FPGA based technical solutions for high throughput data processing and encryption for 5G communication: A review

The field programmable gate array (FPGA) devices are ideal solutions for high-speed processing applications, given their flexibility, parallel processing capability, and power efficiency. In this review paper, at first, an overview of the key applications of FPGA-based platforms in 5G networks/systems is presented, exploiting the improved performances offered by such devices. FPGA-based implementations of cloud radio access network (C-RAN) accelerators, network function virtualization (NFV)-based network slicers, cognitive radio systems, and multiple input multiple output (MIMO) channel characterizers are the main considered applications that can benefit from the high processing rate, power efficiency and flexibility of FPGAs. Furthermore, the implementations of encryption/decryption algorithms by employing the Xilinx Zynq Ultrascale+MPSoC ZCU102 FPGA platform are discussed, and then we introduce our high-speed and lightweight implementation of the well-known AES-128 algorithm, developed on the same FPGA platform, and comparing it with similar solutions already published in the literature. The comparison results indicate that our AES-128 implementation enables efficient hardware usage for a given data-rate (up to 28.16 Gbit/s), resulting in higher efficiency (8.64 Mbps/slice) than other considered solutions. Finally, the applications of the ZCU102 platform for high-speed processing are explored, such as image and signal processing, visual recognition, and hardware resource management

Will SDN be part of 5G?

For many, this is no longer a valid question and the case is considered settled with SDN/NFV (Software Defined Networking/Network Function Virtualization) providing the inevitable innovation enablers solving many outstanding management issues regarding 5G. However, given the monumental task of softwarization of radio access network (RAN) while 5G is just around the corner and some companies have started unveiling their 5G equipment already, the concern is very realistic that we may only see some point solutions involving SDN technology instead of a fully SDN-enabled RAN. This survey paper identifies all important obstacles in the way and looks at the state of the art of the relevant solutions. This survey is different from the previous surveys on SDN-based RAN as it focuses on the salient problems and discusses solutions proposed within and outside SDN literature. Our main focus is on fronthaul, backward compatibility, supposedly disruptive nature of SDN deployment, business cases and monetization of SDN related upgrades, latency of general purpose processors (GPP), and additional security vulnerabilities, softwarization brings along to the RAN. We have also provided a summary of the architectural developments in SDN-based RAN landscape as not all work can be covered under the focused issues. This paper provides a comprehensive survey on the state of the art of SDN-based RAN and clearly points out the gaps in the technology.Comment: 33 pages, 10 figure

D2.2 Draft Overall 5G RAN Design

This deliverable provides the consolidated preliminary view of the METIS-II partners on the 5 th generation (5G) radio access network (RAN) design at a mid-point of the project. The overall 5G RAN is envisaged to operate over a wide range of spectrum bands comprising of heterogeneous spectrum usage scenarios. More precisely, the 5G air interface (AI) is expected to be composed of multiple so-called AI variants (AIVs), which include evolved legacy technology such as Long Term Evolution Advanced (LTE-A) as well as novel AIVs, which may be tailored to particular services or frequency bands.Arnold, P.; Bayer, N.; Belschner, J.; Rosowski, T.; Zimmermann, G.; Ericson, M.; Da Silva, IL.... (2016). D2.2 Draft Overall 5G RAN Design. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.17831.1424

A Review of Indoor Millimeter Wave Device-based Localization and Device-free Sensing Technologies and Applications

The commercial availability of low-cost millimeter wave (mmWave) communication and radar devices is starting to improve the penetration of such technologies in consumer markets, paving the way for large-scale and dense deployments in fifth-generation (5G)-and-beyond as well as 6G networks. At the same time, pervasive mmWave access will enable device localization and device-free sensing with unprecedented accuracy, especially with respect to sub-6 GHz commercial-grade devices. This paper surveys the state of the art in device-based localization and device-free sensing using mmWave communication and radar devices, with a focus on indoor deployments. We first overview key concepts about mmWave signal propagation and system design. Then, we provide a detailed account of approaches and algorithms for localization and sensing enabled by mmWaves. We consider several dimensions in our analysis, including the main objectives, techniques, and performance of each work, whether each research reached some degree of implementation, and which hardware platforms were used for this purpose. We conclude by discussing that better algorithms for consumer-grade devices, data fusion methods for dense deployments, as well as an educated application of machine learning methods are promising, relevant and timely research directions.Comment: 43 pages, 13 figures. Accepted in IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials (IEEE COMST

Radio and computing resource management in SDR clouds

The aim of this thesis is defining and developing the concept of an efficient management of radio and computing resources in an SDR cloud. The SDR cloud breaks with today's cellular architecture. A set of distributed antennas are connected by optical fibre to data processing centres. The radio and computing infrastructure can be shared between different operators (virtualization), reducing costs and risks, while increasing the capacity and creating new business models and opportunities. The data centre centralizes the management of all system resources: antennas, spectrum, computing, routing, etc. Specially relevant is the computing resource management (CRM), whose objective is dynamically providing sufficient computing resources for a real-time execution of signal processing algorithms. Current CRM techniques are not designed for wireless applications. We demonstrate that this imposes a limit on the wireless traffic a CRM entity is capable to support. Based on this, a distributed management is proposed, where multiple CRM entities manage a cluster of processors, whose optimal size is derived from the traffic density. Radio resource management techniques (RRM) also need to be adapted to the characteristics of the new SDR cloud architecture. We introduce a linear cost model to measure the cost associated to the infrastructure resources consumed according to the pay-per-use model. Based on this model, we formulate the efficiency maximization power allocation problem (EMPA). The operational costs per transmitted bit achieved by EMPA are 6 times lower than with traditional power allocation methods. Analytical solutions are obtained for the single channel case, with and without channel state information at the transmitter. It is shown that the optimal transmission rate is an increasing function of the product of the channel gain with the operational costs divided by the power costs. The EMPA solution for multiple channels has the form of water-filling, present in many power allocation problems. In order to be able to obtain insights about how the optimal solution behaves as a function of the problem parameters, a novel technique based on ordered statistics has been developed. This technique allows solving general water-filling problems based on the channel statistics rather than their realization. This approach has allowed designing a low complexity EMPA algorithm (2 to 4 orders of magnitude faster than state-of-the-art algorithms). Using the ordered statistics technique, we have shown that the optimal transmission rate behaviour with respect to the average channel gains and cost parameters is equivalent to the single channel case and that the efficiency increases with the number of available channels. The results can be applied to design more efficient SDR clouds. As an example, we have derived the optimal ratio of number of antennas per user that maximizes the efficiency. As new users enter and leave the network, this ratio should be kept constant, enabling and disabling antennas dynamically. This approach exploits the dynamism and elasticity provided by the SDR cloud. In summary, this dissertation aims at influencing towards a change in the communications system management model (typically RRM), considering the introduction of the new infrastructure model (SDR cloud), new business models (based on Cloud Computing) and a more conciliatory view of an efficient resource management, not only focused on the optimization of the spectrum usage.El objetivo de esta tesis es de nir y desarrollar el concepto de gesti on e ciente de los recursos de radio y computaci on en un SDR cloud. El SDR cloud rompe con la estructura del sistema celular actual. Un conjunto de antenas distribuidas se conectan a centros de procesamiento mediante enlaces de comunicaci on de bra optica. La infraestructura de radio y procesamiento puede ser compartida entre distintos operadores (virtualizacion), disminuyendo costes y riesgos, aumentando la capacidad y abriendo nuevos modelos y oportunidades de negocio. La centralizaci on de la gesti on del sistema viene soportada por el centro de procesamiento, donde se realiza una gesti on de todos los recursos del sistema: antenas, espectro, computaci on, enrutado, etc. Resulta de especial relevancia la gesti on de los recursos de computaci on (CRM) cuyo objetivo es el de proveer, din amicamente, de su cientes recursos de computaci on para la ejecuci on en tiempo real de algoritmos de procesado del señal. Las t ecnicas actuales de CRM no han sido diseñadas para aplicaciones de comunicaciones. Demostramos que esta caracter stica impone un l ímite en el tr áfi co que un gestor CRM puede soportar. En base a ello, proponemos una gesti on distribuida donde m ultiples entidades CRM gestionan grupos de procesadores, cuyo tamaño optimo se deriva de la densidad de tr áfi co. Las t ecnicas actuales de gesti on de recursos radio (RRM) tambi en deben ser adaptadas a las caracter sticas de la nueva arquitectura SDR cloud. Introducimos un modelo de coste lineal que caracteriza los costes asociados al consumo de recursos de la infraestructura seg un el modelo de pago-por-uso. A partir de este modelo, formulamos el problema de asignaci on de potencia de m axima e ciencia (EMPA). Mediante una asignaci on EMPA, los costes de operaci on por bit transmitido son del orden de 6 veces menores que con los m etodos tradicionales. Se han obtenido soluciones anal ticas para el caso de un solo canal, con y sin informacion del canal disponible en el transmisor, y se ha demostrado que la velocidad optima de transmisi on es una funci on creciente del producto de la ganancia del canal por los costes operativos dividido entre los costes de potencia. La soluci on EMPA para varios canales satisface el modelo "water- lling", presente en muchos tipos de optimizaci on de potencia. Con el objetivo de conocer c omo esta se comporta en funci on de los par ametros del sistema, se ha desarrollado una t ecnica nueva basada en estadí sticas ordenadas. Esta t ecnica permite solucionar el problema del water- lling bas andose en la estadí stica del canal en vez de en su realizaci on. Este planteamiento, despu es de profundos an alisis matem aticos, ha permitido desarrollar un algoritmo de asignaci on de potencia de baja complejidad (2 a 4 ordenes de magnitud m as r apido que el estado del arte). Mediante esta t ecnica, se ha demostrado que la velocidad optima de transmisi on se comporta de forma equivalente al caso de un solo canal y que la e ciencia incrementa a medida que aumentan el numero de canales disponibles. Estos resultados pueden aplicarse a diseñar un SDR cloud de forma m as e ciente. A modo de ejemplo, hemos obtenido el ratio optimo de n umero de antenas por usuario que maximiza la e ciencia. A medida que los usuarios entran y salen de la red, este ratio debe mantenerse constante, a fin de mantener una efi ciencia lo m as alta posible, activando o desactivando antenas din amicamente. De esta forma se explota completamente el dinamismo ofrecido por una arquitectura el astica como el SDR cloud. En de nitiva, este trabajo pretende incidir en un cambio del modelo de gesti on de un sistema de comunicaciones (t ípicamente RRM) habida cuenta de la introducci on de una nueva infraestructura (SDR cloud), nuevos modelos de negocio (basados en Cloud Computing) y una visi on m as integradora de la gesti on e ciente de los recursos del sistema, no solo centrada en la optimizaci on del uso del espectro

A container-based architecture to provide services from SDR devices

Rádio Definido por Software (SDR) é um dispositivo de rádio programável que, conectado a um computador ou como uma solução embarcada, pode transmitir e receber informações usando ondas de rádio. A característica de programabilidade do SDR e sua largura de banda de rádio frequência (RF) estendem sua aplicação a diversas áreas que incluem aviação, satélite, radar e dispositivos móveis. O emprego do SDR tem despertado grande interesse na provisão de serviços de rede. Atuando como uma interface sem-fio multiprogramável na borda de redes cabeadas, o SDR é capaz de transmitir, receber e decodificar informações de rádio. Estas informações são usadas para fornecer serviços, como por exemplo uma página de internet contendo um mapa de rastreamento de aeronaves em tempo real, e gráficos de monitoramento de sensores. No entanto, para ser usado para esta finalidade, o SDR deve integrar-se às correntes tecnologias dos ambientes de rede, como NFV, SDN, containerização, e a computação em nuvem. Esta dissertação está focada na integração do SDR com a technologia de containerização. É proposta uma arquitetura para geração de serviços usando contâineres e o SDR como dispositivo de borda. Usando diferentes modelos de SDRs (USRP, LimeSDR e RTL-SDR), a plataforma GNURadio e Docker containers, dois cenários de aplicação da arquitetura são apresentados, nos quais a comunicação ADS-B e LoRa são implementadas. A avaliação da solução proposta é realizada comparando-se a geração de serviço com a arquitetura, (com dois níveis de isolação de rede), e sem a arquitetura. O tempo de lançamento e de resposta dos serviços, e a utilização dos recursos computacionais são comparados, mostrando que a arquitetura tem impacto nesses fatores. Este impacto aumenta conforme o nível de isolação de rede utilizado. Por outro lado a arquitetura aplica uma topologia que converte os componentes funcionais do serviço em blocos modulares, tornando possível sua aplicação em diferentes projetos de RF, e oferece benefícios não funcionais, como a capacidade de prover serviços em tempo real, emprego com diferentes modelos de SDR, e isolação de rede. Além disso, a arquitetura adiciona uma série de características de controle herdadas da tecnologia de virtualização.Software Defined Radio is a programmable radio device that, when connected to a computer or as an embedded solution, can transmit and receive data information using radio waves. The programming features of the SDR and its RF bandwidth range extends the application possibility to several areas, including aviation, satellite, radar, and mobile communication. SDR has drawn great attention to network service provision. Acting as a multi-programmable air interface at the edge of wired network environments, SDR can receive, decode and forward radio information, which is used to generate the services. Examples of services including real-time flight tracker web pages, and sensor monitoring data charts. However, to provide network services, SDR must integrate into complex network environments where recent technologies, such as NFV, SDN, containerization and cloud computing, are applied. This thesis addresses the integration of SDRs with containerization. It proposes an easy-to-deploy container-based architecture to provide network services from SDR devices. Using different types of SDR devices (USRP, LimeSDR and RTL-SDR), GNURadio platform and Docker Container, two use cases of the proposed architecture are presented, demonstrating scenarios where ADSB and LoRa communication are implemented in order to provide services to end-users. Evaluation of the proposed solution is performed comparing two models of service provision: with the proposed architecture (two levels of network isolation), and without the architecture. The overhead time added to launch the services, the time response and computational resource utilization are compared, showing that there is an overhead added by the architecture which impacts on the system performance. The overhead increases with the applied network isolation level. Conversely, the architecture converts the service functional components into modular components, its application can be extended to different RF projects and SDR types, and offers non-functional benefits such as, real-time capability, network isolation, fine setting of communication parameters, and a set of control and configuration features inherited from container virtualization platform

On the Road to 6G: Visions, Requirements, Key Technologies and Testbeds

Fifth generation (5G) mobile communication systems have entered the stage of commercial development, providing users with new services and improved user experiences as well as offering a host of novel opportunities to various industries. However, 5G still faces many challenges. To address these challenges, international industrial, academic, and standards organizations have commenced research on sixth generation (6G) wireless communication systems. A series of white papers and survey papers have been published, which aim to define 6G in terms of requirements, application scenarios, key technologies, etc. Although ITU-R has been working on the 6G vision and it is expected to reach a consensus on what 6G will be by mid-2023, the related global discussions are still wide open and the existing literature has identified numerous open issues. This paper first provides a comprehensive portrayal of the 6G vision, technical requirements, and application scenarios, covering the current common understanding of 6G. Then, a critical appraisal of the 6G network architecture and key technologies is presented. Furthermore, existing testbeds and advanced 6G verification platforms are detailed for the first time. In addition, future research directions and open challenges are identified for stimulating the on-going global debate. Finally, lessons learned to date concerning 6G networks are discussed

Deliverable D2.1 - Ecosystem analysis and 6G-SANDBOX facility design

This document provides a comprehensive overview of the core aspects of the 6G-SANDBOX project. It outlines the project's vision, objectives, and the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Key Value Indicators (KVIs) targeted for achievement. The functional and non-functional requirements of the 6G-SANDBOX Facility are extensively presented, based on a proposed reference blueprint. A detailed description of the updated reference architecture of the facility is provided, considering the requirements outlined. The document explores the experimentation framework, including the lifecycle of experiments and the methodology for validating KPIs and KVIs. It presents the key technologies and use case enablers towards 6G that will be offered within the trial networks. Each of the platforms constituting the 6G-SANDBOX Facility is described, along with the necessary enhancements to align them with the project's vision in terms of hardware, software updates, and functional improvements