Design Considerations and Deployment Challenges for TurboRAN 5G and Beyond Testbed

Prior to standardization, new features, algorithms, and solutions have to be rigorously evaluated and verified using different methods. In this regard, testbeds are considered as one of the most important and effective experimental platforms for performing tests, thus paving the way towards the real...

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Main Authors: Marvin Manalastas, Muhammad Nabeel, Aneeqa Ijaz, Syed Muhammad Asad Zaidi, Usama Masood, Haneya Naeem Qureshi, Hazem Refai, Ali Imran
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2022-01-01
Series:IEEE Access
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9755968/
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author Marvin Manalastas
Muhammad Nabeel
Aneeqa Ijaz
Syed Muhammad Asad Zaidi
Usama Masood
Haneya Naeem Qureshi
Hazem Refai
Ali Imran
author_facet Marvin Manalastas
Muhammad Nabeel
Aneeqa Ijaz
Syed Muhammad Asad Zaidi
Usama Masood
Haneya Naeem Qureshi
Hazem Refai
Ali Imran
author_sort Marvin Manalastas
collection DOAJ
description Prior to standardization, new features, algorithms, and solutions have to be rigorously evaluated and verified using different methods. In this regard, testbeds are considered as one of the most important and effective experimental platforms for performing tests, thus paving the way towards the real-world implementation of many solutions, from the most basic to the most disruptive and innovative ones. Compared to computer simulators, testbeds provide near-realistic implementation and can obtain practical results while posing less risk to live networks. They are also cheaper compared to field trials. Given the crucial role of testbeds in the cellular network ecosystem, it is imperative to create awareness regarding the design challenges associated with constructing an effective and efficient testbed deployment. In this tutorial, we discuss the design considerations and challenges we experienced while deploying an outdoor testbed that we call TurboRAN—a 5G and beyond network testbed facility. It is designed to facilitate the evaluation of early real-world use case algorithm implementations and deployments. We present the process and methodology used to select components, including antennas, amplifiers, base stations, and cabinets, to name a few, and describe the integration of the components to construct a fully operational testbed. Finally, we discuss a use case that demonstrates the TurboRAN’s ability to conduct real-world experiments. The use case demonstrates the detrimental impact of sub-optimal handover parameter configuration on network performance—a big challenge in modern cellular communication. This work intends to inspire and guide the development of a cellular testbed by providing a generalized framework that describes step-by-step the efforts made for its construction.
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spelling doaj.art-1b09cbe08ff44cba9ceffba8e3e9b4142022-12-22T01:32:36ZengIEEEIEEE Access2169-35362022-01-0110398103982410.1109/ACCESS.2022.31669479755968Design Considerations and Deployment Challenges for TurboRAN 5G and Beyond TestbedMarvin Manalastas0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9067-9146Muhammad Nabeel1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2773-0970Aneeqa Ijaz2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4359-4366Syed Muhammad Asad Zaidi3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9879-9655Usama Masood4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6523-7285Haneya Naeem Qureshi5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4327-0556Hazem Refai6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9137-9594Ali Imran7https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0564-6356AI4Networks Research Center, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Oklahoma, Tulsa, OK, USAAI4Networks Research Center, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Oklahoma, Tulsa, OK, USAAI4Networks Research Center, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Oklahoma, Tulsa, OK, USAAI4Networks Research Center, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Oklahoma, Tulsa, OK, USAAI4Networks Research Center, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Oklahoma, Tulsa, OK, USAAI4Networks Research Center, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Oklahoma, Tulsa, OK, USAAI4Networks Research Center, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Oklahoma, Tulsa, OK, USAAI4Networks Research Center, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Oklahoma, Tulsa, OK, USAPrior to standardization, new features, algorithms, and solutions have to be rigorously evaluated and verified using different methods. In this regard, testbeds are considered as one of the most important and effective experimental platforms for performing tests, thus paving the way towards the real-world implementation of many solutions, from the most basic to the most disruptive and innovative ones. Compared to computer simulators, testbeds provide near-realistic implementation and can obtain practical results while posing less risk to live networks. They are also cheaper compared to field trials. Given the crucial role of testbeds in the cellular network ecosystem, it is imperative to create awareness regarding the design challenges associated with constructing an effective and efficient testbed deployment. In this tutorial, we discuss the design considerations and challenges we experienced while deploying an outdoor testbed that we call TurboRAN—a 5G and beyond network testbed facility. It is designed to facilitate the evaluation of early real-world use case algorithm implementations and deployments. We present the process and methodology used to select components, including antennas, amplifiers, base stations, and cabinets, to name a few, and describe the integration of the components to construct a fully operational testbed. Finally, we discuss a use case that demonstrates the TurboRAN’s ability to conduct real-world experiments. The use case demonstrates the detrimental impact of sub-optimal handover parameter configuration on network performance—a big challenge in modern cellular communication. This work intends to inspire and guide the development of a cellular testbed by providing a generalized framework that describes step-by-step the efforts made for its construction.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9755968/TurboRAN5G and beyond testbedtestbed deployment considerationtestbed deployment challenges
spellingShingle Marvin Manalastas
Muhammad Nabeel
Aneeqa Ijaz
Syed Muhammad Asad Zaidi
Usama Masood
Haneya Naeem Qureshi
Hazem Refai
Ali Imran
Design Considerations and Deployment Challenges for TurboRAN 5G and Beyond Testbed
IEEE Access
TurboRAN
5G and beyond testbed
testbed deployment consideration
testbed deployment challenges
title Design Considerations and Deployment Challenges for TurboRAN 5G and Beyond Testbed
title_full Design Considerations and Deployment Challenges for TurboRAN 5G and Beyond Testbed
title_fullStr Design Considerations and Deployment Challenges for TurboRAN 5G and Beyond Testbed
title_full_unstemmed Design Considerations and Deployment Challenges for TurboRAN 5G and Beyond Testbed
title_short Design Considerations and Deployment Challenges for TurboRAN 5G and Beyond Testbed
title_sort design considerations and deployment challenges for turboran 5g and beyond testbed
topic TurboRAN
5G and beyond testbed
testbed deployment consideration
testbed deployment challenges
url https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9755968/
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