mmWave OTA Validation Test Software 20.0 Readme

August 2020

This file contains important information about the mmWave OTA Validation Test Software, including installation instructions, new features, bug fixes, and known issues.


Overview

New Features

Required Software

Supported Operating Systems

Supported Hardware

Installation Instructions

Known Issues

Bug Fixes

Accessing the Documentation

Finding Installed Software

Product Security and Critical Updates

Automating the Installation of NI Products

Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 10

Legal Information


Overview

This software installation provides support for the mmWave OTA Validation Test Reference Architecture and helps you configure, run, visualize, and report the over-the-air (OTA) radiated performance of 5G mmWave antenna-in-package (AiP) integrated circuits.

mmWave OTA Validation Test Software can perform system calibration to measure the path losses of every signal path, compensating for test instruments, cables, antennas, and air interface. Additionally, the mmWave OTA Validation Test Software simplifies the process of configuring and running 3D spatial sweeps according to 3GPP test specifications. You can use templates to customize test sequences to automate data collection, results reporting, and storage. The software also includes a collection of visualization tools for antenna pattern cuts, 3D and polar plots, beamwidth, heat map, and more.

New Features

mmWave OTA Validation Software 20.0 includes the following new features:

  • Added support for the following RFmx NR measurements: ACP, CHP, EVM, OBW, SEM
  • Simplified automation API for fetching NR OTA measurement results
  • UI improvements to the mmWave OTA Validation Configurator
  • Added support for viewing new supported RFmx NR measurements in the mmWave OTA Validation Visualizer
  • Added support for OTA step-by-step and autonomous measurements in Microsoft Visual C# .NET

Required Software

mmWave OTA Validation Test Software 20.0 requires the following software versions.

Software Required for LabVIEW Support Required for C# .NET Support
LabVIEW 2019 (64-bit)
LabVIEW 2019 Runtime Engine (64-bit)
TestStand 2019 (64-bit)
Microsoft Visual Studio† 2017
RFmx NR 20.0
RFmx SpecAn 20.0
NI-DAQmx 19.1
NI-RFSA 19.1
NI-RFSG 19.1
NI-RFSG Playback Library 20.0

†  If you are using the mmWave OTA Validation Test C# .NET API, .NET Framework 4.0 (minimum) is required. To use the .NET API, you must also install .NET support for the required drivers.

Refer to the documentation of each software product for specific system requirements.

Supported Operating Systems

mmWave OTA Validation Test Software supports Windows 10 (64-bit).

Supported Hardware

mmWave OTA Validation Test Software supports the mmWave OTA Validation Anechoic Chamber and all instruments used with the mmWave OTA Validation Test Reference Architecture. Refer to the mmWave OTA Validation Test Reference Architecture Manual at ni.com/r/otahelp for a full list of supported instruments.

Installation Instructions

You should install application software and required software products before installing mmWave OTA Validation Test Software.

NI installs mmWave OTA Validation Test Software using NI Package Manager. Visit ni.com/r/NIPMDownload to download NI Package Manager. Refer to the NI Package Manager Manual for more information about installing, removing, and upgrading NI software using NI Package Manager.

Known Issues

You can access the software and documentation known issues list online. Visit mmWave OTA Validation Test Software Known Issues for an up-to-date list of known issues.

Bug Fixes

The following items are the IDs and titles of a subset of issues fixed between software revisions. This is not an exhaustive list of issues fixed in the current version.

mmWave OTA Validation Software 20.0

IDFixed Issue
903811 Fixed an issue in which an error occurred when executing the simulation sequence in TestStand.
903817 Fixed an issue in which long test sequences in TestStand caused Windows to crash due to increased memory consumption.
938051 Fixed an issue in which the cut plane setting was not applied to the cut analysis (all beams) graphs in the mmWave OTA Test Visualizer.

Accessing the Documentation

Refer to the mmWave OTA Validation Test Reference Architecture Manual, accessible from ni.com/r/otahelp, for information about the mmWave OTA Validation Test Software.

Finding Installed Software

  • <NIDocDir> is an alias for the following National Instruments file folder location: Users\Public\Public Documents\National Instruments
  • <NIDir> is an alias for the following National Instruments file folder location: Program Files\National Instruments
Item Installed Location
mmWave OTA TestStand Examples <NIDocDir>\TestStand 2019 (64-bit)\Examples\OTA Test
mmWave OTA Validation Configurator <NIDir>\OTA Test\Configurator
mmWave OTA Validation Positioner Control Panel <NIDir>\OTA Test\Positioner
mmWave OTA Support for LabVIEW <NIDir>\LabVIEW 2019\user.lib\OTA Test
mmWave OTA Support for .NET <NIDocDir>\OTA Test
mmWave OTA Validation Visualizer <NIDir>\OTA Test\Visualizer
mmWave OTA Validation Antenna Alignment Helper <NIDir>\OTA Test\Antenna Alignment
RF System Calibration Assistant <NIDir>\RF System Calibration

Product Security and Critical Updates

Visit ni.com/security to view and subscribe to receive security notifications about NI products. Visit ni.com/critical-updates for information about critical updates from NI.

Automating the Installation of NI Products

You can automate the installation of most NI products using command-line arguments to suppress some or all of the installer user interface and dialog boxes.

If the NI product you are installing uses Microsoft .NET 4.0, the .NET installer may run before any NI software installs and may require a reboot before the installation of NI software begins. To avoid a .NET reboot, install .NET 4.0 separately before you install NI software.

For more information about automating the installation of NI products, refer to the following KnowledgeBase articles:

Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 10

Microsoft Windows 10 is the latest version of the Windows operating system and features significant changes compared to previous versions. Windows 10 introduces several new capabilities and also combines features from both Windows 7 and Windows 8. For more information about NI support for Windows 10, visit ni.com/windows10.


Legal Information

Copyright

© 2019—2020 National Instruments Corporation. All rights reserved.

Under the copyright laws, this publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storing in an information retrieval system, or translating, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of National Instruments Corporation.

NI respects the intellectual property of others, and we ask our users to do the same. NI software is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Where NI software may be used to reproduce software or other materials belonging to others, you may use NI software only to reproduce materials that you may reproduce in accordance with the terms of any applicable license or other legal restriction.

End-User License Agreements and Third-Party Legal Notices

You can find end-user license agreements (EULAs) and third-party legal notices in the following locations after installation:

  • Notices are located in the <National Instruments>\_Legal Information and <National Instruments> directories.
  • EULAs are located in the <National Instruments>\Shared\MDF\Legal\license directory.
  • Review <National Instruments>\_Legal Information.txt for information on including legal information in installers built with NI products.

U.S. Government Restricted Rights

If you are an agency, department, or other entity of the United States Government ("Government"), the use, duplication, reproduction, release, modification, disclosure or transfer of the technical data included in this manual is governed by the Restricted Rights provisions under Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.227-14 for civilian agencies and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement Section 252.227-7014 and 252.227-7015 for military agencies.

IVI Foundation Copyright Notice

Content from the IVI specifications reproduced with permission from the IVI Foundation.

The IVI Foundation and its member companies make no warranty of any kind with regard to this material, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The IVI Foundation and its member companies shall not be liable for errors contained herein or for incidental or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, performance, or use of this material.

Trademarks

Refer to the NI Trademarks and Logo Guidelines at ni.com/trademarks for information on NI trademarks. Other product and company names mentioned herein are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies.

Patents

For patents covering the NI products/technology, refer to the appropriate location: Help»Patents in your software, the patents.txt file on your media, or the NI Patent Notice at ni.com/patents.

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