4G Wireless Migration to a Flexible Next Generation High Performance Wireless Network

Recently, the introduction of new mobile products such as the Apple iPhone and smart phones, and the launch of low-cost notebooks and netbooks have greatly expanded the use of wireless data. As a result, the market's demand for enhanced services has continued to increase, prompting a large number of users to transition from simple voice device requirements to rich media and location-aware services.

The development of enhanced services has brought great opportunities for leading companies and users of innovative technologies. Of course, these opportunities are accompanied by a large number of technical challenges. The challenges of deploying and maintaining the infrastructure will increase capital expenditures and operating expenses, which will reduce the return on investment of operators. In fact, this kind of problem occurred when related technologies were transformed from 2G to 3G networks. This situation is very unfavorable to operators upgrading their infrastructure. With the transition from 3G to Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology with data transfer rates of 50 Mb/s to 100 Mb/s, these problems will continue to exist. Therefore, it is very necessary for us to redesign our solutions in order to solve in-depth problems within the infrastructure.

The Evolved Packet System Standard, also known as the Long Term Evolution-System Architecture Evolution (LTE-SAE) architecture, is a next generation technology introduced by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). LTE uses independent frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) as its wireless access technology and uses multi-cell antenna technology (MIMO). This standard can significantly increase data rate and throughput. In addition to LTE, 3GPP also defines a flat network architecture based on Internet Protocol. An LTE radio access network, also called E-UTRAN, consists of an eNodeB that provides an LTE user layer (PDCP/RLC/MAC/PHY) and a control layer (RRC) protocol terminal that tends to UE. The eNodeBs are interconnected through the X2 interface. The eNodeB can also be connected to the Evolved Packet Core (EPC) through the S1 interface.

With a flexible bandwidth of 1.5 MHz to 20 MHz, LTE is standardized, thus reducing latency, improving system capacity, coverage, and user data speed while reducing costs. LTE also uses new features such as a self-organizing network (SON) that simplifies and automates radio networks, reducing operating expenses and optimizing network performance.

Since many areas rely heavily on wireless networking, one of the biggest challenges faced by technology vendors is ensuring that wireless data users can access data as efficiently as on a wired network. Unfortunately, however, smart phone applications are not designed specifically for wireless infrastructure, and traditional wireless networks include other layers such as RLC/PDCP, in addition to media access control (MAC) that deals with wireless media issues. Ensure the smooth transmission of data. Therefore, we must use compression and other coding techniques to achieve efficient sharing of radio resources, which are always scarce in the shared radio band. The increase in processing layers has increased the complexity of the device architecture. The data rate may be as high as several hundred Mb/s, and the problem will further deteriorate.

In technology migration, wireless operators focus on controlling capital expenditures and operating expenses while ensuring that they provide the best quality experience for their customers. There are many criteria for promoting upgrades, of which the most important is scalability and flexibility. In the base station, the solution needs to develop from a single area to multiple areas or multiple radios, and should support multi-Gb wired speed network scheduling and routing packet throughput in E-UTRAN. The solution also needs to support the IP and migration path of traditional networks, and should achieve interoperability with 3G and 2G networks. The configurability of the solution to support the efficient use of radio and network resources is also a determinant of the upgrade. Usage patterns will vary with location and time, in which case the solution should be adapted to support different speed and number of users. The solution must be configurable to meet the requirements of the user layer and the control layer when extending from a single area to a multi-domain application. At the same time, the solution must also provide end-to-end security and data privacy protection to protect users from increasing spam, malware, DoS, and virus attacks.

In addition, deep packet intelligence is also very important, allowing built-in intelligence to check all data over the wireless network to help operators understand IP network conditions and manage them efficiently. This will also help resolve usability, latency, and quality issues, and will help solve network coverage and security issues effectively.

Compared with important driving factors, the types of architectures that facilitate the development of 4G technology migration can be divided into three categories: data layer processors, multi-core processors, and a combination of multi-core and accelerators.

The ideal solution must achieve the L3 performance of the wired connection speed and the L2 performance independent of the user. The previous technology has not fully met the relevant standards. Asymmetric multicore technology can combine multicore processors with network-optimized accelerator engines using a software configurable interconnect architecture that connects high-performance processors and accelerators to provide users The impact of wired connection speed-level performance.

All in all, the emergence of new smart phone devices and the development of new wireless standards and the consequent speed increase and delay reduction will bring us a true mobile broadband experience, but this raises higher expectations for operators and telecom companies. The challenge. Combining different radio technologies of different frequencies and handling different protocol requirements requires smart technology and high flexibility, which is also an inevitable requirement for future development.

The multi-standard radio base station and the asymmetric multi-core processor technology are just the first steps to achieve a smooth migration of LTE technology. Migration requires flexibility while improving performance with lower power consumption and cost. Chip manufacturers who provide solutions in the field will play a more important role in facilitating the construction of next-generation wireless networks.

Anil Mudichintala, Marketing Director, Semiconductor Solutions Business Unit, LSI.