RFmx Waveform Creator 20.0 Readme

June 2020

This file contains important information about the RFmx Waveform Creator, including system requirements, and installation instructions.

Overview

New Features

Supported Hardware

System Requirements

Supported Operating Systems

Installation Instructions

Executable

Accessing the Help

Finding Examples

Product Security and Critical Updates

Behavior Changes

Known Issues

Bug Fixes

Automating the Installation of NI Products

Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 10

Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8.1

RFmx Waveform Creator Drops Support for Windows 7 (64-Bit) and Windows Server 2008 R2 in 2021

Legal Information


Overview

RFmx Waveform Creator provides a unified interface for creating and generating waveforms for multiple wireless standards. You can create unencrypted, unlocked IQ waveform files for playback on NI PXI RF instrumentation. Supported standards include 5G NR, LTE/LTE-Advanced, W-CDMA/HSPA+, GSM/EDGE+, TD-SCDMA, and more.

New Features

RFmx Waveform Creator 20.0 includes the following new features:

  • Support for LabVIEW 2020 (32-bit and 64-bit)
  • Support for PXIe-5841 with PXIe-5655
  • Added support for Auto Increment Cell ID Enabled parameter in LTE modulation scheme
  • Added support for NB-IoT short frame generation
  • Added support for LTE Downlink E-UTRA Test Model 2b and E-UTRA Test Model 3.1b as per 3GPP TS 36.141 v16.5.0 specification
  • 5G new radio (NR)
    • Added support for user defined downlink multi-user configuration
    • Added support for PUSCH and PDSCH DMRS Release 16 as per 3GPP TS 38.211 v16.1.0 specification
    • Added support for user defined filter coefficients for PI/2 BPSK Spectral Shaping
    • Added support for Downlink NR Test Model 2a and 3.1a for Frequency Range 2
    • Added support for 1024 QAM modulation in PDSCH and PUSCH
    • Added Batch Waveform Creation Utility for NR
  • RFmx Waveform Creator for WLAN
    • Support for 320MHz in 802.11ax SU PPDU for early testing of the 802.11be 320MHz channels
    • Unformatted data packet support for RF blocker test
RFmx Waveform Creator 19.1 includes the following new features:

  • Support for V2X (sidelink) in LTE FDD modulation scheme as per 3GPP Release 14 specification
    • Added PSSCH and PSCCH channels
    • Added PSSCH DMRS and PSCCH DMRS signals
    • Support for retransmission
  • 5G new radio (NR) modulation scheme
    • Support for 3GPP NR Release 15 Specification v15.6.0 (June 2019)
    • Support for auto increment cell id for carrier aggregation
    • Support for channel coding in PUSCH, PDSCH, and PDCCH
    • Support for predefined strings for PUSCH RB allocation as per 3GPP TS 38.521-1/2 specification
  • Added option to enable or disable phase continuity in LTE and NR multi-carrier
  • Support for PXIe-5841, PXIe-5831, and PXIe-5830
  • Support for antenna switching with per slot amplitude and phase configuration in LE 5.1 in RFmx Waveform Creator for Bluetooth
  • RFmx Waveform Creator for WLAN
    • Support for configuring waveform duration for OFDM standards
    • Support for 4096 QAM in 802.11ax

RFmx Waveform Creator 19.0 includes the following new features:

  • Support for PXIe-5830 and PXIe-5831
  • Support for Cat-M2 Uplink (Release 14) and Cat-NB2 Uplink in LTE modulation scheme
  • 5G new radio (NR) modulation scheme
    • Added support for Uplink Pi/2 BPSK Spectral Shaping
    • Support for downlink test models as defined in 3GPP TS 38.141-1 and 3GPP TS 38.141-2 (Change requests R4-1905121, R4-1905122 endorsed in April 2019, to be updated in v15.2.0 when it releases in June 2019)
  • Support to resume generated waveforms in Download and Play window

Supported Hardware

The following hardware products are supported in all operating systems listed in the Supported Operating Systems section.

Vector Signal Generators

  • PXIe-5673
  • PXIe-5673E

Device-specific information about these modules is included in the NI RF Vector Signal Generators Help.

Vector Signal Transceivers

  • PXIe-5644
  • PXIe-5645
  • PXIe-5646
  • PXIe-5840
  • PXIe-5841
  • PXIe-5820
  • PXIe-5830
  • PXIe-5831
  • PXIe-5841 with PXIe-5655

Device-specific information about these modules is included in the NI RF Vector Signal Transceivers Help.

System Requirements

RFmx Waveform Creator has the following requirements:

  • Processor—1 GHz 64-bit (x64) processor
  • 4 GB RAM *
  • A screen resolution of 1,024 x 768
  • Windows 10/8.1/7, with all available critical updates and service packs

* Depending on the amount of data acquired and/or processed, a larger amount of memory may be required.

Supported Operating Systems

RFmx Waveform Creator 20.0 supports the following 64-bit operating systems:

  • Windows 10/8.1 1 /7 SP1 2
  • Windows Server 2016
  • Windows Server 2012 R2 1
  • Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 2

1 NI software installs VC2015 Runtime and .NET 4.6.2. Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 require Microsoft updates to support these items. Refer to Microsoft KB2919442 and KB2919355 for more information about how to install these updates.

2 NI software is signed with a SHA-256 certificate. Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 require Microsoft updates to support SHA-256. Refer to Microsoft KB3033929 and KB3125574 for more information about how to install these updates.

Note   In 2019, RFmx Waveform Creator dropped support for all 32-bit Windows operating systems. RFmx Waveform Creator will not install or run on an unsupported OS. Refer to RFmx Waveform Creator Drops Support for Windows 7 (64-Bit) and Windows Server 2008 R2 in 2021 for information about future OS support.

Note   In 2016, RFmx Waveform Creator dropped support for Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and installations of Windows 7 without any service packs. You cannot deploy or distribute applications that use RFmx Waveform Creator 20.0 to an unsupported OS. Additionally, after installing RFmx Waveform Creator 20.0, you cannot use any installers built on this computer with any version of LabVIEW, LabWindows™/CVI™, NI TestStand™, or Measurement Studio on an unsupported OS.

For more information about the changes to our OS support for 2016, visit ni.com/r/OSSupport2016.

RFmx Waveform Creator supports the following application software versions, including service packs. You should install application software, such as LabVIEW or Microsoft Visual Studio®, before installing RFmx Waveform Creator. To add support for application software installed after installing RFmx Waveform Creator modify your RFmx Waveform Creator installation or launch the RFmx Waveform Creator installer again. If you are not using NI application software, refer to  Microsoft Visual Studio Support.

Application Software Versions Supported by RFmx Waveform Creator
LabVIEW 2017, 2018 SP1 f4 patch, 2019 SP1, 2020

Required Software

  • NI-RFSA 14.1 or later
  • NI-RFSA 17.1 or later (for initializing debug session when "using breakpoints in C/C++/.NET application" is selected)

Microsoft Visual Studio Support

If you are using the RFmx Waveform Creator .NET Class Library, .NET Framework 4.0 (minimum) is required. The RFmx Waveform Creator .NET Class Library can be used with Visual C# or Visual Basic .NET in any Visual Studio version that can target .NET Framework 4.0 or .NET Framework 4.5.

Installation Instructions

NI installs RFmx Waveform Creator using NI Package Manager. If you do not already have NI software installed, RFmx Waveform Creator installs NI Package Manager to handle the installation of your NI software. Visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code 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.

Notes

  • If Windows Update is enabled, the installation process might hang if Windows Update interferes with the installation of Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Run-Time. Visit ni.com/r/exjq43 for more information and steps to resolve this issue.
  • If you purchased this product with an NI Software Suite or NI Product Bundle, use the installation media that shipped with your purchase to install this product.
  • Use the serial number that is included with your software to activate RFmx Waveform Creator. For more information on RFmx Waveform Creator activation, refer to National Instruments Software Activation .

Executable

Select Start » All Programs » National Instruments» RFmx Waveform Creator to launch the RFmx Waveform Creator.

Accessing the Help

Documentation for RFmx Waveform Creator is located at Start » All Programs » National Instruments » RFmx Waveform Creator » RFmx Waveform Creator Documentation. The documentation set is composed of the following documents.

Document Format Description
RFmx Waveform Creator Help HTML/Windows Help Contains primary help content for RFmx Waveform Creator. This help file is an HTML version of a traditional user manual that includes the following information:
  • An introduction to RFmx Waveform Creator
  • How to get started with application development
  • A complete reference for all RFmx Waveform Creator programming functions and VIs
RFmx Waveform Creator 20.0 Readme HTML (this document) Contains information about supported hardware and operating systems, new features, fixed issues, and legal notices.

Finding Examples

You can access all the installed RFmx Waveform Creator examples at Start » All Programs » National Instruments » RFmx Waveform Creator » RFmx Waveform Creator Examples.

For the most recent revisions of documentation and for newly released documentation, visit ni.com/manuals.

Product Security and Critical Updates

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

Behavior Changes

The following items are the behavior changes in RFmx Waveform Creator 20.0 from RFmx Waveform Creator 19.1.

  • Changed the data content of downlink NR test models from all-zero to PN23 sequence with respect to the changes in 3GPP TS 38.141v specification
  • Changed modulation scheme for downlink NR test model 3.3 to QPSK with respect to the changes in 3GPP TS 38.141-1 v16.3.0 specification
  • Changed the NR grid size for 100 MHz channel bandwidth and 240 kHz subcarrier spacing to 33.
  • Changed the NR SS/PBCH block parameters CRB Offset and Subcarrier Offset to be 3GPP specification compliant.
  • Changed the NR grid alignment for SS/PBCH block.

The following items are the behavior changes in RFmx Waveform Creator 19.1 from RFmx Waveform Creator 19.0.

  • Following configurations require recreation of waveforms in 5G new radio (NR) modulation scheme
    • Carrier aggregation due to 3GPP NR specification updates to nominal spacing
    • Downlink test models due to 3GPP NR specification updates to definitions of downlink test models
    • ACP optimized filter bandwidth is updated to avoid corrupting edge sub-carriers

The following items are the behavior changes in RFmx Waveform Creator 19.0 from RFmx Waveform Creator 3.0.

  • 5G new radio (NR) modulation scheme
    • Deprecated support for slot Offset control
    • Default value of downlink Channel Configuration Mode control has changed to Test Model from User defined .
    • Default value of BWP Number of RBs control has changed to -1 from maximum number of resource blocks.
    • Added SSB Active Blocks control and deprecated SSB Transmitted Pattern control under SS/PBCH Block configurations window.
  • Saving of waveforms in evaluation mode is not allowed in WLAN and Bluetooth

Known Issues

You can access the RFmx Waveform Creator known issues list online at RFmx Waveform Creator 20.0 Known Issues.

Bug Fixes

You can access the RFmx Waveform Creator bug fix list online at RFmx Waveform Creator 20.0 Bug Fixes. This list describes a subset of issues fixed in the RFmx Waveform Creator. If you have a Bug ID, you can search this list to validate that the issue has been fixed.

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 4.6.2, 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 4.6.2 separately before you install NI software.

For more information about automating the installation of NI products, refer to Automating an Installer in the NI Package Manager manual.

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.

Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8.1

When you install NI software on Microsoft Windows 8.1, you will notice a few additional tiles in the Apps view, including shortcuts to NI application software products such as NI LabVIEW, Measurement & Automation Explorer (NI MAX), and NI Launcher. For more information about NI support for Windows 8.1, visit ni.com/windows8.

RFmx Waveform Creator Drops Support for Windows 7 (64-Bit) and Windows Server 2008 R2 in 2021

RFmx Waveform Creator will drop support for Windows 7 (64-bit) and Windows Server 2008 R2 starting in 2021. Versions of this product that ship after May 1, 2021, may not install or execute correctly on these operating systems. For detailed information about NI operating system support, visit ni.com/r/win32bitsupport.


Legal Information

Copyright

© 2017–2020 National Instruments. 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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