Download the NI LTE MAC/PHY Prototyping Application Example

The NI LTE Application Framework is a real-time LTE physical layer reference design that can be combined with the LENA module inside the widely used Network Simulator 3 (NS-3) to provide a rich set of PHY, MAC, and network capabilities with which researchers can rapidly begin experimenting and innovating faster. Furthermore, as the source code for every layer of the overall system is available, researchers can customize every aspect of the system to suit their needs. And as the various system layers are tightly integrated with the NI SDR baseband and RF hardware platform, reliable and real-time execution is guaranteed. From the high-speed signal processing of RF samples at the PHY layer to the routing of packets at the network layer, NI offers the tools necessary to implement fully functional wireless communications networks.

This prototyping system has been used in the European FP7 project CROWD to successfully demonstrate an SDN algorithm for interference management within dense heterogeneous deployments of cellular wireless networks. Using Distributed Mobility Management (DMM), the prototyping system employs MIH IEEE 802.11u to demonstrate the successful handover of a mobile UE as it traverses across multiple LTE and WiFi networks under varying interference and traffic conditions. The CROWD project has also successfully demonstrated eICIC almost blank subframe transmissions with multiple base stations and terminals. Device-to-device (D2D) communication was also successfully demonstrated using LTE as a primary cellular link and WiFi for inter-UE communication.

Furthermore, as the source code for the entire stack from the PHY layer to the network layer is available and modifiable, the prototyping system can also be used in the following research areas:

• Latency reduction optimizations of the full system stack
• Interference coordination and cancellation algorithms (CoMP, eICC, etc.)
• Flexible numerologies and protocols for new waveforms
• Narrowband IoT protocols
• New SDN and network slicing
• CRAN and functional splits

Getting Started with the NI LTE MAC/PHY Prototyping Application Example