Standardising the mechanisms for communicating configuration information across a reconfigurable network

Craig DolwinFeb 2007

2 / ETSI workshop on SDR and CR

A common language for the communication of reconfiguration information• Objectives• Challenges• Requirements• Functional Description Language (FDL)• Visions and a Scenario• Work being done in E2R (phase 1 & 2 )• Other work in this area

– SDR Forum Commercial Working Group

• Summary and Conclusion

3 / ETSI workshop on SDR and CR

Objective

To develop a generic and universal mechanism for requesting a specific functionality (e.g. a RAT ) from a wireless platform

4 / ETSI workshop on SDR and CR

Challenges being addressed

• Over 2 Billion Handsets in the world• World Wide Roaming• Proliferation of Multi-Mode platforms• Spectrum De-Regulation• A move towards SDR

– Reduce NRE costs – Enhanced tracking of market demands

5 / ETSI workshop on SDR and CR

Requirements

• Need a common mechanism/protocol to support the updating and modification of functionality

• Platform and System independent• Guaranteed real-time reliability• Physical Layer, Protocol Stack, Applications, MMI

6 / ETSI workshop on SDR and CR

Functional Description Language (FDL)

• RAT independent• Platform independent• Scalable• Contains information about

– Timing/latency constraints– Bandwidth requirements– Precedence information

• Supports real-time and power conscious implementations

7 / ETSI workshop on SDR and CR

Functional Description Language (FDL)ScaleImage

scaleImageIN

scaleImageOUT

demuxdemuxIN

xDemuxOUT yDemuxOUT

scaleX

xScaleIN

xScaleOUT

scaleY

yScaleIN

yScaleOUT

mux

muxOUT

xMuxIN yMuxIN

yDemuxChanxDemuxChan

xScaleChan yScaleChan

<!– Scale Image Algorithm --><Alg_Algorithm componentID="scaleImage"

type="ScaleImage" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="AlgDescSchema.xsd">

<!– Scale x component sub-process --><subProcess type="ScaleComponent" componentID="scaleX">

<deadline units="us">10</deadline>...

</subProcess>...

</Alg_Algorithm>

<!– Algorithm Element Definition --><xs:element name="Alg_Algorithm" type="Alg_Algorithm“

substitutionGroup="Alg_Process"/><xs:complexType name="Alg_Algorithm">

<xs:complexContent><xs:extension base="Alg_Process">

<xs:sequence><xs:element name="subProcess“

type="Alg_Process" minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="unbounded"/>

</xs:element>XML Schema

XML document

validate

transform

8 / ETSI workshop on SDR and CR

Near Term Vision

• Support for:– Large numbers of Radio Access Technologies– Multi Mode equipment– Seamless Vertical Handover

• A range of SDR sophistication is supported• Equipment manufacturer responsible for

configuration generation and standard compliance

9 / ETSI workshop on SDR and CR

3G Protocol S

tack3G

Protocol Stack

INTERNET

Access Point

GSMBase-

Station

3GBase-

Station

GPS/Galileo

IEEE802.11a

CMM

Configuration InformationCCM

SPMSPM

FDLSPM

01010

101 01

100

FDL

SPM

FDL

Speech Packet

SPM

Operator/ MVNOConfiguration Control

Signal Processing

Module Package

Functional Description Package

Equipment ManufacturerDatabase

0101010101100

Near Term Scenario

CCM: Configuration Control Module

CMM: Configuration Management Module

SPM: Signal Processing Module

10 / ETSI workshop on SDR and CR

sd Interactions

Operator Handset MnfDatabaseOperator asks if handset can support the functionality defined in the FDL docum ent

Handset checks to see if functional blocks are available either locally or in m anufacturers database and then if they can be ins talled with current hardware and functionality

Ins truct handset to ins tall new software onto hardware ready for execution. Note: Doesnt s top foreground execution

Handset retrieves object code from the m anufacturers database and thenins talls the code into the resources

Operator ins tructs handset to s tart executing the new configuration at a given tim e

requestConfiguration(FDLdocument)

requestSPM(description)

response(SPM)

calculateConfiguration

requestACK

install

requestObject(SPM)

response(object)

install

ready

activate(time)

execute(time)

11 / ETSI workshop on SDR and CR

Long Term Vision

• Operator defined Radio Access Technology• Spectrum De-Regulation

– Operator allowed to customise standard RAT or produce proprietary RAT

• Operator will want to configure terminals to optimise Quality of Service and give added value to their customers– But operator cannot limit supply of equipment

• SDR, FDL and associated protocols supports this kind of service.

12 / ETSI workshop on SDR and CR

E2RII SDR Proof of ConceptDemonstrating how an FDL document can be downloaded from a remote database and used to configure a set of processing resources

Equivalent to Transceiver SoC

13 / ETSI workshop on SDR and CR

Configuration Control Module (CCM)Configuration Management Module

CCM_DC

Hardware

CCM Service Manager

Database

Parser

Spatial Scheduler

Temporal Scheduler

PCC Engine

CCM Reporting Interface

CCM Service Interface

CCM Parser Interface

CCM Db Server Interface

CCM PCC Srvc Interface

CCM PCC Rep Interface

CCM Deploy InterfaceCCM Report Interface

CCM_FM• CCM supplied by hardware manufacturer

• CCM converts generic FDL into a specific hardware configuration

• Uses manufacturers detailed know how about hardware

• Object code, binary etc supplied by manufacturer from a secure database

PCC: Primary Configuration and Control

CCM_FM: Functional Mapping

CCM_DC: Deployment & configuration

REP: Reconfigurable Equipment Platform Independent Module

RE

P

14 / ETSI workshop on SDR and CR

SDR Forum Commercial Working Group

• Currently defining scenarios e.g.– Load balancing scenario (WiFi, Cellular, WiMax)– Public Safety Scenario

• Developing a ?Meta-Language?

“… a system for describing the current configuration of a radio and therefore its current functionality, its potential configuration

/ functionality; the characteristics of current and potential waveforms and Air Interface Standards (AIS’s), the type of

information being handled and the end users involved ..”

Looking at the following:

15 / ETSI workshop on SDR and CR

Summary & Conclusion

• FDL has been developed to communicate functional information around a wireless network

• FDL is network independent• FDL is flexible and scalable to match the evolution

of SDR and Cognitive Radio• Similar ideas are being investigated in the SDR

forum• A proof of concept is being developed within E2RII

16 / ETSI workshop on SDR and CR

Acknowledgment

This work has been performed in the framework of the EU funded project E2R II (http://e2r2.motlabs.com/). The authors would like to acknowledge the contributions of their colleagues from the E2R II consortium.