Agilent WiMAX Optimization Solution for IEEE 802.16e-2005 (Mobile WiMAX)

Agilent announced its WiMAX Optimization Solution for IEEE 802.16e-2005 (also known as Mobile WiMAX or IEEE 802.16e), based on the Agilent E6474A network optimization test platform. The WiMAX Optimization Solution is the latest version of the new 4G air interface technology, enhanced for ultra high-speed packet data transfer with Quality of Service (QoS). It enables 4G wireless communications systems to deliver business-critical data services such as  video conferencing, video telephony and video streaming downloads.

David Churchill, Agilent, said:

With WiMAX environments that operate in IEEE 802.16e-2005, manufacturers and service providers are facing complex measurement considerations compared with traditional 2G and 3G iDEN/CDMA networks…

…Our portfolio provides the ability to test devices, signals and services from the early stages of development through deployment. This helps design and manufacturing engineers do their jobs faster and more efficiently than ever before

The Agilent wireless network optimization test platform for RF engineering and operation teams enables WiMAX test for IEEE 802.16e-2005 drive-test capabilities through a scalable, integrated, air interface measurement system. This software enhancement helps network equipment manufacturers and service providers identify interference issues and neighboring cell site configuration problems, enabling the smooth introduction and ongoing maintenance of WiMAX capabilities that operate in IEEE 802.16e-2005 wireless broadband data networks.

The IEEE 802.16e-2005 Technology

The 802.16 standard essentially standardizes the physical layer (PHY) and the Media Access Control layer (MAC).

A key feature of 802.16e is that it is a connection oriented technology. The subscriber station (SS) cannot transmit data until it has been allocated a channel by the Base Station (BS). This allows 802.16e to provide strong support for Quality of Service (QoS).

Note: 802.16e-2005 is also known as 802.16e and Mobile WiMAX

PHY

802.16e-2005 uses Scalable OFDMA to carry data. It support bandwidths between 1.25 MHz and 20 MHz, with up to 2048 sub-carriers. It supports adaptive modulation and coding, so that in conditions of good signal, a highly efficient 64 QAM coding scheme is used, whereas where the signal is poorer, a more robust BPSK coding mechanism is used. In intermediate conditions, 16 QAM and QPSK can also be employed. Other PHY features include support for Multiple-in Multiple-out (MIMO) antennas in order to provide good NLOS characteristics and Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) for good error correction performance.

MAC

The 802.16e MAC describes a number of Convergence Sub-layers which describe how wireline technologies such as Ethernet, ATM and IP are encapsulated on the air interface, and how data is classified, etc. It also describes how secure communications are delivered, by using secure key exchange during authentication, and encryption using AES or DES as the encryption mechanism) during data transfer. Further features of the MAC layer include power saving mechanisms and handover mechanisms.

QoS

QoS in 802.16e is supported by allocating each connection between the SS and the BS (called a service flow in 802.16 terminology) to a specific QoS class. In 802.16e-2005, there are 5 QoS classes:

References:

• Agilent WiMAX Optimization Solution for IEEE 802.16e-2005
• 802.16e-2005 Technology - wikipedia.org