Antenna Port Identification via Baseband Data Interception
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Solution Overview
Problem
The association information in the control and management plane of the front-haul communication link between the baseband unit (BBU) and the remote radio head (RRH) is vendor-specific and proprietary, making it difficult for devices to determine which antenna port each baseband IQ data stream is associated with, especially in distributed BTS architectures.
Innovation Solution
The optical PIM tester intercepts the front-haul communication link and uses the baseband IQ data itself to associate antenna ports with antenna carriers, eliminating the need to access proprietary association data in the control and management plane by employing programmable processors to process and inject PIM test signals, thereby identifying PIM sources and characterizing PIM effects.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the association information is kept in the control and management plane, then the system can maintain proper channel association, but the information becomes vendor-specific and proprietary, making it inaccessible to other devices
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces user-plane baseband data as an intermediary carrier that indirectly conveys antenna port association information. Instead of directly exposing proprietary C&M plane data, the system embeds association information within the user-plane data structure, allowing third-party devices to infer channel associations without accessing vendor-specific control plane protocols.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a copy of association information within the user-plane baseband data stream. By replicating the association mapping in the user-plane rather than relying solely on the control plane, the system enables multiple devices to access the same association information through different means, reducing dependency on proprietary C&M interfaces.
2Productivity
If the BBU and RRH are separated into distributed architecture, then RF processing can be performed remotely, but the association information becomes harder to access for devices needing to identify antenna ports
Solution Approach 1:
The user-plane baseband data serves as an intermediary that bridges the physical separation between BBU and RRH. It carries association information that enables devices to identify antenna ports without requiring direct access to the distributed control plane, thus maintaining productivity while solving the identification difficulty.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent moves association information from the control plane dimension to the user-plane data dimension. By embedding association mappings within the user-plane baseband stream, the system adds a new dimension for information transmission that is accessible to devices needing antenna port identification without interfering with the distributed architecture's productivity benefits.
3Ease of manufacture
If proprietary control and management plane data is used, then vendor-specific functionality is maintained, but other devices cannot easily access association information needed for PIM testing
Solution Approach 1:
The user-plane baseband data acts as a universal intermediary that translates proprietary C&M plane association information into a format accessible to third-party testing devices. This allows vendor-specific functionality to remain intact while providing operational accessibility for PIM testing through the user-plane data stream.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent copies association information from the proprietary control plane into the user-plane data stream. This duplication enables testing devices to access association mappings without requiring direct access to vendor-specific control plane interfaces, maintaining ease of manufacture while improving ease of operation for testing purposes.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of associating streams of baseband data with one or more antenna ports of a remote radio head (RRH) is provided. The method includes extracting streams of baseband data from a user-plane of front-haul data communicated to the RRH over a communication link, determining which, if any, layer mapping and precoding scheme and associated antenna port configuration was used to encode and modulate one or more of the extracted streams of baseband data, wherein each layer mapping and precoding scheme has one or more of associated antenna port configurations, each antenna port configuration associating each of one or more steams of baseband data with a respective antenna port of the RRH.