Microwave Engineering Europe - May 2008 - (Page 31)

WiMAX 2nd WAVE 31 End-to-end system test for Wave 2 mobile WiMax is possible using Agilent’s E6651A RF emulator and protocol certiﬁcation software. on every aspect of WiMax deployment, including the design of chips, end-user devices and provider basestation equipment. The range of test capabilities required by developers is substantial because of the existence of two WiMax approaches and the many system elements needed for end-to-end communications. While they share radio frequencies, for example, ﬁxed and mobile WiMax use different modulation schemes and thus different RF test capabilities. Further, mobile WiMax requires testing RF elements for multipath, fading and hand-off behaviors that arise from the user’s changing location. The two approaches also use different protocols for encapsulating data and handling connection control. Basestation and user equipment also differ in behavior and hence test needs. Test equipment vendors are rising to the occasion with new products and product enhancements to address the increasingly complex requirements of development, veriﬁcation and certiﬁcation of WiMax designs. Test equipment is becoming available for everything from parameter measurement through turnkey conformance testing in the R&D, manufacturing and ﬁeld environments. Recent introductions for Wave 2 WiMax test include station RF emulation for receiver module testing, ﬁxed- and mobile-protocol conformance testers to exercise baseband processors and software, and end-to-end testing for systems and applications evaluation. To address the changes that Wave 2 brings to mobile WiMax receiver design, Agilent Technologies has updated its E6651A mobile WiMax test set to incorporate MIMO functionality. The test set can perform both RF parametric characterization and basestation emulation, so transmitters and receivers can be evaluated both as RF components and as system elements. Agilent also offers Wave 2 protocol conformance test software to exercise the entire end-to-end transmission of information through the design. The upgrade further automates the task of testing the ﬁnished design against standards before applying for certiﬁcation. Aeroﬂex, working with AT4 (formerly Cetecom, Spain), is making several pieces of equipment available for RF conformance testing. The Mint E1130 signaling unit can emulate basestations and mobile stations for testing equipment at either end of a mobile WiMax link; the Mint T2110 RF conformance test unit automates conformance testing at both ends. The two companies also offer protocol conformance test gear for mobile Wave 2 WiMax. The WiMax Forum recently designated the Aeroﬂex/AT4 test equipment as the ofﬁcial test equipment for WiMax product certiﬁcation. The Anite Group, for its part, has released basestation and mobile-station emulators for both ﬁxed and mobile Wave 2 WiMax. In addition, Anite has released what it says is the ﬁrst protocol conformance tool set to automate ﬁxed Wave 2 WiMax certiﬁcation testing. The tool set is intended for use by subscriber-station and basestation system vendors, chip-set and stack developers, system operators, and test labs. Rohde & Schwarz has upgraded its CMW270 communications tester to support evaluation of mobile WiMax user-station chip set designs for Wave 2 operation. Combining signal generation and signal analysis in a single unit, the CMW270 functions as a basestation emulator with the ability to change transmission parameters during operation to simulate real operating conditions. Similarly, the recently upgraded Azimuth Systems 400WB channel emulator supports as many as 4 x 4 MIMO bidirectional channels for real-time emulation of over-the-air conditions such as multipath. The newly introduced LitePoint IQnxn and the recently upgraded Spirent Communications SR5500 also address MIMO test needs. Developers are not the only ones beneﬁting from the recent wave of WiMax test equipment. Service providers are also seeing new test capabilities reach the market. Recent examples are WiMax upgrades for the Anritsu BTS Master and Spectrum Master handheld spectrum analyzers and the new BumbleBee-EX handheld WiMax spectrum analyzer from Berkeley Varitronics Systems. All allow ﬁeld testing of WiMax basestation installations, evaluating signal power and spectral characteristics and helping locate sources of interference. Most of these upgrades and product introductions have been released in just the past two months, and they likely represent the tip of an iceberg. As WiMax gears up for deployment, developers seeking to catch Wave 2 should already be entering the design stage. Those that do can be certain that the test tools they will need to reﬁne and certify their design efforts quickly will be ready and available when needed. www.mwee.com/207401767 Field personnel can test WiMax basestation transmissions using handheld testers like this BumbleBee-EX from Berkeley Varitronics Systems. WiMAX Wave 2 Test equipment vendors Aeroﬂex www.aeroﬂex.com Agilent Technologies www.agilent.com Anite www.anite.com Anritsu www.us.anritsu.com AT4 www.at4wireless.com Azimuth Systems www.azimuthsystems.com Berkeley Varitronics Systems www.bvssystems.com LitePoint www.litepoint.com Rohde & Schwarz www.rohde-schwarz.com Spirent Communications www.spirentcom.com Microwave Engineering ● May 2008 ● www.mwee.com http://www.mwee.com/207401767 http://www.aeroex.com http://www.agilent.com http://www.anite.com http://www.us.anritsu.com http://www.at4wireless.com http://www.azimuthsystems.com http://www.bvssystems.com http://www.litepoint.com http://www.rohde-schwarz.com http://www.spirentcom.com http://www.mwee.com

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Microwave Engineering Europe - May 2008 News Contents Comment Cover Feature: How to Succeed as a GaAs Foundry Wireless Networking: Wireless Coverage Where Everybody WINS Wireless Networking: Achieving Good Coexistence in the 2.4 GHz ISM Band GPS and Satellite: GPS developments: Galileo Moves Forward with Successful Giove-B Satellite Launch — Broadcom Targets AGPS in Mobile Phones and Devices Raising the Bar for the Radio: Making 802.11n Work Reducing Power Consumption in Ultrawideband Chips WiMax Catches Second Test Wave Products Calendar

Microwave Engineering Europe - May 2008

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