LabVIEW based Platform for prototyping dense LTE Networks in CROWD Project

Abstract

Next-generation wireless networks (5G) cope with significant traffic increase because of high-quality video transmission and cloud-based applications. This creates the need for a revolutionary change in architecture rather than a series of local and incremental technology updates. A dense heterogeneous deployment of small cells such as pico/femto cells in addition to high-power macro cells is a potential solution. In this area, a significant amount of research relies on simulations at PHY, MAC, and higher layers, but it is still necessary to validate the algorithms for next-generation systems in a real-time testbed. The ever-increasing complexity in all layers of current and future generations of cellular wireless systems, however, has made an end-to-end demonstration of the network limited to industrial research labs or large academic institutions. As a solution to tame the dense deployment of wireless networks, we propose an NI PXI platform based on NI LabVIEW software in which an LTE-like SISO OFDM PHY layer is integrated with an open-source protocol stack to prototype PHY/MAC cross layer algorithms within a CROWD (Connectivity management for eneRgy Optimised Wireless Dense networks) software-defined networking (SDN) framework.