tests below help identify and rectify any potential issues to ensure that 5G devices meet the necessary standards and perform optimally under various conditions.
Specialized hardware and software tools enable engineers to verify compliance with standards and optimize performance. These tools assess critical functions such as power management, antenna efficiency, protocol adherence, and spectrum analysis. Utilizing these resources, engineers can detect and resolve potential problems.
Network emulators simulate real-world network conditions within a controlled environment. They are critical for validating, performance, and interoperability testing of 5G devices. This hardware allows for thorough testing by offering robust profile configuration for line-rate packet capture and precise reproduction of issues that may arise in the field. Network emulators accurately replicate network conditions found in live LAN/WAN networks, facilitating a comprehensive suite of tests—including feature bring-up, functional, negative, and regression testing, as well as KPI, data throughput, and overall device performance assessments—in a lab setting. This ensures that new devices, protocols, and applications are rigorously evaluated before deployment.
A channel emulator is an indispensable tool for simulating real-world radio frequency (RF) conditions. They evaluate the performance of wireless devices within a lab setting. This tool tests a wide range of devices, from network infrastructure equipment to WLAN access points. Its capabilities include advanced performance testing, emulation of numerous impairments like delay, Doppler effects, attenuation, and multipath fading, as well as dynamic propagation and blocking scenarios.
The channel emulator stands out in the industry with its broad signal bandwidth and a substantial number of fading channels. It supports various technologies including 5G NR, LTE Advanced, and the latest WLAN standards. In the sphere of 5G device testing, the channel emulator is pivotal, allowing for comprehensive testing sequences such as feature bring-up and functional, negative, regression, KPI, data throughput, and overall device performance tests. It plays a key role in accurately mimicking the network conditions encountered in live networks, thus enabling the thorough validation and testing of new 5G hardware, protocols, and applications before they enter the market.
A network scanner streamlines the scanning process across networks by automating the detection of devices, thereby enhancing network transparency. It is great at discovering both UDP and TCP services on networked devices. Network scanners identify the operating systems they run, recognizing any filtering systems in place, and taking detailed network inventories. Additionally, they can pinpoint vulnerabilities and misconfigurations necessary for maintaining network integrity.
With features like notifications and reporting, a network scanner significantly improves monitoring processes. Its role becomes increasingly important in 5G device testing, where it is essential for validating and testing the performance of new hardware and applications. By identifying devices that carry the latest 5G chipsets, a network scanner facilitates a range of tests necessary for 5G device readiness, including feature bring-up, functional, negative, regression, KPI, and data throughput testing, ensuring the devices’ performance is optimized before market release.
A browser-based test environment is a platform that uses web technologies to streamline the test process. It offers a intuitive and interactive approach, particularly beneficial for 5G device testing, because it provides an interactive mode for manual, hands-on testing that allows engineers to make on-the-fly adjustments. It also facilitates automated testing with sequencer-driven scenarios, optimizing time efficiency and test consistency. The interface is tailored to support a variety of tests such as RF parameter measurements, protocol tests, performance analysis, and extensive validation.
NI offers an array of solutions for 5G device test and validation. For wideband 5G device design, NI enables engineers to validate device performance across a broad spectrum, including both the sub-6 GHz frequency range (FR1) and the millimeter wave spectrum above 24 GHz (FR2). Such devices are designed to handle complex requirements like carrier aggregation, dense modulation, tight time-division duplex configurations, and high-precision beamforming.
To keep pace with the expanding scope and complexity of 5G test cases, NI creates software connected test systems that enable greater engineering efficiency. This method integrates fast, accurate, and flexible measurement software with a suite of synchronized instruments capable of covering from precision DC to wideband RF. Additionally, NI has launched a stand-alone version of its 5G New Radio (NR) Test User Equipment (UE) to aid infrastructure providers and operators in testing and evaluating performance under real-world conditions. Moreover, NI's mmWave PXI Vector Signal Transducer (VST) is at the core of Over-the-Air (OTA) validation, essential for assessing the radiation patterns and beam characteristics of devices.
NI’s contributions in 5G device test help hasten the progress and implementation of 5G technologies to enable faster networks and better-connected devices.