Software Defined Radio: Architectures, Systems and Functions

13

Reconfiguration of the Network Elements

Gyula Rabai and Sandor Imre

MTA, Budapest, Hungary

13.1 Introduction

This chapter is intended to provide fundamental technical information on the reconfiguration of network elements in Software Radio (SWR) systems, and Reconfigurable Radio Networks (RRNs) [1–4]. Smart network elements have the potential to revolutionise the field of wireless communication and are capable of providing adaptable services to end-users. To illustrate this, an overview of the reconfiguration technology used in the base stations and the mobile terminals is given here. During this overview we point out how it is possible to increase the IT effectiveness of these network elements, and why abstract modelling of the hardware is necessary. In addition, the role of local intelligence, and how it affects the performance of the systems, is explained.

The main goal of this chapter is to present the essential aspects and guidelines required to understand how reconfigurable network elements are working. Through the examination of the digital building blocks and the various hardware topologies, one can get an insight into how optimisation algorithms modify the behaviour of these elements. Various algorithms, which are applied in different scenarios, and the parameters involved in the optimisation of the reconfiguration of a mobile terminal and a wireless base station, are explained.

13.1.1 Reconfiguration of Base Stations and Mobile Terminals

The hardware of base stations ...