R&S and VIAVI unveil Open RAN and non-terrestrial network test solutions
Rohde & Schwarz and Viavi Solutions have announced an expansion of their partnership for joint wireless lab test solutions. The two companies continue to address critical requirements based on new 3GPP and O-RAN specifications. Since the launch of this partnership, Rohde & Schwarz and VIAVI have established a reputation for compact, flexible solutions drawing from the strengths of both companies while delivering a seamless user experience.
With several major deployment announcements by Tier-1 service providers, Open RAN has entered the mainstream of network infrastructure. While subsystem and end-to-end conformance, performance and interoperability remain critical, test needs have grown.
O-RAN radio units (O-RU) consume the majority of power in 5G radio access networks. Network equipment manufacturers and service providers are prioritizing O-RU energy efficiency without sacrificing performance. Rohde & Schwarz and VIAVI have developed a fully automated testbed to verify O-RU energy efficiency, including the R&S RTO6 oscilloscope, R&S NGP800 power supply and the VIAVI TM500 O-RU Tester. The TM500 O-RU Tester emulates the DU, synchronizes and configures the O-RU and offers several test scripts to verify O-RU energy efficiency under different load conditions. The R&S equipment can then monitor dynamic device activities versus power consumption: The oscilloscope monitors energy dynamics under various traffic conditions by tracking power changes over time, while the power supply – besides powering the O-RU – also provides high measurement resolution and accuracy over a long period of time. The VIAVI O-RU Test Manager Application ensures a seamless user experience across the testbed.
As O-RAN radios move to commercial deployment, development testing needs to move beyond lab validation of conformance to greater use case and functionality testing within R&D. These newer use cases prioritize simplicity, speed and cost effectiveness in testing. The R&S PVT360A is a compact, single-box vector signal analyzer (VSA) and vector signal generator (VSG) that combines with the VIAVI TM500 O-RU Tester and VIAVI O-RU Test Manager Application for a more scalable solution, providing a cost-optimized and simpler setup that is well-suited for R&D teams that require multiple test lines to accelerate time to market.
Satellite operators, mobile network operators, equipment vendors and end-user application providers need to be able to evaluate the performance of NTN networks and the traffic that runs across them. To support a variety of use cases, Rohde & Schwarz and VIAVI have developed an NTN digital twin testbed covering Low Earth Orbit (LEO), Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) and Geosynchronous Orbit (GEO). Use cases include validating end-to-end connectivity and performance; measuring Quality of Service over large coverage areas with different types of UEs; end user application performance while coping with distance, speed and mobility of both satellite and UE; and reliability and stability. The testbed includes:
• The R&S CMX500 mobile communication network tester, with channel emulation and fading in a single box, including all 3GPP fading profiles
• The VIAVI TM500-AS2, a streamlined version of the flagship used by global network equipment manufacturers for base station testing, fully supporting the 3GPP protocol including Doppler and delay pre-compensation
• The VIAVI TeraVM Real Data Applications (RDA) engine, enabling rich and realistic application and traffic scenarios to test system performance under varying conditions.
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