In the modern wireless communication industry, radio communication equipment vendors not only produce communication hardware, but also produce software. In fact, software revenue is now a large part of the total revenue. As technology has developed and traffic demands increase, more and more functions required to implement the radio system are implemented via software rather than hardware. Today, many hardware functions are actually implemented with reconfigurable and programmable hardware. Therefore, it is often possible to perform an upgrade by loading new software (a software upgrade) rather than needing to change the physical hardware with every technology advance. However, introducing new elements and features in existing (often mature) software may cause unexpected problems. These problems may include new parts malfunctioning and failure or degradation of old functions. To avoid these problems, each version of software has to be thoroughly tested, not only to test the new parts, but also to verify that the old functions still work properly. Testing all the old functions is time and human resource consuming. Thus, there is an increasing demand for automated testing. This thesis will focus on why automated regression testing is necessary and how to implement automated testing in a specific environment. The thesis results show that automated testing can improve the test coverage by at least 40% for one of Ericsson’s WCDMA software releases. This coupled with a reduction in testing time enables more rapid development by significantly reducing the test time without compromising quality. All of these results lead to improved profitability and increased customer satisfaction. / I den moderna trådlösa kommunikationen industrin, radioutrustning leverantörerna inte bara producera kommunikation hårdvara, utan också producera mjukvara. Faktum är programvara inkomster är nu en stor del av de totala inkomsterna. Eftersom tekniken har utvecklat och trafik krav ökar, fler och fler funktioner som krävs att genomföra radiosystem genomförs via mjukvara istället för maskinvara. Många hårdvara fungerar faktiskt genomförs med omkonfigurerbara och programmerbar hårdvara. Därför är det ofta möjligt att utföra en uppgradering av lastning ny programvara (en mjukvaruversionen) snarare än behöver för att ändra den fysiska hårdvaran med varje teknik förväg. Men att införa nya element och funktioner i befintliga (ofta äldre) programvara kan orsaka oväntade problem. Dessa problem kan innehålla nya delar brister och fel eller försämring av gamla funktioner. För att undvika dessa problem, varje version av programvaran måste testas, inte bara att testa de nya delarna, men även för att kontrollera att de gamla funktionerna fortfarande arbete ordentligt. Testa alla gamla funktioner konsumera tid och personal. Således finns det en ökad efterfrågan på automatiserade tester. Den här avhandlingen kommer att fokusera på varför automatiserad regression testning krävs och hur man genomföra automatiserade tester i en viss miljö. Avhandlingen visar att automatiserade tester kan förbättra testbunt täckning med minst 40% för ett av Ericssons WCDMA programversionerna. Detta i kombination med en minskning av provning tid möjliggör en snabbare utveckling av avsevärt minska test tid utan att kompromissa med kvaliteten. Alla dessa resultat leda till bättre lönsamhet och ökat kundvärde belåtenhet.

Les stations de base de télécommunications contemporaines pour les réseaux GSM / EDGE, WCDMA / HSPA et LTE sont de plus en plus complexes et à forte intensité énergétique. La solution privilégiée est un émetteur véritablement multi-standard. Modernes émetteurs des stations de base sont souvent multi-standard, en ce qu'ils peuvent supporter différentes normes ou de modes air-interface. Cependant, ce n'est pas réalisé par le fonctionnement simultané des normes différentes ou des «modes», mais par des moyens de reconfiguration, qui sont inefficaces et coûteux. Nous envisageons un émetteur entièrement multi-mode pratique capable de supporter simultanément GSM / EDGE, WCDMA / HSPA et LTE transporteurs. L'évolution des normes 3GPP vers un fonctionnement multi-mode est au stade embryonnaire. Pour contribuer à cet effort, notre travail revisite l'architecture traditionnelle de l'émetteur de station de base macro-cellule afin d'analyser et de définir les exigences de performance pour une plate-forme de radio cellulaire multi-standard. Notre analyse et la conception du système identifie également un goulot d'étranglement potentiel dans la chaîne multi-mode proposé, dont l'analyse est présentée. En conséquence, et enfin, nous proposons la conception d'un gain variable analogique modulateur en quadrature qui contourne le goulot d'étranglement, en soulignant la portée pour le développement futur et la validation de ce travail. Ce travail apporte également en avant quelques problèmes au niveau du système et met également en lumière les défis dans le fonctionnement des stations de base multi-standard. / Contemporary telecommunication Base-Stations for GSM/EDGE, WCDMA/HSPA and LTE are increasingly complex and energy intensive. The favoured solution is a truly multi-standard transmitter known as a single Radio Access Network (single-RAN). Modern base station transmitters are often multi-standard, in that they can support different air-interface standards or modes. However, this is achieved not through concurrent operation of the different standards or 'modes', but by means of reconfiguration, which is inefficient and expensive. We envision a practical, fully multi-mode transmitter capable of simultaneously supporting GSM/EDGE, WCDMA/HSPA and LTE carriers. The evolution of 3GPP standards towards multi-mode operation is in the nascent stage. To contribute to this effort, our work revisits the architecture of the traditional macro-cell Base-Station transmitter in order to analyse and define performance requirements for a multi-standard cellular radio platform. Our system analysis and design also identifies a potential bottleneck in the proposed multi-mode chain, for which analysis is presented. Consequently and lastly, we propose the conceptual design of a variable-gain Analog Quadrature Modulator that bypasses the bottleneck, highlighting scope for future development and validation of this work. This work also brings forth some system-level issues and also highlights challenges in the operation of multi-standard Base-Stations. Some of these include multi-mode signal crest-factor reduction, carrier-to-carrier interference mitigation, per-carrier power-control, etc.

This research investigated the efficient utilization of wireless bandwidth in Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)systems that support multiple data rates with Orthogonal Variable Spreading Factor (OVSF)codes. The specific problem being addressed was that currently proposed public-domain algorithms for assigning OVSF codes make inefficient use of wireless bandwidth for bursty data traffic sources with different Quality of Service (QoS) requirements. The purpose of this research was to develop an algorithm for the assignment of OVSF spreading codes in a Third-Generation (3G)Wideband CDMA (WCDMA)system. The goal of this algorithm was to efficiently utilize limited, wireless resources for bursty data traffic sources with different QoS requirements. The key contribution of this research was the implementation and testing of two code sharing techniques which are not implemented in existing OVSF code assignment algorithms. These techniques were termed statistical multiplexing and dynamic code sharing. The statistical multiplexing technique used a shared channel to support multiple bursty traffic sources. The dynamic code sharing technique supported multiple data users by temporarily granting access to dedicated channels. These techniques differed in terms of both complexity and performance guarantees. / Ph. D.

Modern mobile communication systems will provide enhanced high-speed data, multimedia, and voice services to mobile users. The integration of such heterogeneous traffic types implies that the network must provide differentiated Quality of Service (QoS). Beam forming techniques have been proposed to increase the spectral efficiency of the wireless channel. Using beamforming in the network will lead to intra-cell handoffs within the cell due to user mobility. In a commercially deployed next generation cellular system, it is likely that beam forming and QoS guarantees to the users will co-exist. In this work we propose a resource allocation and management scheme tailored for a network that employs smart antennas in support of a heterogeneous user mix. Resource management in a wireless system should take care of channel impairments and non-ideal antenna patterns. Mobile users moving from one beam to the other give rise to resource reallocation issues. Depending on the scatterer distribution in the cell, the Angle of Arrival (AoA) of the users will also change, affecting the interference pattern in the cell. In a system with data and multimedia users, some of the users are likely to be elastic in their demands for bandwidth. In this work, we propose a resource allocation and management scheme tailored for systems with smart antennas having heterogeneous users. The algorithm works by comparing the received power in the beams. Elasticity of user requirement for data services is exploited to provide adaptive QoS, thereby reducing the call dropping probability due to user mobility. Simulation results showing the channel and Multiple Access Interference (MAI) effects on system performance are presented. The effect of channel coding to provide Bit Error Rate (BER) guarantees is studied. We also show the throughput advantage obtained using the resource management algorithms. It is also seen that the throughput of the system increases for a user population having a higher elasticity. A modified resource allocation algorithm to reduce the blocking probability of the calls is presented and performance verified using simulation. The probability of call dropping in an unmanaged system due to user mobility is shown. Our studies show that using managed system the call drop probability can be minimized. / Master of Science

A rake receiver, which resolves multipath signals corrupted by a fading channel, is the most complex and power consuming block of a modem chip. Therefore, it is essential to design a rake receiver be efficient in hardware and power. We investigated a design of a rake receiver for the WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) system, which is a third generation wireless communication system. Our rake receiver design is targeted for mobile units, in which low-power consumption is highly important. We made judicious judgments throughout our design process to reduce the overall circuit complexity by trading with the performance. The reduction of the circuit complexity results in low power dissipation for our rake receiver. As the first step in the design of a rake receiver, we generated a software prototype in MATLAB. The prototype included a transmitter and a multipath Rayleigh fading channel, as well as a rake receiver with four fingers. Using the software prototype, we verified the functionality of all blocks of our rake receiver, estimated the performance in terms of bit error rate, and investigated trade-offs between hardware complexity and performance. After the verification and design trade-offs were completed, we manually developed a rake receiver at the RT (Register Transfer) level in VHDL. We proposed and incorporated several schemes in the RT level design to enhance the performance of our rake receiver. As the final step, the RT level design was synthesized to gate level circuits targeting TSMC 0.18 mm CMOS technology under the supply voltage of 1.8 V. We estimated the performance of our rake receiver in area and power dissipation. Our experimental results indicate that the total power dissipation for our rake receiver is 56 mW and the equivalent NAND2 circuit complexity is 983,482. We believe that the performance of our rake receiver is quite satisfactory. / Master of Science

A DS-CDMA system with QPSK modulation and a RAKE receiver is modeled and simulated. A mathematical description of the DS-CDMA system is provided on uplink and downlink. For a multipath channel environment, modeling techniques for AWGN and Rayleigh fading are illustrated. Comparisons are made concerning the performance of CDMA systems with hybrid data rates. The thesis proposes a technique for hybrid channel coding for ARQ (Automatic-Repeat-reQuest) protocol and FEC (Forward Error Correction) scheme that can reduce the error rate significantly. Each of ARQ protocol and FEC scheme gives rise to long latency and significant complexity, respectively, for obtaining the required QoS (Quality of Service). This thesis shows using theoretical analysis and computer simulations that synergistic effects are possible by using both an ARQ protocol and a FEC scheme. / Master of Science

[pt] Este trabalho é um estudo sobre um enlace do sistema HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access), um subsistema do padrão UMTS/WCDMA, desenvolvido para a transmissão de dados em alta velocidade no enlace de descida. Para atingir altas taxas de transmissão, é prevista a utilização, neste sistema, de diversas técnicas avançadas de processamento de sinais, entre elas a modulação adaptativa. O princípio desta técnica é escolher, para cada quadro de bits transmitido, a modulação mais adequada às condições do canal. Através de simulação, o desempenho da modulação adaptativa em enlaces HSDPA foi avaliado em [4], considerando um canal com desvanecimento plano. Estendendo este trabalho, foram introduzidos novos módulos no simulador, de forma a considerar um canal com multipercursos e a utilização de um receptor Rake. A estimação do canal, utilizada na adaptação, é implementada através da análise do sinal recebido e combinado no receptor Rake. O desempenho do enlace foi avaliado em presença de duplo percurso, para diversas situações, através da taxa de erro de pacote e da vazão obtida na transmissão, procurando-se investigar a influência de parâmetros do sistema e da interferência entre os dois percursos nesse desempenho. / [en] This work is a study about the performance of a HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) which is a subsystem of UMTS/WCDMA designed for high-speed data transmission in the downlink. In order to achieve high bit rates, the use of advanced signal processing techniques, including adaptive modulation, is specified. This technique consists of choosing, for each transmitted frame, the most efficient modulation according to the channel condition. The performance of adaptive modulation in HSDPA links in a flat fading channel has been evaluated in [4] through simulation. In the present work, new simulation modules have been developed to consider multipath and a Rake receiver. The channel estimation used in the link adaptation is obtained from the received and combined signal at Rake receiver. The link level performance has been evaluated in a double path channel for different situations through packet error rate and throughput. The influence of system parameters and path interference on the performance has been investigated.

[pt] A partir da necessidade do transporte de informação multimídia, foram desenvolvidos os Sistemas Celulares de Terceira Geração, ainda em fase de padronização, cujo candidato mais promissor é o UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System). De forma consonante com a tendência mundial de utilização crescente da tecnologia IP (Internet Protocol) nas redes fixas, o UMTS veio a incorporar este protocolo, que apresenta uma maior flexibilidade para a introdução de novos serviços. Assim, na arquitetura do UMTS existem atualmente dois modos de transmissão, a Comutação de Circuitos e a Comutação de Pacotes. Esta Tese de Doutorado descreve, inicialmente, os processos de estabelecimento de chamadas de voz no UMTS, tanto na modalidade de Comutação de Circuitos como na de Comutação de Pacotes. Em seguida, procura fazer uma avaliação comparativa da eficiência na execução de chamadas de voz nestas duas modalidades, com ênfase de aplicação no sentido uplink de transmissão. Neste processo, são desenvolvidas várias formas de otimização de desempenho da transmissão na interface aérea do UMTS, em particular na Comutação de Pacotes, visando tornar este modo de transmissão competitivo com o modo de Comutação de Circuitos em termos de eficiência na transmissão de voz. Embora o tratamento aqui apresentado se refira ao UMTS-FDD (UMTS Frequency Division Duplex), as técnicas aqui desenvolvidas também encontram aplicação em outros Sistemas Celulares de Terceira Geração congêneres, tal como o CDMA 2000. / [en] With the advent of multimedia traffic, Third Generation mobile systems were introduced, with the UMTS as the most promissor candidate. In consonance with the global trend of utilization of the IP technology in fixed networks, the UMTS developers decided to incorporate this protocol, which presents more facilities for the introduction of new services. Therefore, the UMTS architecture has two transmission modes: Circuit Switching and Packet Switching Modes. This Doctoral Dissertation initially describes the call setup processes (call flows) for those transmission modes. It follows a comparative evaluation of the efficiency aspect related to calls executed in both modes, considering the case of uplink transmission. In this process, several optimization techniques are introduced, aiming at the improvement of energy consumption in the air interface. The final objetive is to turn the Packet Switching Mode competitive with the Circuit Switching Mode, relative to the energy consumed for the transmission of voice calls. Though the treatment here presented refers to the UMTS-FDD technology, all the results are equally applicable to other similar systems, like the CDMA- 2000.

<p>Power control is one of the technologies used to utilize the radio resources as efficient as possible in WCDMA. The transmission power is adjusted to transmit with the lowest power level possible while the required received signal quality is maintained. Since there are large variation in channel quality over time, the power has to be adjusted to compensate for these variations. During moments of bad channel conditions a high transmission power has to be used which will to a greater extent interfere with other users in the system. </p><p>To solve this problem a concept called transmission timing was proposed. The basic idea is that the transmitter avoids data transmission during the short periods of bad channel conditions caused by fast fading. Higher bit rates can be used to compensate for this when the channel conditions are good. </p><p>In this thesis the performance of transmission timing applied to uplink data transmissions is evaluated. This is accomplished through a theoretical analysis as well as simulations of a cellular system using transmission timing. Lowered transmission power is achieved and thus lowered interference is induced. Simulations showed that the transmission power can be lowered by up to 1.6 dB compared to ordinary continuous transmission with equal average data rate. These results are however strongly dependent on the used radio environment. It is also showed that transmission timing provides increased system stability in case of rapid changes in the load situation.</p>

<p>In the standardized air interface for third generation mobile communication systems, WCDMA release 5, a concept called High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) is introduced. HSDPA enables faster transmissions from base stations to mobile users by using a shared, high-capacity channel called the High-Speed Downlink Shared Channel (HS-DSCH) that is designed for best effort services. The HS-DSCH is developed for usage in the frequency band licensed for third generation communication systems. As the use of licensed frequency bands is costly it may be interesting to make use of the unlicensed frequency bands at 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz with higher interference and stricter regulations. Using HS- DSCH in unlicensed frequency bands would lead to smaller costs and a new kind of usage of the HS-DSCH. </p><p>In order to transmit in unlicensed frequency bands, some requirements set up by the public authorities must be followed. This means that the maximum transmit power used by the HS-DSCH must be decreased and, on the 5 GHz frequency band, that features to avoid disturbing radar systems have to be implemented. The HS- DSCH has a bandwidth of 5 MHz. To use the available frequency spectra more efficiently, multiple carriers could be used. </p><p>Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) are the most common way to transfer data in unlicensed frequency bands today. Assessments and simulations of WLAN and the HS-DSCH in unlicensed frequency bands show that WLAN can provide higher bitrates than the HS-DSCH for low loads. HS-DSCH can however provide a larger coverage per base station, and is more bandwidth effective than WLAN. Using a larger bandwidth is necessary for HS-DSCH to compete with WLAN, which uses a bandwidth approximately four times as large as the HS-DSCH bandwidth. The usage of the HS-DSCH in unlicensed frequency bands also has the advantage that the services provided by the third generation communication systems can be accessed easily.</p>