VIAVI SOLUTIONS
What are the sorts of problems that we will face building out the 5G network ? We ’ ll face many of the same problems that come with building out a network of any flavour ; confirming that the physical infrastructure and transport are installed , connected , and functioning correctly . But in 5G , that physical estate is implementing technologies like massive MIMO beamforming , which is significantly more challenging than in previous generations . We need to know if the beamforming is functioning correctly , configured appropriately for the environment , and can it rely on the xHaul to deliver the fronthaul packets with the strict latency and packet loss requirements ? The sectorised cells of older generations could be understood with relatively coarse drive tests . The much narrower and dynamic beams of massive MIMO vary and interact on much smaller spatial scales . Understanding these demands new approaches and solutions . Time Division Duplexing ( TDD ) brings with it potential synchronisation problems that must be guarded against .
Network disaggregation means that the specific mix of components , services and network functions are unlikely to have been brought together in the same combination previously . As there are intelligence and automation elements influencing components from different vendors , their behaviours can be expected to change over time . And these must work in a wide variety of scenarios and conditions . This can sound daunting , but a well-designed approach to validation will manage the risk and mean that the 5G network will deliver the services demanded of it . This approach starts in the lab , with thorough functional testing of the individual components and verification that the system performs as a coherent whole , in the various scenarios that it will encounter in the field . This feeds into the deployment stage which for example will check that all the infrastructure and virtual components have been successfully deployed and are operational . Then comes the ongoing assurance to monitor operation and performance to ensure that this complex and dynamic system continues to adapt to deliver flexible services to a dynamic population of users and devices in the face of an ever-changing environment .
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